Took an engine out last week

TATRA and SKODA  have been traditional vehicle brands in former Czechoslovakia dating back at least 100 years in history.I noted Lieven's affection of Tatra cars of the 60-s. In my recollection of the era in Eastern Europe those days,  these were not that popular cars behind the Iron Curtain, maybe it was their futuristic,  streamlined body that had some appeal?

But Czechoslovakian (after the split of the 2 countries, Czech today) industry has always been many paces ahead of the rest of the Eastern European region..

Skoda car factory, the other historical Czech car maker, was acquired by the VW group 30 or so years ago, and the brand today belongs to some of the most reliable and attractive middle category sedans and SUV-s made in Europe. German engineering of VW alone could not have established the reputation Skoda has earned by today.  had it not been for the Czech industrial culture. The other branch of Skoda has for long manufactured industrial steam turbines, and was recently acquired by South Korean power plant construction giant Doosan. The turbines made in the Czech factory work in medium size thermal power stations around the world, on all continents, thanks to their quality and competitiveness.
So the nucleus of Czech engineering that once produced the Tatra cars have grown by today  into s major industrial conglomerate that is present in the global industry among brand name, reputable peers in the auto and power plant domain.

I remember using Skoda lathe tools in the past.

The Tatra 603 was never sold to the public. Exceptions can be counted on 1 hand. They all were destined for government and official use in czechoslovakia, DDR or USSR. I know of 1 car that was exported in the mid 60's to a Dutch importer of Tatra trucks and the 603 that was at the Brussels motor show in 1959 remained in Belgium.

rsv1cox wrote:I'm green with envy Lieven.  Wish I had been there to help/watch.  

Engine looks good on the outside.  The body on that rare car...........I would be tempted to restore.  It can't be much worse than the MG I did a couple of years ago.

Thanks for sharing.  Updates, updates!

Bob

Bob, the bottom part of this car is just a carastrophy. It's a car for the Flintstones. The car is at my dad's place in Belgium. The one I have in my garage is a 1963 model and one of the first T2 603 's. The production started in December '63. The body is very sound with only some minor body work and has still got it's original engine. So I 'll concentrate on that one. I bought the car in the late 90's and I' m decided to get on with it.
To be continued...

Hi Lieven! It's really great to see you working on a Tatra. A few questions; Is that 1966 engine itself made/designed by Tatra? What is displacement in litres? How about the gearbox in your "63"? How many forward gears/ratio? I would assume that the ignition system is a mechanical distributor with breaker-points/condensor with a coil to provide the spark? Then again; the European Automobile industry was decades ahead of the United States auto makers of that era. General Motors "did" produce a mechanical Rochester fuel-injection system in 1957 for select Chevrolet Corvette and Belair models. That system was however plagued with unreliability issues.

Wishing you all the best of luck getting it roadworthy. I miss our emails.. it's been a long time.

roddie wrote:Hi Lieven! It's really great to see you working on a Tatra. A few questions; Is that 1966 engine itself made/designed by Tatra? What is displacement in litres? How about the gearbox in your "63"?  How many forward gears/ratio? I would assume that the ignition system is a mechanical distributor with breaker-points/condensor with a coil to provide the spark? Then again; the European Automobile industry was decades ahead of the United States auto makers of that era. General Motors "did" produce a mechanical Rochester fuel-injection system in 1957 for select Chevrolet Corvette and Belair models. That system was however plagued with unreliability issues.

Wishing you all the best of luck getting it roadworthy. I miss our emails.. it's been a long time.

Thanks Roddie, The engine is a 2,5 litre. Nothing wild. There is even no valve overlap.The gearbox is very classic with 4 forward gear and reverse. The engine has coil ignition and became electronic in 1970 or so.  4 disc brakes were introduced in 1967.