1988 Skoda Rapid 130/136 from UK and Ireland - Comments

Where shall I begin!!

I bought the car when I was seventeen, first car, so you can imagine the amount of stick I gave it!!

It used to love blowing head gaskets (6 times!!)until I bought some liner shims and stuck them on top of the liners, sorted that right out!!

The fuel shutoff valve stuck closed meaning the car would only run with the choke on.

Various niggles (all easily repairable).

In the end I fitted a fast road/race camshaft and snapped the crank.....!!

Blown up engine ,replaced with engine from a lowered "sSport" I bought that I wrote off in six days due to the lower suspension geometry upsetting the handling (I hit a lamp post backwards after fish tailing for about hundred yards on the exit of a greasy right hander, at about sixty!!), this pushed the engine forward and bent all the rods for the gearbox!! I drove home in third only!!

This replacement engine eventually wore out (smoking a lot) and was replaced with a 136 engine. (My mate bought a 136 and then wrote it off driving it home!! - warning, do not purchase a white Skoda Rapid!!).

I've tried twin 40 Webbers (a bit much!!) and have recently bought a Metro turbocharger......

If driven safely and cared for, I agree that the Skoda Rapid will last a long while. I owned an '85 Rapid. I was impressed with the ride and roominess of the vehicle. It was a bear in the winter concerning handling. But with proper snow tires it was not as fun. 360's became difficult without the supplied Goodyear all season tires. It would sustain 160km/h speeds whilst spinning only 4000 rpm. I felt the stock setup was fine. I liked everything about the car. The front suspension subframe is a great engineering design. Removing the engine was a snap. After the engine mount was put on blocks as well as the tranny, I could just push the car forward, and the drivetrain was exposed. Of course, Audi has a simpler attachment mode for their Le Mans car.

The brake junction blocks were unfortunatley made of a pressed aluminum of some sort. They deteriorate rapidly in the salt environment of a Canadian winter. The master cylinder reservoir hoses were not dsigned for brake fluid, nor were the hoses with the green overbraiding designed for coolant. It is a good car to learn basic mechanics on. Unfortunatley after a botched restoration attempt and frustration with the parts supply, I sent it to the wreckers. Yes, for the $7500.00 price tag, you get a fascinating little car. I drove my Rapid from North Vancouver to New Liskeard, Ont. in 48 hours. in the summer of '86. I did have a winter run-in with a highway fence. I put the driving lights on the bumper improperly and they smashed the radiator. The rad cost @ $275.00. Again, the employ of proper winter tires is recommended. Highway legal studs would make winter worry and heart-attack free...

I realize the emissions were possibly not aceptable, but it appears that making the car any other way would destroy the Skoda genre. But if Skoda retained the body design with better rustproofing or premium materials, the price would be the same as any domestic machine. So, chalk it up to experience. The handling had a very expensive feel. The ergonomics of the car were basically fine. Everything was right except for the quality of parts. Yes, the rubber caliper seals were dangerously inferior. The master cylinder fittings were motorcyclish. I think the chap who engineered the Skoda Rapid was juggling 12 oranges and holding back a vicious tiger with a chair. If he put all his concentration into the design, it would be without peer in its' class. But the selfish profit motive requires that someone is always sabotaging and undermining our efforts to keep our vehicular chumms clean and mechanically healthy. I could stop the Skoda from 60 mph. on a rain slicked or snow covered highway easily. The trick was to keep the clutch in and can't the wheel slightly to balance the mass. It always worked. So, in a world of recalled vehicles, perhaps the Skoda was a lesser evil. It did not require expensive computer diagnostics or expensive tools. I was always wondering about beefier suspension components. Then again, it was designed to occupy a highway lane, and not pull the Queen Mary. No, it is not a Swiss Watch, but I had some fun times just the same. Am I emotionally distraught by its' absence. Possibly not, because now I realize that some places in the Milky Way are undesireable to live in, let alone drive any vehicle from a Skoda to a Rolls Royce. Thank God, or his cat, that we have all our limbs and can pick up a wrench and fix something. Hobbies are a must if we are to keep our sanity. Auto steels should jump to a higher atomic weight upon iompact. With this concept a small car could be hit by a huge lorry and sustain minimal damage. Steels have a long way to go. No vehicle is safe no matter what you pay for it. As long as the profit motive sxists, we will have recalls. Someone is always squeezing the chicken to make it pee, so to speak.