Auto cab- worth it?

Keep hearing how automatics are generally a lot slower pulling away compared to a manual. Is there much difference between the manual and auto mk1s performance wise?

Thanks all for the replies.
Autocab, loving yours too, very hot looking.
Its really good to hear people have good things to say about them becuase they are my ideal car. I nearly bought one a few weeks ago but a hpi check showed me it was a registered write off so I backed out.

They go up hills better LOL.

No but seriously, the main issue is the fact that its 3 speeds. An auto's 1st is the equivalent of a manual's 2nd gear ratio, and it slips the torque converter to achieve lower gearing as required. At the other end, an auto's top gear (3rd) is equivalent to a 4 speed's top gear. It would be nice to have another ratio, they're a little low geared on the motorway.

But other than that, no worries.

They say that an auto transmission knocks off around 10% of the performance, but I haven't driven exactly equivalent manual and auto cars so I couldn't verify this myself.

Mines good to about 90 ish then builds up slowly oops did i say 90 ish i meant 60mph  and 70mph  on motorways   but hey who buys a cabby for thrashing around in anyway, they look the biz just cruising  8)

autocab said

Mines good to about 90 ish then builds up slowly oops did i say 90 ish i meant 60mph  and 70mph  on motorways   but hey who buys a cabby for thrashing around in anyway, they look the biz just cruising  8)

Yea, I guess so…I'm not exactly going to be a pro drag racer with it, I just love the cars.

Mine's a 1.8, so a 1.8 auto in a small car is still going to be pretty nippy isnt it?

Can't wait till I can drive it, will be good when I get it started.

Lawsy said

autocab said

Never had a problem with my carb always starts and registers park :dontknow:

Have you got the pierburg or weber carb?

pierburg carb

Alexandria said

Thanks all for the replies.
Autocab, loving yours too, very hot looking.
Its really good to hear people have good things to say about them becuase they are my ideal car. I nearly bought one a few weeks ago but a hpi check showed me it was a registered write off so I backed out.

Thanks for the reply, makes all the effort and time worth while  

1.8 lucky git mines a 1.6, if i got in a 1.8 it would feel like i was piloting a rocket   and still with no brakes  :roll:

autocab said

1.8 lucky git mines a 1.6, if i got in a 1.8 it would feel like i was piloting a rocket   and still with no brakes  :roll:

Haha, that makes me feel a lot better.

But still, yours looks great…and at least it moves!  

A couple of other plus points:

- Autos have a 'hill hold' feature on the transmission, so long as its in D, 2 or 1, it will apply the transmission lock and not let the car roll backwards.
- The Park will obviously lock the front wheels, the handbrake the rears, so you can leave the handbrake off (avoid seized shoes/drums), or apply both for increased holding on hills. Or to make wheel changing easier, etc.
- If you select too low a gear, the auto won't change down until the revs are suitable (apparently, never tested this feature myself!)
- An auto keeps the power applied during gear changes, this partly makes up for the losses. High power drag race cars tend to use auto transmission, and if not fully auto, its a Lenco style gearbox which uses the same principle of epicyclic gears.

marklawrence said

autocab said

1.8 lucky git mines a 1.6, if i got in a 1.8 it would feel like i was piloting a rocket   and still with no brakes  :roll:

Haha, that makes me feel a lot better.

But still, yours looks great…and at least it moves!  

  Thanks for the comment ,It will be worth your work and effort i have done mine over a year or so, just changed wheels again but kept the original scalas that i re furbed only coz i cant bear to part with them  :mrgreen:

Once I get the VR6 conversion out the way, my little auto cabby will be 'breathed on' and I'll reuse the 1.8GTI engine, coupled to the auto transmission, and using a rejetted Weber carb and the GTI exhaust system. It will be a 'Frankenstein' of parts from GTI and auto cabby, all merged into one beast, hopefully for not more than around ?20!

But i agree with autocab, they can look cool, i popped to halfords in mine the other day and all the spotty guys were drewling over it, none know its an auto   plus its quick off the mark (well till about 40) then its game over..

They were confused coz they couldnt figure out where to put a fiesta/ corsa roof spoiler and full bodykit  

paul_c said

Once I get the VR6 conversion out the way, my little auto cabby will be 'breathed on' and I'll reuse the 1.8GTI engine, coupled to the auto transmission, and using a rejetted Weber carb and the GTI exhaust system. It will be a 'Frankenstein' of parts from GTI and auto cabby, all merged into one beast, hopefully for not more than around ?20!

?20 you can do mine  

Mine has the gti full system on it

autocab said

paul_c said

Once I get the VR6 conversion out the way, my little auto cabby will be 'breathed on' and I'll reuse the 1.8GTI engine, coupled to the auto transmission, and using a rejetted Weber carb and the GTI exhaust system. It will be a 'Frankenstein' of parts from GTI and auto cabby, all merged into one beast, hopefully for not more than around ?20!

?20 you can do mine  

Mine has the gti full system on it

?20 + all the other parts which have become spare, shed full of bits & bobs off Mk1s, and a lot of labour….

Ok, try and remember that I am definately an amateur to all this, but pretty much the only hope of me trying to get this car started is to do it myself and all of you are probably the best resource to help me.

A new battery has been fitted, but it is not fully charged…radio turns on but cuts out if the volume is turned up too high, indicators work etc. Not THAT long a go, my uncle could start the car normally, after a while of just sitting on a drive, he tried one day and it would tick over but not start.

Now when I turn the key…it does nothing. Do you need a full battery to get the car starting properly?

Have cleaned spark plugs, distributor cab is all clean, petrol is going in.

What else can I check myself?

Ok seen a pure babe on ebay that I think I will have to bid on (actually I have seen 2 but one is white with a black hood so super gorgeous! lol)
Wish it was closer though because it being in Brighton means I can't just pop over to check out first.

you have pm in your message box

marklawrence said

Keep hearing how automatics are generally a lot slower pulling away compared to a manual. Is there much difference between the manual and auto mk1s performance wise?

Our auto rockets away from lights (suprised a lot of people, including us), and even between 30 and 60 just floor the pedal and the 'kick-down' makes it pull like a train. I'm sure it would beat my GTI from the lights.
We consistantly get 34 MPG, and got 38 once on a long motorway run.

It's got a Weber carb and the throttle / gear linkage was set up by our boys at Volksline in Canterbury.
I honestly don't know which car I prefer to drive - the auto can be such a relaxed 'poser' with 'umph' when you need it, but the GTI is SO MUCH FUN !! It would be a real nightmare to decide which one goes if we had to get rid of one.

Prowler said

Our auto rockets away from lights (suprised a lot of people, including us), and even between 30 and 60 just floor the pedal and the 'kick-down' makes it pull like a train. I'm sure it would beat my GTI from the lights.
We consistantly get 34 MPG, and got 38 once on a long motorway run.

It's got a Weber carb and the throttle / gear linkage was set up by our boys at Volksline in Canterbury.
I honestly don't know which car I prefer to drive - the auto can be such a relaxed 'poser' with 'umph' when you need it, but the GTI is SO MUCH FUN !! It would be a real nightmare to decide which one goes if we had to get rid of one.

I'm really loooking forward to getting it started now! That petrol consumption isn't bad either, a lot better than I thought it would have been.

Where abouts is Volksline in Canterbury? I have family that live in Whitstable and Herne Bay, so next time I visit them, I could check it out.  8)