1974 ŠKODA 110LS MATT CURTIS
Former Eastern Bloc cars clearly fascinate Matt, who owned at least four Škodas before tracking down this former Slovakian-registered survivor
‘Iwas a Volkswagen Scirocco fan prior to owning my Škoda 110LS. I got tired of losing out to modified Golfs that weren’t up to my car’s standard at concours competitions so I put it up for sale and it sold within the hour despite the high price.
‘The hunt for something totally different started back in 2013 and while an internet search turned up this Škoda, unfortunately I was outbid. However, the owner got in touch a couple of days later to say that the buyer had dropped out and was I still interested? The answer was obviously ‘yes’ – if he could deliver it at no extra cost; a trailer with the car onboard turned up outside my house that very weekend.
‘The Škoda was first registered in Slovakia and still wore its original registration plates but had been sitting in a barn near Bradford for ages and arrived with an old plastic bottle full of fuel plumbed into the carburettor. The engine ran but the unit was eventually totally rebuilt because the cylinder head was cracked. I’ve also replaced all of the main suspension and brake components. The bodywork wasn’t in bad condition considering how long the car had been stored; the only area that required any serious welding was around the edge of the floorpan and other repairs to the sheet metalwork included fabricating a new pair of subframe mounts.
‘The car had been re-painted with a thick coat of light blue paint at some time in the past. The surface was brittle and running my thumbnail over a panel always produced a shower of paint flakes. I eventually managed to find the correct paint code from inside a door frame and the correct colour turned out to be turquoise, not light blue. Finding three new-oldstock doors really accelerated preparation and the Škoda was re-painted in the correct colour in October 2014.
‘This must be one of the best 110LSS around; it gets an amazing reception wherever it goes. I’m a member of the IFA Eastern Block Vehicle Club as well as the Škoda Owners’ Club and enjoy taking it on runs together with Wartburgs, Trabants and the occasional aircooled Tatra 603 V8. I’m always surprised how well this car drives, especially in the wet (because the engine overhangs the rear wheels) but it is very
relaxing to drive, too, despite being lefthand-drive.
‘I get a lot of fun from taking the car to events because it’s often the only one of its kind on show and it’s always a pleasure to meet up with visitors who were born and raised in Eastern Europe and whose family once owned a similar model.
‘This is now a very rare and once much-maligned four-door saloon that’s definitely a longterm keeper. And believe it or not, I’ve even got used to all of those terrible Škoda jokes!’
Matt’s 110LS was first registered in Slovakia by an owner who didn’t use it very often.