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Lada experiences
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Julian



Joined: 19 Apr 2010
Posts: 278
Location: Warrington

PostPosted: Thu Feb 02, 2012 8:48 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

And the UMM anyone?

Julian.
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RUSTON



Joined: 07 Mar 2011
Posts: 144
Location: Matlock.

PostPosted: Thu Feb 02, 2012 9:12 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

A now deceased friend of mine owned several Ladas (RIVA?) and was actually a member of the Lada Owners Caravan Club for several years. He really rated them and owned one up until the kids laft home and he bought a VW camper, which is when I first met him.

Pete.
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Churchill Johnson



Joined: 11 Jan 2011
Posts: 359
Location: Rayleigh Essex

PostPosted: Thu Feb 02, 2012 9:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

ref the Lada some years ago a scrapyard not far from here always had at times seamen from timber carrying ships which docked only a few miles away seeking out any Lada parts to take back to Russia,and the Dacia Duster a friend had one powder blue looked nice but my brother worked for a Dacia dealer and the tales he told me put me off them things like wheel rims buckling,bits falling off and this friend of mine had a pushrod bend so i told him via my brother to remove it and straighten it in a vice and refit this he did and never had any more problems and when he sold it he made a small profit god knows how,most of the problems they had were due to the poor quality of the metal used bit like the Chinese copy of the Honda 125 looks almost the same but quality bad and they wont last as long.
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Ray the rocker



Joined: 01 Aug 2008
Posts: 187
Location: south wales

PostPosted: Thu Feb 02, 2012 10:13 pm    Post subject: post subject Reply with quote

If you were running a tight budget--moskvitch and lada cars were the cheapest in their class but finesse and build quality was poor.Many mods had to be introduced to make them improved for british roads.Metal brake pipes were of poor manufacture and steering box wander when driving was frightening.warranty claims were prolific with spares few and far between.I remember difficulty in obtaining diff carrier bearings--so had to modify the carrier to mount mgb timken bearings.kept my fingers crossed for a time but they did the job for a few years--whew!! cheers--ray the rocker....
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emmerson



Joined: 30 Sep 2008
Posts: 1268
Location: South East Wales

PostPosted: Tue Feb 07, 2012 9:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I ran a Lada Niva 4x4 for two years, when we first moved out into "the sticks" Although basic and rough and ready, it was a great little car for off-road work. At the time I had an Austin Gipsy as a toy, and took it to an off-road day for a bit of fun. At lunchtime, the organiser was aked if two young lads with a new Niva could join in. They were refused, as we had covered more than half the course by then, but they were given permission to "play" on the used section of the course. Before the rest of us (in mainly Land Rover) had covered much ground, the Lada had caught up! I persuaded them to let me have a go in it, and on the strength of that short off-road drive, I ordered one.
Mechanically, it resembled a poor man's Range Rover, in that it had coil sprung beam axles and high and low transfer box. What it lacked was power and finesse.I very soon changed the Russian tyres for Michelins, slightly wider than the originals, and that almost transformed the little car, though it was still a bit rough. I also remember it being heavy on petrol too.I sold it when we bought our first Royale caravan, as the little 1600 motor just couldn't cope with the weight.
Soon after selling the Lada, I bought two Dacia pick-ups, and ran one for a couple of years, using the other as spares. Again, rough and basic, but a great work-horse, would carry a ton, but with only 1300 power, it struggled to pull it!
With a full load of firewood aboard one day, I let the clutch out a bit sharp, and the prop-shaft unravelled like the lid of a sardine can!
I seem to remember that the two trucks cost me £250, or was it £250 each? The Lada was around £3500 i think.
I also had a Gimp, but that's another story!
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Rick
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Joined: 27 Apr 2005
Posts: 22429
Location: UK

PostPosted: Wed Feb 08, 2012 7:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I've probably mentioned this before. A mate had a Riva saloon, and decided to buy the remains of an '80s Lotus. He hired the heaviest four-wheeled trailer I've seen, and we proceeded down to South Wales to collect the remains of the Lotus.

It was getting dark by the time we set off on our return trip. The fully-loaded trailer was far heavier than the Lada tow-car I'm sure. 38 mph was the maximum speed we could hit before the ensemble would begin to weave alarmingly, one particular occasion etched in my memory is crossing the Severn Bridge when it began to weave. The traffic in our mirrors dropped back sooooo quickly Smile

We staggered northwards, stopping at each m'way services to recover from the ordeal. It was night time and few of the services were open, but we were just happy to sit on a bench outside and gather up our remaining nerves.

The Lada got us back home ok though.

RJ
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Richard H



Joined: 03 Apr 2009
Posts: 2148
Location: Lincolnshire, UK

PostPosted: Wed Feb 08, 2012 8:10 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Bengt Axel wrote:
If you have around !0k to spare, you can still buy a new Lada in the UK.....

http://markkey.co.uk/


One of the regional distributors is based on the Robert Leonard estate in Southend and I'm always seeing the white, "11" plate signwritten Niva demonstrator as they pop out to the shops in it! Very strange seeing one on the new registration system. I don't know if they've sold any mind.
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MVPeters



Joined: 28 Aug 2008
Posts: 822
Location: Northern MA, USA

PostPosted: Wed Feb 08, 2012 10:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Was the YUGO, a relative of the Lada, available in the UK?
There's one I see running (well, limping) around here from time-to-time.
There are endless Yugo jokes - heated rear window to keep ypur hands warm when pushing - etc etc....
Rumor has it that one of the largest Yugo dealerships was in northern Maine where the majority of his customers were the local native-American Indians on the nearby reservations.
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Churchill Johnson



Joined: 11 Jan 2011
Posts: 359
Location: Rayleigh Essex

PostPosted: Wed Feb 08, 2012 11:32 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

My dad had one of these zastava yugo 45 they were based on the fiat 127 basic but seemed to go ok and apart from having a fuel pump problem solved by my brother fitting an electric one it never let him down.
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clan chieftain



Joined: 05 Apr 2008
Posts: 2041
Location: Motherwell

PostPosted: Thu Feb 09, 2012 12:11 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Steve Davis won a Lada years ago at the snooker. Anyone remember the rear engined Fiat 133. The wifes uncle had one years ago but he didnt sell it and buy a marina Laughing
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bob2



Joined: 06 Dec 2007
Posts: 1727
Location: Malta

PostPosted: Thu Feb 09, 2012 10:27 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

had to google fiat 133, its a fiat 126!!!
everyday is a school day as they say!! Very Happy
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Jim.Walker



Joined: 27 Dec 2008
Posts: 1229
Location: Chesterfield

PostPosted: Thu Feb 09, 2012 6:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Churchill Johnson wrote:
My dad had one of these zastava yugo 45 they were based on the fiat 127 basic but seemed to go ok and apart from having a fuel pump problem solved by my brother fitting an electric one it never let him down.


My wife had a Yugo 45 for years. Bought for the price of a postage stamp at the local car auction.
My wife absolutely loved it.
Only two years old, it went like a rocket and towed a 12 ft caravan as if it did not exist. The few bits I did have to replace were Fiat 124 parts.
Probably the best 4wheeled purchase I ever made!
It was certainly a better car than my brother-in-law's Fiat 127!
Jim.
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Julian



Joined: 19 Apr 2010
Posts: 278
Location: Warrington

PostPosted: Thu Feb 09, 2012 6:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

bob2 wrote:
had to google fiat 133, its a fiat 126!!!
everyday is a school day as they say!! Very Happy


My memory was that it was a bigger car than the 126 - ideed Wikipedia seems top agree with me...

Julian.
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clan chieftain



Joined: 05 Apr 2008
Posts: 2041
Location: Motherwell

PostPosted: Thu Feb 09, 2012 8:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I meant to write Seat 133 not Fiat 133 Embarassed Embarassed
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bob2



Joined: 06 Dec 2007
Posts: 1727
Location: Malta

PostPosted: Mon Feb 13, 2012 9:06 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hey Jim the yugo did not have anything parts wise from the fiat 124, but from the fiat 127!
A friend had a yugo purchased new from his mum and I remember the silencer used to fall off on a regular basis, and we'd have to put it back on the hangers it had, apart from that it was a reliable car!!
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