Discussion
PS, when I looked at them, I was told they aren't reliable, BUT you can get parts incredibly easy, and they can accept any number of different car parts to get by.
If you get something more reliable then you may struggle to get parts.
It's one of those pick 2 of 3 things.
Cheap
Reliable
Lots of spares
If you get something more reliable then you may struggle to get parts.
It's one of those pick 2 of 3 things.
Cheap
Reliable
Lots of spares
legless said:
I've a vague recollection that these are quite heavily based on the Fiat 127 of all things.
I don't think other than some styling cues they are. VAZ first 'all VAZ' design although a lot of mechanicals were still 124. I thought these were brilliant and had a grudging respect for the Lada, and FSO/Pollski Fiat saloons, although the Lada from memory was 124 based and the FSO was based on the slightly bigger, more refined! 125. biggbn said:
legless said:
I've a vague recollection that these are quite heavily based on the Fiat 127 of all things.
I don't think other than some styling cues they are. VAZ first 'all VAZ' design although a lot of mechanicals were still 124. I thought these were brilliant and had a grudging respect for the Lada, and FSO/Pollski Fiat saloons, although the Lada from memory was 124 based and the FSO was based on the slightly bigger, more refined! 125. The 125 was a relatively short-lived car, launched in 1967 replaced by the 132 in 1972. The tooling and licencing was sold to the Polish, who build the Polski-Fiat 125p, which later became the FSO 125 (usually found with a 1300cc OHV engine instead of the 125's 1600 twincam). There were other licenced builders / assemblers of the 125, and some funky variants (like the pick-up). I worked in a Fiat dealership in the mid 1980's, and we used to srvice a FSO 125 pick up with a Truckman unit on the rear. It was referred to as the UFO (instead of FSO).
The 131 tooling was sent to Turkey & Egypt, where that continued to be made until 2010.
The Lada Niva was a hybrid of sorts. Conceived and built in Russia from the Lada parts bin with heavy styling influence from the Fiat 127.
BFleming said:
biggbn said:
legless said:
I've a vague recollection that these are quite heavily based on the Fiat 127 of all things.
I don't think other than some styling cues they are. VAZ first 'all VAZ' design although a lot of mechanicals were still 124. I thought these were brilliant and had a grudging respect for the Lada, and FSO/Pollski Fiat saloons, although the Lada from memory was 124 based and the FSO was based on the slightly bigger, more refined! 125. The 125 was a relatively short-lived car, launched in 1967 replaced by the 132 in 1972. The tooling and licencing was sold to the Polish, who build the Polski-Fiat 125p, which later became the FSO 125 (usually found with a 1300cc OHV engine instead of the 125's 1600 twincam). There were other licenced builders / assemblers of the 125, and some funky variants (like the pick-up). I worked in a Fiat dealership in the mid 1980's, and we used to srvice a FSO 125 pick up with a Truckman unit on the rear. It was referred to as the UFO (instead of FSO).
The 131 tooling was sent to Turkey & Egypt, where that continued to be made until 2010.
The Lada Niva was a hybrid of sorts. Conceived and built in Russia from the Lada parts bin with heavy styling influence from the Fiat 127.
soad said:
My aunt (a doctor) had one, in the late 80s/very early 90s. Was purely a commuting tool in all weathers, on mostly gravel countryside roads.
Was basic, but did the job. Can’t say what the maintenance was like (my uncle is no longer around).
I had one from 2001 to 2003. Maintenance was simple, DIY. Never had a single problem with it in 18k miles.Was basic, but did the job. Can’t say what the maintenance was like (my uncle is no longer around).
LimmerickLad said:
Would this explain why the Niva I bought for spares at an auction mid 80's (I actually drove it about for a while) had a Fiat twincam engine fitted?
They dropped right in. A neighbour did the exact same thing to his Niva, dropping a Supermirafiori 1600TC unit in there when the Lada unit went bang.BFleming said:
LimmerickLad said:
Would this explain why the Niva I bought for spares at an auction mid 80's (I actually drove it about for a while) had a Fiat twincam engine fitted?
They dropped right in. A neighbour did the exact same thing to his Niva, dropping a Supermirafiori 1600TC unit in there when the Lada unit went bang.It did shift a bit compared the other one I had with the original engine and excellent off road but didn't handle roads any better and both were noisy, uncomfortable boneshakers on long drives.
V10 SPM said:
MustangGT said:
Milli94 said:
We have one in Bulgaria, it’s an excellent off-road vehicle and superb over rough roads etc. It’s obviously rough and ready but good fun.
Exactly, they are superb at doing 'what is says on the tin'.Gassing Station | Off Road | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff