As-new 1980 Lada Niva for sale, in Russia - with just 220kms on the clock

[onetrack]

Well, the Americans talk about "barn finds", so this must rate as the "barn find" of 2023, for Russia! A Russian gent has put his as-new 1980 Lada Niva up for sale, with just 220klms on the clock - the only problem being, he seems to think a new 1980 Lada Niva is now worth more than a current-model Lamborghini!!

 

https://www.drive.com.au/news/brand-new-43-year-old-lada-niva-for-sale-with-a-staggering-price/?utm_source=Drive+Newsletter&utm_campaign=d5a84428bb-Newsletter+25.5.23+DR+Audience&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_dfb72ba7ef-d5a84428bb-110600209

[old man emu]

8 minutes ago, onetrack said:

Well, the Americans talk about "barn finds", so this must rate as the "barn find" of 2023, for Russia! A Russian gent has put his as-new 1980 Lada Niva up for sale, with just 220klms on the clock - the only problem being, he seems to think a new 1980 Lada Niva is now worth more than a current-model Lamborghini!!

 

https://www.drive.com.au/news/brand-new-43-year-old-lada-niva-for-sale-with-a-staggering-price/?utm_source=Drive+Newsletter&utm_campaign=d5a84428bb-Newsletter+25.5.23+DR+Audience&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_dfb72ba7ef-d5a84428bb-110600209

He should approach the Russian military. They need vehicles and stuff is always sold to the military at outrageous prices.

[facthunter]

If it wasn't stored properly It could require quite a lot of work.It wouldn't deteriorate as much as a porsche or alfa or Ferrari as they have exotic alloys to make your worst nightmares come true... Nev

[spacesailor]

I should put my dream ' HummelBird ' up as . The ' Last ' HB registered under the old U F A . And few few hours on motor and less on air-frame .

It has to be similar to a ' First of its kind ' .

with the silly money . I could travel in Qantas style .

spacesailor

[Old Koreelah]

4 hours ago, onetrack said:

Well, the Americans talk about "barn finds", so this must rate as the "barn find" of 2023, for Russia! A Russian gent has put his as-new 1980 Lada Niva up for sale, with just 220klms on the clock - the only problem being, he seems to think a new 1980 Lada Niva is now worth more than a current-model Lamborghini!!

 

https://www.drive.com.au/news/brand-new-43-year-old-lada-niva-for-sale-with-a-staggering-price/?utm_source=Drive+Newsletter&utm_campaign=d5a84428bb-Newsletter+25.5.23+DR+Audience&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_dfb72ba7ef-d5a84428bb-110600209

I loved my Niva. In its day it was years ahead of the competition, went anywhere, parts cheap and easy to get. Good to see they still include a crank handle (it works) and a good tool kit- you’ll need it! The conversion to RH drive caused quite a few of its problems.

[Jerry_Atrick]

I did look at a Lada Niva when I was a youger chap, but decided the Feroza was more capable - especially when it came to street cred with the ladies in as much a compact 4x4 could... And it was a capable offroad machine, too.

 

However, there are worse cars that are asking more money than lambos: https://www.australianmusclecarsales.com.au/cars/1976-marlboro-hdt-torana-slr-5000-sports-sedan-244494

 

 

[kgwilson]

In 1982 I was the Meet Director for the NZ Hang Gliding Champs & one of the sponsors was the local Lada Dealer & I got a new Niva to drive around in. The takeoff point was at the top of the Kaimai range of mountains & there was a pretty steep winding track to get there. The Niva was a very capable 4WD & outperformed most other 4WDs of its day. The problem was the interior was made of cheap plastic and had terrible fittings, seats etc. Within a couple of days both the interior door handles broke off, the rear view mirror fell off and a lot of other things crapped out but it never stopped. The Dealer didn't make any comments when I took it back with bits missing and things not working. That was just normal for a Niva.

[old man emu]

14 hours ago, kgwilson said:

The Niva was a very capable 4WD & outperformed most other 4WDs of its day.

 

What does one actually want in a 4WD? Look at the LandRovers up until the 1970s. They did all that was expected of them, and their trim, whilst Spartan, wasn't too far behind the general automotive standards of the day. Likewise the Lada. It's form followed it's function. Just because its trim was of a low standard, doesn't mean that it failed in meeting its design function. Don't forget that from the late 70s, the Japanese were introducing their 4WDs and they were pretty Spartan also. Their trim might have been better than the Lada's simply because of the experience the Japanese gained from their passenger vehicle production. Handles and mirrors were probably the same as those used on their cars.

 

 

[facthunter]

The early Landrovers were weak in the front diff. Rode like drays and were underpowered  Only a lawyer could afford the early Toyota Land cruiser which had excellent  air conditioning. and a heavy version of a GM six and a big thirst for petrol.  Nev

[onetrack]

The early Landrovers weakness was in their axles, they broke axles so regularly, it was advisable to carry a spare. The change to the Salisbury type diff in the Series 3 fixed the problem.

The early Landrovers were rough and ready, lacked "creature comforts", rode like a dray, rolled over too easily - and they were SLOW! Were they slow!! 90kms/hr felt like you were nearly ready for takeoff!

 

And they had the Pommy design abortions, such as the core plug in the rear of the block, right up against the firewall! You either had to pull the engine out to replace it when it rotted out - or you cut a hole in the firewall! Guess what a lot of people did!

Then there was the abortion of a steel box chassis design, made out of small sheet sections all welded together. Saved a fortune for Rover in not having to install huge presses to press American-style channel sections for the chassis!

But they had an inadequate number of drain holes and if they were bogged in mud, the chassis filled up with mud and you couldn't get the residual mud out and it rotted the chassis out!

 

But when it came to offroad work, and pure low-down grunt, they were excellent! I can recall going to a beach buggy derby at Lancelin in the late 1960's - all these blokes rolled up with their homebuilt VW dune buggys - even rear-mount Ford V8 powered monsters that flew! But the winner of the race around those dreadful dunes was nothing less than a SWB Landrover fitted with wide sand tyres!! The homebuilts got bogged, broke down, spun excessively, and the VW's lacked power.

[Jerry_Atrick]

My first 4x4 was a LWB Nissan MQ Patrol with I think it was a 2.8l straight 6 (sames as the 260Z as I recall). Absolutely crap as a 4x4 and as a city car, too. Underpowered, too tall gearing (and the gearbox whined from virtually new); and suspension was harder and had less travel than a concrete slab. But it did look good. In the end, I forked out $1,200 to put a set of OME shocks and suspension in and it made a world of difference on and off road. It was still horribly underpowered, so while it had some value left in it, I sold it and licked my financial wounds. I decided a normal car for town and settled on a Toyota FJ55 Cruiser for off road. It was older and, I guess luxurious for its time, but defiitely dated. Completely differnt beast; totally stock was capabale and virtually bullet proof. Quite a few times touring the snowfields in summer, I came across other types wehere they had blown their hubs out, or cracked diffs or busted axles, but that ol' thjing just ate up the rocks and ruts.

 

Mind you, with teh 4.2 petrol and a 4 speed box, it was a heavy drinker, so eventually, it had to go. After a while, I boutht a Daihatusu F300 Feroza, ELII. It was leaf sprung, and 4x4 rated it worse than the then Vitara. After test driving both, I realised that magazines write stories their advertisers want them to. The Feroza has better clearance (only about 10mm shallower than the Cruiser or Patrol of the time), better approach and departure angles, better engine, and a gearbox that was as slick as they come. And it was a very capable 4x4 across a good range of terrain from dunes to ricky trails. We took it into a dealer with a broken antenna (I left it extended while 4-wheel driving, and it got caught on a branch while I was reversing). The serviceman muttered something about kids these days, and the look of shock on his face when I said I did it in the Otways four wheel driving was priceless. They were light, decent track, decent suspension and well powered and geared for their size.  I never owned one, but the Suzuki Sierras were apparently legedary in the outback for similar reasons - plus they are simpler to maintain.

 

My next machine was a  Landcruiser FJ60 - again the 4.2l petrol version. Not long after I sold it when I moved over here. It was more comfy than the FJ55, but nowhere near as good.

[kgwilson]

Putting aside reliability and build issues the Landrovers I drove when I was in the Army in NZ back in 69-70 went everywhere without problems and impressed me greatly at the time.

 

The Defender which was the last of the utility Landrovers has been discontinued but the baton has been picked up by a UK Billionaire and the Ineos Grenadier has been born. It looks like a Defender but inside and underneath it is all new and a pretty good utility 4WD though doesn't come cheap at 100k for the cheapest option. Soon to hit the Australian market.

[onetrack]

And it's fitted with an all-BMW drivetrain!! - which is going to really make the Landrover Defender diehards choke on their Weeties - especially when they find out the complicated and exorbitant servicing and repair costs associated with anything BMW!!

I've seen 7-series Beemers with 150,000kms on the clock going particularly cheap, as the 160,000km major service is an absolute killer for cost! Figures such as $15,000 have been bandied around for this service for this vehicle. A rich former client owns one and even he moans about the cost of running and maintaining it.

 

https://jalopnik.com/bmw-engines-are-gigantic-pieces-of-shit-1784684330

[Jerry_Atrick]

Wow.. Wish there was a "shocked" emoticon.

[Jerry_Atrick]

Actually, my partner has a Mini Countryman.. She loves minis for some reason. But, buggah me! They are now as expesnive to maintain as a beemer.. Not sure they share too much in common except company ownership and unreliability. But, I have to admit, they are fun to trhow arouind the country lanes and endless ruondabouts around here.

Edited May 27, 2023 by Jerry_Atrick

[kgwilson]

I'd like to get my hands on an original Mini Station Wagon. When I worked in London in 74-75 as a Sparkies mate it was just the best thing for getting around the city & there was plenty of room for all our gear, switch boards & reels of cable etc in the back & ladders on top. I think it was just a van as the Countryman was a bit more up market as I recall.

[Jerry_Atrick]

Original mini, yes.. The countryman is a 2017 model.

 

 

[onetrack]

The best little chariot I have ever owned (and still own, although its parked up at present) is a 1981 Ford Laser Ghia 5 dr hatchback. This vehicle of course is actually a Mazda, and the Mazda 323 of the era was essentially the same car.

Only 1.5 litres, and with a 5 speed tranny, it was zippy as anything, ran for a month on $20 worth of petrol, and it could carry more in volume than a Holden ute, with the back seats folded down.

 

However, the engines were bad for rotting out an aluminium plug in the top of the centre of the head (this was some kind of manufacturing plug, it wasn't a core plug). and when it blew, it dumped your entire cooling system contents into the sump!

This happened to this car, and even though I replaced the plug and cleaned the oil system and lube system right out, I haven't been able to get it to run properly again, as in the length of time I took to do the repairs, the fuel system clagged up with deposits, and it won't run now. So I have to set to, and strip the carburettors and clean out the fuel system, probably right through from the fuel tank.

[facthunter]

They are also pretty good at starting to burn oil at around 150,000 kms but not  a bad car  generally.   Nev

[Jerry_Atrick]

Well, wa driving the mini yesterday to the local shop and the suspension has developed as nasty clunk - occurs totally randomly and as if a jolint or something is shifting back into place. So, I limped it to the local garage that was still open, and it can't be seen to until Thursday. Tomorrow is a pbank (public holiday, and I am taking Thursday and Friday off, so no London for me this week (I usually take the mini now as it is ultra low emission zone compliant).

 

I think it is not helped by our driveay; wven for the mini it is a tight turn and at the same time transitions to a steep climb form almost flat. Puts a lot of stress on the suspension.

 

 

Edited May 28, 2023 by Jerry_Atrick

[facthunter]

Puts a lot of stress on the CV Joints loading them on full turn..  Nev

[willedoo]

I thought I had a CV joint going. After closing the gate and turning right onto the bitumen road, I would get a clackety-clack sound for a few metres before it would stop making noise. Then I though it might possibly be one of the manual free wheel hubs not disengaging properly, and sure enough that's what it was; certainly not as expensive as a crook CV joint. Now after disengaging the hubs, I reverse a few feet and when I go forward, the problem is gone.