Any one here owned a Lada Niva?
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velomaniac
MacRetro Rider
Cool 
Though possibly not
Though possibly not
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I'd be happy with the new Panda 4x4 or a Subaru Justy
velomaniac
MacRetro Rider
If I had a full driving licence it'd be a 2CV, not 4WD but very good off road nonetheless and quirky as anything. New panda might be good but the old ones a classic, at least in my small deluded world.
Subaru make a 4WD smaller than the Justy for the Jap home market, 600cc thingy :shock:
Subaru make a 4WD smaller than the Justy for the Jap home market, 600cc thingy :shock:
Iwasgoodonce
Old School Grand Master
velomaniac":1jb92oeg said:
There was a 4 wheel drive 2CV. It had two engines each driving a pair of wheels. A lot of the problems with this weather is the fashion for low profile wide tyres on all cars. I have a new diesel estate car with stupid wide tyres on it. You might as well strap a ski to each corner.
Uncle Monty
Retrobike Rider
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Somewhere I have a copy of a very short lived magazine called Fast Classics. They did a review of the Dnepr outfit and it is without any question the funniest article on a motorcycle I have ever read.
My parents owned a 1300 Riva in red with dog poo brown vinyl upholstery. As a child I was driven all the way to northern Spain in it for a holiday. I recall the journey took a long time. To prevent skin loss on the superheated vinyl my father invested in a set of luxury car seat covers in beige faux fur. They were responsible for extreme static shocks on disembarking the vehicle and the fibres would cling to skin or clothing giving you the appearance of having spent an afternoon crawling around in a loft full of rock wool. The Lada made it slowly there and back without fault. Possibly based on this, my parents were crazy enough to repeat the journey a few years later. Thankfully I had moved on from holidays with mum and dad by then. The case hardening on the cam shaft finally broke through to the soft underlying steel as they passed the Spanish border. Every morning my father would remove the rocker cover and adjust the tappets to enable them to drive down to the beach and back. There was unfortunately the issue of the return journey to England. Asking around in pidgin Spanish and sign language, my father managed to communicate the problem to a local garage owner who led him down though the workshop and out to a yard full of small boats. There crumpled in the corner was a Lada Riva which had taken a gentle tumble down a mountain side. For a very reasonable sum, the gentleman extracted the cam and followers from the shattered remains and transplanted them into my fathers car which not only returned them to England but ran for many years after that. I drove it once and I seem to remember it being quite horrible. I was recently reminded of its handling traits after jumping into an E21 BMW 316. Both the Lada and my Father are now long gone. Happy memories but I still can't look at any fake fur item without remembering those seat covers and being overcome with an incredible itching sensation. Incidentally, it was on that slow drive down to Spain that I was given a Bicycle magazine to keep me quiet. Inside was an article on the Hetchins frames and and interview with I think John Peel with his Muddy Fox, the first mountain bike I ever saw. It was this magazine that started me on my obsession with MTB s and cycling in general.
My parents owned a 1300 Riva in red with dog poo brown vinyl upholstery. As a child I was driven all the way to northern Spain in it for a holiday. I recall the journey took a long time. To prevent skin loss on the superheated vinyl my father invested in a set of luxury car seat covers in beige faux fur. They were responsible for extreme static shocks on disembarking the vehicle and the fibres would cling to skin or clothing giving you the appearance of having spent an afternoon crawling around in a loft full of rock wool. The Lada made it slowly there and back without fault. Possibly based on this, my parents were crazy enough to repeat the journey a few years later. Thankfully I had moved on from holidays with mum and dad by then. The case hardening on the cam shaft finally broke through to the soft underlying steel as they passed the Spanish border. Every morning my father would remove the rocker cover and adjust the tappets to enable them to drive down to the beach and back. There was unfortunately the issue of the return journey to England. Asking around in pidgin Spanish and sign language, my father managed to communicate the problem to a local garage owner who led him down though the workshop and out to a yard full of small boats. There crumpled in the corner was a Lada Riva which had taken a gentle tumble down a mountain side. For a very reasonable sum, the gentleman extracted the cam and followers from the shattered remains and transplanted them into my fathers car which not only returned them to England but ran for many years after that. I drove it once and I seem to remember it being quite horrible. I was recently reminded of its handling traits after jumping into an E21 BMW 316. Both the Lada and my Father are now long gone. Happy memories but I still can't look at any fake fur item without remembering those seat covers and being overcome with an incredible itching sensation. Incidentally, it was on that slow drive down to Spain that I was given a Bicycle magazine to keep me quiet. Inside was an article on the Hetchins frames and and interview with I think John Peel with his Muddy Fox, the first mountain bike I ever saw. It was this magazine that started me on my obsession with MTB s and cycling in general.
1duck
Senior Retro Guru
try finding a panda 4x4 i read in practical classic that there are only a couple dozen left in britain, i think the estate 4x4 version there is literally one left on the road in britain.
Lada niva is a car i've always wanted too but the price seems to have gone up recently so i can't really justify buying one...let us know how it is, i think top gear rated it highly saying it was the only eastern block car that can really still hold its own.
Lada niva is a car i've always wanted too but the price seems to have gone up recently so i can't really justify buying one...let us know how it is, i think top gear rated it highly saying it was the only eastern block car that can really still hold its own.
