Any one here owned a Lada Niva?
- Thread starter s_zigmond
- Start date
Uncle Monty":ezoqmuxx said: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.
Laughed myself silly - much the same vinyl + faux fur experience in my childhood except in a Volvo 145. The only difference was that hot Volvo vinyl also smelt of puke.
1duck
Senior Retro Guru
When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
seadragonpisces
Old School Hero
I owned a Niva Hussar and it was pretty cool. Very basic and agricultural. You can turn the wheel back and forth thru 180 degrees and still only do that to keep straight on the road
Not cheap on petrol but if you can afford it then why not, everyone should own one at some point, a good laugh and you dont have to polish and wash it all the time, is something you can abuse
Not cheap on petrol but if you can afford it then why not, everyone should own one at some point, a good laugh and you dont have to polish and wash it all the time, is something you can abuse
