Lada empty?

[steveisfrowning]

Lada 2107 production ceases after more than 40 years - Telegraph

[howell811]

The boxy saloon became the butt of many jokes due to its poor build quality and reliability.

Taxi drivers would take these around the clock how could anyone say they had poor reliability ?

I had one of these and my dad had three over a 14yr period. Only fault we had was the ball joint linkage on the throttle cable went on one of them.

[zulu ferret]

Ladas,Moskovitches (sp)and the Wartburgs (sp), took you where you wanted to go? :

[steveisfrowning]

I always liked their honesty. I'm sure if you bought one in 1982 and looked after it, you'd still have it running now and you could service it with a hammer and a saw.

[zulu ferret]

Now't like experiencing a Knight with a two stroke motor and a free wheeling gearbox for thrilling on the edge motoring?

[steveisfrowning]

Originally Posted by zulu ferret

Now't like experiencing a Knight with a two stroke motor and a free wheeling gearbox for thrilling on the edge motoring?

I bet.

Some of that eastern euro iron was pretty nice.

[howell811]

Originally Posted by steveisfrowning

I always liked their honesty. I'm sure if you bought one in 1982 and looked after it, you'd still have it running now and you could service it with a hammer and a saw.

We bought one in 1982, my dad was changing his 9yr old Renault 4 for a Lada Riva 1.2L. To an eleven year old lad it was pure luxury.

Kept it 9 years with only one fault. The rust saw to it in the end, but dad (being a glutton for punishment) part-ex'd it for another.

[stuartmunn]

There was some entrepreneur in Scotland who bought up all the used Ladas in the UK. Put them on a ship and sold them back to Russia at a profit ...

[stuartmunn]

I was nearly tempted by the 4x4 Lada Niva ... I they looked a bit like a Fiat Panda on steroids...

[howell811]

Originally Posted by stuartmunn

There was some entrepreneur in Scotland who bought up all the used Ladas in the UK. Put them on a ship and sold them back to Russia at a profit ...

They'd go back on fishing boats and the crews would take them apart as they sailed back as you couldn't import a complete car.

They were sold at a loss in this country in order to get their hands on sterling currency.

[Ralf S.]

It's rather a pity they became deceased..

Autovaz is now owned by Renoort though so it was always on the cards that they'd get shot of the oldest stuff... more scope to sell Clios saloon (yes, it really is as crap looking as it sounds ) instead.

The 2107's last claim to fame was that it was the only other car on the planet that uses a 4x98 OCD wheel offset (like the original Fiat 124 and more or less every Fiat since).


Ralf S.

I owned the only unreliable Lada that ever existed. It was my first car and taught me a lot about cars.

You could 4-wheel drift it at not much more than walking pace too.

Tales of what went on on the boat back to Russia abound. The other version is that during the long voyage they would fix broken cars by combining the best bits of two cars and pushing the remains over the side. My old 1300 could be at the bottom of the sea as we speak.

[howell811]

Originally Posted by keithyboy

You could 4-wheel drift it at not much more than walking pace too.

I wrote mine off when I spun it into a stone wall.

[Dfens]

Originally Posted by howell811

Taxi drivers would take these around the clock how could anyone say they had poor reliability ?
.

And an enterprising Russian driver could get up to 9 people in one. I often went in the boot 'cos I'm small.

(you paid by the passenger, not by the distance; so the more people you had on board the more money you made.)

[Ralf S.]

Taxi driver's favourite was the "Type 6"... 1500cc twin cam!

Joy!


Ralf S.

[zulu ferret]

I had a trip around parts of the former East Berlin in a Trabant in years past . Real cool machine that was, with on average a 14 year long waiting list to get one. : No bodily rust problems that I can recall?

Never had it so good have we?