Lada Niva's-- Don't laugh

Hahahahaha

not me but I am sure "goingplatinum" would all there is about them!! LOL

Cheers Stefan

Nobody will be man enough to admit owning one. :-)

So may he laugh

History en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lada_Niva

I know a fair bit about them, although I have never owned one.
I would be happy to tell you all I know if you want to email me at .....
patrol6atnetspacedotnetdotau

There will be plenty of comments from 'experts' here that have never even sat in one!

If it's still running around it's probably ok, buy it.

DD,
You're brave enuff to call yerself "disco driver" so I'll be silly enuff to admit to having owned one of these beasts. 'Twas on the South Island of another country and we did over 80,000kms in 3 years (1987-90) but had to increase vehicle size eventually as the family outgrew the midget.

Brilliant little off-roader which opened many eyes on club outings, but it certainly kept the mechanical hands working at times. Just little things like keeping the timing-chain and tappets adjusted.

Price was the biggest bonus.

You could buy worse,

I know it's not Friday but why do Lada Niva's have rear window demisters ?........................So you don't get cold hand when you're pushing :-)
Sorry Craig..............

If interested I have quite a collection of information on the LADA including long term test reports by Overlander etc. No record of the Lada actually winning dakar although I believe that it was successful in many events in Australia and elsewhere throughout the world. Provide me with an address (snail or e-mail) and I'll load you up with some specs and other interesting matter on 'Ivan' (nickname for Ladas).

Hi yah disco,
Ive got one, and only use it if Im playing in terrain too tough for the Patrol or the Defender.
Im deadly serious.
IMHO, probably the most under rated 4WD ever produced.
Although lacking in most creature comforts the Niva with its constant 4WD, coils all round, on the fly c/lock makes for a very tough go anywhere vehicle.[if your not in a hurry to get there, hehehe].
The only weak point the Niva has is the front diff mount bolt which can break under extreme conditions ie rock crawling, high jumps etc, but still gets you home.

Oh! one thing though, ditch those russian tyres, they whine more than a barrell full of poms....hehehe...205 x 16s are the go.

It looks like a brick, drives like a brick and is solid as a brick.

Cheers mate,

Lionel

We had one for about five years, it was a great little 4WD. One of the best handling 4WDs I've owned, constant 4WD work great and I did Five Rocks (North of Yeppoon) quite a few time and the first time I got all the way up there and on the way back got stuck on probably the biggest dune, back off checked the tyre pressures s..t 45psi dropped to 35psi and away we went. There was not to many other 4bys that could get near that little truck.
Build quality was a bit of a problem, well if you were getting paid two bottles of Vodka a day (probably drank it a work to) you would not be to enthused either.
Some one said about the timing chain, that was the end of my ownership when it let go and put every valve through every piston, what a mess. But I sold it to a mate who put another motor in it and after a couple of years still registered retired it to his farm and used it for pulling lantana. So if I had the money for a toy I would get another and put the Fiat 1600 twin cam motor in it.
Cheers Bruce

Very few people know this, but I guess it's time to come clean.

I did own a Lada Niva.

Now to be fair to it, it was second hand and hadn't been lovingly maintained. Even taking that into account it was the worst vehicle I have ever owned, and I've had plenty.

why not , when I went down to the opal fields in Mintabie from the Alice I had a little Mini minor , when I got bogged in the sand I just pulled it out , you would be one up on me , at least you have 4x4 [img] Site Link

Hi Disco Driver,

I am another one who will fess up to owning a Niva. As mentioned above, they are a very under-rated 4WD capable of mixing it with the "real" 4WD's. Many a time I recovered landcruisers and the like.

Mine had a 60L aux tank as well as the 40L main, rasied suspension and marginally bigger tyres and went very well. It has a wide track for its height and is very stable compared to say a Suzuki. Would you believe that a set of Rola racks I had needed to be cut DOWN to fit an 80 series cruiser - they are that wide!

But the archilles heel with the Niva is its reliability. In the 12 months I had it the gearbox "donut" (the rubber connection between the motor and transfer case) went, along with 5th gear. Cost over $1,000 to get it back on the road. Also, it used to run hot in the sand, but a quick fix to that was to open the bonnet to the first click (its a rear opening bonnet) and it allowed the heat out much better.

As a "fishing truck locally, sandhills and beach driving mainly" vehicle, it could prove to be a real cheap way to go. It will certainly get you there, probably better than many of todays 4WD's. However, spend a few extra $$$ getting a well maintained one as this is where it can get expensive. Especially check the gearbox and engine, the timing belt is another thing that must be changed on schedule.

Cheers

Captain

G'day Disco

I've had a Lada ,Rangie ,Landie 2a and a couple of TD5's now with a Triton GLX-R 05..

About the Lada . the gear box is bolted to the floor pan ,check for cracking. It will be cracked and repaired. The driveshaft will have a harmonic humm over 80 km/hr in 5th . This needs to be foam filled and rebalanced . The standard shocks won't carry much weight in the back and if you have larger tyres will rub on the wheel arch ..XC falcon ( I think) front coils will replace the back ones on the lada and lift everything .Mine also always over heated on a beach run .Tyres at the right pressure and all.Also No Garage will want to know you so I hope you are a good mechanic. On the plus ,My mate in his tojo could not progress up a beach any further. We let my tyres down to 5 psi and did an extra couple of bays down near Margs WA
Buy a little suzuki heaps of parts and lots of spares.A few extra dollars but at least you wont be getting hammered for asking questions about Ladas on any forums every other week.

Good luck.

I had one for a few years .It turned out to be a very cost effective 4wd.I only had to replace an alternator and had some repairs to the starter.
I also had the T/case rebuilt but I knew that when I bought it.
A rep from Wynns warranty insurance said the early Discos had more blown gearboxs claims than the Lada had LOL
I was lucky enough to meet a Serbian mechanic who was no longer in the game and he showed me a few tricks to quieten them down.
I had some fun with it although I found that the beach was hard going for them. The little 1.7 engine in 1300kg vehicle just couldnt get up enough speed in the really soft sand .
It got about 27 mpg and could do 137kph flat out.
Very friendly to home maintenance .
I sold it for about 90% of my purchase price to someone who was glad to buy it.

Before you criticize a Lada ,they cost about about $10K for the basic model when its nearest competition,the Sierra was about $18k and the Lada was faster and more stable on the road.

They were designed in the late 70s for internal use in the USSR and could be fully rebuilt on the communes wherever there was a combine harvester work shop.
In the early 80s they had a well equipped interior compared to what was on offer at the time.
The whole vehicle is a based on a Fiat 124 wagon.
I towed and pulled many other vehicles but was never towed home or pulled out myself.

I believe it won the Dakar in its class 3 times but not an overall winner

I got bored reading the silly responses above.

Tony in Cairns from aus.cars.offroad who knew a thing or two about vehicles and 4WDing had one and swore by it providing you replaced all the electrics with something more reliable.

A friend of mine owns one (paid $500 for it and did it up) and I've followed it around a few trails in the Vic High Country which I suspect some of you have been winched out of?

Cheap, simple, basic but does more than OK off road - don't be too superior people.

Mike Harding

I know nothing about the cars, but I know 4WD monthly did a review on them in the past, must be at least a couple of years ago as it's been nearly that long since I bought a copy. Worth a read if you put stock in such things and can find the back issue, they have a hotline for that I believe.

As I recall the general gist was they're capable and tough.

Hi All,
Thanks to all who replied.

I went to make an offer this morning and, guess what>
The Niva sold yesterday at asking price ($1000.00).

Guess I'll have to look for something else around that price. (SWB Landrover Series2 or 2A might fit the bill, if the price is right).

Once again thanks to all who responded, even those who laughed at the idea.

Disco

Nothing has changed. The drivers of the big machines have always had a misunderstanding of the reliabilities and capabilities of the smaller machines. Maybee it is the snob value of owning a large machine. Same thing happens in the motorhome world, the Swagman owners look down on the smaller ones.

The problem with the Ladas was the sedan that came out slightly before the 4x4. These came out of a different factory and their reliability was extremely low. They all disappeared so long ago I forgot what their model name was. Those who had little contact with the Niva unfairly branded it with the same poor reliability and this sticks today.

PeterD

Hi Disco,
I had a few of them in Germany. Amazingly capable little beasts. They have a lot of quirks though. Built quality is very average (but you should be used to it driving a disco, hey), the quality of the material used to built them is cheap and nasty. The electrics put tears into your eyes (but then again you drive a disco, so whats different....). They rust so fast you can actually see it progressing. Fuel consumption and tyre wear is a bit on the high side due to the constant 4wheel drive and the ancient fiat engine. Mine hovered around 14 to 16 liters per 100 k's with tyres only lasting around 25000. And i am not a lead foot i might add. The seats are terrible and the resale value is zilch.
On the other hand, the little beasts go anywhere. The heaters are the best i have every seen in a car. The ride is not too bad. If you are prepared to look after them a bit and can score a secondhand one in a good condition they make a great second car.
Excuse the fun i made of your disco mate, couldn't help myself, lol...
Cheers, Udo (cruiserman1961)