91Pioneer Posted January 11, 2016 Share Posted January 11, 2016 ooops. This is the time when the Lada shines, when we experience crazy Russian like cold weather LOL! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gogmorgo Posted February 21, 2016 Author Share Posted February 21, 2016 Bunch of parts arrived today. Accidentally sent them to my parents address (thanks Paypal) and they were a little concerned when this strange box from Ukraine showed up. But at least they didn't go to one of my other old addresses, all of which are way more than 70 miles away. Hopefully I have time in the next little while to get it out from under it's naturally developed winter coat and get it going again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gogmorgo Posted March 5, 2016 Author Share Posted March 5, 2016 Well, I pulled the throttle body off to change out the gaskets only to discover that I got a gasket set for a carby model and not my tbi. Not certain yet if it was my mistake of the seller's. All the other gaskets will work, just not the ones for the throttle body, The gaskets didn't look too bad, so I just wiped them down with a shop towel and carb cleaner and bolted it all back together. Only part I ended up changing was the air filter, but this still happened from my no-start way back when. Fired up like it was just parked the night before, didn't even need a boost after sitting that long after I wore the battery down. As you can tell it hasn't moved off that spot for quite a while... almost three months. I swept the better part of fifteen inches of snow off it. It's glaringly obvious through that I'll need to address the brakes soon. Double pumpers now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benjy_26 Posted March 25, 2016 Share Posted March 25, 2016 Love that thing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gogmorgo Posted March 25, 2016 Author Share Posted March 25, 2016 It may be coming down your way, kinda, in august. A buddy and I just committed (to each other) to take it and his '74 Mazda truck down to the 24hrs of LeMons Rallye. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benjy_26 Posted March 26, 2016 Share Posted March 26, 2016 Bad @$$! Is his pickup rotary powered? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gogmorgo Posted March 26, 2016 Author Share Posted March 26, 2016 Don't think so. I've only seen pictures of it so far, and it doesn't have the tailgate badging. But i haven't seen under the hood or even discussed his plans for it yet either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benjy_26 Posted March 27, 2016 Share Posted March 27, 2016 Ah. Seems like a cool event, nonetheless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gogmorgo Posted April 4, 2016 Author Share Posted April 4, 2016 Took it out the other day to get some pics to send along to the LeMons guys. She's pumping oil out of the trans pretty good, so I'm going to have to order a bunch more parts again, if at least just a trans seal kit. Hopefully everything I missed the first time around... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gogmorgo Posted July 27, 2016 Author Share Posted July 27, 2016 Well, but if an update... It's been sitting in the same spot for over a month. Drove it home from work one day and lost brakes on all but one wheel. One of the callipers was leaking and the master cylinder took a big gulp of air So I parked it. Back in April, I ordered a new transmission for it from a Ukrainian company I've dealt with a bit Ladapower.com, great guys, good service, decent prices. After shipping, exchange, and everything, it worked out to just over $1000, so more than I paid for the Niva in the first place. As appropriate as it would've been to run the rally on 3/5 gears, things were getting pretty noisy with the remaining gears (synchros and bearings), and for whatever reason a new trans wasn't really all that much more than all the components I knew I needed (and all the ones I wouldn't have known I needed) so I went for it. It showed up regular mail in a gear-oil soaked cardboard box wrapped in a bunch of bubble wrap, but it seemed to have survived the trip. Also in case anyone wondered, filling a transmission that vents through the bellhousing without a bellhousing installed is in fact an open container of gear oil which will piss off lots of mail carriers on both sides of the ocean. Since the Niva was parked because of the brakes, I figured I'd put in the new trans, and it went in without a hitch. Only complaint when I was pulling the transfer case off is that the manual says to "support with one hand and remove the bolts". Russian mechanics must be made of sterner stuff than me, cause I can't balance and support a 65lb lump of awkwardly shaped greasy metal with only one hand. When it also said to do that with the transmission, I hopped in the MJ and went and got my trans jack. I've got a couple pics somewhere I'll have to upload later, had to replace my phone as well. So I took it for a test drive, and remembered I parked it because the brakes didn't work. Didn't make it through all the gears, but at least the new trans is more functional than the old. As to the brakes, the last guy broke off all the bleed nipples, so I'd ordered new wheel cylinders and callipers all around a while back, just hadn't got around to installing them. So I did that. Of course the hard lines twist off and break, because they're just solid lumps of rust at this point. So I order new lines (again from Ukraine because no one in North America carries Lada's fittings). They showed up on Friday, so I got everything installed over the weekend. Bled them all last night, and am now wondering if I'll even be able to take it for the Lemons rally, because they still don't work... I'm going to try bench bleeding the master cylinder, but if that doesn't solve it there's not enough time left to get parts shipped across the Atlantic before I have to leave. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOrnbrod Posted July 27, 2016 Share Posted July 27, 2016 Bummer Gog. Sounds like you need to throw a rebuilt kit in the master cylinder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gogmorgo Posted July 28, 2016 Author Share Posted July 28, 2016 I went out to bleed the master cylinder this morning and found both reservoirs empty. There was a big leak that I missed from the T on the rear axle. I guess the stress of getting the old lines out and putting new ones in was too much for the aluminum, as it had a crack down the middle. When I saw the leak the other night I just assumed the lines weren't tight so I tightened them further, probably made it worse. I also discovered that the copper crush washer I stole from the MJ stash must be too thick for the Lada caliper at the front... there was a leak hiding behind a mess I made when the hose popped off the bleed nipple, and trying to tighten it down resulted only in pulling the threads out of the brand-new aluminum caliper. So I've got a bunch of new parts coming, including a new master cylinder... my favourite parts supplier doesn't have a rebuild kit listed. Probably an oversight on their part, but given how long express shipping takes from Ukraine (usually around two weeks) I didn't want to waste any time trying to save a few bucks. Here's to hoping everything ships out tomorrow. If all else fails, at least I'll be able to take the MJ and have the parts here to get the Niva back on the road when I get back. Assuming the MJ of course doesn't realize how much money I've been spending on the Niva this summer and get jealous and have a hissy fit... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gogmorgo Posted August 9, 2016 Author Share Posted August 9, 2016 Great news! My parts came in today! Unfortunately a mix-up during the online store's website overhaul (and user account database transition) lead to the package getting sent to an old shipping address. Fortunately the address was my parents' house. Unfortunately it meant I had to drive 120 miles through some of the worst weather I've driven through in my admittedly kinda short life... after seeing photos and videos on social media after I got home, it looks like I drove past and/or under about three separate funnel clouds which I didn't notice because I could barely see the lines on the road through the rain while being tossed around by the wind and getting battered by hail I was seriously worried was going to take out my windshield. Today was my Friday before a 16-day "weekend". Hopefully the weather doesn't suck tomorrow, because I'll be outside installing all this. Wednesday will see the last of the stereo go together, and some test and tune, and hopefully Thursday morning will see hitting the road to California. I'll have to document some of this stuff, because like with everything, the Niva seems to have a very unique brake setup. As a hint, the front callipers have three pistons, and two lines going to them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
91Pioneer Posted August 13, 2016 Share Posted August 13, 2016 When I saw this I thought of you. I think you should buy it... http://www.kijiji.ca/v-cars-trucks/regina/rare-lada/1183179943 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gogmorgo Posted August 20, 2016 Author Share Posted August 20, 2016 Yeah I saw that a while back. Guy's asking waaaay too much for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gogmorgo Posted October 15, 2016 Author Share Posted October 15, 2016 Well, bit of an update. Picking up from my last post, the Niva did not make it to California. Didn't even make it out of the driveway. After pointlessly attempting to weld up the hole, and it still not sealing (think the oil sludge melting out of the pan was making the welds too porous) I tossed the new ball joints into the MJ and took that instead. At least I had A/C in Death Valley... So when I got back I ordered a new oil pan. It took forever to get here. Then I sat on it forever because putting it in is a big job... That's currently where I'm at with that. But while the engine's out, I decided it would be a good time to test fit a 4.0, just to see if it'll go in. The answer to that one is laughter at the though of it ever happening. Doesn't stop me from wanting it done though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockfrog Posted October 15, 2016 Share Posted October 15, 2016 Well, a 2.5L is a couple inches shorter .... Sent from my SGH-I337M using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gogmorgo Posted October 17, 2016 Author Share Posted October 17, 2016 When I saw this I thought of you. I think you should buy it... http://www.kijiji.ca/v-cars-trucks/regina/rare-lada/1183179943 Saw this come up today. http://www.kijiji.ca/v-cars-trucks/regina/1992-lada-niva-pickup-truck/1208581407 :dunno: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gogmorgo Posted January 26, 2017 Author Share Posted January 26, 2017 A thing happened! Yes, finally, everything is back together! Well, mostly everything. There's still a couple bits and pieces that need to go back on. So the saga continues with me getting the pan onto the engine, and then struggling to get the engine back in, and then catching the throw-out bearing retaining spring (or whatever it's called, it's riveted to the pressure plate) on the firewall and breaking it, and having to order a new clutch to replace it. The new clutch takes all of two weeks (crazy fast) to show up, but it takes a while to get around to putting it on. But I do that, late November/early December, and go to put the engine back in only to discover the threads on the motor mounts are screwed up. So I order new ones. Watching the tracking info they make it real close, and then start working their way further and further away. Eventually they show up, and the package is in this bag that says "sorry we damaged your mail", and the package itself had been cut open with a note saying the postmaster of the nearby small-town post office (that it shouldn't have ended up at, small mistake during the holiday rush I suppose) cut it open to attempt to locate the addressee... Of course his cut went straight from the return address sticker on the package to my address on the package... And he still missed it. Which instead of tossing it on the mail van the next day and it showing up here meant it took a two-week trip through friggen Montreal. And then when they did show up it was pretty well -40 for the next two weeks, and I don't have a heated workspace. Fortunately though it did warm up (well, it got up to freezing, some of you might not think that's warm) and so I did get to work on it. After two days of struggling to get the input shaft into the pilot bearing, I says screw it, and pulled the transmission back out, and lined the two up outside the engine bay, (took all of 10 seconds) and then tossed it all back together. I drove it about 100 miles today. Up and back along the twisty road over the (pathetic) mountain in the dark and a (mild) snow storm. Seems to be working great. And in a move that inspired me to take a moment of silence for Cummins owners everywhere, I even passed an empty 3/4-ton going up the mountain. Passing in the Niva is a rare occurrence. Passing while going uphill? Can't remember the last time it happened. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gogmorgo Posted January 27, 2017 Author Share Posted January 27, 2017 So the hood and door panels are back on, all fluids are topped up, hitting the road for the Lemons Rally Retreat from Moscow to Paris later today once I've got everything packed up. 10,000km here I come Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desbennett004 Posted January 28, 2017 Share Posted January 28, 2017 Just read through your thread. I'm from Australia, and live in Alberta. My Mum had a 1996 Lada Niva Quattro Plus brand new in Australia in '96. They sold them new there, maybe another source for parts? Sent from my SM-N900W8 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gogmorgo Posted January 28, 2017 Author Share Posted January 28, 2017 Lots of them are ordering through the same place I am. From what I can tell their dealer/parts network has been reduced to about the same as ours, a couple small outlets that cost as much to ship from as Ukraine. They were sold new here too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desbennett004 Posted January 28, 2017 Share Posted January 28, 2017 Didn't realize they sold them new here, they sure are rare. I remember my mum rally driving hers around the fire breaks in our area. Lots of fun. Sent from my SM-N900W8 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wiggilez Posted February 3, 2017 Share Posted February 3, 2017 You can see your lada in regular car reviews video of the lemons rally. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gogmorgo Posted February 6, 2017 Author Share Posted February 6, 2017 Yup. It also got spotlighted in the Roadkill article about the Rally. http://www.roadkill.com/lemons-winter-rally-retreat-moscow/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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