HMC WBOD news

[Peter C]

When I started my first job, at the age of 25, therefore 25 years ago, I had to commute from Perivale (west London) to the City and the first leg of my journey involved a 10 minute drive to the tube station.

At the time I was smoking around in a mint Jag XJ40 Sovereign, which I didn’t want to leave at the station car park too often, so for £100 I bought a 3 door 1.5 Samara, the same as yours but in faded red. It had about six months MoT and tax and I kept it until everything expired, then sold it on for £50. It never let me down and the wheelspin and understeer kept me entertained on route to work. 

I have fond memories of that car. I hope you enjoy yours.

[Markeh]

I think I've said this here before, but a Samara saved my mum's life.

She had one new in the early 90s, someone was on the wrong side of the road and smashed her into a traffic light which then came down on top of the car. She was injured but okay. The police at the time told her that if she'd been in a Fiesta or a Metro, she'd have been killed.

Annoyingly for her, it was a year and a week old, so she was a week too late for it to be replaced new-for-old on the insurance. I'm not sure of the exact timeframes and what she replaced it with, but there's a strong chance it was a Polonez.

[Yoss]

8 hours ago, HMC said:

I was guilty of leaving the lada at my local shite friendly garage and forgetting about it….

As did they as it got shoved in a corner for a while but its sorted, mot’d and back…

Who said it was modern cars that were guilty of excessive lightage?

Fastback coupe it is not- but it is the lightest shell, paired with the largest engine (with a cylinder head massaged by porsche of all people)

Porsche would hang around with anyone in those days. They also sorted out the suspension on the Škoda Favorit and I'm sure they did something on the mk1 Seat Ibiza 

[Sigmund Fraud]

1 hour ago, Yoss said:

Porsche would hang around with anyone in those days. They also sorted out the suspension on the Škoda Favorit and I'm sure they did something on the mk1 Seat Ibiza 

Correct ! They were responsible for the "System Porsche" engine, best known for not* being a Fiat OHC with a slightly modified cylinder head :

[alf892]

13 minutes ago, Sigmund Fraud said:

Correct ! They were responsible for the "System Porsche" engine, best known for not* being a Fiat OHC with a slightly modified cam cover:

FTFY

[HMC]

9 hours ago, wesacosa said:

Love it.   much want. Is it as miserable to drive as reports would have you believe?

I havent driven it all that much yet, but a breif test drive showed it to be pretty swift for what it is. Certainly I wouldnt want more power to contend with from my quick whizz around some rural b roads. 

I quite like this period road test by Brock Yates in car and driver - 

https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/a60370315/1989-lada-samara-archive-test/

[IronStar]

2 hours ago, Sigmund Fraud said:

Correct ! They were responsible for the "System Porsche" engine, best known for not* being a Fiat OHC with a slightly modified cylinder head :

I’d like to try one if that cam cover didn’t command a stupid premium on the price.

Anyone on here driven one? How is it?

Samara was a clean-ish breakaway from previous Ladas, and much more modern car than what came before. I remember seeing them as kid, along with Alekos, and neither ever oozed “inspiring” and always had that Russian car stench. Godawful final fit and finish inside. Often found with those awful wooden balls or sheep skin seat covers, belching smoke behind them from carbs begging a rebuild.

All these years later, I’d love one, but with Alfa Twin Spark inside. Original engines that came in it are just way too tainted in my head. 

[HMC]

Considering the dreadful rep these have, I was suprised at the level of iron curtain instrumentation…

Vacuum, volts, plus the usual. They are not damped, so the volts in particular tend to flick about erratically, but seem accurate. I like that this info was considered important even on a cheap car.

Bizarrely despite these details there is no clock on this mid level SL. Presumably such frivolities only happened on the top trim level?

There is also no rear view mirror, but thats because its just fallen off.

[wesacosa]

 

 

[HMC]

Ms_HMC would like to do the mongol rally in it, as its finish point is a Russian lake that she used to go on holidays to, i think they may have a countryside house (Dacha)  there. Sadly the next scheduled one isnt allowed into Russia from the —-stan border, and also IIRC the car needs to be 1 litre or less, and this is a mighty 1.5

[IronStar]

1 hour ago, HMC said:

 

They are not damped, so the volts in particular tend to flick about erratically, but seem accurate.

I never understood this. It costs pennies to dampen them, and having them undampened makes it look incredibly cheap and is shit to use. 
Fuel gauge bouncing around always drives me insane. Is there half a tank? 1/4? 3 liters and about to run out of fuel? No clue, make a guess! Surely it’s not about to stall and that hiccup just now didn’t really happen, it’s just you overthinking? Right? Right????

[Ian_Fearn]

On 01/09/2024 at 17:31, HMC said:

 

 

 

 

@HMC useless bit of trivia for you….. Rally Motors still exists. It’s owned by a good friend of mine and he pretty much remembers every customer and car they’ve ever sold. They’ve not sold new cars for years now but they remain a local landmark in Allestree, Derby. The phone number is still Derby 559901 too!

[HMC]

Flashback to 2020 and the crown vic i had at the time…

Its available on facebook marketplace (for more money than i paid at the time when i bought it) , but is looking a little sad, minus its engine and gearbox…

[Schaefft]

That sucks as I remember this being on here. Looks like they have a few interesting cars in their yard.

[grogee]

On 25/10/2024 at 18:28, HMC said:

Considering the dreadful rep these have, I was suprised at the level of iron curtain instrumentation…

Vacuum, volts, plus the usual. They are not damped, so the volts in particular tend to flick about erratically, but seem accurate. I like that this info was considered important even on a cheap car.

Reminds me of another Soviet engineering triumph*

[grogee]

On 25/10/2024 at 18:46, HMC said:

Russian lake that she used to go on holidays to

Is it this one? 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Karachay?wprov=sfla1

[HMC]

On 28/10/2024 at 17:47, grogee said:

Is it this one? 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Karachay?wprov=sfla1

I think its further east toward the border with Mongolia.

Fleet news…

Samara is a great little runabout, great for parking with a massive glass area- presumably not so handy in a crash 😂

Jag being great also, although im not a fan of washing cars i should clear the bird crap off it

And i have done a buy. 2 cylinder turbo. Free tax, dirt cheap insurance. Itch being scratched on  a 500 twinair arrives friday. Ive read mixed reviews but i want to love it from the technical description.

 

[Schaefft]

Not the biggest fan of my GF's 65hp 500 (or the automated manual "convertible" I drove on Santorini which was probably one of the worst cars I've ever driven). The Twin Air certainly is an interesting choice though, the extra 20hp will come in handy.

[HMC]

This little 500 was dropped of by a nice Lithuanian guy this lunchtime.

“This is Lady car” was his proclamation- maybe, but I like them. My first was an Abarth, but what attracted me to this one was the twin air engine- and its ambition, and the (tenuous) link to its 2 cylinder forebears.

Here in a sort of What Car? group test photo…

 

[grogee]

I had a twin air for a weekend when they came out. I drove it like an absolute nun and still only got about 40mpg. Word on the street is they were designed to ace the old EU test in order to get good co2 figures. 

I hope yours behaves, you seem to do quite well with the shite turnover. Of course if the Fiat shits itself you've got the luxury of a brown Lada on standby. 

BTW I have an XK8 book that I was going to give to you @HMC, I can post it if you're keen or I'll deliver it when I next venture into Tavi. 

[DSdriver]

On 04/10/2024 at 09:13, loserone said:

No more so than anything requiring welding, HGF, a DPF, DMF clutch...

That's the problem with any car less than 20 years old, too many three letter things in them. 

[EyesWeldedShut]

22 minutes ago, DSdriver said:

That's the problem with any car less than 20 years old, too many three letter things in them. 

Most truly modern stuff I get into has multiple WTFs fitted - that's enough for me

[crad]

1 minute ago, EyesWeldedShut said:

Most truly modern stuff I get into has multiple WTFs fitted - that's enough for me

i found all my old banger's had/have lot's of WTFs in them as well!

[tooSavvy]

When I collected AVAS the guy confirmed NOT TPMS = GR9👍...

Later I discovered 1.8 Z18XER manuals have a bad rep for DMF = GR9👍...

I'm currently cutting the rad/tranny cooler off... NO cross contamination= GR9👍...

It's not disgraced itself *expensively YET 😁

🚙💨

[wuvvum]

I had a Lancia Chrysler Ypsilon with the Twin Air engine.  I really liked the way it drove and it didn't give me any issues, but the fuel economy was so far adrift of the official figures that it was almost laughable.

On 25/10/2024 at 18:46, HMC said:

mongol rally

@willswitchengage is our resident expert on that topic if you do decide to give it a go.

[HMC]

Been pottering in the 500 which apparently is finished in “cheeky red” as far as i can translate…

Im still getting used to driving it. with the “eco” button off its surprisingly fast. Ive been driving with it on/ off and experimenting. Im trying to figure out how best to drive it (and how it was intended to be driven) on the torque or on the power? its possible to labour the engine a bit (and the dash instruction to shift up what feels a bit too soon seems to encourage this) but it likes to rev as well.

Im not sure which technique gets the best out of it in terms of a balance of performance/ economy. Reading online its seems possible to fail massively compared to the published economy figures, so i would imagine there a very particular window/ method to get those figures. Im sure ill find out soon enough.

Its also got a coolant leak (a drip when cold) that wasnt noted on the ad, although it was a fairly thorough listing with a vendor with solid feedback. It seems to come from the engine on the bulkhead side behind the starter/ alternator and looks a pain to get to. it seems worse when cold, and nill when hot, but that could also be because the liquid gets burn off when the car is hot. Im keeping a close eye on the level. Its fairly level and seems a very low rate of loss. Caveat Emptor! But still, its a decent, practical car and im happy overall with the purchase. I feel like its a new car but its 13 years old.

 

[wuvvum]

The Eco button made absolutely no discernible difference to the fuel economy on mine.  I did a run from here to Somerset driving like a nun, in eco mode all the way (other than one brief moment when I had to overtake a tractor on the A428), and it did 48mpg.  On the return journey I was in normal mode and driving reasonably enthusiastically and it did 48mpg.

[HMC]

29 minutes ago, wuvvum said:

The Eco button made absolutely no discernible difference to the fuel economy on mine.  I did a run from here to Somerset driving like a nun, in eco mode all the way (other than one brief moment when I had to overtake a tractor on the A428), and it did 48mpg.  On the return journey I was in normal mode and driving reasonably enthusiastically and it did 48mpg.

Good to know- those official figures seem “high” (68 mpg on one cycle)? im just glad the tax is free and the insurance is so cheap. The M.O. of the purchase (a fake reason to buy another car) was the low running cost and the option of a newer mode of transport to lean on when needed than.. 

1996 // 1989

All of which means i can choose between 2/4/8 cylinders as my mood takes me. Basically i can go for more displacement, and less practicality; or the exact opposite.

So the  compromise choice in my world is apparently a communist peoples’ car.

 

[Marshall2810]

20 hours ago, HMC said:

Been pottering in the 500 which apparently is finished in “cheeky red” as far as i can translate…

Im still getting used to driving it. with the “eco” button off its surprisingly fast. Ive been driving with it on/ off and experimenting. Im trying to figure out how best to drive it (and how it was intended to be driven) on the torque or on the power? its possible to labour the engine a bit (and the dash instruction to shift up what feels a bit too soon seems to encourage this) but it likes to rev as well.

Im not sure which technique gets the best out of it in terms of a balance of performance/ economy. Reading online its seems possible to fail massively compared to the published economy figures, so i would imagine there a very particular window/ method to get those figures. Im sure ill find out soon enough.

Its also got a coolant leak (a drip when cold) that wasnt noted on the ad, although it was a fairly thorough listing with a vendor with solid feedback. It seems to come from the engine on the bulkhead side behind the starter/ alternator and looks a pain to get to. it seems worse when cold, and nill when hot, but that could also be because the liquid gets burn off when the car is hot. Im keeping a close eye on the level. Its fairly level and seems a very low rate of loss. Caveat Emptor! But still, its a decent, practical car and im happy overall with the purchase. I feel like its a new car but its 13 years old.

 

I had the twinair engine in the panda I had. Apart from the book MPG it never gets close to even driving like a nun, I found it to be very nippy and fun to drive. Good an car 

[HMC]

Blasted the cobwebs off the Jag this afternoon. Despite being parked under a tree for a week and crapped on, it started perfectly. I was half expecting a discharged battery- because 28yo Jag.