Are Yugo-ing to leave your hat on?

[brownnova]

Seeing as I slightly let the cat out of the bag to a few people at Cannock yesterday... 

Remember the halcyon days of Autoshite. Where discussion revolved around Tagoras, Tatras and Talbot Sambas. Where dismal motoring caught the imagination and dreams of Allard Clippers, Rapport Ritzs and Sao Penzas we’re on everyone’s lips... 

No me neither. But the love for the unloved has always been strong here.

So ‘‘twas the night before Chumley, and all through the house... tea was being drunk at a rate of knots. During one boil of the kettle I idly flicked onto faceache marketplace. And there it was, listed two hours ago, in the next town over. A car from a country which no longer exists!! I showed it to mrs_brownnova and our pre-chumley houseguest Mr Dollywobbler. Excitement built as I tried to talk myself out if messaging the seller... I really don't need another car! 

The opportunity was too great, so messages were exchanged, and a viewing for Monday was arranged. It was both better and worse than in the pictures, we agreed a price but, I determined to sleep on it before committing fully. I awoke the following morning and it was almost the first thing on my mind when I awoke. A deposit was paid and now I am the owner of a Zastava Yugo 45A!! 

Glorious Yugoslavian motoring at its finest*

The lowdown.... 1 owner from new and less than 29,000 miles. Taken off the road 18 months ago after “the brakes failed-but I can’t remember what it needs” Facebook stalking of the Yugo group suggests the seller was after a calliper 18 months ago. So probably that then. Also according to the seller “it ran perfectly when it was parked in the garage but now refuses to start.” Thankfully on viewing the engine turns well and I am hopeful that it should start with a little TLC. Underneath looks ok, not perfect but sills seem fine and I think a good under seal is in order. Bodywork is tatty and covered in awful cottage cheese repairs such as this... 

Interior is spotless! And it still has its complete Yugo toolkit!! Under the bonnet is remarkably clean too. 

So the next challenge is getting it home. Non-runner with no brakes, so can’t tow it on the rope or drive it. Trailer or A-Frame it is then. Except I have neither. Hoping I don’t end up hiring one for the sake of 8 miles! 

Plan is to get cracking on it over winter and have it back up and on the road ahead of FOTU next year. 

More updates when I get it home!! 

[wuvvum]

Wow!  Those side (and bonnet) graphics are something else - is it one of the innumerable run-out special editions they did?

903cc Fiat engine shouldn't be hard to get going again.  It's not fuel injected after all...

[egg]

Balkan beauty! Well done. Much excite.

[bramz7]

Ah nice one. My friend has one and I always make a point of driving it when I see him. Everything is floppy and it sounds coarser than an engine full of scouring pads but it's a proper hoot to drive. 

 

 

[Cavcraft]

That's class, local-ish reg, too. What garage did it come from originally do you know?

[Keymaster]

What a purchase, well played!

[320touring]

Top shiting

320T approved idiocy:)

[Fumbler]

Oh Yes. I like this a lot. Yugo if you want to.

[meggersdog]

excellent stuff. If the brakes are anything like the Fiorino van I ran 25 years ago then caliper off, piston out and de-furring the inside of the caliper was an almost weekly occurrence. And yes new seal every time

[brownnova]

22 minutes ago, wuvvum said:

Wow!  Those side (and bonnet) graphics are something else - is it one of the innumerable run-out special editions they did?

903cc Fiat engine shouldn't be hard to get going again.  It's not fuel injected after all...

The side and bonnet graphics will be preserved at all costs!! They just don’t do that any more... 

[brownnova]

16 minutes ago, Cavcraft said:

That's class, local-ish reg, too. What garage did it come from originally do you know?

Originally a dealer in Wrexham, can’t remember the name. I’ll be able to tell you when I get it back as it has the dealer stickers. 

[Tamworthbay]

Those graphics look like a load of yobs have keyed it with crayons. What a buy! Looking forward to the updates.

[LightBulbFun]

Ohhh a Yugo! its about time we got some hot yugo action on AS

im surprised there aint more them on here, but i guess in general like ladas they are pretty scarce these days with the prices probably going above what a normal shitter can normally afford sadly.

I very much look forward to seeing how you get on with this  

also gives me an excuse to post this magnificent picture again

 

https://flic.kr/p/8AQcpD

 

[HMC]

Excuse me while I have a crisis

[MorrisItalSLX]

This is thread of the year material, right here.

[spartacus]

Tow it home with a tow pole for maximum brownie points.

It's an odd concept to get my head around that it was built in a country that no longer exists!

[sutty2006]

YES! 

 

A friend of mine when growing ups mum had a red one as a daily. It was shite back then! 

[quicksilver]

What country is this car from? It no longer exists.

That does look like the sort of car you'd find on the forecourt of Crazy Vaclav's Place of Automobiles and I want to know how many hectares it will do on a single tank of kerosene. In all seriousness, an excellent and thoroughly shite purchase.

 

 

 

[catsinthewelder]

Top purchase, well done to both of you.  My mates grandad used to run me home from school in one of these so I have a big soft spot for them.  Plenty still on the road in Serbia and Bosnia if you are looking for bits. 

 

[Iamgroot]

Wow!, Excellent!

(That's a Yugoslavian Partisan salute by the way)

[lesapandre]

These were imported into the USA. Whole sad and funny saga here:

http://www.curbsideclassic.com/automotive-histories/automotive-history-–-the-jokes-on-u-s-the-short-wild-ride-of-the-yugo-in-america/

But...I bet they are not as bad as the press made them out to be?

 

[MiniMort]

Ah yes, the classic example of what everyone calls 'the worst car ever'. Surely not though. Looking forward to seeing this at next years FOTU all being well and best of luck with it!

[eddyramrod]

Excellent choice, well done my friend.  An ex-girlfriend had one of these in that royal blue they did, and it was a right laugh to drive, being almost entirely Fiat 127 under the skin.

[brownnova]

43 minutes ago, MorrisItalSLX said:

This is thread of the year material, right here.

Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, my skills are limited and my progress always slow!  But I’m determined to get this done without too much delay! 

33 minutes ago, quicksilver said:

What country is this car from? It no longer exists. 

Yugoslavia. A good eastern bloc car! 

[Amishtat]

34 minutes ago, quicksilver said:

What country is this car from? It no longer exists.

That does look like the sort of car you'd find on the forecourt of Crazy Vaclav's Place of Automobiles and I want to know how many hectares it will do on a single tank of kerosene. In all seriousness, an excellent and thoroughly shite purchase.

 

 

 

"Put it in H!" 

[cms206]

SEXUAL

[ProgRocker]

Top buy! 

 

[sutty2006]

All I can think of when looking at the side of this example is how much vodka did the guy that fitted the pin stripes drink? 

[1duck]

my dad had one of these when i was a kid, he ragged the thing for all it was worth. It was top fun, a lot like the uno that replaced it, minus any modcons...he had a shitty ceramic heater because the standard heater was crap, not that the ceramic heater was any better!

[dome]

Yes! Top shiting! A mate of mine had access to one of these when he passed his test. We didn't care if it was shite, we still loved razzing around in it!