Popular Post howe Posted October 29, 2019 Popular Post Share Posted October 29, 2019 I recently bought this heap After spotting the Samara saloon on ebay, I sent a reasonable offer for it on the 5th of this October, woke up on the 6th with the offer accepted and had it back home on the same day. The previous owner had kept hold of it for 12 years, taking it to eastern european car rallies and such and occasionally using it to tow a motorcycle trailer. I have a fair amount of spares for it (replacement steering rack, headlight unit, interior bits, etc) After picking it up, I had a reasonably stress free trip up the motorway before I took it for a stretch round an industrial estate and the fuel filter disintegrated, clogging up the carb and leaving me cleaning jets at 1AM by the roadside. I have also had some vacuum leaks among other issues but nothing that can't be fixed, it's back running again and luckily the carb has been swapped for a weber, rather than the original setup with a stack of additional emissions control stuff shoved on. It's a 1500 with about 47k on the clock. One of the first things that needs to go is the dealership optional extra steering wheel, I'd like a standard factory wheel in place of it. Better photos to follow soon, I'll update the thread periodically as things progress. wuvvum, Amishtat, HarmonicCheeseburger and 55 others 58 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jumpingjehovahs Posted October 29, 2019 Share Posted October 29, 2019 Can’t remember the last time I saw a Samara on the road, that one looks a real honey. Looking forward to seeing the progress you makeSent from my iPhone using Tapatalk howe 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amishtat Posted October 29, 2019 Share Posted October 29, 2019 The last Samara I saw on the road was twelve years ago and I was too late to try and stop its owner using it as a trade in on a new Peugeot.. Will follow this with interest, I've got fond memories of my old 1300 3 door. howe 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bezzabsa Posted October 29, 2019 Share Posted October 29, 2019 Rare old bird these days...looking to be rust free too!! howe 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
howe Posted October 29, 2019 Author Share Posted October 29, 2019 15 minutes ago, bezzabsa said: Rare old bird these days...looking to be rust free too!! Somehow it is! there's been some welding that I can see on the boot floor and a couple dots I need to rub back and paint over to stop them spreading, but it's in ridiculous condition for a Samara bodywork wise Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BorniteIdentity Posted October 29, 2019 Share Posted October 29, 2019 Holy Moly. That is proper Mr Incredible stuff. LightBulbFun and howe 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoctorRetro Posted October 29, 2019 Share Posted October 29, 2019 I think I'm in love! Always fancied a Samara saloon, but even they are increasing in value nowadays. howe 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egg Posted October 29, 2019 Share Posted October 29, 2019 An object of desire and beauty. Please lots of updates howe 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eddyramrod Posted October 29, 2019 Share Posted October 29, 2019 Cumbria, hey? Me too (the other end: Barrow). Have you considered bringing it to the Lakeland Motor Museum for the monthly meet? First Saturday every month, all year, and you can't miss the big brown Cadillac... howe 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HMC Posted October 29, 2019 Share Posted October 29, 2019 Wonderful . (Full stop) howe 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Datsuncog Posted October 29, 2019 Share Posted October 29, 2019 Cor, that's simply marvellous. Somehow, the body-coloured driving lamp covers just put it up a notch into the realms of the sublime. Will be watching this one with interest! BorniteIdentity and howe 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HMC Posted October 29, 2019 Share Posted October 29, 2019 Please can we have a closeup of the number plates. #perv howe and 500tops 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
howe Posted October 29, 2019 Author Share Posted October 29, 2019 42 minutes ago, eddyramrod said: Cumbria, hey? Me too (the other end: Barrow). Have you considered bringing it to the Lakeland Motor Museum for the monthly meet? First Saturday every month, all year, and you can't miss the big brown Cadillac... I have, but I'm away for the next one. It'd be good to bring it down for one of them, maybe December ? 12 minutes ago, HMC said: Please can we have a closeup of the number plates. #perv I've broken my phone I took the pictures of the lada on, so I'm using a backup nokia with a crap camera but here you go: michael t, Fumbler, adw1977 and 13 others 13 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BL Bloke Posted October 29, 2019 Share Posted October 29, 2019 Amazing, it looks in pretty good condition too. I hadn't seen a Samara for ages until I came across one on a supermarket car park last week. howe 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zelandeth Posted October 29, 2019 Share Posted October 29, 2019 Save yourself a large amount of frustration and just solder the wires directly to the PCB the tail lights are fed from...the slide connector they used to connect to the clusters is beyond useless. I must have spent hours cleaning, retensioning, sanding, cleaning more etc to try to get it so the indicators didn't go mental 50% of the time you touched the brake pedal... eventually did away with the connectors and just soldered it together...never played up again! Mine was a pretty nice driving car, though in several respects did always feel like it was imminently about to fly apart in ways the Riva and Niva never did...guess it felt a bit faceless in comparison too...but that was about 15 years ago when they were still relatively modern and not *that* unusual to see. howe 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wuvvum Posted October 29, 2019 Share Posted October 29, 2019 The last time I saw a Samara on the road, it was A-framing a Cortina away from a well-known Buckinghamshire field. Skizzer, Ghosty, chaseracer and 5 others 3 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fumbler Posted October 29, 2019 Share Posted October 29, 2019 I love that car SO much! May I have dibs when you sell? ? Looking forward to more content of this fine automobile. howe 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy - Medhurst Posted October 29, 2019 Share Posted October 29, 2019 One of the last times I saw one - OH! DECEMBER 1994 LADA 1500 GL SAMARA 1499cc M637KAX by Jonathan, on Flickr DECEMBER 1994 LADA 1500 GL SAMARA 1499cc M637KAX by Jonathan, on Flickr DECEMBER 1994 LADA 1500 GL SAMARA 1499cc M637KAX by Jonathan, on Flickr DECEMBER 1994 LADA SAMARA 1500 GL 1499cc M637KAX by Jonathan, on Flickr DECEMBER 1994 LADA SAMARA 1500 GL 1499cc M637KAX by Jonathan, on Flickr GrumpiusMaximus, howe, egg and 8 others 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrDuke Posted October 29, 2019 Share Posted October 29, 2019 I think that wheel actually matches the curves on the dash really nicely. egg 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zelandeth Posted October 29, 2019 Share Posted October 29, 2019 This would be mine from around 2004 just after I got it, so before I'd cleaned it up. Drove far better than you'd expect, and was one of the few cars I've had which (on a private test track of course) would max out the speedometer. At the time though it felt a bit boring and faceless compared to the other motors I'd had so I didn't hold onto it all that long. The main issues I had with it were minor but annoying QC issues...the gearknob came off in my hand more than once, the self park function on the wipers had a mind of its own, and the connectors between the tail lights and the loom were a continual source of dodgy brake lights or indicators. The interior always felt like it was in imminent danger of falling apart too...just never instilled any real confidence, unlike the Riva and Niva which feel like they'd be good candidates for transport after the apocalypse wipes out civilization as we know it. Heater on mine was barely warm too which surprised me, though I think that was probably more an issue with my car than the model. Oh...and the windscreen wipers used to lift completely off the windscreen above 70mph...or 40 if you had a strong headwind...which happens quite a lot in northern Scotland! Was sold back to a couple of Russians who came over to drive it back home apparently... I guess the Samara to me has a whiff of 70s BMC about it in that it was so nearly a really decent little car... it's fundamentally sound... it's roomy, performance was reasonable for the class, it handled well...but they just needed to put a little more effort into the fine detail...rather than it felt like saying "right, that's a working car now...get it on sale." The exposed screws all over the cabin, hand painted heater controls and structural sticky tape made it feel more like a roadworthy prototype than a production car. I do have a few better photos on my main PC, I'll try to get hold of them later. michael t, egg, Amishtat and 6 others 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amishtat Posted October 29, 2019 Share Posted October 29, 2019 Still trying to find a photo of mine! It went very nicely for what it was, I still regret not trying a local injected 1500 5 door in an advert my uncle showed me in about 2004 or so. It was stiff money though, £595 if memory serves. howe 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zelandeth Posted October 29, 2019 Share Posted October 29, 2019 The injection is definitely something this car should have had pretty much from the outset I reckon...the electronic carb performed "adequately" at the best of times... ...Hence why I sacked it off my Riva! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuboy Posted October 30, 2019 Share Posted October 30, 2019 looking sweet howe 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wuvvum Posted October 30, 2019 Share Posted October 30, 2019 9 hours ago, Zelandeth said: The injection is definitely something this car should have had pretty much from the outset I reckon...the electronic carb performed "adequately" at the best of times... ...Hence why I sacked it off my Riva! From my experience with my Samara 1.5 GXi, the injection system wasn't exactly sophisticated either... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brownnova Posted October 30, 2019 Share Posted October 30, 2019 Ooh that is lovely!!! Well bought!! howe 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuboy Posted October 30, 2019 Share Posted October 30, 2019 srigtisports looking one ProgRocker, Amishtat, michael t and 2 others 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cms206 Posted October 30, 2019 Share Posted October 30, 2019 That is fucking DELICIOUS. Any Samaras I drove really impressed me, I suspect because as I get older I am getting more tolerant of terrible cars. 112%/10. howe 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProgRocker Posted October 30, 2019 Share Posted October 30, 2019 Gorgeous looking saloon. red really suits it. howe 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zelandeth Posted October 30, 2019 Share Posted October 30, 2019 6 hours ago, wuvvum said: From my experience with my Samara 1.5 GXi, the injection system wasn't exactly sophisticated either... No idea what system they used on the Samara, but the injection system used on the Niva is a really simple off-the-shelf unit bought in from GM. Despite being really simple it actually works very well and rarely gave trouble. We had a few 1.7i Nivas through the garage and never had any running issues with any of them...the last of the 1.6 carbed ones on the other hand...they were almost invariably a nuisance in some way (not least requiring luck and patience at every MOT emission test). egg 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tenmil Socket Posted October 30, 2019 Share Posted October 30, 2019 Never seen a saloon before... looks a cracker! howe and bigfella2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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