Living with Zastava Florida Business - Little car that could returns to hometown

[egg]

Came here for the Florida, stayed for the vintage garage workshop. This is all great stuff, and you're cracking on with it all.

[High Jetter]

2 hours ago, IronStar said:

Belt came off, it’s 13x875LI, no teeth. Replacement that came in the trunk is teethed 13x875LA

Hang on, surely they're both the same length, 875mm x 13mm wide? That pit looks scary.

[IronStar]

7 minutes ago, High Jetter said:

Hang on, surely they're both the same length, 875mm x 13mm wide? That pit looks scary.

Inner (LI) vs outer (LA) diameter, so a difference of 5mm or so. Enough to consistently say no to slipping onto the pulley.  
Pit is standard wheel alignment pit, it’s just an UWA lens on the phone.  

[IronStar]

Couldn’t leave it alone. 😅

Boot trim that was glued back together didn’t go back in as I wanted to dampen it first so it doesn’t rattle my sanity away. A large sheet of 3cm sponge was bought as they didn’t have any offcuts along with spray on adhesive the other day. The trim of Florida IN has like 3mm, so 3cm is surely 10x better? 😂

Armed with a sharp* exacto knife, I did a some precision slicing.

It put up a fight while refitting, but it was convinced to fit with appropriate force. NOS clips were used, so I’m hoping that keeps it in place and rattles in check. 
 

[Matty]

Bloody hell you don't hang about with getting stuck in.

We had a 511 in the early 90s when my mum and dad were in a tight spot. Bit humiliating at 11 ( we had an XR2 beforehand that went) but it gave me a fair respect for Yugos. 200 quid never went wrong and sold for 200 four years later to the window cleaner who got another 3 out of it. Tough cars.

[IronStar]

For today’s treat - aux belt fell off.  Went to show the car to another friend, he took it for a spin and uhoh why is battery light on and temperature is shooting up? Parked it up before it cooked, but couldn’t find the belt. It seems that the guy that tried tightening the ac belt didn’t tighten aux properly. 
Thankfully it’s parked in a free parking zone, so tomorrow’s job will be trying to get the guy that’s supposed to work on it to throw a belt on, or, worst case scenario get it recovered few kilometers to his garage.

I would’ve preferred it didn’t shed it, but fuck it, things happen, and it didn’t overheat or blow anything, so eh, not too fussed. 

[IronStar]

Slept over, and decided I couldn’t be bothered to faff with belts on a first day on my holiday, didn’t want to try driving it either, so tow truck was called in. 25ish Euros later it was recovered to a garage.

Fittingly it was going on a back of a Zastava truck 😄

 

I’m traveling tomorrow so here’s hoping that by the time I get back old guy at the garage sorts out everything that needs sorting and I get to enjoy the car properly.

 

[IronStar]

For the final update before I leave, I got back home to a package waiting for me.

Parcel shelf is looking good, but rest of the stuff looks a bit battered. To be completely fair, I’m scraping the very bottom of the NOS parts barrel, of a factory that folded 16 years ago, for a car that isn’t produced for 22 years (pre facelift) and wasn’t really popular to begin with. Do I really get to be snobby because they’re a bit scruffy from sitting in someone’s garage for all these years?

[hairnet]

beast

где је празник?

[IronStar]

5 minutes ago, hairnet said:

beast

где је празник?

Odmor je at mt. Tara.

Possibly to be extended onto the Black Lake at mt Durmitor, and possible extension of the extension at Ada Bojana beach in southern Montenegro.

Extensions aren’t booked and are dependent on the mood and weather. 

Greatly looking forward to finally being away from work and this shitty city for a bit. 

[hairnet]

cool

how high is that

[hairnet]

did you pap any pics of the zastava truck apart from the rear one?

[IronStar]

6 minutes ago, hairnet said:

cool

how high is that

~1500m at the summit. The bit we’ll be staying at is around 1000m

5 minutes ago, hairnet said:

did you pap any pics of the zastava truck apart from the rear one?

Nope, sorry   I was wondering if I had earlier photos of it as that guy moved my cars quite a few times, but he was always in a hurry so no prior photos either. It was a Zastava - Iveco New Turbo Rival. Same color, same everything.

[hairnet]

ooh 

thanks for that

time to mess with a friends mind

 

[IronStar]

8 minutes ago, hairnet said:

ooh 

thanks for that

time to mess with a friends mind

 

Have another terrible shot of the rear if you’re convincing someone you bought a car 😄

 

[somewhatfoolish]

Epic shite. It's the opposite of a mullet; business at the back and (air conditioned) party at the front.

[MrBig]

This is fabulous! Very much enjoying this thread. These are the same as the Yugo Sana right?

I went to Serbia and Belgrade for the first time ever this year and very much enjoyed it, a fabulous country with very friendly people.

I try to collect a number plate from every country I've visited for my garage wall, your post on the new plate explains why I couldn't get one (and why they looked at me strangely when I asked)!!

[IronStar]

2 hours ago, MrBig said:

This is fabulous! Very much enjoying this thread. These are the same as the Yugo Sana right?

I went to Serbia and Belgrade for the first time ever this year and very much enjoyed it, a fabulous country with very friendly people.

I try to collect a number plate from every country I've visited for my garage wall, your post on the new plate explains why I couldn't get one (and why they looked at me strangely when I asked)!!

Yea, that’s the same car, just a different badge. Interestingly* unlike Florida, Sana name has actual correlation with former Yugoslavia - it’s a name of a river in Bosnia.

Glad you enjoyed it here. It’s certainly a good place to come for a few days or weeks, but living here is a much different experience. 😄

Yeah, we pay for new plates every time, yet we don’t get to actually keep them, it’s more of a rent. I’ll keep the plate thing it in the back of my mind if I can get one from scrapper that never had the plates returned or something. We had to return all the old-style plates when we switched to the current system as well so those are fairly rare nowadays.

[MrBig]

7 minutes ago, IronStar said:

Glad you enjoyed it here. It’s certainly a good place to come for a few days or weeks, but living here is a much different experience. 😄

Yeah, we pay for new plates every time, yet we don’t get to actually keep them, it’s more of a rent. I’ll keep the plate thing it in the back of my mind if I can get one from scrapper that never had the plates returned or something. We had to return all the old-style plates when we switched to the current system as well so those are fairly rare nowadays.

I can imagine, at risk of derailing the thread, can I ask what took you there in the first place? I have a supplier in Uzice so I was only in Belgrade for a night, but I got to spend some time up in the mountains too, which was stunning.

If you ever manage to find a plate, I would be very happy to reimburse you for your trouble, thank you.

[IronStar]

1 minute ago, MrBig said:

I can imagine, at risk of derailing the thread, can I ask what took you there in the first place? I have a supplier in Uzice so I was only in Belgrade for a night, but I got to spend some time up in the mountains too, which was stunning.

If you ever manage to find a plate, I would be very happy to reimburse you for your trouble, thank you.

I’m actually from here, but now actively planning to get out. I was born in Novi Sad but I lived my entire life in Belgrade, as my parents moved when I was one. They are actually refugees from Yugoslav wars, and moved to Serbia from Sarajevo when the war started, as there was no shooting here. I never lived anywhere but Belgrade since I can remember, so I identify as Belgradian, for better or worse. 

Sure, no problem. It’ll probably be free to me, so just pay the postage and it’s yours. 

[Yoss]

8 hours ago, IronStar said:

I’m actually from here, but now actively planning to get out. I was born in Novi Sad but I lived my entire life in Belgrade, as my parents moved when I was one. They are actually refugees from Yugoslav wars, and moved to Serbia from Sarajevo when the war started, as there was no shooting here. I never lived anywhere but Belgrade since I can remember, so I identify as Belgradian, for better or worse. 

Sure, no problem. It’ll probably be free to me, so just pay the postage and it’s yours. 

I was also also wondering if you were a native Serbian or an Englishman abroad simply because your grasp of the English language is absolutely superb. Reading your posts give no clue that you might be Serbian apart from all the Zastava content. Very impressed. 

Have some pictures of some Zastavas that I don't think you own (yet) that I took in Senj, Croatia a few years ago. 

[IronStar]

16 minutes ago, Yoss said:

I was also also wondering if you were a native Serbian or an Englishman abroad simply because your grasp of the English language is absolutely superb. Reading your posts give no clue that you might be Serbian apart from all the Zastava content. Very impressed. 

Have some pictures of some Zastavas that I don't think you own (yet) that I took in Senj, Croatia a few years ago. 

Thanks. Being an Englishman abroad would make moving out of here easier, but I won’t moan too much about that. It will be done at some point, hopefully sooner rather than later.

Yeah, I don’t have 750/850. I remember you could have them for as little as 50€ some 15-20 years ago, but they’ve obviously all been scrapped since, and prices seriously went up. An absolutely rusty and needs just about everything is about a grand. Passable but needs work is 2-3k. A really good one 4+. They are THE nostalgia rose tinted glasses car from a better time here.

I like them, but I don’t want to part with that kind of money for it. If I, one day, run into one that’s 500 and needs 2000€ of work and parts to be great, sure, but otherwise…

[IronStar]

Florida is back home!

Good news first:
New belts, new roller, new water pump, new fuel pump. Perished fuel hoses were replaced as well as carburetor seal that was completely rotted out, so it now runs on both petrol and LPG. New discs and pads up front as those were ready to be replaced as well. It got a tuneup, so it runs noticeably smoother now. Outer left CV joint boot has been replaced. New engine and gearbox oil, coolant was changed. Aircon finaly blows cold without any belts squeaking or threatening to fall apart.

Total bill, parts an labour - ~385€

Now not so good news: 
Throttle cable is broken and needs to be replaced. Rear shocks are gone, left has leaked out, right is shit. Rear bearings have play, but they need to be replaced together with the carrier. Clutch spring is bodged with some assorted cables. Right propshaft inner boot and bearing are fucked, and there’s a bit of a leak coming from that area. Front shocks top mounts are VERY noisy. Green tracer fluid is leaking from the AC compressor general area. It still has very random hesitation and missfire I can’t connect to doing anything particular. It was belching white smoke with a distinct smell of LPG on the lights close to home, but that has cleared, so it’s apparently overfueling, something’s not always returning right when throttle pedal is released. There’s a bit* of rust on the sills and driver side jacking point.

Next up? 
I know a place that does carbs AND LPG from my previous Yugo endeavors. Gave them a ring, explained to two very confused guys what I want, and they provisionally agreed, but probably thought I fell out of a time machine from 2001 or something. They are on holiday though, and are coming back 1st of September. I’m hoping that giving LPG system a onceover and replacing the consumables, as well as switching to a right carb cures the hesitation and all the fueling system issues. Carb is getting rebuilt, and they’ll source a mixer plate that works with autochoke carb as well. I’ll get them to give entire fuel delivery system a onceover once it’s all fitted to make sure everything works right.

I’m going to Hungary for two days, and I’ll go to the AC shop next week to source the leak and plug it, so I finally get fully working aircon.

Fucked shocks I don’t currently care about. I’d like to lower the car, and my current idea is Yugo lowering springs on new shocks up front, and Golf 2/3 coilovers on the back, as no one does complete kit for Florida.  

Rest of the mechanical jobs will be tackled once the fuel system finally works right. I need a breather, both financial and time not chasing bits and mechanics.

As for rust….I plan to drive it up to the bodywork guy that’s working on Cabrio, get him to fall in love with it, listen to assorted cursing I’m getting him to work on another rusty Zastava, and get him to weld everything up. Maybe a coat of paint as well, as at least one door needs to be replaced, and there’s surface rust where paint flaked off on multiple places? Depending on how pissed off he will be with me saddling him with another car with Y emblem. Silver lining is he used to work for Zastava, and loves them to bits, so he’s unlikely to tell me to piss off.

Ideally I can do roofliner and a few more small bits in the meantime, and get the car looking a bit more presentable beforehand. I also found Alfa rims I think would suit the car great for 80€.

Bonus oh FFS story for tonight:

I drove the car away, and heard some rather odd knocking from driver’s side wheel. Like the wheel isn’t tightened properly. Stoped to check. Spoiler alert- it wasn’t 🤦‍♂️ We were faffing with wheeltrims, and he forgot to tighten the bolts on that side. It would’ve been a very very long night if it fell of at 100 on motorway I was on and driving when I noticed something is wrong. 😄

 

[IronStar]

Drove for a bit today, and that is not a happy carburetor. It’s somehow even worse now under load now than when it was running lean and with wrong timing.   Random hickups and misfires all over the place. Plugs have probably seen better days, and HT leads could probably do with a preventative replacement just in case. Turning on the AC also means it shuts off on idle or on an odd clutch press as it goes too low and stalls, so that’s fucked then. Also tried going up a hill that’s actually a bit steep, and was a terrible experience of driving 30 in first and it starving of fuel the moment you shift up, so no good, that.

Heatwave is back in full swing here, so that car is not moving until it gets fueling sorted or heat subdues, as it’s just way too warm again.

I wanted to replace the parcel shelf that has arrived before I went vacationing, but it was 31 at 10PM with what felt like over 50% humidity, so I decided not to, and went back under aircon. That can wait until it’s breathable outside as well. 

[IronStar]

In today’s episode of Florida:

Parcel shelf replaced!

Broken and sad before

Nice and new after

Eagle eyed amongst you may notice that parcel shelf supports are looking a bit sad as well. They’re a bit* shit design, and are prone to cracking in the exact same place, resulting in a loss of rear support pillar, and rest of the shelf breaking soon after as a consequence. So today, these have arrived:

Notice the little tabs on the bottom. 
I’ve asked the seller if they’re broken or fucked, to which he replied no mate, they’re good. Why are two plastic covers missing then? Where’s the parcel shelf holder on the left one? 🙄 Also how the fuck did you end up with chewing gum residue on one of them, ye filthy bastard?

Never mind, I have those as a spare, little tabs that crack on all of them are fine, right? Wrong.

Same on both sides. Fucksticks. Oh well, at least they haven’t completely snapped off yet. Thankfully I’ve ordered this the other day

It’s bound to arrive any day now, and I would’ve reinforced that tab anyway. I’d prefer not to be bullshited, and would’ve bought them anyway. Some of these metal reinforcement things and baking soda superglue with epoxy on top should make it stronger than it was originally, right?

Into the bath it went for cleaning, but I’m still not 100% happy as there’s still dirt in the ribbed bits. I’m wondering if going on it with a foam from one of the self service car washes would clean it better? I wanted to put it into a dishwasher but it’s unfortunately too big for 45cm one I have.  Should I just not bother as I’d like to have the car detailed at some point? 

[somewhatfoolish]

Do you have a jetwasher?

[IronStar]

3 minutes ago, somewhatfoolish said:

Do you have a jetwasher?

No, but I have a self-service car wash with jetwashers nearby. Would that clean it properly? 

[somewhatfoolish]

Worth a shot, they can be very effective in surprising situations; shiters of a certain vintage will be familiar with the art of cleaning car seats with a jet wash although I forget who did it first. Make sure the panels are fastened to something, otherwise they may make a bid for freedom when hit with the jet! 😁

[IronStar]

With the plastic welder arriving today, Temu post has brought some other goodies as well. Mesh thing will go in the boot once it’s emptied for storage of basics that I really don’t want all over the floor. The shifter currently has a ball knob, but it’s really too short, so you have to move out of the seat to shift into 5th. Not ideal, so this long genuine* Sparco item should resolve that.

Onto the car! Let’s remove the current one

Oh what’s that? The original knob was ripped out and someone tried supergluing it back, and now this collar is stuck on there with no way to remove it. 🙄 Amazing work, PO. I have no idea how to remove this without replacing the entire gear lever, so if anyone has suggestions I’m all ears. Please save me from buying another one. 
So back on the current one went

While I was there, I noticed that the entire central tunnel cover, asides from being broken, is actually being held on by hopes and dreams. No wonder everything is rattling and squeaking. 

Surely I can tackle the parcel shelf mounts? 
New plastic welder comes out! Welding ensued.

Good enough.

Open the trunk. Oh wait, what’s that? Suspension top mounts are only accessible when you remove these sodding things.

Nope, not doing this until rear shocks are replaced. Disturbing these brittle things more often than absolutely necessary is a surefire way to crack them (again) with no decent replacements in sight anywhere. Back into the box they go, job deferred.

Meh. I can check the wiring for the broken rev counter then. I asked on Zastava OC, and there’s supposed to be a green cable coming out of an ignition coil that controls the rev counter. 

Nothing here looks green to me? Back to the OC I go. There’s a disconnected green wire on the scuttle panel, but I don’t see where that one is supposed to go either. There’s a 5-prong connector there, and all 5 pins are connected. It’s obviously pulled out of the bundle of cables, but that doesn’t answer what it’s supposed to be attached to. 

1/4, with an additional problems discovered today then. Task failed successfully. 

[IronStar]

Since the last update, the Florida has been doing its best impression of an unloved, unmaintained, broken shonker, much like they were when still common. It gradually ground my gears to the point where I lost my tinkering mojo and confidence in it. As a result, very few things were started or attempted.

I attempted to replace the roofliner. The old one came down, and while we were at it, soundproofing went up. I forgot to take a proper photo without the roofliner, so this will have to do. However, it's still not finished because... I CBA since the car isn’t running right. New trim clips that are just too stiff and won't go in, and old ones breaking during dismantling aren't helping either.

While it was disassembled, I also reconnected the wiring for the proper antenna and ripped out the electronic stick-on shite that was in there. Unfortunately, I lost the locking nut for the antenna, so, due to the aforementioned reasons, I just left the wiring hanging from the roof. It’s one nut away from being done, so hey-ho, I'll take that.

The straw that broke my confidence, however, was when we took it to get a few photos in front of the Hotel Yugoslavia, whose demolition I’ve lamented about on these beige pages a few times. We got there, took some photos, parked the car, and it just... died. And wouldn't restart for 20 minutes. When it finally did, I parked it and went for a drink, but it was abhorrent to drive on the way back. The misfiring got worse, it stalled a few times, and it just isn’t running right.

Have a few pretty photos though. More to come when I get that film developed.

One of the LPG/Carb duo who was supposed to take care of the car extended his holiday, and it was unceremoniously dumped in front of my flat. I had hoped they'd be back to fix it by the Zastava meet on the 22nd, but yesterday was the first day they were both back in the shop, so that didn’t happen either, to my absolute frustration.

So today, I set off to get the car to them across town. I aimed to do it during my lunch break when there's not much traffic, to minimize the risk of it stalling and avoid causing absolute havoc for everyone if it died on the way. After a great* start, with the car stalling twice despite the choke being pulled, I set off. The first 15 minutes were fine, and the car was mostly behaving itself, but it got progressively worse from there, misfiring, stuttering, and generally being a pain. Thankfully, there were no traffic jams, and I managed to push on. I got it to the garage, where it helpfully* decided to stall and loudly protest any attempts to restart it, much to my amusement* and "at least now you know why it's here."

They pushed it into the yard, and the carb guy hated all the bodges he saw in the engine bay. He equally loved the idea that he needs to get the carb dialed in for the aircon to work properly. I was assured they’ll give it a thorough once-over and get it running right, but it’ll take a couple of days because, as usual, a fiddly job that you can’t bill in 60 minutes isn’t high up on anyone’s priority list. We’ll see how it goes, but I’m willing to file this under - new beginnings.