THAT Lada Samara - It's now FOAD's

[KruJoe]

As seen int' eBay thread, a possible save might be on the cards...


http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/LADA-SAMARA-HATCH ... 4cf731aef7



I've struck up an email exchange with the seller, I have a phone number and BIN of £150, I just need to find a time when I can sneak out to have a butchers.
Seems ok in the photos, but they don't avail to much. Brief listing seems an honest Sid'n'Doris type, including:

WE HAVE HAD IT CHECKED FOR M.O.T. AND HAVE BEEN TOLD NEEDS FLOOR WELDING WHICH WILL COST ABOUT £300.00 INCLUDING M.O.T.

(Their email address is "EdwinandJean@..." )
So if £230-ish is the quote for welding, it's probably not major or terminal. Where in particular are these prone to rot?
Will that plastic be hiding some horrors?
I have some welding gear here, I'm no expert, just need to practice.
And what else am I looking for on these?
Thankyouplease.

[Rocket88]

You may also find that "the floor needs welding" bit is to try and scare them into buying a newer ca. I don't think that these are that prone to the galloping festeringness, it's just everything else on them is so unremmitingly dismal.....................

[Torsten2001]

They're pretty strong cars so I doubt it needs much, £150 is a very tempting price, I miss my one, in fact I really wish I still had it!

[KruJoe]

That's all good. It MUST be a bargain if Torsten says so - he RULEZ at cheap/free acquisitions!

 

About the grot, I'm probably best just asking them what they know about it, and I'll take my little ramps and have a good poke around.

I have found this AA pdf which may be useful, but it's a few years old.

Anything else in particular to look out for?

[Albert Ross]

I know they can be a bit of a twat to set the carb correctly (after getting it to pass an emissions test).

[red5]

I know they can be a bit of a twat to set the carb correctly (after getting it to pass an emissions test).

 

I have the workshop bulletins for that somewhere....and the tool I think. or is that me....anyways, i'll have a look - if you buy of course.

[wuvvum]

I had a Samara once. It was a top of the range P reg 1.5 GXi saloon, with alloys, body coloured bumpers, a pop-up sunroof and a radio-cassette - luxury. It went well enough but was a rather crude device (nowhere near as good as a Favorit) and the steering was unbelievably heavy at low speed. They do have a bit of a reputation for being hard to get through the emissions test (mine wasn't so bad as it was fuel injected), but the one you're looking at is old enough that it won't need a cat, so should be slightly easier. For £150 I'd say go for it. I'd be interested myself if it were local.

[Luxobarges_Are_Us]

I was going to say I could give my uncle a bell tomorrow if you wanted (he's seriously technically minded and has had 3 of these over the years), but it seems like you have all the advice you need right here.

[KruJoe]

Thank you for your input gents, I'll try to talk to Jean and Edwin tomorrow, and if it suits, I'll go to see it Wednesday evening, on the way to putting an alternator on the sister's R8 214.

I'm quite confident the Subaru will be paid for and gone on Saturday (along with the spares car), so the pressure will be reduced slightly then, and arrival of another project may be tolerated. Fingers crossed...

[Pillock]

I once got knocked off my bike by one when I was about 14.

[KruJoe]

Lol, that's more than most people's experience of them! No lasting damage I hope. (To you.)

 

Anyhoo, I spoke to Jean this afternoon. She sounds just as I imagined, typical thin, croaky voice of an octogenarian.

She explained that her husband no longer has the strength in his arms to drive it so they've had to invest in something power assisted, but they'll really miss the Lada, and really want it to go to a loving home. She'll be there any time tomorrow for me to go and view. She gave me her address in Keighley, I put it into Google and the pictures of the car on Streetview are as good as in the listing!

I briefly asked her about the rust, but learned no more, though she started to offer it to me for even less, but I stopped her, and said I'd come and see it first. So hopefully the deal may be done by tea time tomorrow.

[Volksy]

Good show, well myself and Mr Imp aint that far away from Keighley, so If you need a cuppa let me know.

[Cavcraft]

It'd be class if you got this back. I wonder if the bodykit is hiding any horrors underneath it though? Good luck anyhow Joe, keep us posted please.

[trigger]

That bodykit would worry me too, I remember when i was still in the bodywork game the number of tidy looking Ford's with RS bodykits where as soon as you removed those side skirts half the sill would fall off.

[Cavcraft]

Ditto my old (Cav) Calibre which was a bit of a mess underneath the kit come MOT time.

 

My dad got a brand new Samara once and loved it. The day he got it though the horn kept going off if he turned the steering wheel and he was highly embarrassed backing it up the narrow lane he lived on as all the neighbours came out to see who was constantly beeping the horn. He told them if he was going to show off he had a new car it wouldn't be in a Lada.

[Rod/b]

Bloke who used to buy stuff in the shop I used to work in owned a Lada dealers. He told me once that he had never made a penny on the cars, but was a millionaire on the finance that people took to buy them in the first place.

[KruJoe]

Good show, well myself and Mr Imp aint that far away from Keighley, so If you need a cuppa let me know.

 

I thought you guys were Leeds-wards? Thanks anyway, I'm only 30 mins away, and it's 10 minutes from my sister's.

Guess what? The Lada is now at her's in Ox'nop!

 

PICS OR IT DIDN'T HAPPEN

 

Yeah yeah, wotevr.

We've just arrived back with a Chinese stinking the BX out all the way from Haworth, and I've an early start in the morning, so you'll have to wait 'til tomozza for more images.

 

It will need a minimum of three (easy-ish) patches, two on the sill and one in the boot. Otherwise it should test ok I reckon, though it's fairly grotty inside, the front seats have had a hard time. The brakes seemed a bit vague, spongy, and ineffective, though anything might after stepping out of a BX.

 

Re rot under plastics... as long as the tester can't see it without taking the bodykit off, it won't bother him, will it?

More tomorrow, I promise.

[KruJoe]

 

MOAR L8R

[garethj]

Well played, sir

[boobydoo]

This is an awesome save . I'm quite excited by it.

 

Did you take a photo of said haggardly, croak-voiced Jean and weak-limbed Edwin standing proudly by the Lada when you picked it up...complete with tear in their eye.

 

Also lots of exterior/interior pics please!!

[michiel]

Ladalicious, good work!

[dollywobbler]

You are building quite an empire of shite there. Commended.

[Guest Leonard Hatred]

"He has the country's largest collection of hatchbacks."

[Cavcraft]

Excellent stuff Joe, top saving there. That actually looks a decent car and I bet there's hardly any left now.

 

Ps: +1 on the brakes. Anything after a BX seems rubbish.

[Angrydicky]

Very nice save Joe. These seem to have completely disappeared in recent years!

 

One of my earliest memories is of my primary school friend's mum buying a brand new one on an 'M' plate in 1995

[Luxobarges_Are_Us]

It looks very tasty!

[mk1_4dr]

Well done fella, it looks like a QUAL save.

 

I have to say, I too would've been tempted at 150quid.

[trigger]

Well done Joe90, I'm looking forwards to the work reports!

[cms206]

I think if we can muster a Favorit and a Hyundai X2 with a shit bodykit and I can get the Proton to go back south of the border again there would be a commendable start for a new run of Joypal...

[Minimad5]

Well done Joe,

Hope to see it at a local show once it's on the road

All the best with getting it repaired and i hope you take lots of pictures and keep us all updated.