THAT Lada Samara - It's now FOAD's

[SambaS]

Bloody hell!

 

and

 

Top work!

[Partridge]

Before we touched it:

 

Chuffin' hell, that's not good!

 

 

It looks like shit, but he's done both inside and out where he can. Certainly stronger than it was, and better protected now.

You sure that's strong, mate? It looks like the welds haven't penetrated at all. The new metal needs to be perfectly clean, as does the old metal, and the bit where you clamp the MIG welder earth to. I'd be a bit concerned about the strength of that patch. Can you give it a good few taps with the toffee hammer?

 

Top work, and well done for saving it. But will that get through the MOT like that? Even if it is structurally OK, you don’t want them looking for faults, which they will if something looks less than tippity top.

[KruJoe]

will that get through the MOT like that?

With confidence I say YES. It didn't even fail on this near side!

That Tetroseal hides a multitude of sins. We didn't bother using a grinder / flapper-wheel to tidy up; just slap on the black and away we go.

 

This daily is kept alive on a tiny budget, in the true spirit of Autoshite. It'll never be original, or anywhere near smart, but it's mostly solid, it goes and (usually) stops ok. If it does that, we're happy chappies.

[stuboy]

you keep going with the samara

[John F]

Wow, that rot looks worse on a big screen lads.

 

Top effort in bringing the Samara back to life, almost anyone else (outside of this website, at any rate) would have just dragged it over the bridge.

 

We got back from Malham around 9pm this evening... after 5 days living in a field, the ring I left around my bath was like underseal

[KruJoe]

Euuuuuw John, that's quite an image!

 

Will should be on shortly to describe how much tighter the handling feels at the back end, now that it's not suspended from a pair of scabby old flaps...

[vulgalour]

Cripes, I think even I would have said scrap it on seeing how much metal wasn't there! Did you have passive rear wheel steering before the repairs, I wonder?

[explosive-cabbage]

I think Joe has covered most of the story of the recent shenanigans of getting the Samara through its MOT but here it is from the sheep's mouth....

 

After the Samara ran out of MOT (the day before the Chumley meet) I have been trying to get it fit enough to get it through the MOT.

Various little problems like faulty relays, dodgy electrical connections, a leaky exhaust as well as bad brakes caused me to procrastinate taking it for a MOT test till the 16th of May.

It failed, which I was a bit surprised by, but when we removed the seats it wasn't hard to understand why...

 

Hmmm....

It failed on brakes as well -

No rear braking force registered at all

And only 16% handbrake efficiency

Me and my MOT tester, Jack, came to the conclusion that it would at least need new handbrake cables and a new brake bias regulator.

Those parts were fairly easy to come by and replace, I only paid £3.71 per handbrake cable and the replacement brake bias regulator (which we had to bodge to pass last year - pic below) cost me £24.90.

 

We jacked the car up, dropped off the rear axle, took out the windows and interior, removed the doors and started cleaning up the rust. Holes started appearing - mostly on the rear D/S Strut top, but also on the nearside strut top and around the inside of the rear arches and the chassis rails too.

 

 

First repair was to replace the patch over a hole in the rear arch and chassis rail -

Pasted a bit of underseal on:

 

First big patch made up, and welds* started to be completed:

 

A complete strut-top had to be re-built, starting with fabricating curves with ex-rover and bits of firewood:

 

Meanwhile Joe was gunking up last years MOT welds with underseal:

 

The other side needed some glue too:

 

Anyway! Long story short. I had spent a total of 18 hours working on grinding/welding/fabricating and it was back on its feet, feeling much firmer and stiffer then before. My toolbox now rattles when I hit potholes rather than a bit of rusty metal acting as suspension! It feels much more responsive in the corners and less like James Bond's Renner 11!

 

A couple litres of fresh brake fluid, the newly fitted handbrake cables and brake regulator were adjusted, as well as a set of new brake pads this morning and off for an MOT:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BOSSED IT!

 

Wow, we can get another year out of her!

[vulgalour]

Does this warrant an amazeballs? I'm thinking it warrants an amazeballs.

[phil_lihp]

Nice one, a hard-won MOT certificate is something to treasure Just goes to show what can be achieved with the right combination of skills and motivation (and communist engineering).

[KruJoe]

Let's see that again...

 

 

Amazeballs.

Yes, it's real, Will didn't make that himself. I'm less sure about the stain on the seat, I'll have to ask him about that.

[skattrd]

As always great work Joe/Will, I look forward to seeing the old girl at Chumley next year.

[SambaS]

I'll race you down Santa Pod in July if you like... no pink slips

 

http://www.retroshow.co.uk/index.html

[Partridge]

Fuck me sideways with a Dynorod pole. That got through it’s MOT?

[retrogeezer]

WIN!

[Lacquer Peel]

This thread is what autoshite should aspire to; not stuff about buying mint cars and driving them for 50 miles a year, or advanced detailing.

SUPERB BODGING.

[skattrd]

This thread is what autoshite should aspire to. SUPERB BODGING.

WHS.

 

After last years epic bodge-athon to get it legal in time for Chumley. This year it's 18hrs worth of welding bits of Rover on to the Lada to get it through an MOT. This will go down in Autoshite folklore

[Partridge]

This thread is what autoshite should aspire to. SUPERB BODGING.

 

No, this is hyper-bodging.

[cort16]

Mega work lads its great to see loads of work being put into something like this.

A little alarm bell probably went of in the AA's hq when they put the mot pass into the system.

[Mr_Bo11ox]

WHS +1 THIS etc.

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

Wonderful Great work!

[retrogeezer]

This thread is what autoshite should aspire to; not stuff about buying mint cars and driving them for 50 miles a year, or advanced detailing.

SUPERB BODGING.

What the fuck have I done to upset you then? Unfortunately I can't weld but do get enjoyment out of making a rough looking car look presentable again. Quite happy to get my hands dirty with mechanical repairs that are within my capabilities too.

[trigger]

Amazing stuff Joe! well done on getting the ticket.

[Lacquer Peel]

This thread is what autoshite should aspire to; not stuff about buying mint cars and driving them for 50 miles a year, or advanced detailing.

SUPERB BODGING.

What the fuck have I done to upset you then? Unfortunately I can't weld but do get enjoyment out of making a rough looking car look presentable again. Quite happy to get my hands dirty with mechanical repairs that are within my capabilities too.

 

I wasn't having a go, I just like scruffy, hard working cars.

[catsinthewelder]

I think it's because the boards glitching, first unread post on some of the threads drops you a page behind so if you click it each time theres a new post then you end up seeing the same photos many times

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Good work! I bet a little picture of that strut top flashes up in your mind if you are caning down a backroad and a 'switchback'-style lump in the road appears though!

[RedSparrow]

You sir are a bloody hero for keeping this thing alive.

[George-Roper]

[KruJoe]

Thanks for the comments chaps. Will certainly has put some hours into the old girl of late.

 

 

As mentioned int'other thread, he decided the Escrot had to be dragged in for a fragging.

 

 

It didn't go well for the lad.

 

 

He didn't get a hundred yards away before he folded it up. Numpty.

To be fair it is a very steep, sharp corner - you can't see it from his picture, but you'll know that if you've ever been up to our place.

 

That mess needed the tractor to pull it into a straight line again, and on he went.

 

He emailed:

 

 

Oops!
Slight mishap, live and learn!

 

£114 to share, from the scrapman.

 

I'll update with full damage report after his next visit.

 

What a muppet.

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Ha ha, brilliant! I got my 'A frame brown wings' when my Lancia Prisma broke loose of its A-frame shackles and walloped the back of my Audi 200 some years back, luckily fatalities were kept to a low level