Lada Niva Mini Expedition Project

[griffdog]

My Niva did not cme with its tool kit, but I have been able to score a complete kit from ebay for a few bucks.

The kit basically allows you to do just about everthing on the car and includes a big 12mil allen Key for the diff, sump, gearbox and transfer plug, as well as a full selection of spanners and even a tire pressure gauge.

They also have a 12volt socket in the engine bay as they originally came with a worklight as well.

The best bit however is that they come with a starter handle!!!!!!Great for assiting with setting valve clearances and timing, but would also get you home if you did your starter.

 

[Ray Hyland]

This is awesome, keep the build pics coming.

And please also post some more info on your island if you can, like a map and maybe some pictures for those of us who have never been there. It sounds like a cool place.

 

[Gren_T]

Niva's

Hi Griff nice car and great location i Envy you:drool:
I've had a few niva's and found them to be fantastic little trucks, the only down sides were a dash that had a habit of popping out when the body was twisting during extreme articulation and the horsehair & tar soundproofing that stinks when wet & takes ages to dry.

If you are going to fit larger tyres it would be worthwhile reinforcing the inner wing where the steering box mounts to it.
basically the larger wheels cause the inner wing to flex where the steering box bolts to it and as the box is alloy the lugs that mount it to the wing snap off giving vague steering as i found out on the motorway home.

swapping out the russian carb for a webber twin choke gives plenty of power and a big reduction in fuel consumption.

going to be watching the build with interest.

have fun.. :smiley_drive:

 

[griffdog]

Hi Griff nice car and great location i Envy you:drool:
I've had a few niva's and found them to be fantastic little trucks, the only down sides were a dash that had a habit of popping out when the body was twisting during extreme articulation and the horsehair & tar soundproofing that stinks when wet & takes ages to dry.

If you are going to fit larger tyres it would be worthwhile reinforcing the inner wing where the steering box mounts to it.
basically the larger wheels cause the inner wing to flex where the steering box bolts to it and as the box is alloy the lugs that mount it to the wing snap off giving vague steering as i found out on the motorway home.

swapping out the russian carb for a webber twin choke gives plenty of power and a big reduction in fuel consumption.

going to be watching the build with interest.

have fun.. :smiley_drive:

Cheers,

I am actually going back to pretty standard size tyres, as the car struggles with the bigger wheels.

I am all over the steering box issue - there are a few areas that I will reinforce just in case.

Just recieved a box of goodies in the mail so will start work properly in the next couple of weeks.

 

[griffdog]

Here is some pictures of King Island. It is the island at the top left of the map picture. The big Island is Tasmania.

 

[steelcityslicker]

Just to throw my 2 cents in....

I have not read a more knowledgable thread on the Lada Niva. I had considered buying a Niva many times in the past the last one being probably 10 yrs ago. They were at one time offered here in Canada but did not do well with the salt we use on our roads for the winter. They are an awesome little rig.

I look forward to reading about your progress and seeing all the pics. Keep up the awesome work!!

 

[griffdog]

Thanks steelcityslicker. There are actually some sensational sites about Niva's around. the best one is Baxters Temple of Niva. he is a NewZealand fellow that has basically collated all the last 20 years of Niva information into one website.

Most western countries that sold Niva's have not imported them for a long time, Late 90's in Australia - they stopped becuase of the expense of getting it through modern design rules. But becuase the basic design never changed and all parts are available new, they are a fantastic car if you like to tinker and can get one where the body is OK. They are very simple and straightforward to work on once you have worked out a few little tricks.

Parts are very cheap and can be sources either locally in australia (genuine lada, whcih are very good quality), or from Europe where you canget aftermarker parts very cheaply, but they are not quite so good quality.

The cars are pretty unstopable off road, but they still drive like a car. They drive more like a rally car on dirt roads than a traditional 4wd and are great fun.

I am away from the Island for the next two weeks, but work will be starting in earnest when I get back.

 

[Eaglefreek]

Neat little vehicles. Somehow one wound up in a Pennsylvania junkyard. A guy on another forum I'm on posted these pics a few days ago.

 

[Gren_T]

Hi griff thats a great location you have, wish i was there rather than the UK.
anyway.. i used to run my niva on tyres given to me by the local lada dealer, in the UK they took the russian tyres & steel rims off to fit alloys with a road pattern tyre.
the original tyres were fantastic on wet grass and clay but crap on any thing else but they were free.:wings:

i took a look at baxters page and saw a few articles written by a mate of mine called Kim Conway he wrote articles in IOR magazine in the early 90's detailing our nivas and our off road trips.

I did see photos of a niva pickup sold in Oz in the 90's I'd love to get my hands on one of those.

regards

 

[griffdog]

Update

OK so a while since I posted my original intro - got some time to work on the Niva this next couple of weeks so will keep you posted. We are planning a Lada Niva crossing of the Simpson Desert next year so need to get my s--t together.


I managed to find two more Niva’s on the island. Both were rusted beyond hope, but had good gearboxes, steering boxes etc. The second is a late model niva “Bushman” with injected 1.7 which is running quite well, and comes with the sport steering wheel that was standard on these.

So after fixing the brakes, the floor and various other little bits and pieces to assure myself that this car was worth saving, I have a few days to get the bodywork done. Now I am painting this with killrust and a roller. I know that people are going to say spray it but I am on an island and have limited tools so my motivation at the moment is to get it rust proof the best I can. I will be using a roller and the aim is to get it to a point where from 10 feet it looks ok but also can easily be touched up when rust appears and she gets dinged in the bush.

I have been using a wire brush on a drill to clean any areas that are sus at present and I have been pleasantly surprised that the car is actually very sound. There is only one section that needs welding and I will do this when I return to Ballarat next year.

As I will be using this car for family camping as well as the Simpson trip I am keen to free up as much space as I can. I took the side panels of at the back and was surprised how much room was potentially available. I will fit a water balder into the left hand side and there are a couple of sections in front of the rear wheel arches that will be perfect for tools, oil etc. The original design is pretty crap with super thin plastic, half ******** foam and generally a big hollow area to resonate. I will replace the side, and rear panels with ally sheet after I have resomated the **** our of it and this should look neat and give some extra room.

Anyway here are some shots of where I am at. I have some new lenses to put in and have an original lada tool kit which is pretty sweet with just about everything you need. Next pictures should have some paint on it.






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[griffdog]

Well did my first coat with the killrust paint. Mixed up it was a beige, but a fair bit lighter than the original, but with the two colours I had it was the best I could do. I actually like it.

Painted with high desity roller, and paint thinned with turps. Good coverage with first run- used about 500mil, and look at the level of gloss and self leveling. The best part of this type of painting is the small amount of masking required. I am going to do another coat tomorrow, then leave it for 36 hours before giving it a wet sand and then another final coat which I will allow to fully harden for a month or so before buffing it up. While I am waiting for the paint to dry between coats, I will give the wheels a clean and do them in black I think.



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[4x4x4doors]

Very neat.
Have to comment on your use of the term "jigger". That was commonly used in my family in the early 1960's but haven't really heard it used since then. Brought a smile as I read it!

This whole thread brings a smile as well. Saw a trio of these at Rausch Creek (semi-local rocks/mud off road park) a couple of years ago. Stirred up quite a bit of interest as these simple little car-appearing vehicles were easily matching most of the built vehicles around in terms of where they went and what they could do.

My aunt did a roller job on her car a decade or so ago. Actually turned out quite well.

Subscribed and watching. Good luck with it.

 

[griffdog]

I have a mate Phil who is a master bicycel mechanic. He is the type of guy that gets the bar tape perfect and has cables cut to the right length every time. I think I chanelled him today as I spent 2 hours cleaning these mud flaps. They had been painted in the past and looked terrible. Anyway lots of elbow grease and this is what they came up like, with one still to do....



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[Ray Hyland]

Looks awesome.

With that colour, I would colour-match the rims to the body, and do all the other trim satin black...





but that's just me.

 

[VanIsle_Greg]

Very kool indeed. I remember tons of these here in Canada in the 80's... now you see none. I like different vehicles, and these certainly fir the bill.