Lada Samara (Bloody thing.)

[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.

[colc]

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.

[Cavette]

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.

[Cavette]

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.