Andre Bought His Dream Car & It’s Yet Another Absurd Soviet Russian Car!

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Meet Andres latest purchase, a 1969 GAZ 21, a rare soviet era luxury car you've probably never heard of!
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[@rkim9955]

Watching Roman push Andre in a car with the Russian music playing has to be the best moment ever in TFL. I have never laughed so hard in my life.

[@syxepop]

Not just any Russian music, but the National Anthem of the Soviet Union (there's a full filmed with English-translated subtitles version on YT from a TV1 sign-off full with a TURN OFF THE TV SET NOW caption at the end).

[@JF-xq6fr]

"Then I will live in Montana... And I will have a pickup truck" - Vasily Borodin "I live in Colorado, have a pickup truck... AND a GAZ" - Andre, living the American dream.

[@jimmyjames8736]

Don't forget that Andre tows a beautiful wakeboard boat behind his fast pickup and also gets to test drive tons of great cars and trucks in between trips to auto shows and vehicle intros. Sounds pretty sweet to me. Way to go Andre!

[@TFLtruck]

It is a dream! Thank you for all the support.

[@dannyo6699]

I just watched that movie a few weeks ago. Great movie, great line. Vasily inquires about needing papers to travel state to state in America.

[@dannyo6699]

@@TFLtruck Welcome to the new world.

[@Legotruck82]

The Hunt For Red October if anyone wants to know the movie this line is from.

[@RustyChapman]

Yes, of course, a Czech pushing a Russian's car. Now, where's that like button.

[@mardamek]

For whatever reason your comment brought to mind the movie "15 minutes" 😀

[@salvatoredelia6238]

Very nice! Now you need to get a Lada Niva and go four wheeling with Tommy in his Jeep. Very entertaining videos, I enjoy your stories. As immigrants, from Italy to Honduras, I can relate to them, thank you.

[@XxCrankyMoosexX]

I want a Lada Niva so bad. So much so I’ve looked into buying a 90’s import.

[@salvatoredelia6238]

@@XxCrankyMoosexX Wish you the best in finding one. I also love them, lever operated locking diff, must be awesome offroaders and no nonsense electronics, just like Tommy likes them, by the way, I love his plain jane Jeep Willys.

[@Doncan0823]

Moved from Italy to Honduras ? Wow…

[@TFLtruck]

If you know of a good way to decode a Volga serial number and check to see which color it was originally - please let me know.

[@sergeymatpoc]

I'm not sure it's possible. I know that there should be a sticker (in the trunk?) with color, and there could be original paint from factory in small jar (which I don't think you have). But there's a lot of fans of this generation in Russia. I'd say it's nearly impossible to find old data for EACH factory number's color ). One clue where to find - Yandex Zen, there's a guy with channel called "Mashina" (car in Russian), Nikolay Markov his name. He had some historical papers from GAZ (If I'm not wrong), I'm sure he can tell more of the story based on "VIN" (which actually is just a factory number here, production one).

[@poptartmcjelly7054]

The covers on the A-pillars in the interior are often painted the same color as the car. Depending on how the car was re-painted you might be able to pull back the headliner to reveal some original paint. The area behind the headliner is not painted but does have some over-spray from the factory painting process. You can also sand back the red paint to reveal the original paint. But i'm not aware of any way to decode the serial number, i think it was stamped just as the cars rolled off the assembly line without any hidden info.

[@7296rsks]

There is no color code in serial number, you will have to check for hidden areas

[@raypurchase801]

"I know it's vulgar, but what kind of car is it?"

[@poptartmcjelly7054]

@@raypurchase801 "who are you quoting?"

[@jeromethemechanic6871]

Andres passion for cars is why this channel is successful.

[@rosenevil74]

That will definitely stand out at cars and coffee! I can't wait for a Lada Niva to be added to the channel.

[@rozapaul1366]

Hy! In Romania if you saw a Volga you know that somebody is in trouble. Nice vid ! Glad to see one !

[@frankbrowning328]

Very cool look. With some new paint this could be a real head turner. A deep high gloss black or maybe a candy apple red? The GM 3.8L engine was used for a very long time and as such there are a tremendous number of upgrades available for it. You will probably be able to create any power level you want in this motor

[@mikebell2750]

Decades ago, I had a Lada 1500 (otherwise known as a VAZ 2103) and loved it. Up here in Canada Lada’s were imported from about 1980 through to about 1994 or so. We never got any other Russian cars, but we did get some Czech Skodas 120 L (Estelle overseas) and some Dacia 1310 models (an old Renault 12 copy) in the 1980’s. I would love to find another Lada like my old car or a Niva to enjoy the simple fun that these cars can provide. Hopefully you can get your GAZ up and running, so you can enjoy some trips down memory lane.

[@crusader2.0_loading89]

You can always import one

[@regsparkes6507]

I wasn't aware that GAZ was part of the world trading partners association,... Volga model Gaz, Buick engine, Ford rear axel, and now parked at what a German Auto repair shop, Stay tuned ( I guess ) to see what else Andre has in store for us, and this car. Great stuff Andre! Thanks to Roman too for that joke at the end!

[@syxepop]

That's nothing... There are some YT videos about the "Frankencars" mechanics end doing in today's Cuba with parts (even body ones) of different makes and years (if it can be made to fit, it would be put there...).

[@Ted_Stryker]

Thumbs up if you want the next Russian vehicle to be a T-34.

[@BillLaBrie]

Or the Buran…

[@bkucinschi]

Which one, T34-85 or T34-76?? 😁

[@tambosnipes1652]

How about a mig 15

[@breckfreeride]

I'd take a ural... And that's about it... An old mig would be fun though

[@robertish4917]

I must say this brought a smile to my face, seeing andre so happy is memorable, the USSR anthem helped it

[@stephensalt6787]

I had to laugh listening to Andre pant and gasp steering while Roman was pushing, classic, can’t wait to see more comrades lol.

[@dannyo6699]

That's pretty awesome that Andre found a childhood car he remembers and has stories about riding in it. Looking forward to seeing more about it. It's kind of an interesting car. Was the Ford rear end factory or was that replaced when it came to the U.S?

[@TFLtruck]

The rear axle was replaced later. The original axle still comes with the car (separately).

[@thehumungus1985]

Loved the intro! Love these rare Russian vehicles we don't get in the states, more of this please 😁

[@bkucinschi]

I love Andrei's enthusiasm when presenting this car. Funy enough, I saw this cars on the road during my childhood in a (undisclosed) Eastern-block country.

[@poptartmcjelly7054]

2:21 the steel is 1.2mm thick for the most part, which is considerably thicker than the ~0.8mm steel in today's cars. Unfortunately it is not galvanized so it rusts freely. And the inner crevices do not come covered with an anti-corrosion coating (like wax), you had to do that yourself.

[@aaronbehindbars]

I'm getting to the age where I have more and more interest in getting a vehicle from my childhood. My Grandfather had some relatively interesting (we are talking about the 1980's mind you) vehicles and liked to get new stuff fairly often. He had a 1984 Datsun Maxima wagon which was pretty neat in that it had the Z's L24 inline 6. My favorite thing was the talking warning chimes it would play: "door is ajar" or "key is in the ignition." Haven't seen a rwd Maxima in probably 20 years, so those are probably scarce.

[@fredbrackely]

I'm not. They were shite, unless you're looking at an E type.

[@ShersGarage]

My grandfather owned GAZ 21 for years and then GAZ 24. I still remember what it smelled like.

[@TFLtruck]

Very cool!

[@zonie1953]

Adding the Russian anthem was good touch Andre . And getting the boss to push, congratulations !

[@erniearruda8861]

Andre I think it is original red paint colour due to being painted on the inside doors (bright red) engine bay etc.. that would be a lot of work of stripping the whole entire car for a repaint. I’m thinking also at one point the car came from Cuba? Due to engine swapping and very faded red paint. Didn’t Soviet Union exported cars and fire arms to Cuba during the crisis? Just a thought.

[@bakhtiyarpakhirdinov2461]

Actually GAZ-21 Volga was a Soviet movie superstar. It was one of main characters in extremely popular old Soviet comedies like 'Brilliantovaya Ruka' ('A Diamond Hand') or 'Beregis' Avtomobilya' ('Watch out for a car').

[@jamesclark9791]

Roman has to stop going places with people with odd foreign cars he always ends up pushing

[@MYJ61]

André, if that’s not the original color, they did a very detailed job. Door jams, inside the engine bay etc. Also, those taillights look suspiciously MGB. I’m so happy for you. Going for a Zil next? Or maybe a nice Tatra?

[@TFLtruck]

Agreed. It would be so rare to have this be an original color.

[@dalejones4322]

Great video. So much fun. I had a smile on my face the whole time. Thanks guys.

[@colliderdc]

Comrade Andre will be a great series, well done!

[@scottyellis3442]

WOW very nice, anytime I see an older car from my childhood (60's) the interior smell brings back so many memories. Must have been something they made the interiors with because they all have the same smell. Great find Andrea. 👍🏻

[@kevinregan5566]

I am genuinely happy for Andre. The likability of all of you on TFL is the key to all of the success you have had.

[@Martin_from_SC]

Awesome, Andre! Now you need the UAZ jeep, or maybe a ZIL off road truck!

[@kevinc31]

What a great episode. Love hearing all the old stories.

[@kenyongillespie8652]

The added music is GREAT! Good luck with the car Andre.

[@richardcrouse4644]

Neat! Always a surprise. Thanks for posting.

[@NameisRandy007]

i was cracking up so much when the soviet anthem came on while pushing and ya’ll crossed out German for russian. Shout out to the editor HAHA

[@maverickdisco4036]

Must say TFL just gets better and better.

[@AverageBud]

What a really cool project, I really hope to see more on it's progress.

[@7296rsks]

Buick V6 looks awesome inside, I've swapped mine with a Russian V8 and it barely fits) car has to be fully repainted, they weren't red and all factory black cars actually had grey dashboard, door panels and seats

[@7296rsks]

@Деревенщина из Сибири - Абакан на грузовиках ГАЗ-53/66, автобусах ПАЗ стоят моторы ЗМЗ V8. у меня установлен от ГАЗ-66

[@hereigoagain5050]

Good for Andre! He seldom gets so excited. It should give him a lifetime of joy and fond memories.

[@InstinctiveThinking]

Love hearing about these stories from Andre!

[@jimmyjames8736]

I think that TFL needs to start a new video series. It would be called "What can Roman push?"

[@ZeigtdasVideo]

If your parents drove one of these in the soviet-era, your parents were probably apparatchiks or worked for the KGB. Not a car for normal people.

[@volhv1973]

Scientist would get it too, also soviets could win it in a lottery

@@volhv1973 C'mon.... look at Andrey, they were no scientists! (just a joke, sorry guys)

[@lanceislateagain]

Looking forward to seeing it restored, fixed, and running! Old cars just have a different kind of charm. Old, obscure (to my less-than-knowledgeable mind) cars? That's just gold. Also the music and editing on this is phenomenal.

[@pasifsc]

Volga was a popular Taxi car here in the -60´s with original 4 cylinder engine. That year Volga is model GAZ-21, zero to 100 kmh 29 seconds, top speed 127 kmh.

[@johnraygun9868]

Congratulations Andre!! We are happy for you!

[@sayeager5559]

Great video. New subscriber. I would love to daily drive a GAZ.

[@joezephyr]

Fun video thank you!

[@deadfishparty]

I commend you for taking the plunge. I share a love of soviet cars and shall enjoy living vicariously through you.

[@mohanc2010]

Love this video!

[@CraigSmith568]

If someone did a color change on this car they did a thorough job.

[@TFLtruck]

Yes. The red is in the engine bay and some interior areas.

[@arielmillanao2441]

I loved everything on this video, the car ,the soviet music, and the friendship between Roman and Andre.

[@FransvandenBergeMuziekschuur]

It’s beautiful. The chrome is beautiful. The lacquer can be buffed. Awesome.

[@jetski54]

Good luck with it!

[@sabbathblack4845]

I think a full restoration is in order

[@nightfall22]

I can’t WAIT to see this car rollin on the road!! Hot damn that’s a cool little car and awesome memories

[@ShersGarage]

These normally came with a 4 cylinder engine. Special editions came with a V8 from Chaika. Buick engine has been installed here and way better powerplant than the og.

[@bosse641]

I would like to own a Lada Niva.

[@twofacedconker4900]

He is so excited 😂 love it that's a great find man

[@markdenney3903]

Reminds me of the Trabants from East Germany when I was stationed in Berlin in the 80's. That thing is the coolest death trap around.

[@nlpnt]

A Trabi would be a lot easier to push though.

[@caseyhill3915]

Too bad Ivan from Pine Hollow Diagnostics isn't closer to you guys. That would be a perfect episode series of Ivan fixing up this car for you since he is Russian.

[@neilmurphy845]

Yah he would have a great time fixing it up

[@jurivlk5433]

Very nice car! I had the 3.8l engine in a Oldsmobile Starfire and it has enough power for actual traffic. Only 125 HP but a lot of torque. Love this early 1950's style!

[@karenmarieh.j.3842]

I work at a inner city hospital and each day we are dealing with covid and inner city violence. Thank you Andre and Roman for putting a smile on my face and starting my day with a deep laugh, before heading back in.

[@grayeagle4521]

I just want to know why Roman is always the one pushing the cars when you got those young guys with you, But love the videos they have come a long way from having Nathan jumping in the trunks of cars keep up the great work that you all are doing.

[@rfruss]

Andre, Your first review should be you driving it all the way back to the homeland and flying back. The red color is Krasni, something beautiful!

[@Czechbound]

It's **perfect** ! Greetings from Prague, CZ

[@alsnow3582]

Cool car. Loved the joke at the end. If covid continues, we'll be saying the same thing!

[@WCW4469]

Classic! Wish list for the channel: Lada Niva, Trabant sedan & wagon, ZIL Limo, a Moscvich, and a ZAZ 968. When can we expect TFL Sovetsky?

[@aislingmairead4939]

I was hoping for a Chaika, but a Volga is also pretty sweet. Best of luck, Andre!!

[@Mr19853]

I remember that car! There was a few around my neighborhood. Wery cool Andre!

[@bogdantora]

The body of these Gaz/Volga car(s) stood the test of time much better then many western made cars... They took the " bult like a tank " phrase to the next level

[@eefjuh5533]

I just love André's emotional enthousiasm.

[@skunkhollow1]

10:17 My 1942 Dodge 3 window coupe has the same covers over the keyholes, that was nothing new in the late 1960s!

[@badgerpa9]

Did I miss a recent update from Roman on the fleet?

[@siraff4461]

I love this. So cool and unusual. Also in this episode we find out that Andre's family was rich as heck. I have a feeling that car might have been white too.

[@DanielIliev]

That’s true. Who was able to get Volga back in the day, it was a luxury car.

[@nateoverthehorizon1176]

With everything that’s going on in the world today, it’s stuff like this that reminds me I still love Russian/Soviet history and culture, and cars are a magical device that brings people together. Andre is one of the funniest car dudes out there and the fast lane series has become my new top gear for me. I’m excited to see this car running!

[@19mati67]

We had these in Romania as well. We also had the Moskvitch as well. Roman, back in the day when I was in the Romanian military, we have pushed a T55 tank, because the battery was to weak to start the tank. We were like 24 people that pushed it, on grass. It started.

[@Eklectic1]

An amusing video and a glimpse into Andre's childhood. Het komrad Smirnov?

[@peterstankovic1978]

Great video. I've been watching TFL videos for years and trying to figure out where Roman is from. I thought from ex Yugoslavia... Thanks for sharing you are Czech. I am from Slovakia, the place where your Defender (😂) was made but I've been living in Czech form many years now. Roman you should buy Skoda or Tatra! Take care

[@rekleif]

Try to 3d print that knob in carbon plastic. And André, you got a real treasure here, do it up right and respectfully... And 5 grand is CHEAP, these restored go for 20-35.000€(euro). Have looked in Germany but they are out of my financial reach living in a Scandinavian country...

[@lawrencemitchell5983]

слава ГАЗ!! 🙂 As a basic Russian language diy student and fan of your videos and web content; I'm loving the car. Great project Andre 👍. Ahoj Roman😉.

[@twofacedconker4900]

That van is dope I'll have to find that video

[@SuperWooba]

This is awesome lol Definitely paint it the same color as your grandparents car.

[@frankbroker726]

More of this stuff..I love it

[@billjamison2877]

Dos Vedanya Comrade! Enjoy your toy Andre"! I'm happy for ya!

[@lanceripplinger8352]

The stories and jokes are priceless!

[@badgerpa9]

Once again Roman is the work horse, thanks Roman for showing the superior strength of middle age over the baby youth. Many "Russian" vehicles have parts from other manufactures or copied parts and that helps for getting some parts. I hope she runs great and you get some good offroad tires on her to take it in the desert offroad. Enjoy your childhood memories. Maybe you can get your 3.8 stroked and built up so you get a lot more horsey power. Stay safe and healthy.

[@DanielIliev]

You did not bring the Volga, did you? Haha, love it.

[@V10PDTDI]

Fantastic Andre is making is boss work.

[@Ognjen19]

i am waiting for a lada niva :) hope never dies

[@poptartmcjelly7054]

2:16 The car was black originally. You can tell because the A-pillar cover in the interior is black. These sheet metal covers are painted the same color as the car. At least they were on my green GAZ 24 Volga.

[@simiamalum5487]

Ash tray in the back is the ultimate luxury. It means the kids don't need to flick their ash into the palm of their hand like we did in the good ol' days.

[@swathdiver489]

The Buick LD5 was a great little motor!

[@Sohave]

Cool, the old "Gulag Taxi" It kind of needs to be painted black like in the urban legend. It is interesting those cars, Volga 21 and UAZ Buhanka are also on my dream list.

[@theonly9]

Legend has his mom bought the car in 1969 but they just made it to the top of the list for delivery.

[@BollocksRadio]

Roman is epic as always :D

[@The_Hi_Life]

Love Soviet Era everything, so fascinating! Excited for the coming restoration!

[@doggo__usa]

HAH I actually was seriously considering buying this exact car when I saw it pop up on eBay back at the end of 2020!

[@Tcflohr]

Love it!

[@reelguyoutdoors5536]

I like how Andre starts huffing and puffing while the car is being pushed!

[@jnmaher1967]

Nostalgia time on TFL.

[@matthewgray3375]

Absolutely awesome. Love the old Russian vehicles, I know they are not perfect, but really liked spotting them when I go over there