Can we make a Lada engine run in the other direction?

[@GunMetalEngineer]

It’s like a French tank - 1 forward gear and 5 reverse

[@Colorado_Native]

That's too funny! Kind of like an advertisement (spoof) I saw for a WWII French rifle - Good condition, only dropped *once*.

[@Zippsterman]

@@Colorado_Native Never fired, dropped once All jokes aside without French defenses Dunkirk would've gone very differently

[@Colorado_Native]

@@Zippsterman Better. Thanks.

[@Patrick-bu4vq]

Why do French tanks have a reverse mirror? So that they can see the frontline Why are in French so many avenues? Because Germans like to march in the shadow Sorry if someone feels offended

[@Gkuljian]

@@Zippsterman As would the American war of independence.

[@UberMegustador]

this is the greatest engineering channel on youtube :D Those guys can create anything as long as they have a lada as a base.

[@kylemaskell722]

I have never wanted a Russian car before I saw vlad

[@joejoejoejoejoejoe4391]

Try Allan Milliard.

[@der_conni]

If not, they just build one out of wood.

[@askme2669]

turn seat around move steering column, now its a rear steer , rear mounted motor monster

[@corkywestmorland9951]

Dang I just said that also!!!! You beat me to that one 🤣

[@EvgeniBelin]

Shhhh. I could barely watch this one

[@martinlicht1969]

Thanks, I just said same thing...

[@Z_732]

So, over here in the US, we had some old farming equipment that had reverse spinning engines. One in particular, was a small block chevy, in a bale wagon it got tired, so my neighbor put a small block out of a pickup truck in it. One forward gear, and 3 reverse.

[@RegalCobra097]

In Germany, there was a tractor that had no reverse gear (The first version of the Lanz Bulldog). If you wanted to back up, you had to almost stall the engine by shutting the fuel valve and re-open it just at the right time which is kinda tricky and reqires practice. The engine then runs reverse. Later models would come with a reverse gear so the farmer wouldn't have to reverse the engine every time he needs to back up.

[@JeremiahSchreffler]

​@@RegalCobra097that's because that was a 2 stroke diesel engine... 2 strokes will run in reverse easily if the port timing is right.

[@christianfritz6333]

The project isn't complete unless you flip the differential, get the timing correct, I even think you could get the oil pump to work in reverse (though admittedly I know nothing about Lada oil pumps.)

[@MadScientist267]

It's undoubtedly the standard gear pump... given the way they work and the fact they're somewhat integrated into the block structure, you'd have to spin it the correct direction to get it to pump oil correctly.

[@lincolnbliss4885]

You can't make this shit up

[@stu0500]

You can’t. It’s class.

[@shanepowers7566]

Ain’t that the truth!

[@fabtube7177]

They are running out of ideas😂

[@MadScientist267]

Oh... but they did!

[@0wl999]

That's why I love this channel.😂

[@I.Live4oldcars.prospecting]

You guys are awesome. You can achieve anything. I didn't think it was possible to make a engine run backwards. Hi from Australia 👍

[@MadScientist267]

With a 2 stroke it's as simple as spinning it the other way and messing with the ignition timing... with a 4 stroke there's a bit more to consider 🤣

[@geoffgunn9673]

Volvo penta engines are chevs running in reverse for boat engines

[@Kiyoone]

Garage 54 delivering questions that no one ever asked before. Nice.

[@tahahaider5836]

But had in their minds

[@franco6296]

i acually wondered a lot about this...

[@sgtpepper8148]

Do you know this for a fact tho I see them doing a lot of of requests.. even if they come up with their own stuff it's still pretty awesome dude

[@codymiller1833]

I literally just thought about this, and was going to send it as a comment as a idea, and this video popped up. By far my favorite channel

[@feelingold2995]

Can you mount 2 transmissions in the Lada? Granny low gear and 8th for the salt flats..🤣🤣

[@sinchrotron]

They did it already. May be not yet translated

[@vincehoffman179]

Twin Stick lada Trick 😅😂😂

[@davidjernigan8161]

Fairbanks Morse built opposed piston diesels that could run in either direction by shifting the phasing between the two crankshafts via a lever. Of course it was easier because it was a two stroke.

[@grabasandwich]

I've also seen people say Detroit Diesels would sometimes run in reverse by accident. There's even a video on here of a dump truck with a Detroit that stalled on some hills, and smoke starts pouring out the air filter 😂

[@cmsracing]

Some GM 567-645 ship engines could change direction with the shift of a lever, (air start so no starter problems).

[@andreblanchard8315]

Most large ship engines are run in reverse to back up.

[@geoffgunn9673]

They had railcard in nsw that had this. Needed to shut down to get into reverse The old tin hares

[@BIGSMOKE-bl2lq]

​@@grabasandwichthe forklift at my old work used to was ruff to get it to but it would blow all the dirt back outta the air filter hahaha

[@ttyy-p7g]

The carburetor could have been placed where the exhaust exits Then start the engine in the opposite direction of rotation without adjusting the camshaft. Of course, the exhaust will come out of the intake manifold

[@margarita8442]

good thinking

[@thedarkknight1971]

Yamaha made a 'Reverse barrel' TZR250 (I think in the '90s?) where the carb was where the exhaust manifold is usually), and the exhaust came out the back. The thinking then was that a combination of air being sort of 'Force fed' into the engine plus the acceleration G's and simplistic front to back 'Natural flow' would help with power... Not sure how much it helped, but, nice concept though. It DID make me think though around that time why more cars & motorcycles weren't built that way, as, it did seem logical to create a 'Better flow' for input/exhaust (cooler air in, a 'Direct' exhaust out back kinda thing)... 🤔😏 😎🇬🇧

[@BIGSMOKE-bl2lq]

Always wondered as a kid later yamaha 450 mx bikes do this somewhat but they loop the exhaust all the way back around ​@thedarkknight1971

[@eecook79]

I am convinced that the Lada is the perfect apocalypse car

[@Superrandomz768]

Reverse polarity on starter. Swap intake and exhaust manifolds. Adjust timing to tweak

[@MadScientist267]

Bzzzt with the starter. I was looking for this one. First, a starter is a series wound motor. AKA the "universal" motor. This type motor is also in brushed type vacuum cleaner motors, and no rectification is involved. The motor will run on AC just as happily as it will DC. So, no matter which polarity you put across it, it will spin the same direction. Assuming you *could* get it going backwards (requires flipping the polarity of the brushes with respect to the stator windings), the bendix will not engage the flywheel because it uses a screw mechanism to drive the gear out, which is dependent on it rotating a specific direction to work. Basically, more work than it's worth. Realistically, if you're going to use a starter, it would be much simpler to mount it from the other direction and just run it stock. Assuming you get it mounted solid, it will spin the flywheel the other direction happily, without being aware it's doing so.

[@geoffgunn9673]

You would have to mod the car to a positive earth to get the starter to spin in reverse easily. Not that hard with a simple point system if you ignore all the rest of the electricals

[@bishop94z]

It is interesting to think how it performs with the valve sizes flipped. I’ve seen this done on old school American V8’s before, they called them “reverse flow” setups. Someone has apparently done it on accident with a newer LS before when they spun out in gear. Great content!

[@martin-vv9lf]

if the valves were flipped they wouldn't draw fuel from the carb, which is unmodified.

[@realy_gamer1162]

This was exactly what crossed my mind this morning, what a coincidence that you posted this video. Love you guys 🌹

[@zandorvorkov7257]

Lada must be the most versatile engine in the world.

[@exploranator]

With the most versatile crew in Garage 54

[@NoHandleNameScrewTube]

So many wonderful ideas and so love seeing the area and culture around you as you drive and talk to people. You guys rock!

[@2StrokeDriptroit]

Yee! 🤣 just go 2 stroke! They will easily run backwards! You can just advance the timing in the opposite way! I would normally suggest an old 2 stroke 3 cylinder SAAB engine, but they have large wide open intake ports to the crankcase from the carburettor, and running them backwards will cause the piston skirt to catch on the port, tearing a chunk out of a piston. So these weren’t meant to ever run backwards. But many other 3 or 4 cylinder 2 strokes, especially reed valve or rotary valve induction can, as well as piston-port with vertical pieces to stop piston skirt snagging. Plus, a 2 stroke LADA would be awesome! I am back, Vlad and the guys! Can now comment and like! 😋👍🏻👌

[@lablackzed]

Love to see if you could fit a small jet engine in a lada.😱🐺👍

[@shevoy_000]

They'll do it 😃

[@67comet]

This would be PERFECT for the Reverse racing classes (local tracks will make the drivers race backwards) . Just flip it, start it, and no one would know how you can to 100kph backwards :) ..

[@rp42069]

VERY UNDER RATED CHANNEL! LOT'S OF THOUGHT AND ENGINEERING INTO EACH VIDEO. 👏 👏 👏

[@davidwallace785]

Youse lads are everyday heroes

[@chadmartin479]

Wow, very nice. So the Lada head must be symetrically mirror reversed relative to the center line. Like (1e1i) (2i 2e) (3e 3i) (4i 4e). So when you swap it around its still correct. If the head is not like that, then reversing the cam end to end wont work, you would have to make a new cam almost. Yes I looked and can find heads that are (1e1i) (2e 2i) (3e 3i) (4e 4i). So it would not work on that type engine.

[@dabombinablemi6188]

Not a surprise to me. In the process of figuring out what component was causing a diesel to run away, it would actually run in reverse after starting normally. Turns out a fuel injector had stuck open, and the result was me getting a facefull of diesel exhaust as I was standing near the intake ready to put a plank over it. Timing chain and components weren't actually damaged at all. Bearings broke lose and spun with a loud crack when the engine was turned off after the first test drive post "fix" however.

[@creepingjesus5106]

It's a bit of a mind bender, when you get to thinking about it! Well done 👍

[@firstnamelastnameisallowed7943]

I love these guys! They do the best projects i swear

[@rossbrumby1957]

Leave the camshaft in the original way, on a camchain engine replace chain and sprockets with timing gears. If the oil pump is run off the camshaft, it will still pump oil the right way- if it runs off the crank, the pump will just blow bubbles into the sump.

[@remcogijsen6200]

Than you neet to flip the manifolds intake become exhaust Exhaust become intake It can be done

[@carloscollomps1552]

I once started a Ford 221ci inline 6 engine in a Falcon, the timing was off so it didn't want to start while cranking, but once you released the key it would start and idle, ALWAYS... but in the wrong direction. We discovered this after trying to move the car (manual, 4 gear, column shifter) it had 4 reverse gears and one forwards.

[@Mvr01008]

Guys do what you do! My favourite youtube videos that I watch!

[@andypdq]

The distributor is spinning in the opposite direction, so the centrifugal timing weights will retard the spark with higher engine speed, rather than advance it.

[@geoffgunn9673]

You could counter that by disabling it and then the vacuum advance would have to be modded to rotate the baseplate the right way

[@3ltrchris]

😂😂

[@andypdq]

​@@geoffgunn9673 But the vacuum advance is for light throttle loads, advances timing for lean mixture, slower flame propagation, you still need centrifugal advance for optimum power at full throttle, no vacuum.

[@nastybastardatlive]

I'd lock the distributor in full advance.

[@fryloc359]

It will still advance timing. Centrifugal force doesn't work backwards just because the rotor spins the other way.

[@charleswelch249]

That's awesome guys, only you can make it work.

[@thedarkknight1971]

Yamaha made a 'Reverse barrel' TZR250 (I think in the '90s?) where the carb was where the exhaust manifold is usually), and the exhaust came out the back. The thinking then was that a combination of air being sort of 'Force fed' into the engine plus the acceleration G's (for the atomised fuel) and simplistic front to back 'Natural flow' would help with power... Not sure how much it helped, but, nice concept though. It DID make me think though around that time why more cars & motorcycles weren't built that way, as, it did seem logical to create a 'Better flow' for input/exhaust (cooler air in, a 'Direct' exhaust out back kinda thing)... 🤔😏 😎🇬🇧

[@nigelterry9299]

Those Ladas are,tough! They must be, you guys do torture them!!

[@pauloconnor7951]

History in the making!!!

[@antontsau]

Garage arshanders. 1. To rotate oil pump in right direction on this engine its enough to redo piglet and vertical shaft coupling. Not so easy, but possible with right equipment 2. Reverse camshaft can be done from scratch too, but I think it would be easier to swap manifolds with some external piping 3. Water pipe will not work properly, but at least it will pump something. Requires to machine internal walls and it becomes better 4 but the biggest problem is chain drive. It will not work ever, as on reverse it strains on the tensioner side, rapidly destroying plastic boot. Can not imagine quick fix for this problem.

[@thedarkknight1971]

I'd like to see a Lada 4cyl motor run as a twin/twin - cylinders 1 & 4 fire together, then cylinders 2 & 3 fire together. Would it help with torque? For example - how a parallel twin motorcycle engine has more accessable lower down torque, compared to a 4 cylinder you need to rev the motor higher to get anywhere etc. It's why Triumph motorcycles went with a triple, to get a 'Balanced combination of power and torque' (like a mix of twin and 4 cyl)... 🤔😏 😎🇬🇧

[@ga1707]

BRAVO guys you finally did it!!

[@chemicalvamp]

Yes! You can do it! Dual motor 4 wheel drive Lada, wish i could buy one.

[@arockiaadventure]

You are genius friends ❤

[@MRPricks]

The ideas never stop awesome as.

[@dkannegi]

This can happen with some extremely advanced timing, red neck messing around with the various engine parameter sensor inputs directly to the ECU (ECU was unmodifiable, car wasn't worth it to mega-squirt) , and a slow starting RPM with a well timed backfire - has this happen with a 1998 Hyundai Elantra with a 2002 Beta 2.0 motor with HO cams. Surprisingly it idled, oil warning light was on, and smoke appropriately eliminated out of the intake, and 1st gear did drive in reverse - only let it run like this for a few seconds given NO OIL pressure... restarted it and it turned properly after some well deserved sputtering thanks to the sooted out intake.

[@honkie247]

The distributor now turns in reverse. Now you have centrifugal retard and vacuum retard rather than centrifugal advance and vacuum advance. The water pump must also be turned in the normal direction, not reverse as it is now. Perhaps an electric water pump would be easiest.

[@deant876]

When I was in the US Army in the 90's, it was rumored that you could pull start the big diesel trucks in reverse. I never had the experience with that, so I couldn't confirm

[@HA05GER]

Probably 2 stroke diesels so very plausible.

[@THEDON3400]

I've always wanted to see you guys do a reverse of the intake and exhaust //// Я всегда хотел увидеть, как вы, ребята, поменяете местами впуск и выпуск.

[@JohnSmith-jl3fm]

Next up how fast can a lada go in reverse with 4 gears.😂

[@remcogijsen6200]

Fliping te diferential Than you have 1 forward 4 revrse😊

[@JohnSmith-jl3fm]

@remcogijsen6200 seen that on scrapheap challenge but don't think they knew that one.👍

[@Matiasfs94]

I think they did it already

[@JohnSmith-jl3fm]

@Matiasfs94 not seen it with 4 gears just reversing think. Will check again cheers.

[@fryloc359]

​@@Matiasfs94I'm certain I've seen that one, I just couldn't find it last time I looked for it.

[@pauldunn7000]

I have right and left hand boat engines the only difference is the timing chain on the right hand engine and the left hand engine has two timing gears that touch and as the crank goes the other direction the cam goes the proper direction causing the oil pump and the distributor to go the proper direction.. the difference is the starter and timing gears instead of a chain on two gears going the same direction... TDC is the same the only thing that changes is crank direction of rotation.. and if you want forward gears you can turn the rear end housing over putting the Ring gear on the other side of the pinion changing direction of tire rotation..

[@kaloyancholakov3725]

This car experiment makes my brain to think in reverse.

[@Flies2FLL]

Russian aircraft have propellers that spin the wrong way. Sitting in the cockpit, you should see your propellor spin from left to right, the way we read. A Russian airplane typically has the opposite, a right to left seen from behind. I think the LADA engine is standard rotation, seen from behind it spins clockwise..

[@kevindowner3606]

The look on vlads face when that guy asked if the fuel would go back into the tank!!! I'm fucking dying lol

[@kennethcohagen3539]

Smoky Unich built an engine for NASCAR racing that ran backwards, to use its torque to load the car into the corners for better handling. It worked. The cam has to be changed because the valves will be opening at the wrong time if you don’t. If the fuel pump uses a diaphragm that is moved up and down, it won’t matter which direction the engine turns. The distributer will have to have the plug wires in the right direction. And the starter will have to be to turn backwards. Now if you’re running an automatic transmission there should be a so rag clutch so the it turns in the right direction. The water pump will turn backwards.

[@psions555]

First time I lifted the bonnet on my old Civic EJ I knew something was crazy different but it took a minute to sink in. As i now know, the B/D series run counter clockwise and the drive belt and timing belt are opposite end to usual

[@michaelharrison1093]

You could have left the camshaft unmodified and simply swapped the inlet and exhaust manifolds around

[@Cristian121212100]

It would’ve just pull air out the exhaust and push exhaust gases out of the intake, it wouldn’t really run.

[@JHMBB2]

You guys are insane! I love this!

[@marksr49341]

How do you keep the timing when you cut cams and cranks and so on. I have watched many projects, your welder is very good but I am often surprised that you get timing correct and not much vibration

[@aslerunarborgersen5175]

You guys are crazy, but i love it. Greetings from Norway

[@rayceeya8659]

Be a lot easier with a Trabant. All you need to do is change the ignition timing.

[@2LZA3EEM]

what about to replace clutch with torque converter ?!

[@martin-vv9lf]

Can you modify a lada engine block for offset crank? i think you would have to weld up the main bearings, line bore the crank, move the bell housing and weld the timing cover.

[@Tornado47lory98GamingFun]

I got a question, the exhaust is the intake and the intake is the exhaust?

[@luigigonzalez5062]

Now flip the whole drive train and make a rear engine lada

[@pauloconnor7951]

Cooling system ?!. But you're in Siberia. That is your cooling system!!!

[@Enjoymentboy]

Now you turn the seats around backwards, move the steering wheel, peddles and shifter and turn it into a front wheel drive/rear wheel steer lada. The only one ever.

[@ussdiscovery6912]

Y'all never cease to amaze me with the craziest things done to cars! 😂 👍

[@Colorado_Native]

You should build an inline 24-cylinder engine. That would be awesome.

[@UmmmmmmmWhat]

Radial engine like an old airplane engine with I4 lada blocks instead of single cylinders around the central shaft. No clue how the firing order would work, but it would be hilarious to see.

[@SlowMenWorking]

​@@UmmmmmmmWhat All the oiling would have to be dry sump as well, at least for the side and bottom mounted ones

[@MadScientist267]

​@@SlowMenWorkingJust run them all as individual engines 🤣

[@JeffKopis]

Inline 24?? 6 Lada engines in a row? It would be 16 feet (about 5 meters) long!

[@campbellparminter158]

You guys make me smile. Loving the Lada action. Makes me want to visit Russia.

[@hi8803]

Yall should flip the trans backward as well. Like the tail shaft becomes the input shaft and vis versa. Bell housing behind you and first gear all the way right and down. Would be weird.

[@OathTaker3]

You guys ROCK!

[@JackSupraMan]

Siete dei geni del male, per questo vi adoro e vi seguo! Ciao dall'Italia 😎😎😎

[@mattwillson8280]

distributer drive gear/oil pump drive gear and a reverse grind cam shaft , rest of modo stays same...boat modo (inboards) from 60's/70's...reverse rotation modos make a lilbit more power too

[@Jarda_B]

I see a problem with rotating the cam shaft, the degree diference between exhaust and intake are the same, but you must be using the exhaust cam profile to open intake and the same for exhaust using intake cam (if the valves in the motor are not simetrical, this issue would not occure if the valves were EXHAUS intake EXHAUST intake INTAKE exhaust INTAKE exhaust , or the other way around, but i think it uses INTAKE exhaust INTAKE exhaust ..... etc )

[@margiemouse1660]

All you have to do to reverse a 4 cylinder is drive the cam in the opposite direction. When you run the engine, the crank spins the opposite direction but the cam runs the natural direction, This will also run the oil pump and distributor in the correct direction. Am I wrong?

[@lorenzosamuel11]

this is the perfect Segway into a rear engine lada

[@patchone9558]

flip the rear differential up side down reverse will be forward forward gears will be reverse gears then drive it on a obstacle course. Driving backward.

[@aarong9378]

Thanks for granting my request! Now, let's see how fast it will go in... erm... reverse (4th gear)!

[@jimseviltwin1]

An car engine can definitely run “backwards “: We had just finished rebuilding the four cylinder MGB engine after I burned a rod bearing and I was setting the timing by ear. It fired right up and as I was either advancing or retarding the timing, I went too far in one direction. The engine kinda of backfired and to my amazement, it started idling in reverse ! Instinctively, I put the palms of my hands over Venturis of the dual carburetors, after what seemed like an eternity, the motor finally stalled. If I hadn’t witnessed this happening firsthand, I wouldn’t have believed it!

[@nicka9103]

That’s really cool… I’m curious though, does is overheat since the water pump is being spun in reverse as well?

[@twilliamrc4wd]

Have you tried switching the rear differential in reverse then you can run the motor and backward but you still can you use your transmission as normal

[@andrewbarnard3229]

You actually dont need to do allot, have done this a few times on a couple different engines. If you mod the starter to rotate in reverse then swap the intake and exhaust manifolds, it will run as is, of course you run into other issues with flow and heat, the water pump doesn't run backwards so we had to run electric pumps, google chevy 350 running in reverse. Its been done its not hard. Makes for allot of looks at the shows 😁

[@markchapman2585]

I Been asking you guys for a few years if you can try to make a diesel engine run backwards. But this is awesome 👌🏼

[@vapenation7061]

*runs engine dry until it seizes* "ok let's add a cooling system and do it again"

[@the0leman]

Love your experiments guys. Starter are DC just switch polarity and it should (in theory) turn in reverse.

[@christianfritz6333]

Except starters use the body as a ground,

[@grabasandwich]

And I don't think the Bendix would allow the gear to engage the ring gear?

[@christianfritz6333]

@@grabasandwich true.

[@christianfritz6333]

But let's be honest, getting a starter to work on this engine would be child's play for garage 54.

[@JD-nl5xv]

The solenoid will pull the plunger instead of throwing it out, best solution would be to strip it and flip the field magnets in the stator then it should run the opposite direction. Bendix drive shouldn't matter if you don't mind going dog to dog with the flywheel now and then, might need to weld the clutch bearing though

[@sp00-EKy]

I've heard legend about a lad who had messed up his ignition timing, & resulted in his engine spinning backwards! Certainly never seemed like something you can do on accident 💀

[@paulhealey4360]

Peugeot did this with their 405 Dakar cars back in the 80s to stop the nose dipping caused by the rotation of the engine on the big jumps.

[@kenheady5946]

If you flip the rear end upside down the transmission will work

[@RoryThompson-q8c]

boats commonly have two engines, one rotating in each direction. (Though I'm not sure there is a lot of after market support for Lada engines in marine applications)

[@UncleHo5]

Change the camshaft.or install a reversing mechanism as in marine engines. The reversing mechanism will be bigger than the engine itself.

[@ovalwingnut]

The fact that you got it to run bass'ackwards is amazing. That's all I got to say

[@donames6941]

Flip the rear dif over, (right side to lift side or call it upside down), and then you will have the trans right

[@shadymaint1]

I've had a diesel engine run backwards before. There are even some two stroke engines in snowmobiles that run backwards when you put it in reverse.

[@VoVilliaCorp]

Loved how you confused your neighbors with it lol

[@whispro4646]

Absulutely incredible

[@garyhardwick8489]

Fit some sort of gearing to reverse the rotation of the prop shaft. Surely that will give you 4 forward gears?

[@BossGarage]

"You made a Honda?" 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@nathancurtis1083]

Can you flip the diffrental.

[@PromasterHOF]

You should have flipped rear end so it would work with the reverse running trans

[@simonallan9941]

You have to tow start it backwards, then you can use a higher ratio and the rear wheels are less likely to skid.

[@davidkrabbe8275]

What do you guys usually do with the Lada after finishing a project, just throw it into the junk? Would be a shame after all that hard work, but what can you do with it otherwise?

[@GunMetalEngineer]

I have a old 1971 American general m35a2 “deuce and a half” military truck…. And every so often I start the engine (multi fuel engine by Hercules” and the motor runs in reverse, sucks air from the muffler and exhausts out the air intake…. All I gotta do is shut it off and restart it normally…..

[@Centralflorida22]

This channel has come a long way in the USA 👍