I Bought a Lada 2107. It's Definitely a Car

[@DeviantOllam]

The happy Trabant was the start I didn't know I needed to my day. ☺️

[@Newb_Killer]

Social hacking a car

[@KuroAno]

Trabant is the new Herbie.

[@PetesGuide]

And inquiring minds want to know if Michael was bouncing the car around from behind the bumper or from the back seat.

[@Poopsticle_256]

Made me realize how adorable the Trabant is

[@NaoPb]

@@Poopsticle_256 I think most cars that have round headlights can be adorable. I would say even the truck from The Duel can be adorable.

[@tonygallagher6989]

I knew a bus driver. He loved his Lada Riva. He said it was the closest a car came to the feeling of driving a bus. I'm still not quite sure what to make of that statement.

[@cowmann3555]

lack of turn 😂😂

[@dmitriyp7701]

Niva

[@izusspecman]

It's Niva... and it's undestroyable... Until it flips itself upside down.

[@Engirius]

​@@izusspecmanLada riva = lada 2105/2107 for export

[@izusspecman]

@@Engirius Oh... quite shitty naming... Niva/Riva...

[@josephhgoins]

I literally yelled "GOOD GOD" when you said the price. You deserve the 5 speed transmission.

[@grantadamson3478]

I was expecting $1500

[@nikdog419]

You gotta remember the $5k shipping from Europe to North America

[@MrDuncl]

I just checked on "How Many Left" and there are 4 left on the road in the U.K. compared to 1700 in 1995. In contrast there are 4700 Jaguar E Types.

[@samwalker7567]

@@MrDuncl at one point you could go to the scrap man and pretty much they would pay YOU to take away the Ladas they already had. Long gone are the days of a twenty quid Lada with a short MOT that was a hugely desirable car for those pan-European road trip adventurers. It was a good choice for it, too. You could kit it out with a bunch of British/Western bling - Cibie spots, seats pinched from the huge pile of BL seats at the breakers that were a step up in comfort, a decent stereo, a roof rack and other such goodies, and by the time it broke down you were in the part of Europe where they were common enough to be easily repaired.

[@MrDuncl]

@@samwalker7567 I, and others, have commented elsewhere in this thread that most of the Ladas ended up going back to Russia as the parts (like engines) were worth far more there than in the U.K.

[@martinalmendras6588]

The Lada is one of my favorite vehicles, also known as "the Soviet tank" because of how resistant it was in my country (Chile). It became popular in the 80s as a very economical family car given the circumstances of the time in my country

[@darkfenix6703]

somo el mejor país de Chile.

[@mr.prosto.]

Well you should read about uaz it s better then hamer and cheaper

[@Vicusor22]

@@martinalmendras6588 dont confuse resistant with cheap to repair)

[@ВикторПетров-я1в]

It's not comfortable and made for military purposes​@@mr.prosto.

[@RNCHFND]

From a Trabant to a Lada. You're going up in life

[@leifhietala8074]

But not far.

[@divergentthinkingproductions]

More like sideways.

[@Kyomara1337]

@@leifhietala8074 Back in the day when both of those were on the road at the same time it was a huge jump. A lot of people never made that even, simply because they couldn't afford it or didn't have some connection to even get a Lada.

[@drunkenhobo5039]

If he continues to be a compliant worker, he will be assigned a Gaz Volga in 110-120 years.

[@Milnoc]

Where do you go from a Lada?

[@keithfelter3263]

Loved the video! Your problem is that you are not using the Lada correctly. That back seat should be stuffed to the headliner with watermelons, or potatoes, or chickens, or a cow. Basically whatever needs to go to market. Also, the engine should be at redline, or maybe a little over whenever you are on the highway. If you need to pass a car, make sure you do it in the lane of the oncoming traffic (preferably in the presence of oncoming traffic). You should never put a Lada on a lift. Simply roll it onto one side, and prop it with a 2x4 to work on the underside of the car. At least, this is how I saw Ladas used when I lived in a former SSR.

[@redbaron3344]

The back seat should also be able to contain 200 litres of sauerkraut in a wooden barrel and half of the pig you killed in the morning.

[@RatBürgerSk8]

The method of propping it on its side was even used by the Lada rally teams to perform maintenance.

[@iana6713]

Very atmospheric comment. I can just picture two Russian guys with a Lada propped up on a chunk of wood, cursing as they work on it. The air thick with Slavic profanity and the smell of cheap Russian tobacco...!

[@numeristatech]

And they still are used this way in some of the former sister states of the SSR - I'm still wondering if I should pick one up in Moldova for about 1000 euros 😅

[@redbaron3344]

@@numeristatech of course! It will survive a nuclear war and still run 😆 (joke about nuclear war)

[@planetfall5056]

The fact that both you and the seller didn't notice how many gears this car has is adorable.

[@jwalster9412]

Imagine buying a manual car and not thinking once about checking the gear count.

[@Hartley_Hare]

@@jwalster9412 Imagine posting a comment so joyless.

[@hansjerkov7611]

@@Hartley_Hare Imagine being a clown your entire life.

[@Hartley_Hare]

@@hansjerkov7611 What a strange binary - either a clown, or someone grindingly grey and joyless.

[@hansjerkov7611]

@@Hartley_Hare Strange indeed.

[@kalmarnagyandras]

We (family of four) moved from Hungary to Britain (and back, a couple of years later) in one of these :) It was an experience

[@NotSanakan]

Across entire Europe? That was one hell of a trip i suppose.

[@visceroid1917]

Greetings from Yakutia! Somewhere in 1998, when I was 10 years old, my father bought a red Lada 2107. It seemed to me the perfect car. How I loved to sit in the front seat and listen to music. My father has been dead for almost a year now. I almost shed a tear when you showed the dashboard. Memories flooded back. Thank you.

[@death_parade]

Yakutia!? Is that not that one city in Siberia that is super cold!? You must be pretty tough to be able to live up there. Respect and love from India :)

[@visceroid1917]

@@death_parade Same things from deadly cold Yakutia tо deadly hot India)

[@adrianpirnau9486]

Привет из Республики Молдова

[@turanaslan4447]

Türkiyeden yakutya'ya sevgi ve saygılar bu araçlar bizdede çok sevilir

[@jetblackjoy]

​​​@@death_paradeit's a region, not a city, and its big cities are relatively nice places to live. Summers are usually hot, up to 37 C

[@Donald_Shaw]

You've socially arrived... you went from a lowly Trabant all the way up to a Lada. You've finally achieved rockstar status. Love your videos and your wonderful sense of humor.

[@AllonKirtchik]

Next one should be a Moskvitch 2141! Edit: good luck finding one that hasn’t rusted into the ground

[@user-bv7um1ds7y]

Next for a GAZ-24 Volga

[@AlvinBrinson]

I fully expect dashcam videos on a snow-covered road from him now.

[@JasperJanssen]

Surely he’s about to be feted in a chauffeured ZIL.

[@pashko90]

@@user-bv7um1ds7y 24 is not that fun as 21 I think. Most of the 24s having a huge rust issues.

[@markkuvuori4300]

Greetings from Finland. In the 80's Lada was the most sold car here for many years. I had 2 of this model. 1,3 and 1,6. Cheap, reliable, easy to service, very warm in winter.

[@aliancemd]

“Reliable” - you probably weren’t driving up hills, these would constantly break due to overheating, in my country, when going up a hill. The car that had the bonnet open most often

[@markkuvuori4300]

@@aliancemd So, where do live? Austria, Swizerland.. I guess we don't have very big hills in Finland. I had 5 different Ladas over the years. Only one that didn't take me where I wanted and broke down on the road was the last one,. a Samara. Fuel gauge was broken.

[@tossacointoyourwitcherOriginal]

@@aliancemd Mate its FINLAND if you make anything overheat there I will buy you a cookie. This car was made for cold not hot. Not to mention these countries are mostly flat and not mountainy.

[@MilanDrazic]

I watching to find something like that now. Today's new cars are nightmare 😒

[@thepinusnigra]

@@aliancemd your car probably had problem with thermal sensor which enables electric fan. I've traveled three times from St.Petersburg to Crimea and all over mountains without single overheat on my lada 87'.

[@igorpro8462]

Good work, man. I had a Lada 2106 for a few years. Cost me a fortune to rebuild the suspension every few thousand kilometers, was gas thirsty as an airplane, but took me where I wanted to go. I, personally, noticed that every Lada had its own character - pedals, shifting, engine - never the same.

[@igortheyakutian]

Never the same, every Lada is a soul of its master 😂

[@Bannimann2]

Same build "quality" as British cars back then - nothing ever fitted properly together, it was like they were assembled with hammers and pitchforks 😂

[@bldontmatter5319]

Rebuilding suspension every few thousand km? This car specifically has a suspension setup meant to last on Russian roads. I've seen these with 200k+ km original suspension here in Russia (I'm American) so I'm gonna say that's not true at all

[@igorpro8462]

@bldontmatter5319 You owned them yourself, or someone told you that the car had the original suspension for 200 thousand km? I can easily tell you that my Lada was so good that I didn't change oil in it for 500 000 km. Do you see the difference? Even expensive German shocks didn't last for more than 20 000 km, and I'm not talking about Moscow, my dear American friend.

[@bldontmatter5319]

@@igorpro8462 in what world do shocks last lest than 20k km??? In WHAT WORLD... I've beat cars to heck and off-roaded like crazy even on cheap shocks, and they lasted 20k+ and then some.

[@peanutdnt]

Amazing video! I am from Russia myself, and my dad used to own this one (in white though). It was a while ago, and it surely wasn't "the nicest car" one could get in the 90's, but it was extremely common. It is cheap, easy to maintain, especially if you know at least something about cars. But even if you don't, the prices for fixing this kind of car if something breaks is not a big deal. It works fine when the temperature is -30 C or lower. And it can definitely do what a car has to do at first place - bring you places. Yes, that sums it all, but nobody expects more really. It's a cheap basic car. No comfort, no fancy interior, no nothing. Sometimes I see people trying to make these look fancy, spend a lot of money on sound system/nice seats etc, but I never really understood that. Nothing can make this car fancy enough for the money you would have to put into it. But a lot of teenagers buy these as their first car and some are having lots of fun, drifting too X_X Funny thing, in some places it is very useful even nowadays. I know a couple of people who get this sort of car (or something like Niva) in addition to the other cars their families own, so that they would have a car that can be used for nasty things. Like carrying heavy/dirty shit around, using it in places like villages where there are no normal roads and you would need nothing more but "something that can carry you and your stuff around". Not everyone can buy something expensive and shiny for this sort of thing. Plus, since it is cheap, Lada can be the only option for those who cannot afford more. After watching this video I kinda want to have a ride in one of these. Just for the sake of good memories. Not about the car, but about the time spent in it with nice people.

[@AlexPeregar]

Армяне в Сочи продают жиги по 250-300 тысяч минимум, так что они у нас не особо дешёвые :D

[@SMBDelse]

@@AlexPeregar а что собственно в Сочи дешевое 😅

[@peanutdnt]

@@AlexPeregar не знаю, сколько где стоят жигули, но предположу, что всё равно недорого по сравнению с другими вариантами))

[@Neversa]

​@@AlexPeregar в Самаре бери

[@juzoff]

@@peanutdnt по деревням ездить неспешно еще ладно, но на любой трассе не дай Боже авария и в этом shitbox просто не выжить.

[@tamasdobronyi7242]

Greetings from Hungary! This 2107 with the big chrome grille was called “paraszt-merci” in Hungary which roughly translates to “peasant-Benz”. Btw, unlike any other communist countries (edit: as it turns out from my fellow former eastern block viewer’s comments, not unlike, but: like other commie countries), you could have a western car in Hungary if you had the money to buy and to pay the taxes - only problem was Hungarian currency was not (officially, easily) convertible to western currencies, so most people with western cars actually earned the money in the west (export company employees, sportsmen, entrepreneurs, truck drivers) bought the car and moved back to Hungary, or bought those cars second-hand from the previous ones. Mercedes W115 was popular, as well as Fiats, VW Beetle, some French cars. Like 90% of the cars were commie cars tho. And… you should definitely get a rear-engine communist era Skoda once. Better than Trabant, worse than Lada… and a very interesting one. Very popular in the countryside. Aluminum OHV four-cyl four stroke with only three crankshaft bearing, a legendary (and pretty crappy) engine which was in production from 1933 to 2003, unique layout, unique sound, unique problems, terrifying handling, but very much fun. You’d enjoy. And we’d enjoy the videos about it :P

[@achaycock]

I vastly preferred those Skoda's to the Lada and I thought the engine was bloody awesome. My Felicia came with that 1.3 and it absolutely rocked. I admit, the older 1000cc units were a little wimpy and I had plenty of experience with those as well - but you're right, incredible fun!

[@MichaelSteeves]

They sold Skodas in Canada in the early 1980s. I doubt there are any left on the road though!

[@jozsef6453]

Hell yeah! Magyarok for the win 🙏

[@eozcompany9856]

You're mixing two engines together, Škoda had the old pre-war engine in the old 60s Octavias, all the rear engined, and the later FWD Škodas had an engine newly designed in 1964. Also Czechoslovakia too had a great selection of Western cars, often even sold for Czechoslovak currency, for instance the price difference between a Lada 1600 and a Cortina 1600 was only few thousand crowns in the mid 70s (79,000 for the Lada vs 85,000 for the Ford)

[@Summer512]

My grandmother had a rear engine skoda in the 90's in the UK, I don't remember it super well but it had that amazing 70's-80's styling on all the gauges and lights. Shame it only ran on lead petrol though.

[@KulebyakMaster]

These(2106, 2107) are really often used as a fun winter-drift cars here in Russia. I am regularly seeing them wrapped around a pole or in a ditch, what a view to witness😊

[@Microphunktv-jb3kj]

there's a lada rally league .. where 120hp tuned drift/b group type cars exist.. way more interesting rally than wrc imho . a lot of crashes etc. felt like B Group of 80s . if they werent so fcking expensive, i would def buy ladas for rallying in the field or destruction derby purposes :D

[@delancre5858]

Considering, you can buy it in russia just for $100 in shape of "It works sometimes... I think", it was a first car that my friends have bought back in the days for most of them. Parents often don't care about it even if you not adult enough to drive, because well, it real achievement if you at least start that thing.

[@MrCss101]

@@delancre5858 more like 1000$, but yes

[@VauxhallViva1975]

Anything over 50km/h makes the Lada a death trap. They have one of the WORST crash-test results in automotive history. Stick to suburban roads. They have an engine you can't kill, but a body that will crumple and kill anyone inside it at speed. Look up any Russian crash video channel if you want to see Lada's collapsing in crashes.

[@KulebyakMaster]

@@delancre5858 with the current situation, car prices in Russia gone up drastically and so Ladas in such condition would cost you anything from 600$ up to 1500$. Sadly, for 100$ you'll find nothing

[@losfogo7149]

I remember seeing a 1975 Lada Niva in my small italian town. It went everywhere at any time, any condition of the road. It was like the Panda 4x4:rugged, simple, not too big, cheap and agile. A mountain goat

[@jaakkooksa5374]

Ladas were pretty popular here in Finland. They were robust, reliable, easy to service and cheap. Also, they worked well under cold winter conditions. They obviously did not have any decadent western comfort features like electric seat heaters et cetera.

[@HeroManNick132]

Some Lada Niva models offer heating seats as you know but these didn't, even though they had an electric defroster on the rear windshield.

[@Vagodroch3rz]

​@@HeroManNick132 This is something of very rare exporter options, not a factory-made accessory, you know.

[@EnoMove]

The main thing is to take the battery home when it's too cold

[@WhiteReconcista]

@jaakkooksa5374 Finns don't need seat heaters, Finns compensate by pouring vodka into themselves.

[@auvomesilampi6325]

Finland is a beer country and thwe don’t even have a vodka company here

[@Wolfburns]

The 5 speed swap would be so cool to see but you do what you wanna! Always a blast to watch your projects and thanks for bringing us along!

[@j4ck3t]

I thought what I'd do was, I'd pretend I was one of those deaf-mutes Yea we all want to see you do a 5 speed swap! why wouldn't we want to see you suffer?!

[@russellzauner]

EV restomod, sleeper on the drag strip - power to weight ratio would be stupid baller

[@vwestlife]

It was fairly typical on older European cars for the center dash vents to only blow fresh air, not heated air. The two W123 Mercedes-Benzes I owned (an '81 240D and an '85 300D) were both that way. If you don't want outside air blowing though them, you get a slider control to shut them off (which I assume that's what the blue slider on the Lada does).

[@brandonlehman7440]

didnt expect to see you here! almost 10 year subscriber, love your content!

[@BilisNegra]

@@brandonlehman7440 I used to make that comment or at least think that a couple of years ago. Now I actually expect him to pop up in any of the channels I follow!

[@MikeB4pl]

Same in the Ford Capri -- dash side vents -- only cold fresh air .... want heat ? Window or legs :D

[@Iluhafirs]

It's probably just a defect of the air vents. On a Lada, the heat should be going through all the vents.

[@gi8809]

I read this in your voice.

[@bjdhgj]

When you drive a Lada, you drive it for the feeling! The smell of the enteriour of an old Lada is unique! And I tell you, as I experienced: the older Ladas, the round headlights versions were a little bit more fun to drive. They were a little more stabil on the road, the gear was better shifting one, and you could upgrade it with a fifth gear. The only thing that was dangerous or funny of this car, that the back of it was so light, that in wintertime you had to have two sacks of sand or cement in the luggage room to be able to start runnig with it on snow, and not to spin around all the time. We loved that car back in time here in Hungary!

[@vihreelinja4743]

You have ice in Hungary? Here in Finland every cool kid and their cousin had a Lada for a winter car, they were good for Snow drifting and cheap to replace when you wrapped it around a tree.

[@senaya]

@@vihreelinja4743 that is one of the reasons why they are becoming expensive in Russia these days. Everyone wants a cheap RWD car to drift that can be fixed by any kid on the block.

[@NoIPHU]

@@vihreelinja4743 Not so much real winter anymore. We had. Now we almost have nothing below 0c in winter.. Maybe -10 for a short period of time, but not much else.

[@skyrocketautomotive]

I can't put into words how much that conversation with the Trabant cheered me up. Never a dull moment on this channel!

[@NixonPan]

There is one idiom about Lada - it is never 100% fixed, but it is never 100% broken either. Even if something breaks on the go, you can screw it on here, turn it there on the same go, and drive to your destination. That is why Lada was loved and loved to this day. In addition, for many folks, this is the first car, as it is cheap, usually around $ 300 and it is cheap to maintain and service. Your Lada is in very good condition by the way. Its Awesome

[@SBBurzmali]

That's why I always wonder at why folks call the Lada reliable. You hit a pothole and the doors won't close, but that's fine because if you hit another one with the right tire, they probably will. They break at the drop of a hat, but you can fit all the tools you need to keep them running in that same hat.

[@Corvo1937]

@@SBBurzmali, you know, I am not really sure where I heard it, but I suppose that the reliability paradox stems from different viewpoints - „In the West ‚reliable‘ means that the thing won’t break for a long time, however in Russia, it means that when it inevitably breaks, you can easily fix it, at least to some semblance of working state“. As if „Nothing is eternal, so reliable == fixable“.

[@zuquelyt3273]

There's nothing 🙅 that lada can't handle!!!

[@zuquelyt3273]

And they are very cheap to fix....❤️😤

[@jdmcarandmotorcycle]

Lada or zhiguli in ussr was license from Italy company fiat. 124model

[@novakattila]

My dad had a white Lada. We went on holiday in Austria and Italy not long after the Iron Curtain fell. So this was around 1992-1994. I remember several times when we parked a small crowd gathered and I remember some people taking pictures. For them a Lada was as exotic as it gets

[@alexkay7823]

@@notfiveo $7.5K in 2008.

[@FarmerDrew]

lmao my Uncle had a Fiat/Lancia/Bertone/Pininfarina shop in Denver and we would have people fawn over Yugos that we would get, so much that my Dad swapped a Fiat Spyder engine into one to get even more attention

[@johnpapiewski7022]

Your dada had a Lada? Haha.

[@goodguy3271]

@@alexkay7823 5k

[@alexkay7823]

​@@goodguy3271 Depends on the area I guess. Maybe that was the price in russia back then.

[@JaceyMitchell]

My dad had a Dennis before I was born. It had big decals saying "MAY THE FUNK BE WITH YOU". It's one of those stories we hear every Thanksgiving and Christmas.

[@nickloh912]

I vote for a Wankel swap. Make use of all those digits on the tach.

[@tombstonejones9581]

Lowered with a lip kit, mesh wheels and a 12/13B street port would be amazing.

[@8bitfrenzy376]

I second this

[@Dingodogo220]

I am in the process of swapping a rx7 13b twin turbo into a 1967 MGB roadster

[@arboris]

Truly a Lada that would even make Rob Dahm jelous. I'm all for it.

[@hardlyworgen71]

Agreed. Build the most powerful naturally aspirated (regular unleaded) Mazda wankel you can. Upgrade the car to full KGB spec.

[@GoPaintman]

The Econ gauge is likely just a vacuum gauge. It goes from yellow to green to red because your engine is most efficient at whatever the “green” zone is. You might have a vacuum leak at that gauge that is causing the engine to run weird at times. That’s worth investigating.

[@GlamStacheessnostalgialounge]

From all the 2107s I ever worked on, I've never had a failed econ gauge that wasn't a vacuum hose. I'd just fix it for free whenever I was doing something else on people's cars because it annoyed me.

[@lynnryckman7300]

Also many vehicles vacuum moves the heater baffles.

[@Lizlodude]

Yeah I was assuming it was linked to RPM, since high/low is less efficient. Vacuum would make sense

[@pashko90]

@@lynnryckman7300 not in a Lada. It's a cable driven.

[@rich_edwards79]

Yes, i'm not familiar with Ladas, but the 'economy gauges' were an optional extra on Volvo 240s (along with voltmeter, outside temp, oil pressure etc) and work exactly as you state.

[@KevCampbell]

Definitely go for a 5 speed swap, it will be good to see just how simple this thing is mechanically. We had a Fiat 124 when I was a kid, and I remember Dad complaining about the brakes - it also overheated and was a real pain to start in damp weather. A GS or CX would be much, much, more interesting - both mechanically and to drive 🙂

[@docnele]

Well, 124 has a different engine-and different brakes. 124 had OHV engine, 2101 got OHC (from Fiat prototype engine). 124 had rear discs that were terrible for a handbrake. 2101 has bigger front discs and rear drums that work great under a handbrake but are impossible to keep the car in a straight line in the case of hard braking. All are different, you had to know does your particular Lada swings left or right :P

[@Random-nf7qb]

The Lada has a completely different braking system. 2 circuits, brake servo, 2 piston front calipers, oversized aluminium rear drums with cast iron liners.

[@SterkeYerke5555]

Best of all, the GS(A) was fitted with a choke light as well! I always thought that was quite common on later carburetted cars, but I guess it may have been more of a European thing

[@docnele]

@@Random-nf7qb 2101/2/11 had no servo, and brake cylinder was dual and 2-staged.

[@docnele]

@@SterkeYerke5555 No choke light on 2101... but I remembered it when fuel needle started to fall sooner then expected :P

[@cloke3076]

I am Russian and it’s honestly wholesome to see someone talking about Lada (or Zhuguli). The car has flaws, it’s the best (from the opposite side of the quality) car, but it’s freaking charming and cheap. It’s so cheap that many teenagers can afford to buy this beauty for 200$ lol. Lada is legendary for Russians, even though being ridiculously bad.

[@elka-tehnoorel57]

У меня в соседнем дворе есть "Улица разбитых Жигулей", как мы ее называем. Ребята покупали жиги по 10000 рублей и катались. Сейчас открыли там же сервис, вот так и натренировались на ладах XD

[@rickr2183]

YES, do the 5 speed conversion! Please. I will watch and even "like" it.

[@Microphunktv-jb3kj]

make it ~120hp :D like Lada Racer cars :D

[@winMANhun]

Hey, I live in Hungary and still drive a Lada 2105 daily. I drive nearly 20000 kilometers every year and mostly repair it myself. It was my childhood dream, I bought it in 2018. If you need any parts I can help with the shipping, let me know. Edit: Yes, indeed automatic transmission was an option, but only in western countries. As far as I know it had some sort of a ZF transmission, which was similar used in VW's at the time.

[@obywatelcane6775]

Greetings from Poland, I drive my 2107 1300. Cheap to buy, cheap parts and easy to repair. No electronics. Love it's design too. Before my Lada I had a Cinquecento, Alfa 156 and Polonez 1600. Lada is the best car I had in my life. I don't want anything else.

[@winMANhun]

@@obywatelcane6775 Wow, you’ve got a really cool taste my brother, glad to hear stories like yours;)

[@zippo4059]

I'm from East Germany and do remember well the car's of the Soviet era. As I saw your Logo I fall back in mind, the Ikarus bus! I loved those, they were so loud and when you're seated in the rear you barely can't breath. Every ride was an adventure!

[@JohnWayneCheeseburger]

Om Canada we view 25000 km a year as avarage. I commute a little over 104 km a day

[@goonigoogoo5868]

notice the uploader of this video does not even reply to you 😂😂😂😂😂

[@nairbvel]

About that engine... maybe part of the problem is that someone really cleaned it up. Stationed in Europe in the 80s, my father was involved with multi-national diplomatic communities and became good friends with his Russian counterpart. He had a Lada, bought second-hand, that was pretty much what you said: It was a car. One day, said friend decided that the total lack of maintenance performed by the car's original owner was part of the problem, so he had a mechanic give the engine a good going-over: valves, rings, lots & lots of gaskets, etc. The result was lower performance, oil leaks, smoky exhaust, and a real case of regret. What happened? Well, it seems that the original owner's semi-benign neglect let all the old oil work its way into all the irregularities, gaps, loose gaskets, etc. that were pretty much everywhere in the engine and fill them in with semisolid gunk that blocked oil leaks, kept the pressure up, and in some cases literally glued the engine parts together.

[@umblapag]

OMG, this is hilarious

[@rolanddeschain6265]

This principle plus Japanese engineering is currently keeping my 200,000 mile corolla running.

[@JurisKankalis]

I'm in my fourties - and from Latvia - meaning, I learned driving on these - and no, oil cannot do that. If there are loads of gunked-up oil somewhere - the fresh oil will just keep leaking and dissolving the old oil - because, guess what, the old oil is made of oil - just like the new oil.

[@PhonoDirect]

@@JurisKankalis Let's be generous to our American friends, as they are generous to us, my Eastern European brother. Just don't spoil the fun.

[@WardenWolf]

That's the same reason I warn people against deep cleaning dark bores on surplus firearms. The buildup can fill in pitting and reduce imperfections, restoring accuracy. People have deep cleaned their old guns and destroyed their accuracy.

[@alisteeaiken7667]

Bought a 2105 in 1990 drove it for 2 years, parked in a shed then left until a few months ago, got it running, was still looking good, young people just love it, they have no idea what it was, so retro is what I hear, unbelievable! Its a lada!

[@mfbfreak]

12:15 you are correct. The heater has to be absolutely 100% scorching hot. I used to own a stack of early 90s car magazines, and the powerful heater was one of the positive things they have to say about the Lada. The engine apparently has a special system that makes it get to operating temperature extra quick, and in a test versus western cars it was the fastest to heat up.

[@REVOLTAR53]

On that car model the middle vents are for fresh air that bypasses the heater. You simply close them during the winter, and open the bottom vent to warm your legs. Works better than any car I ever owned.

[@katydid5088]

Useful when starting a car in the Middle of a Russian Winter no? I have flash backs from renting a Tesla in the middle of the winter. (Don't look at me like that, I wanted to see if the AWD actually lived up to the hype with snow tires.) The doors got frozen shut and there is no helping how much torque you DON'T need simply trying to crawl your way through a snow storm. The heated seats are a necessary touch but nothing works when the road has no indicator markers. So don't try and put it in self driving mode. (side note to any rental fleet owners: The guy I rented it from didn't know the silicone/lithium grease in the door jamb trick.) Drives the water off while keeping ice out of the rubber and door latch. Long story short the AWD does work but, what you loose in range is absolutely NOT worth the cost of a Tesla. Get a hybrid if you live anywhere with an actual winter, especially if you go to places without a solar paneled array from heaven juicing up your local charging station in the dead of winter. Tesla fast chargers are few and far between in those dark nether regions of the great white north. (Include all of Michigan and the land that borders Canada, not just the Jack London "Call of the Wild" bits.) *Turn down regenerative breaking and have the brakes serviced because they can seize after an entire season of use.

[@AaronSmart.online]

@@REVOLTAR53 I was going to say it's probably this, not unusual for European cars of the era to have fresh air only from the dashboard vents. For optimal heating you want to use the footwell vents anyway.

[@gagatube]

"a special system that makes it get to operating temperature extra quick" - yes, it's an ingenious system that includes an extra spark plug to set light to the fuel leaking out of the carbi... 😜

[@MrZenitJ]

@@AaronSmart.online You could warm the car for the passengers and still have cool air for the driver so you kept alert. Worked well.....

[@gerritleppers9726]

Very cool Robert! When I visited western Africa (Ivory Coast) with my parents when I was 14 (43 years ago now), my uncle who was working there at the time picked us up from the airport in a Lada 1200 stationwagon to drive us to his home, roughly 500 km on abysmal roads... There was a sticker on the windscreen that said in French: 'Lada, les dures' or 'Lada, the tough ones'. During the 8h journey through the rainforest that 14 year old did pray all the way that the slogan would be true. And fortunately it was. We arrived without any issues. From that moment on I cherish a profound sympathy for this car and its derivates. I hope you enjoy it and look forward to your many road trips in this Russian relic.

[@squishy312]

Garage 54 has done just about everything you can think of to these. They do run surprisingly well. That's about all they got going for them.

[@SYH653]

My daughter wants a Lada because of Garage 54.

[@enzoperruccio]

Not only does it have a reliable engine, but It also has a roof, a heater and seats. That may sound basic but you'd be surprised at the amount of people who would kill to have such commodities. Reminds me of my dad's 128. It was a total rust bucket but always got him home safely in the middle of the night no matter the temperature or the climate. That's when you understand the real value of a car.

[@Mueller3D]

Garage 54 has done things that most sane people would never even think of doing to these 🙂

[@hadron2]

I think their simplicity works well for them. Parts won't fail if you don't have them in the first place.

[@mrjed6912]

Lada starts after a year under water

[@codykoleslaw260]

I'm a Canadian, Calgarian to be exact and I remember seeing the rivas everywhere in my childhood but never any of the lada cars. I nearly pee'd myself the other day those when one our cities garbage trucks was stopped at a red light as I crossed the road it had "DENNIS" in big shinny silver lettering across the front. ...Dennis

[@olavl8827]

Lada is the brand name they used for export. In the Soviet Union this whole line of Fiat 124 derivatives was known as Zhiguli (Жигули). It's the car that made ordinary Soviet citizens mobile and many still have fond memories of it. Not necessarily because they were great cars but because they were super practical, and they got you around. (In)famously people had to wait for years to get one because production capacity was always limited. At the same time it was also a moderate export success because it was cheap and "good enough" for many even in the West. Professional people in the SU (officials, engineers, doctors etc.) who had to actually drive longer distances for work were often assigned Volga (Волга) cars. They were a step up from the Zhigulis. Larger, more comfortable, more powerful, etc. If possible, you should try to get one of those, like a GAZ-24, and tell us what you think about it.

[@gagatube]

Agreed GAZ-24 would be interesting, but I really like the sitting-room (and bedroom!) on wheels that is the GAZ-21 - the earlier the better...

[@olavl8827]

@@gagatube I agree that the GAZ-21 is very nice. It's a proper classic car. But GAZ-24 might be easier to find for a reasonable price.

[@Seltsamisierend]

As a GAZ 24 owner, I agree

[@danielf.285]

My dad and I recently restored our GAZ 24 my grandfather bought in the SU. Its so challenging to drive because it feels like it has been built out of tractor spare parts. Repainted it, did the flooring and installed completely new seats, now that thing just glides over everything

[@Timsturbs]

moskvich 400 - 401 made soviet citizens and villagers mobile, its was an opel kadett variant, in production 1946 - 56, 247 000 were made. then there were 402 403 407 from 1956 - 65, 550 000 were made. then there were 408 - 412 and their variants, were made 530 000 in 1963-69, around 2.3million total. aaand theeen, yes, 2101 came out.

[@wton]

Here in Chile Ladas were quite popular on the mid 80s and early 90s. 2104 and superiors were used as a taxi in almost every city. The Riva (Niva) is among the top 4x4 you could have back then.

[@user-ev7dm4tg9l]

They are stil top. Quality and price, still makes them better than most 4x4 suv's. I had Niva and pulled in mud 3x time larger and havier toyota, plus a small cargo truck. So...

[@SimonBauer7]

​@@user-ev7dm4tg9l they are also popular in germany for hunters and foresters duento their off road capabilities and well they are cheap

[@Mofapilot]

The Riva is not the same car as the Niva. The Riva is the sedan, the Niva is the SUV

[@LightCrasher]

Niva, is, indeed, one of the best dedicated off-roaders in the world.

[@emennt7656]

Ah yes our family car. Dad bought it in mid 1980's and we had it until 2015. Red color, had headlight wipers, you had to be pretty strong to steer the wheel and took like 6 full rotations of the steering wheel to move the wheels fully, it had back wheel power so dad had to put some 80kg of weight in the trunk when the roads were slippery in the winter to get some traction. After 30 years the transmission box was still in pristine condition. We loved that car, when we sold it there was a period of mourning ... we lost a member of our family that day

[@moos5221]

Yeah, most people today have no clue how it is to drive without power steering and power breaks. Tbh, I only know because my VW Golf would turn off when I turned the wheels too much and then in the middle of the turn I had no power steering or breaking anymore...and of course no power at all. Was quite the adventure driving that one...

[@janrajce]

How many kilometers did it have after those 30 yrs? Just asking because this is something what people don't realize when remembering "good old times". We also had our Skoda 120 for 20 yrs and I think it had around 120k kms. And nowadays you can buy a 2 yrs old car with same kms... I'm pretty sure that the Skoda would be in pieces if it did it in 2 years 😁 Not saying everything is better or everything is worse, just a flow of thoughts 😉

[@christoforospaphitis4090]

@@moos5221 I drove a few cards without power steering... I actually loved the Honda Civic GL... I loved its suspension with the double wishbone setup, and the feel through the steering wheel at speed was awesome

[@robovac3557]

​@@moos5221So you also don't really know.

[@moos5221]

@@robovac3557 Yeah, that's true.

[@BoloH.]

The automatic in Dennis might've been an importer option. The importer in Finland offered cool options as well, like sunroof for 210x or a turbo for Niva.

[@TopiasSalakka]

I think Meihemi reviewed a Lada that had automatic heated seats. It was just a themal switch that activated when temperature went below some threshold, and you couldn't turn it off.

[@BoloH.]

@@TopiasSalakka Yeah even the later Samaras had that kind of bullshit, don't know if it was factory or importer. Dad bought one new. Also had the only gearbox I know that was better when you took parts out of it.

[@chris6901]

The automatic was basically a Canada import upgrade (downgrade technically) We had 2 automatic 2104’s they were converted by Lada Canada when they were imported. They used the same 3 speed automatic transmission you would get in a Chevette I believe it was the th250 *maybe it’s been a few decades. Another fun fact is you could not use a manual transmission starter on it as the bendix was different. We put over 200k kms on both of them before they finally rusted to the point they were unusable. Both drove up onto the rollback on their way to the scrappers.

[@bobimnottellin362]

Econ guage is vacuum most likely, and it's probably the source of a vacuum leak. It may be your air/fuel issue as well.

[@vibingwithvinyl]

Lada was _very_ popular in Finland during the 70's and 80's due to our close relations to Soviet Union. My parents had two of them, first one was (if I remember correctly) a 1980 1200L, which means it looked like the original Fiat and had a 60hp 1200cc engine. It was mustard yellow. Then a couple of years (and a Skoda 120L) later, they got a 1987 1200S. It looked like the other red Lada in this video, but was beige and mechanically identical to the old one. Afterwards they moved on to a Saab 99, Citroën Xantia, Volkswagen Passat and a Saab 9-3, which they still have.

[@cambridgemart2075]

There's a beige 1200 that I see quite regularly here in Northern Finland.

[@Jakob_Leth]

I hope you keep your Lada for a while, it’s a great car. Do the gearbox swap if it makes you happy. It looks like your car has room for improvement. I have a 2103 from 1975 with the same engine and mine has great breaks and excelent heating. Look forward to more Lada videos 👍 Greetings from Sweden 🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪

[@drippingwax]

Gearbox swap and dyno test! :D

[@Al-vb6js]

We had 2 of these 2105s at our workplace in NZ - our mechanic replaced the original carburetor with a 2 barrel (twin choke) Weber off a UK designed 2L Ford Cortina - it ended up with more power than the other Lada and used less fuel!

[@predoc100500]

Hi. Maybe this could be some helpful information: 5-speed and 4-speed gearboxes have different mounting brackets and rubber mounts. There is 3 different specs of speedometer cable drives, which is located on the gearbox. They vary depending of what gear ratio does the rear end has. In your car probably you have 4.1 (41/10) rear end - they were common for boxy ladas with 4 speed transmission. 5-speed cars have 3.9 (43/11) rear end. Also there were 4.44 on lada 2102 and 4.3 on lada 2101.

[@TheWacoKid1963]

The Lada Riva was one of the last cars that was supplied with a starting handle, an old work friend had one from the same year that had the handle, check behind the licence plate for the access hole

[@Digi20]

guess it actually makes some form of sense for very cold rural areas. if your battery or other electronics die, and you are alone with no one that can push, you can crank on the engine yourself and drive away instead of freezing to death.

[@GewelReal]

@@Digi20 yup, it's winter designed car (at least mechanically)

[@TheWinjin]

@@GewelReal as far as I know, people in Syberia had designed multiple ways of preparing it to be a Winter car in more ways than just that - double windows, heated windshield way before it was offered as an option for most cars (they used the same conductive paint you use for the rear window, or whatever it is, sorry, not big on these) and second heater. Also a lot of people used the Webasto or local copy called Binar.

[@sleeptyper]

Besides cranking it to start (like i did once, at red lights in front of a bus) the crank was good for pre-lube before using the starter motor.

[@passed_by_real]

Это муляж

[@kevinh96]

My parents bought cheap cars back in the 80s having owned both a Yugo 45 and a Lada Riva very similar to this one. The Lada Riva was a 1600ES, a special edition created by the dealership to celebrate their ten year anniversary of importing Ladas. It had a couple of extras like headlamp wipers, a pretty decent upgraded stereo system, a five speed gearbox, colour coded bumpers and metallic paint. It did everything we needed it to, was actually very reliable and was even the only car in the street to start easily during a harsh winter we had back in the 80s.

[@robsmall6466]

Similar background to me. We had a Yugo 45a and then a 65a GLX. Then a Lada Riva 1.5 estate followed by a Samara 1.5. The two Yugo and Riva were ok. But not the Samara

[@Lemmingcave]

yeah not suprised sojevt tech works great in winter XD

[@GrantJohnston-dr9rt]

Lada The T34 of the automotive world! Greetings from Montreal!

[@PhillipBrodginski]

I was wondering how long it would take for the Trabant to go full Herbie. It's EXACTLY as adorable as I expected!

[@williamrekow7513]

There's actually a film called Trabi with that plot.

[@ShadowTwilight89]

D,x Love the bit ♥

[@NakedPigeon]

When growing (in the Netherlands) up we had several Lada's, I believe the 2101. It had the reputation of being a poor man's car, but actually it wasn't a bad car. Because the simple technology, it was pretty reliable. It always started (especially in the winter when the modern "better" cars didn't start) and the maintenance was easy

[@ongkhuongduy3498]

Darn, we still have Lada in the future?

[@Intestine_Ballin-ism]

​@@ongkhuongduy3498if you can still buy and drive a 2121 by 2121 that would be kinda dope

[@nikostalk5730]

@@ongkhuongduy3498 "lada" and "future" can't be used together. It will be in the past, forever. Even modern cars stays at the same quality point as oldest lada (bad, rusty, rubbish materials).

[@tankbg1311]

My grandpa sttill has his 2101,he bought it in 1970 something (i dont remember exact year) thats like 50 years of ownership and he still drives it! i might take it for my prom next year cuz it will be funny and unique

[@tdzeta]

"Because the simple technology" - if something is done simply and reliably, this is a sign of ingenious technology. I liked the Lada-2107 when I had it, of course, this car is already 45 years old from the date of its launch. I especially liked the headlight wipers.

[@DannyBeans]

I honestly like the way it looks. Then again, that's probably because of my love of old squarebody pickups.

[@volvo09]

Same, it looks like a small Volvo 240.

[@lamehomer]

I always like to think of it as the russian mercedes benz because of how elegant it looks.

[@pretol2730]

@@lamehomer You must come from the soviet occupied territories to think that this looks like a Benz... cause nobody in the west thought "this looks like a benz" as their first description...

[@lamehomer]

@@pretol2730called it a benz because most lada models had some look-alikes of diffrent car brands.

[@pretol2730]

@@volvo09 It kinda looks like a datsun 510... And even that would be a stretch...

[@berkotropia]

Truly you must be a very adorable person buying these cars from our old era. It is very respectful and it means a lot to me. Big hug from Hungary!🙂

[@plankdancer]

I can't beleive you didn't mention how nice the door hadles are. Literally the best thing about the car. The click, the sound, the material. Incredible. I love this car.

[@MavTheMidget]

ITS SO SATSYFYING

[@РоманТурбин-б3ю]

Good joke.

[@gutsngorrrr]

One of the best, basic 4x4 is the Lada Nivia. Absolutely amazing off road and so basic, there's just nothing to go wrong with it. So you need one of these :)

[@blokhet]

Nivia or niva? The later models had a Renault diesel engine. Still very good.

[@felixcosty]

I test drove a Nivia in Canada, drove it for a bit and my friend who was with me asked what is that smell. We got out of the car walked around the car a few times got back in the car. Went I got back into the car noticed that the parking bark was on, and that it was the source of the smell. It drove well with parking brake on or off, with it off the smell went away. This was the second time ever to drive a standard, have not driven a standard since. It was an ok car but sounded like it was going to shake apart.

[@Ogledalo79]

@@blokhet I think it's still called just Niva in all markets it's currently being sold to. And I didn't have any clue they have ever put a Renault diesel engine. It must've been such a rare option that was purposed only for European markets. My family once used to have a Niva for 10 years. And up until this day most of Nivas come with 1.7L petrol engine. Which is still a modified version of the one used in LADA 2101 from 1970. They make some tweaks here and there over the years. But the essence is still the same.

[@YsanneOshea]

I had 2 of those. My father had 5. Simple, reliable and easy to mend. I took so much abuse for driving it but missed it so much when the last one faded away! Great review, thank you!

[@ivan00001983]

Loving the dialog with Trabby, his happy behavior is wonderful :D

[@DaniilHomyak]

Lada was the car of my childhood. It is fairly easy to maintain and use if you live in post soviet country, it has dirt cheap parts, some dating as old as 70s (since lada has very good “backwards compatibility”) and since lada isn’t a premium or sophisticated type of car, you’re not really scared to mess it up, just fix it one more time and you’re good to go. Ladas are also really cheap in Russia, on “russian craigslist” you can get one as cheap as $200-300and it will drive just fine, for a bit. It really warms my heart to see people from all over the world enjoy, critique and explore soviet cars, so thank you for your video & for giving lada a chance, not going complete sceptical about it!

[@StopFear]

Yes, it’s a part of your and many other people’s childhoods but I don’t think it excuses the feelings of nostalgia for it. I think we should not have positive rose colored memories about such things. We should hate the circumstances and the people whose fault it was why we could not buy , or afford , normal quality imported cars. Because of some historic injustices commuted by the people who ran USSR we were robbed of childhoods with normal cars. It is also important to think of all the people who have died needlessly as a result of these and other shitty Soviet and post Soviet cars lacking the most safety measures that were common in the normal world.

[@DaniilHomyak]

@@StopFear You’re quite right about USSR, my feelings towards lada and some other soviet cars is pure nostalgia and sweet childhood memories. Coming from town where soviets straight up gassed civilians to suppress rebellion in early 20s I have no sympathy toward communism and communists.

[@odeo-]

@@StopFear Can you chill a little bit? This whole channel is about old cars. And the comment above is exactly about A car. What you said is not relevant at all, classic internet moment

[@FWAKWAKKA]

​@@StopFear for a person having the name stop fear, youre posting some cope anti communist bullshit like every other afraid westerner. the soviets didnt stop people from having a western car, they were a new country building their own cars for pretty much the first time in their history. so the limitations were things everyone would experience in similar conditions. the leadership of the soviet union avoided imports as a matter of national sovereignty. less dependence on imports is a more secure society and less at risk of foreign influence destroying their country. kruschchev made sure to allow that to return, and it cause the downfall of the society within a few decades.

[@FWAKWAKKA]

@@DaniilHomyak yea putting it like that, "gassing" civilians is dishonest and disingenuous. if youre referring to tblisi, and are georgia, this wouldnt surprise me. they used tear gas. at the same time the USA was using it the same way. did it kill people? probably. but saying they were "gassed" is a clear effort to tie it to the nazis use of zyklon B to purge people. the two are not comparable of course, and every single country has "gassed" its civilians to stop rebellion if thats the terminology were using.

[@bxmachine]

Very happy memories working on these in the 1980's. My family owned a cab company and we ran the Lada. So cheap to buy back than. We paid £25(!) for a 1300 with less than 30000 miles and 4 years old. We spent £200 on it to get it through the cab test and got 2 years as a cab out of it, earning £125 a week. We'd buy in bulk timing chains and i could change one in under an hour. Happy days!

[@autosvilagbarnival890]

Greetings from Hungary! I want to share my experiences about Lada 2107 My grandpa got one in 1987 when it was brand new. We still have that car, and i can tell, it's better as you see. Maybe i have some pink fog, because i grew up in that car, but it drives nicely. A couple of tips from me: - the choke indicator isn't factroy built (my grandpa also built in one, but originally there was an voltage light, or something idk) - the engine runs in your one a bit rough, one carb cleaning would be nice - the middle air wents working fine, they can blow only cold air in (if you take a look under the hood, you will see the air intake) - if you want to install headlight wipers, it will be hard, here in Hungary the wiper motors are also rare, in USA i can't imagine, how much they can cost - the clutch, brake, and transmission must to have problems in your car, one good Lada transmission works really nice, the way on you move the stick must be short, and its quiet (kinda) - the little ECON instrument is a bad thing, they had this thing after 1990, before 1990 there was mounted an oil pressure instrument, so that will be bad - the little icon on the window is a hungarian licence plate, so probably this car was also hungarian - i rather not to buy a Polski, lot of people saying that Polski is better, but not allways. They had 4 disc brakes, witch is nice, but the weren't so good at driving. And the first ones were really good. De newer ones with plastic grill, and other stuff, they were not so good. - if you will have once a chance, try one Lada from before 1990. The real Soviet ones were better quality I hope my things can help. Drive this Lada more and more, and you will love it. It's a good car, you just need, to understand it. And remember: this is a real machine; you dont drive it, you operate it! Have a nice day, and sorry if i write something wrong, i dont really speak english..

[@1mor3tim3w4]

Hey, bro, as actually a Russian, which had 3 2107, 1 2108, 1 2109, i can tell you that the choke indicator here is a factory thing, all the carb lada i've had have the same, and actually if you Google "Приборная панель ваз 2107", you will find out choke indicator on it, or check engine (lol, this crap never worked) if the car with injection engine

[@autosvilagbarnival890]

@@1mor3tim3w4 thanks, i've learned something new today😅😉 I will ask my grandpa again I think😂

[@JanKowalski-vh1rg]

I from Poland and only thing i can say about Polski Fiat 125P is: The younger, The worse, so early ones was pretty good but year after year they was removing things and lowering quality. Best years to buy is 67-77 after 77 they started removing things and lowering quality breaks were pretty good. Ladas are FIAT 124 after modification. PF 125P is a FIAT 1300/1500 with Body and breaks from FIAT 125

[@spuditgang]

Hello Magyar brother, greetings from Subotica

[@MarvinHartmann452]

I've 3 of these car. All were previous 1990 and they were great for the price. Very good under cold temperatures we have here in Canada. They were very popular in Québec. I also had a samara but changed it for a niva after few months.

[@Eloraurora]

I'm unreasonably charmed by this thing. It looks _friendly._

[@TheBibliofilus]

I must say that the editing and production of your videos Robert really puts it in a league of its own, even the ads are interesting and fun to watch!

[@cdpond]

A fun video. In 1979 I became the proud owner of a brand new Lada 1500s. The thing was built like a tank, right down to the plastic crystal indicator lights on the dash. One of a few quirky things about it were the two sticks on the left side of the steering wheel... one behind the other. Which, in the winter, if you were driving with gloves on, pretty much ensured that every time you signalled for a left turn you gave oncoming traffic the high beams. Having grown up in a rural area and having driven ancient tractors on one of the local farms, I'm familiar with the concept of a crank start. And yes, my Lada had one. A nice hole in the front bumper and a crank mounted inside the trunk... along with a couple of tool kits, and I pint of body enamel. They really intended for these things to be able to be serviced by whoever owned them. Sometimes I miss it, but then again, like most bad things in life... the memories become less harsh with time. Being fresh out of college and barely scraping by, it was an affordable new car. In fact, the only two options were a) colour, and b) an after market 3rd party wooden steering wheel. Did I mention it was rugged like a tank? Yeah, no cheap tin on this beast. Body metal of the same gauge as they make steel drums from. Need to replace a quarter panel? No problem. Around $80 CAD at the time. Driving in winter? mmmm Sort of okay, except if there was heavy, wet snow, the engine couldn't create enough heat to allow the wipers to clear the windshield. So every few minutes you'd have to roll down the driver side window, reach out and grab the wiper blade and give it a smack to clear the accumulated snow off it. An admirable feat at low speed. A display of raw talent when driving at night on a highway. Still... despite the flaws and 1950's body styling, I loved that little beast.

[@yui-ty1qz]

Greetings from Togliatti - the city where Lada came from :). Your car is in very very good condition as far as I can see. These cars are used here as a cheap cars to transport something or as a first car to study how to drive because parts for it cost almost nothing.

[@t16205]

Those ladas are great for drifting in the winter. A very enjoyable car

[@psoridian]

0:35 If the Trabant is a rockin' don't come a knockin'.

[@compwiz101]

Here in Canada there was "Secure-a-car", who similarly set up on-the-spot VIN etching on windowglass to prevent theft. A quick set of alphanumeric masks were arranged with the VIN, popped against the side of the window, and gently sandblasted into the glass. It wouldn't surprise me if this LADA pulled into one of these "parking lot stalls" to have it done real quick and nobody noticed the window was down until it was too late!

[@jwalster9412]

The person who owned the car was either p-ed off to no end, or didn't care because he thought no one would notice.

[@rogersmith7396]

My understanding in Russia is anything without an armed guard is immediately stollen.

[@Bzmot332bve]

Congratulations on the car, fellow Lada owner ;) One thing definetaly worths mentioning if you want to keep it (or any other Ladas): you have to keep an eye on the front ball joints in the fishbones. If the lower ones wear off enough, your wheels will turn out completely. Very hard (I mean harder than normal) steering is one warning, the other one is the knocking (though that only happens at the very last minute). You can change them easily though, if you have the proper ball joint puller (many types don't fit in there). Also there's no complex electronics in it, the parking brake warning is switched on by a relay, which is placed in the relay box in the engine bay. Actually it's the same light that stays on, if your brake fluid level is too low. BTW in an old Lada there's about a full of 7 pieces of semiconductors in the whole car: 2x3 in the generator and one puny diode in the dashboard. I think that's about the same in the 2107 as well. Oh, and the engine should be 55kW (74HP) in DIN standards, according to the VAZ books.

[@REVOLTAR53]

I pull the ball joints just by hitting the hub carrier with a hammer and the vibrations loosen the joint.

[@Bzmot332bve]

@@REVOLTAR53 I have a friend who does the same, but I never had the luck for that. It's just always stuck and I have to use a puller on it, even if I change them about 2-3 years (since all of the brands are crap, and even after a few ten thousand km-s they knock...)

[@TheStuartstardust]

But what about the dots in the speedometer? What do they mean?🤔🤓

[@Bzmot332bve]

@@TheStuartstardust it should be the max speeds where you should change gears. In the type 1200 the first is at 40kmp (~25mph), second is around 65kmph (around 45mph) and third is at 100kmph (60mph). Though these are for high revs, normally you change gears earlier. Because of this I think the fourth one should be around 120kmph, so I don't know why there are 5 dots... :/

[@StanM-yd8nl]

Actually ladas have been getting their second life for the last years, because of winter drift(especially Krasnoyarsk winter drift battle where such pilots as Kawabata take part) becoming more popular, and it’s an achievable way to make your first steps in motorsport (with some essential mods for sure😊) Ladas also used to take part in rally sport years ago, but with much more significant mods A stock one has nothing to do with motorsport at all for sure😅 There’s actually a lot of content about ladas in motorsport on KZbin, zaRRubin, Nikita Shikov channel eg

[@JJones-gw9vy]

I've always had love for these little types of cars. They get you from point A to B and are super easy to learn mechanic work on. They're the perfect highschooler's "first car" and I wish there were new ones you could buy here in America, present day. They'd be super cheap and could help out so many families that are struggling on a budget but need to get to work. Sure they're not fancy and even a little risky, but so was my ex wife- and she's got plenty of mileage on her.

[@nikostalk5730]

Better to pick old renault issan\vw\skoda\seat\fiat\toyota, bruh, even suzuki or mitsubishi will have much more trustworth, lada is a bad choice.

[@redsun4187]

There's a reason it is called "the classics" in post-USSR. It's the most basic car, with the most basic parts - in pretty obvious and serviceable places. Driving it is not the best experience, but i feel like it is the perfect car for studying the basics of "how to fix everything".

[@bldontmatter5319]

​@@nikostalk5730states fiat when it's literally an upgraded fiat from engine to frame to suspension... LOL stop!!

[@nikostalk5730]

@@bldontmatter5319 upgraded to be cheaper than cheapest fiat and having overall bad assembly quality. Can't stop saying.

[@bldontmatter5319]

@@nikostalk5730 do a basic Wikipedia search. These are purpose built for Russian roads. If they were the worst fiats they wouldn't be everywhere here in Russia and all over eastern Europe and kazakstan LOL

[@tazbertdt]

A mate of mine's Dad used to work for Lada here in the UK until they pulled out of the market. A few years ago, on a long drive back from the Czech Republic from an event we'd been to, he kept me awake over several hours while I drove telling me many many crazy stories about his time with the company, the cars etc. Despite all the madness, he spoke fondly of the cars and confessed he missed seeing them on our roads. :)

[@danieltakawi9919]

Can you share some of your favourite stories from him?

[@IdealGrain]

It makes me feel good that somebody shares my sickness for weird dumb cars. Seriously my favorite automotive content on the internet. Appreciate you and what you do!

[@openlyracist8055]

My culture being called weird and dumb

[@philipd2252]

haha, at 18 i got my drivers license in one of these. drove it for some years afterwards and gained quite some arm muscles doing it. Actually a good exercise since in my army draft '88 I became a truck driver for a 6T Polcarb with ........ no power steering

[@YodaPagoda]

Somewhere, your old Yugo is shedding a tear. Imagine it, the Trabant, and the Lada, all in a row!

[@AllonKirtchik]

He needs a Polski Fiat

[@jacobscows]

You should definitely put in the 5 speed, I think it would do a Lata good for the car.

[@realcanadian67]

Boooooo

[@deividasnavickas]

I'll give you points for creative approach.

[@Dis-Emboweled]

I appreciate the post..... A lata

[@alxgu198]

Rotary and 6 speed would be better 💪

[@lalunette]

As a proud Canadian Lada owner since 1987 I can confirm Ladas were never called Dennis… but they were imported by the Dennis Corporation. The cars were called Lada Signet or Lada Signet wagon. I currently own a 1991 Lada Signet wagon with the 1.5L engine and 5 spd manual. They were also available with a GM automatic transmission fitted once they arrived in Canada. I look forward to see what you are going to do with your Lada !! :)

[@jessebrook1688]

The last time I saw Ladas on sale was in 1998. The Cossack pickup had a Chevrolet S-10 rear gate fitted in Canada, too.

[@Optimistprime.]

I remember seeing the Lada display at the international auto Show in Toronto in 95, 96 and I think 97 and 98. I have one of the books still with all the models in them!

[@banzainuru1365]

It is so nice to see how people of different cultures learn each other's stories regardless of the political situation in the world. Thank you so much for such an interesting video!

[@muhammadsoliman14]

You can see Ladas everyday in Egypt. beside still being owned by many as a personal car, it's the official taxi car in Alexandria, Egypt.

[@Yar6500]

where I am from, there is a significant winter drift scene for these and other from classic Lada lineup. Dirt cheap to mod yet reliable enough to have fun at frozen lake. adding 5-speed and probably 1.7 will make it much better. As for brakes, it's most likely the specific one you have. Not by much though :) Also there were late 2107 production with fuel injection instead of a carb

[@ludoweet]

Oh my God! This is the car I learned to drive in, maybe the first one I ever got behind the wheel. I still remember how huge and skinny the steering wheel was. Greetings from the Czech Republic!

[@douggoldsack98]

I bought a two year old Lada Riva for the wife in 1993 for £1,000. Was a spacious, reliable car. Got rid of it in 1994 to a guy who was re-exporting the cars back to Russia (where UK spec cars were much sought after) for £500.

[@BlastedRodent]

I’m completely not a car person (don’t even have a license) but for some reason both the Lada and the Trabant appeal more to me than any modern car. They are just so esthetically pleasing.

[@dudenamedchris3325]

They do have quite a character

[@dhsredhead]

I honestly love the way they look and the easy of repair is something you don't find in modern cars.

[@szlamfire]

thats cuz they were built in times where the design had a soul and wasn't just a remix of simple swooshes and random led's to be "futuristic and appeal to everyone "

[@questionmaker5666]

@@szlamfire The Lada doesn't have soul it's a copy of the 124, which is three boxes with four wheels.

[@frozenphoenix9502]

There's definitely something appealing about the pure simplicity of Soviet cars. I prefer older cars over modern ones any day. My 1991 Corolla isn't anything special, but I'd take it over a new car every time. Its never given me any trouble, but everyone I know that has a more average/new-ish car, has had lots of trouble with reliability or other issues. My little Toyota has never given me any trouble other than a dead battery in the winter, which it can hardly be blamed for given that I don't drive very much. I imagine that the average person in the Soviet Union would've been grateful to have a car like the Lada. Modern luxuries are nice, but they're almost too much. I think looking at these Soviet cars has the same kind of allure that we think of when we romanticize any past era. There's something nostalgic we can relate to there, even if we weren't a part of it.

[@lilraceboiii2095]

Definitely keep the car. I have a few friends with these cars and they can be very fun to drive. Here in Europe, we weld the diff and drift them. In my option, they can be really fun to drive, since they are really lightweight for a rwd car.

[@thomasj5722]

I had a 2105 in the late 90's and the amount of abuse it could take was impressive! I would love to find one now and take care of it, but they rusted so fast and got scrapped.

[@Dozeji]

Yeah, am on board with getting either a Polski Fiat, being a Pole, or one of the older Skodas. The funny thing about these is that.. the radiator was in the frunk, but.. the engine was at the back. So you'd end up with like 13 litres of coolant fluid in the entire system

[@TheDeadfast]

As a Czech I'm biased but I say definitely a Škoda 120 or similar! There is nothing quite like running the heater at full blast in the middle of the summer because you're stuck in a traffic jam and desperately trying not to overheat. Or the other quirk with the battery located behind the rear seats with no ventilation, causing the battery acid fumes to slowly eat away at said seat.

[@daveneil3963]

At least you had a gas gauge, my 55 VW bug didn't have one and it only had 36 HP, and low gear was not synchromesh. I loved that car! You didn't tell it what to do it told you what you could do! I lived in it for 5 weeks while going cross country it. I think I would enjoy driving you Lada. Thanks for taking us along.

[@eattherich9215]

My sister had an ancient VW Beetle as her first car and I couldn't drive it. It was so different from my "modern" Vauxhall Cavelier.

[@JurisKankalis]

Man, this brings back the memories. We had one of these (2104) - and before that, my grandparents had one of these (2102). There are tons of info on them on the Russian internet - and apparently, even a diesel version (built with the same engine block) - but WHY a diesel Lada - no idea (look at the gasoline prices in USRR/Russia - and on the output figures of that non-turbo diesel). My dad had some connections in Tolyatti - which was the city in Russia where these were produced (only recently did I learn that the entire city's name was given in honour of the Italian communist party leader Togliatti who actually agreed to "give" Russia the Fiat - come to think of it, Tolyatti sounds like a weird name in Russian). So he was buying parts there - and selling them in our local open market (huge former airstrip not far from central Riga where most car-parts - and cars - were sold and purchased, the famous Rumbula auto market). Anyway. So after years of this business (anyone buying and selling anything was called "speculant" at that time - because only state was allowed to buy and sell, making a profit) - he could buy his own Lada. He first bought an empty shell - with the plan to put everything together on his own. He got an engine from 2103 (apparantly they had the largest volume - think it was 1600) - and the engine head from 21011 - which was basically a little more modern looking 2101 - because these were believed to be the best heads. He then got a carbuerettor by Solex, I think, and he got rid of the distributor and re-built the ignition electronics to run with a box - it was called commutator, I think - of course, most foreign gasoline cars at that time had long ago introduced electronic spark distribution. Anyway. He also fitted an interior from 2107 - because it was the most luxurios one - and the front grille from 2107 (had to adapt the hood from 2107, as well, obviously). We also had the exact same dash (instrument cluster) - only the ECO meter wasn't working - because there was a tube/nipple back the instrument cluster - and we didn't know what to connect it to. (Edited: come to think of it - I think there even was speed in miles - as well as kms - because of course, the EXPORTNAYA version was the best - also - these older Lada/Fiat speedometers look very similar to some early 80ties Ferrari speedos - weren't they made by the same Magnetti Marelli for the Fiats and then copied by the Russkies?) He also fitted improved 2107 bumbers with additional shock absorbers in them - those were really convenient to sit on. About the 5 speed gearbox - he also bought a 5-speed box, but fitment wasn't straight forward - there's a support bracket on mid-to rear section underneath the gearbox - if I remember correctly - he had to heat up with gas torches - the bracket - and bang it with a hammer - for hours - because the 5 speed box was larger than the 4-speed. So be mindful - maybe they're different now, or the design of the support bracket has changed (which would be a miracle in 30 years). Anyway. The engines really are pretty unkillable - I guess Italians did something right 65 years ago. Oh, and by the way - this wouldn't be the top luxury car - that would have been a Volga GAZ 24. Greetings from Latvia.

[@volvodude101]

I love your story, friend. Thanks for posting.

[@iaadsi]

Why diesel Lada? If you're working with diesel machines (e.g. farm) and have lots of diesel around, makes sense to feed your cars as well. Saves you a trip to the gas station.

[@Naah732]

@@iaadsi Why diesel? Cause the avg salary in Russia is like 350 usd on a good day . Yes the fuel is cheap but in comparison to US salaries it is very expensive.(even in California fuel costs only 70-80% more than in Russia

[@adammesic]

Palmiro Togliatti... a stereet in Belgrade has his name. Back in late '80's a whole lot of these could be seen on streets of Belgrade, mainly used for taxi with built in propane/methane for cheaper ride, or a caravan (station wagon, as it is called in the States) in the rural areas of the country, because it could carry a huge load (of watermelons, cabbage, potatoes,...) The design was minimalisic, the electronics were very poor and due to simply refuse working, the engine was under powered, and the body was not zinc coated (galvanized) so it would rust after just a couple of winters (the roads were salted during snow time). It's pretty rare to see one on the roads nowadays, especially in the cities. Even the ones driven in the outskirts are in a rather poor condition. If one finds a piece in a good condition (garaged) the prices are very high.

[@PigEqualsBakon]

A piece from here, a piece from there...

[@JoFreddieRevDr]

Not far from where I used to live in the UK there was a company that was the Lada sole importer, called "Lada's Motor Vehicle Imports" that called themselves the Lada Finishing department, they would import the cars and do what needed to be done to make them meet the UK standards, but they stopped in 97 as they could no-longer get the cars to pass the UK emission standards. The city of Hull in the North East of England, used be called Lada City as all the Taxis were Ladas, until the local council changed the regulations and the taxi companies had to replace them with traditional black cabs.

[@MikeB4pl]

In Germany they still sell new Lada cars --- but only Niva left :)

[@Asher.Yodaah]

Five speed swap would be an interesting series. I enjoyed all the various stuff you did with the Trabant.

[@Edders234]

I remember when I was younger, on holiday in France, i saw an actual, honest to God, Lada main dealer. Was utterly amazing

[@fsodn]

Great video! I think you should swap in a 5-speed, and then see how it runs. This is a really interesting video. That engine compartment is amazing! I'm glad you mentioned it; when we saw it early on, I thought that was the nicest engine bay I've ever seen that wasn't at an auto show.

[@hispronounsaretheythem]

I live in Russia, and I bought such a car myself for only 50 thousand rubles (this is about $700). I also have a friend who has three different Lada cars - Lada 2107, Lada 2121 Niva, and Lada 2114. I have driven all these cars, and I can say that almost all Lada cars are definitely worth their money. Yes, these are objectively not ideal cars, they do not have the technologies that were used in German or American cars of that time, but thanks to this, Lada turned out simple, strong, resistant to cold and damn reliable cars that, with due attention, could drive without critical breakdowns for decades. It was really easy to fix them, the parts were cheap, besides, many parts from different Lada models were interchangeable. And no matter what anyone says, Lada is still a wonderful first car for its money. (New Lada cars like the Kalina, Vesta, Granta models and so on are no longer the same, and for their price in a good configuration, you can take a used German car like BMW or Audi)

[@s.k634]

How's life there?

[@cloudberry6347]

​@@s.k634 not too great

[@Comatozzze]

@@cloudberry6347 Who told you that? ))

[@cloudberry6347]

@@Comatozzze my life, I'm russian

[@ilyachap]

@@s.k634 quite shite

[@shroomyesc]

Fun thing for anyone to look up; they actually designed a facelift for this... in 2007. Look up Lada 2107M, it's a wonderful fusion of straight edge 70's box and mid 00's lighting fixtures. Since then Lada came a long way with the help of Renault but as now they've fully left Russia (for obvious reasons) Lada has gone back to their roots with the Granta classic, that has a single airbag, no ABS, no seatbelt tensioners, 1996 emissions and so forth.

[@GTDpowah]

Oh boy. I find 2107m model very ugly. I very much prefer the original 2107

[@AlecKristi]

omg it's so hideous!

[@trainzguy2472]

ew, no. what the hell is that monstrosity

[@jwalster9412]

The 2107M looks like the kind of car you would find in a car game designed by non car guys.

[@crispybottom]

haha, to everyone saying it's ugly - yeah, that's Lada in the mid 2000s for you. *That* came out of the same company, in the same time period as such classics like: the Kalina, the 2110 and the Chevrolet (yup) Niva - some of the ugliest, most unreliable shitboxes ever to grace this godforsaken country (and for a country that made stuff like SMZ S-3D, that's honestly saying a lot)

[@StanM-yd8nl]

Nice video, man I used to have a 2107 1.6 carb from 2006 and 2101 1.2 from 1973, and it’s a common opinion in 🇷🇺, that the best ladas are the ones made before 1980. My 2101 was a lot more more pleasure to drive (the smell in the car, the quality of the materials etc) although it had less power, no vacuum brakes and many other useful options😅 a friend of mine, whom I bought it from travelled from St Petersburg to Austria to the alps with his mates on it, and some elderly europeans were quite amused to see such a car from their youth I agree with almost everything, you’ve said and it was new to me, that they were sold in Canada with an auto gearbox 😮😂

[@JulyaIsMe]

So many childhood jokes about the Lada, "What do you call a Lada with a tennisball on the hitch...'the sports model'" "How many settings does the LAda heater have? 2, Cold, or extremely Hot", "Why does the Lada have heated rear windows? So you can have warm hands when pushing it". Iconic no matter what :)

[@kwerk2011]

A guy goes into an auto parts store, and says to the guy behind the counter, "How about a gas cap for a Lada"? Store guy thinks for a moment, and says "yep, sounds like a fair exchange".

[@MegaDirtyberty]

What do you call a Lada with twin exhaust pipes?, a wheel barrow. What do you call a Lada with a sunroof?..... a skip.....

[@dingo137]

One I remember here in the UK - Did you hear about the 16 valve Lada? 8 in the engine, 8 in the radio. (which wouldn't work in the US as they call them vacuum tubes there, but never mind)

[@TransCanadaLimited]

Would love to see you do a transmission swap on this! Ladas are super neat

[@XLR8bg]

My dad owned a 2101 till the early 2000s, it was modified to run on LPG and the underside had rusted to hell. Technically, the car had Zhiguli branding instead of Lada. It was a pretty early model that my grandpa had bought back in the day. Some quirks that I remember is that the trunk could be opened with a kick to the lock and the car was terrible in snow until you put one or two 20kg bags of cement in the trunk (and that's on top of the LPG tank we had in the trunk).

[@zombi233]

Keyless control for the trunk in 2101 is still my favorite feature) On my friends one you could open a closed driver door by liftng it up a little

[@gorganfredman5363]

Zhiguli was for internal marked and Lada for external

[@em5759]

Hee 20kg... thats like my first bmwE30 323 the same Driving on just 5cm soft snow and youll go nowere!

[@Dartjuk]

It's not the real Lada experience without the transparent plastic handle with the rose inside on the tip of your gearshift lever and small orthodox icons glued on the dashboard. Also wooden prayer beads dangling from a visor for extra protection.

[@RonByg]

You need to change the channel name to ageing wheel bearings

[@braxtonnelson7422]

The only bad thing I have to say about Aging Wheels videos is that I don't get to see a new one every day! Seriously though, you are one of my favorite video creators, and although that may be damning my taste in videos with faint praise I do appreciate your sense of humor and high level of creativity. Congratulations on your latest automotive purchase! And remind me to never ask your opinion about what my next car should be...

[@andysaunders3708]

I had a blue Lada, with a Weber carb conversion, and extractors. Also had a full dash, with tach, oil, volts, temp and gas gauges. It was a beast, and the worst thing was the manual timing chain adjustment. Not hard, just annoying. Wish I'd never sold it. Had a Fiat 125 twin-cam, and the Lada would leave it standing. They both sounded great!

[@46FreddieMercury91]

I remember the local lada dealer could modify you lada 1600SLX to go from 0-60 mph in 10 seconds. I only had the 1200L

[@SloopyDog]

I had several Lada Riva's in the 70s. I loved them. I had both the cars and estates. I don't think I ever had a problem with any of them. It's a pity they were stopped coming into this country. I would love another estate, a big handy car.