Vaz 21023, the winterbeater gone mad

[Hemihead]

First of all, my english is a bit rusty so forgive me for all the strange spelling and word-mincing.

Early 2006, i bought myself a old winterbeater to slide around in the snow with, and faith wanted me to buy a Vaz! It's a soviet tank really, a heavy, solid built car with no extra equipment at all. The later models were known as Lada but this is a early bugger! Time passed, the winter ended and the Vaz was still running like clockwork, 380.000 km and ticking. I was thinking about sending it to the scrapyard but decided to make something funny out of it instead.

I got the worlds lousiest garage, no heat or anything. But here it is! Russian beauty at it's best.



Stripped from all the interior!



When i said that the engine was running like clockwork, i didn't lie. It ticked and rattled like a whole bunch of grandfather clocks, but who can blame it after travelling a few spins around the globe? Here is a picture of the old heart, that urgently needed replacement.

[_HighVoltage_]

Originally Posted by Hemihead

It's a soviet tank really, a heavy, solid built car with no extra equipment at all.

Erm...I beg to disagree. It is a very unreliable car, it breaks down a lot. The good thing is that it is a simple car, so everything can be fixed with a hammer and string.
How is the rust? Has it eaten everything yet?

Also, I don't know how long you've driven it but it is not a heavy car. It is especially light at the back, which makes it good for drifting, but it's very bad if you're not prepared for it.

[jayhawk]

Basic is good sometimes, who knows how many Beetle owners thought the same way.

And your English is good. Welcome to the forums!

[Hemihead]

Originally Posted by _HighVoltage_

Erm...I beg to disagree. It is a very unreliable car, it breaks down a lot. The good thing is that it is a simple car, so everything can be fixed with a hammer and string.
How is the rust? Has it eaten everything yet?

Also, I don't know how long you've driven it but it is not a heavy car. It is especially light at the back, which makes it good for drifting, but it's very bad if you're not prepared for it.

I have to say that this old beast was more reliable than my buddys BMW 325 -92 or the Volvo i had before it, i spent a total of 5 euros in parts over two years, and it was a used carburettor. It always started, be it rain or heat or cold enough to freeze your derriere off.

[Hemihead]

Anyhow! There was a question about rust, and since it have rolled 380.000 km since 1982, it had a slight rot in the floor.



When that was taken care of, it was time to relocate the beast outside and prepare for heart transplant.



The new engine. 2000cc of Fiat power.



Very high-tech way to get rid of the old engine, don't you think?

[Hemihead]

After 2 hours and a constant stream of curses and death-threats to whatever drunkard who had put bolts on such strange places, the engine and gearbox came out. Goodbye old friend, you served well.



New engine and gearbox, ready to go into the car. I used the motor mounts from the Lada engine and a modified Lada gearbox mount to make things as easy as possible.



This high-tech engine trolley was borrowed from the Arrows F1 team.

[public]

Oh yeah. Lada + Fiat twin cam = win.

[Donington]

Nice!

[Hemihead]

And up we go!



New heart in place, after some "slight adjustments" to the body.



And you can even close the bonnet afterwards!



And before anyone asks, yes, this is low-tech driven to the point of sillyness, raw-tech would be a better word. It's built on a budget tighter than a frog's bumhole and with nothing else than a standard set of tools, a Kemppi welder and various parts picked up from local scrapyards. I made a count on all parts and the purchase of the car and it looks like this:

Vaz Lada 21023 -82, in working condition: 150 euros
Fiat Twincam engine with gearbox and a shedload of parts: 300 euros.
Weber 36/36 DCD carburettor: Free (found in my huge collection of old parts).
1800cc Twincam exhaust manifold: 20 euros (better flow than the 2000cc one).
One complete set of gaskets to the engine: 92 euros.
Timing belt: 22 euros.
Ignition parts: 15 euros.
Sheet metal: 2 euros.
Various other parts like bolts, pipes and whatnot: 5 euros.

So this far, i have spent a total of 606 euros. The goal is to get it running and race ready and not pass the 1000 euro mark.

[avanti]

This is beyond awesome, borderline epic!! Will definitely follow this thread!!

[BerserkerCatSplat]

Hahaha, kickass!

[Hemihead]

Here is the reason i changed the engine. Listen to the 1500cc engine rattle and roar out in anger, running on maybe 3,5 cylinders.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Shu0zwNZDRQ

[LeVeL]

awesome. just pure awesome. My grandfather used to have one of those

[prizrak]

ROFL dude that has got to be the best use of "whatever is lying around" since Vin Diesel killed a man with a tea cup.

[JipJopJones]

That's sweet, as someone else said... Lada + Twin Cam = Awesome.

[starfox07]

I love that car.

[kaBOOMn]

Love it! Soviet Powah! (well now with Fiat power)

I still have a little bit of love for the old Soviet motor.....we have one in the workshop Lada Niva...can't kill the sucker...

[Bubs360]

Now that's a project if I ever saw one!

[Zesty]

I love it, it's cute!

[AiR]

Hehee thats beyond epic!