Description
For Sale: My 1987 Lada Riva Estate.
One previous owner before me, hence the relatively low mileage of miles from new - currently 67, 370. Surprisingly for a car known best for it's poor quality, this one seems to be a survivor, having had no welding ever done to it and only small amounts of surface rust. We think it was rust proofed when new in this country by the dealer as the door cavities etc are all thick with rust proofing. Of course, there is also some wear and tear on the bodywork as you'd expect from a 30 year old car in its original Adriatic Blue paint, nothing that detracts from the overall aesthetic of the car; its just a nice 30 years of patina. As you may have noticed, the car has a one off 'woodie' look that complements the blue particularly well and matches the interior. Leading on from this, the interior is particularly clean and unmarked for a car of this age with no rips or tears in the seats or headlining. It is also surprisingly practical as a holiday/ roadtrip wagon as it has a large boot, a roof rack, and can seat 5 adults in style and comfort. It has 4 three point seatbelts and one lapbelt. Another cool feature of this car is that it has the original factory build sheet presence in the spare wheel well.
If you happen to be a youngster like me (this was my first car) insurance is surprisingly OK for a 1500cc with Adrian Flux insuring me for very reasonable rates.
Mechanically speaking, the car has sailed through it's last two MOT's with no trouble. The car has a brand new Weber Carburetor kit (fitted in March this year) in it which has vastly improved the cold starting and running of the engine. At the same time we fitted electronic ignition which means that the engine is virtually maintenance free and runs sweet as a nut. It also has a cherry bomb on the exhaust to give it a bit of a throaty warble and a bit of presence and the chrome tip makes it stand out from the crowd at shows and on the street. Apart from these modifications the car is stock; and the 1500cc motor, and 5 speed mean that it really chews up the miles on the open road.
Maintenance wise, whilst I have had the car, it has had regular oil and coolant changes every 5, 000 miles. It has also had a new clutch at 64, 000 miles, a new starter motor at 65, 000 miles. It also has a wooden Mountney steering wheel as the original steering wheel was damaged.
So to summarise:
67, 370 miles
Great interior
Good overall condition for a car of this age
Weber carb
Electronic ignition
Overall great practical classic car
Bags of 70's / 80's Russian Style
Engine runs great and no noises from gearbox
New starter
New Clutch
and best of all - it is a Lada - it really stands out and gets noticed everywhere it goes and always gets a smile.
Reason for sale is simply lack of space to keep it as I have bought another car and I am sad to see it go.
Any enquiries or sensible offers please feel free to call or text me on the details below.
Advertised elsewhere so I reserve the right to remove the listing at any time.
