Discussion here: viewtopic.php?f=18&t=28118
This is a not-so-standard Niva, with a modified 2L Twin-cam Fiat engine residing under the bonnet (hence the 'Fiva' name).]
The standard 2L Twin-Cam engine produces around 112 bhp, so this one, with 10.5:1 compression should be more powerful...
This particular vehicle is known internationally, as the conversion was documented here: http://www.ladaniva....oggy/fiva1.html
Some specs:
Arches have been cut.
Standard Lada bumper has been custom cut for the rear, while a full-custom bumper has been made for the front.
Snorkel has been added, but is not suited the the air filter housing.
Sports bucket seats installed on custom mounting frames.
30mm Lift and lengthened shocks, as well as uprated springs.
36DCD7 Weber carb.
1980’s Subaru Ute fuel pump.
Subaru Ute air filter housing.
Toyota Cressida power steering.
Twin electric fans.
Polycarbonate box containing capacitor-type coil and ignition module.
Sealed beam headlights.
Subaru Legacy header tank.
I am just finishing off the rebuild that was started by Stu Good. He has done most of the hard bits, but a rough list of what I need to do is: tidy up wiring; clean up interior (I am aiming for a semi-stripped look for the time being, with no door cards – depending on legality, only door furniture and limited amounts of carpet – probably only in the back); repaint the whole vehicle (probably a green and silver/chrome two-tone); kill the slight bits of rust; protect the undercarriage; tune the carb properly; eventually get a rear locker; make a custom snorkel and then get it roadworthy and get out there and enjoy it!!
Before Stu Good, another Stu, this time from Palmerston North, had mainly been using the Fiva for trials. Basically, this is what I want to continue with. In addition to that, I think the usual forest and farm runs seem a good activity for the winter…
I'm not sure when the various things were done, but these are the most noticeable modifications.
And here's the write-up: (copied and pasted from elsewhere
)Well, we managed to get the Fiva started this weekend. It ran alright-ish, but smoked a little. We discovered diff leaks and gearbox leaks (which drips onto the exhaust mount and creates a bit of smelly smoke coming out the engine bay). The left-hand CV is also stuffed
We took it for a bit of a drive over the farm to test articulation etc, and discovered that the springs will fall out before the wheels leave the ground.
We then took it for a quick drive up the road. It definitely isn't running the best.
But on a good note, I started cleaning the interior a bit, and have decided to, for the time being, have a semi-stripped interior. So we have bare doors, apart from all the handles and the armrests on them.
Also, it looks a lot higher off the ground now that the TONNES of parts are out of it. No wonder our Pajero was struggling to tow it up the steep hills...
Some piccies:
Articulation:
After doing the articulation testing, the spring dislocated:
But I have been told this is normal. I will secure the bottom and do further testing to see if it stops before the top falls out. Hopefully it will stay in place.
All the parts that came with it: (Dog wasn't included
) 
Well... Yesterday I made a template for the rear carpet, and today cut the carpet and trial fitted it. I was afraid that the edges would fray, so I used some FIRE (Twisted Evil ) to burn/melt the edges to hold them together. It now needs to be trimmed a bit then stuck down. Pic's to come.
Dad and I also tried to tune it a bit. That didn't work out too well, as the carb had different screws to the webers in the two Fiat manuals I have. So I may need to research how to tune it.
So all in all, not much got done.
Righty...
Having no school and a fair bit of spare time at Dad's, I have been able to get a fair bit done.
Firstly, I finished the carpet that I had started:
I then started tidying up bits of the vehicle, so removed the radio (it wasn't functional), the speakers and the rear soundproofing. I also painted the indicator surrounds in new gloss black just to tidy it up a little:
I then decided to get the spotlights working properly. I just had to re-earth one wire and it was ok, however, the fuse went kaput when I tried them later that night.
So I replaced that, but then the headlights themselves didn't want to work.
Oh well, just more to fix...
I then decided to check over the dual electric fans. All seemed fine, until I saw the fuse:
I think they come on automatically, so I haven't yet been able to see if they work properly.
During all this, the horn button stuffed itself, so I wired it up directly to the power. The wiring just needs to be tidied up when I have what I need.
I also relocated the horn closer to the grille so that it may be a bit louder, to help me ward off the crap Auckland drivers.
I bought two fire extinguishers, and fitted them both in front of the two front seats, where they are out of the way of feet and also the seat itself, but while still being easily reachable:
I removed the one rubber arch extension, and then removed the tabs of metal that it had been attached to, as well as the tabs on the left front guard:
All this time I had been doing rust-proofing and killing on the body-work. I found some dodgy fixes, such as the underseal on the right front under-arch being put over rusty seams. I got rid of that rust and put underseal back over it:
I managed to get as far as zinc-painting the rear of the drivers side of the body:
I did try to get the front bumper off, but after getting the bolts off, the bumper wouldn't move. I ended up gettiing the standard Niva to tug on it with a short rope, but even that didn't work. Evil or Very Mad Evil or Very Mad
So... That's gunna stay right where it is... Laughing Laughing
Finally, I managed to make one new doorcard, for the driver's side. I got some old doorcards I had laying around, ans stripped off the vinyl. I then put it on top of the plastic checker-plate stuff I got from Supercheap (which was on special a day AFTER I bought mine
). It took a fair bit of time, tape and hot-gluing to get it stuck on properly, but I think it looks ok...
Oh, wait, one more finally:
During the process of taking the spark-plugs out, the tip of one (the bit that screws on) must have fallen into the sparkpug hole, as when started again, the engine made a reasonalbly loud clattering. A while of vaccuming in the holes didn't work, so it looks like time for the head to come off now... Evil or Very Mad Evil or Very Mad
Oh well, two steps forward, one back.
More photos of whatever can be seen at: http://s1199.photobu... ... ?start=all
Righty...
More time at the farm means more progress.
I started by removing the rear bumper, and cleaning it. I then did some rust repairs in behind where the bumper fits.
I also zinc-painted the fitting plates for the rubber strips, after getting off the light surface rust.
I then sprayed the tow hook that fits to the rear bumper in red zinc, to make it stand out, and look different.
The same was done with the front hooks too. These need tidying up later, but are ok for now.
Then I sprayed the front bumper with plain black paint, just to tidy it up.
The grille was also sprayed black at the same time.
I also finished the undersealing on the wheelarches, so that is all good and clean for now. But not for long, hopefully...
Just before I left, I managed to zinc-paint and under-seal the sump guard, which will be fitted when I get the correct bolts. (Do you like my makeshift stand for the spraying?
)I didn't attempt to get the sparkplug tip out again. I need a decent jack first so I can lift it on one side...
OOH, also...
Here are some pics of the flex with the rear wheel barely touching the ground. The spring can be removed, so will need to be tied down.
Righty...
This is a little delayed, because I couldn't borrow a card reader for a while. I really should get my own...
WE GOT THE SPARKPLUG TIP OUT!! As somebody suggested, we rolled the vehicle back a bit, on the side of a bank, so that the thing would roll down to one side of the engine.
We had a vacuum with a smaller hose connected, and a washer hose connected to that. After trying for a bit, I went off to do something (probably sob
) and Lincoln (my Brother) called out, as he managed to make the tip stick to the hose.Success!
So, here's the s/plug tip now:
I did try to start it after, but the two wires that go into the dizzy (elec. ignition) fell out of the plug, and I didn't know what way they were meant to go. It didn't start, so I'm assuming that is why.
I'm thinking there wont be too much damage to the piston or anything, because of the s/plug tip being squished so small. - The thing was squished instead of staying in-tact and scraping the hell out of the piston.
Also, I painted the timing gear cover red, after dad and Lincoln said I should. It should match the air filter housing, and brighten the engine bay up a bit.
Ok, a little more progress (it's been slow, as I've been sorting my Uni entrance and our ridiculous govt makes it so hard to get a student loan)
The drain plug came out of the radiator, and left a big hole in it. So I took it into work (Imagin-Airing), and got my boss to solder it. It had a small leak still afterwards, as he couldn't find any decent solder or lead.
So I put a patch of quick-steel putty over it:
And then I decided to paint it afterwards:
Before:
After:
Right, that's about all that's been done so far.
I haven't managed to assess the damage done by the sparkplug tip yet, but hopefully it has just knocked the tappets out of place, and not bent a valve
More to come someday soon hopefully...
