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I bought this Lada with
the intention of modifying it. A Lada was chosen for a variety of reasons,
(1) it is based on the Fiat 124, Fiat sold the
plant to the Russian company Lada and the Fiat 124 had a twin cam in it so
the Fiat unit would bolt straight in, (2) Ladas are cheap and
easily available, (3) they have a poor image so a fast one would be quite
a street sleeper.
I purchased C109CUM on the 5th April 1991 for £825 with 7,500 miles
on the clock and drove it as standard for 2 weeks until I could not
stand it any longer, it was awful, then it went into the garage.
Final Specification
Engine......................... Fiat twin cam 2,000cc with twin 40
DCOE Webers approx 100 bhp at wheels
Gearbox ......................Fiat 5 speed
Axle .............................Toyota Celica Mk3 with LSD 3.9:1
ratio
Front suspension ........Standard Lada with Spax dampers and lowered
uprated springs
Rear suspension .........5 link coilover using Lada radius arms and
Spax coilovers. Panhard rod spherically jointed
Brakes ........................Front standard Lada, Rear Toyota Celica
drums.
Interior ........................6 point cage, bucket seats, 4 point
harnesses, Mountney wheel
Body mods ...................Externally none. Internally, new gearbox
cover and trans tunnel. Turrets for coilovers, boxes for upper radius arms.
Boot floor raised for silencer clearance. Rear inner arches raised for extra
tyre movement.
Performance ................0-60 approx 7 seconds. Standing start 1/4
mile 15.62secs. Top speed approx 120mph.
The finished car looking
very standard.
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Rear view. Wheels are
Toyota Celica on the rear and Lada
on the front.
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The rear diagonal on
the cage is the only clue that this is
modified.
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The engine bolted straight
up to the Lada mounts. The radiator
is Marina with Sherpa van core (as used on our Fiat into
Minor conversions). The battery is in the boot, and the fuse
box is moved into the glove box to give room for the carbs.
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The gearbox however required
a new mounting crossmember
and enlarged cover. This was because I was using the later
Fiat box and not the early Lada style one. A complete new
raised trans tunnel was also required.
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The exhaust manifold
was made from the Lada one and
old bits of bend from stock. It was a tight fit past the Lada
steering box. It is gas welded.
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The system was designed
to fit close to the floor and go over
the axle. Silencers are new and came out of a skip from a
German exhaust manufactures.
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The Toyota Celica axle
with new mounts Mig welded on.
Location is by standard Lada radius arms at the bottom and
at the top I have used Lada bottom radius arms, with new top
body mounts. This results in equal length arms.
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