While it's true that Ladas were essentially Fiat 124 Sedans built under license by the Soviets, they differ in a number of ways. First of all, Soviet steel was very poor, so to compensate (ostensibly), the Lada was made of 30% thicker steel than the Fiat. This made it weigh considerably more. It also had less power than the Italian 124 Saloon. Also, the Fiat had 4-wheel disc brakes and the Lada had drums all-round. Lada's also had no heaters (in Russia yet!) but many who bought them in Western Europe, fitted Italian Fiat heaters to them which would drop-in without modifying anything. All in all, while the 124 was a delightful little sedan that handled well and had sprightly performance (for a mid-sixties design), the Lada was a poorly made, unreliable slug.
George Graves On Sep 20, 2013, at 8:06 PM, Stefano Iachella <[email protected]> wrote: > A co-worker here in Walnut Creek, CA just bought a 1975 Lada from someone > in San Mateo. > Does anyone know this car? It's brown and apparently was imported only a > year ago or so. > > My co-worker is Russian himself and his parents worked at the Lada factory > so it's bringing > him back all sorts of memories and he loves it. Most know that it is a copy > of a Fiat 124 > sedan. I used to own a 128 and there are many similarities except it's > wider and roomier. > > He also doesn't like me referring to it as a Fiat copy as he says the > Russian engineers > did a lot of "re-engineering" of the car. Claims the suspension is > re-enforced for the Russian > roads (that would be a given...) The engine looks a little more primitive > that I though a > Fiat should look. It's also rear wheel drive and I thought the 124 was > front wheel drive, but > I know the 124 spider is rear wheel drive. > > Stefano > Concord, CA > > Minimal Italian Car content and no Alfa Content, but the list has been > quiet lately. > -- > to be removed from alfa, see http://www.digest.net/bin/digest-subs.cgi > or email "unsubscribe alfa" to [email protected] -- to be removed from alfa, see http://www.digest.net/bin/digest-subs.cgi or email "unsubscribe alfa" to [email protected]
