THIS 1995 LADA NIVA COSSACK HAS MODIFIED WITH CUSTOM 3" DRIVESHAFT TO CONVERT IT TO EXCLUSIVELY REAR WHEEL DRIVE. It took a little hammering to make clearance and a custom adapter plate on the back of the transmission with the rubber coupler removed. NO MORE VIBRATIONS AND BETTER FUEL EFFICIENCY WITHOUT THE TRANSFER CASE! I also dropped a great deal of weight. Hammered off front driveshafts and left CV spindle housing.
A NEWER 1.7L FI MOTOR WAS INSTALLED (1996) WITH ABOUT 10,000 KM ON IT. The previous one melted due to burning out the oil at 160kph. Eventually had to completely rebuild the transmission (Monte Carlo Auto-Winnipeg) with the important use of quality NA SKF bearings.
LESS COMPLEXITY AND BUILT STURDY WITH "INDESTRUCTABLE RUSSIAN ENGINEERING".
THIS CAR WAS ORIGINALLY WHITE - THE CAR WAS STIPPED AND REPAINTED BLACK, PROBABLY THE ONLY BLACK COSSACK OUT THERE. THE FRONT BUSH BAR WAS CUSTOM WELDED.
HERE'S A LIST OF THE ADDED FEATURES:
- POWER WINDOWS!!! (MODIFIED FROM A MPV) Simple linear actuators in this door were far from simple. The problem is that the window retracts at a high angle making it really tight to fit an rail-actuator in there
-POWER DOOR LOCKS! Kit from Princess Auto.
-DUAL EXHAUST! - MODIFIED CAMARO MUFFLER. Essentially the supports for the rear bumper became the holes for the exhaust pipes.
-VIPER 4-BUTTON ALARM -MODEL 700
-COMPLETE SET OF VDO VISION GAUGES!! Electronic Speedo(km/mph), volt, amp, fuel, and temp sender. The orginal square dash on this thing was ugly and had to go. A magnetic hall sensor is mounted directly behind the shifter to pick up bolts on the transmission output shaft.
-SPORT SEATS - from 1998 firebird, tilt, lumbar
-FACTORY SUNROOF (tinted)
-85 AMP REBUILT GM ALTERNATOR, Converted it to a one terminal - actually not a good idea since it does not tend to kick in at idle needs higher RPM.
-LEGAL LIMO TINT, TINTED TAILIGHTS
-DAYTONA RIMS WITH PREDATOR GTS (1yr old)The rims are 5 bolt 51/2 spread for mid 90s ranger offset.
-THULE BARS AND DUAL BIKE LOCKS
-BLAZER FOG LIGHTS and BLAZER OFF ROAD LIGHTS
-COMPONENT HEADLIGHTS (blue bulbs)
-RANCHO 5000 SHOCKS ALL ROUND (2 YRS OLD) You can get shocks to match at the local Canadian Tire, you just have to match them up- and usually convert the 1/2" bushings to 12mm.
-EDDLEBROCK INTAKE replaces the ugly old air filter.
-The stereo is all SONY EXPLODE - TWO 10" SUBS ON 800W AMP(Unfortunately in Stereo), 6X9"'S ON 400W AMP (BEHIND SEATS had the best sound although they were mounted originally to the rear seat belt mounts), 5-1/4"'s were kick panel mounted since there was no more actuator cable in the way. The deck had 3-4V PRE-OUTS and needed them for the three amps, but as a sony deck it is horrible for reading scratched CDs. Sounds great for a bargain system when the levels are set right.
I originally bought this car in my second year of engineering with 25000kms on it (1998) It has been parked most of the time since, while I continued to make modifications, and since I bought the car would be amazed if I have put more than 15000kms on it (The mechanical speedo cable broke so I can't tell for sure). The new digital odometer has about 300 kms on it since I took it out of the garage. Now that I'm done, I want to move on to an new project (maybe a Volvo 1800?). Famous for Russian engineering (both good and bad) this car is very easy to work on, but takes a mechanically minded person to keep in good running condition. Its very tough and over-built, and benefits from the principal that less complication makes for less things that can go wrong. Gets lots of attention. All modifications were done well.
