1993 Riva 1.5E Estate For Sale

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Zelandeth
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1993 Riva 1.5E Estate For Sale

Post by Zelandeth » Sun Jul 01, 2018 6:53 pm

Given that I'd been intending to keep this car for the long, long, long haul, I find myself a bit surprised to be writing this post.

However I've been offered the opportunity to pick up something else that has been on my wish list for 20+ years.

Getting another car means that I need to free up a slot as we've only got so much parking space. I simply can't justify selling the Xantia as it's just such an incredibly competent and mind bendingly versatile car. The Invacar doesn't help me as it's not actually taking up space anywhere other than in the not-really-big-enough-for-a-car garage.

Sadly as a result, the Lada is the one which has drawn the short straw - main reason being that I'm the only one in the family who really gets anything from it. My husband isn't confident driving it and nobody really enjoys traveling any distance in it. While it's actually surprisingly comfortable, it is loud at speed...and there's no radio fitted (never has been).

Here are the vital statistics.

[] 1993 Lada Riva 1500E Estate.
[] 18789 Miles (will go up slightly as it's in use).
[] MOT to 7th June 2019.
[] Fuel injection system from a 1995 Niva 1.7i retrofitted, so no more computerised carb nonsense - blew a CO level of 0.074% at the MOT, so the system and cat seem healthy. Fuel pump and tank were brand new from Lada only a few months ago.
[] New brake pads fitted six months or so back.
[] Full set of Laufenn tyres of the correct size in October 2016, they still appear as new (tracking was checked when they were fitted).
[] Factory new tail lights fitted last year as the originals had faded.
[] Includes a period roof rack (used by me mainly for hauling around a Sinclair C5).
[] Interior is near immaculate.

Issues.

[] Exhaust could do with replacing. It's been patched and bodged who knows how many times.
[] Wing tops are rotten above the headlights. A new pair are supplied with the car. The inner wings look fine, so it should just be a matter of getting them fitted and painted. Go figure, all Ladas rust there. Several people have told me I should just keep it that way as it looks more genuine!
[] Side indicator repeater lenses have faded - new ones supplied with car (planned to swap those when the wings were done).
[] Couple of creaky ball joints, full set are supplied with the car.
[] Clutch release bearing can rattle a bit when cold, has never got any worse since I got the car.
[] Some of the wiring and pipework in the engine bay from the injection project could do with a final tidy up. Nothing to do with it actually working - just trimming a few wires and hoses down to length etc to make it look properly like it came out the factory like that.

[] Couple of minor scratches and such, but nothing you'd not expect from a car of this age, the only one that's really visible is a little ring on the nearside rear wheel arch - I'd planned to get these all sorted when it was in a body shop to get the wings done.

[] Bit of plastic on the offside rear seatbelt is broken.

Spares included.
[] Brake shoes.
[] Full set of engine mounts.
[] Full set of gearbox mounts.
[] Propshaft flexible coupling.
[] Full front suspension ball joint set.
[] Full brake hose set.
[] 15" wheel set with old but serviceable tyres. Think these had just been refurbished before I got the car, but I prefer the original white ones.

...probably a bunch of other stuff I've forgotten.

The one bit of engineering from the injection system project that's been a bit of a faff has been the throttle linkage, as it's totally different in the Riva to the Niva the injection system came from. The current setup is a bit notchy in operation, but I'm going to try to get it working a bit better before the car moves on.

The car owes me a packet. It cost me £3500 back in September/October 2016, in a state where it was barely driveable (primarily due to issues with the emission control system having been fiddled with)...but being obviously damn solid and an example that could clean up to A1 condition (and having just spent seven hours on a train to get to it!), I just dealt with it.

Since then I've probably spent nearly the same again fixing previous issues, getting the injection system up and running etc...and I've not even got it to a show yet!

Realistically I'd like to get somewhere around the original asking price...it *is* one of the cleaner examples out there, and actually works, rather than being a show queen that spends 95% of its time in a garage, which seems to be something that sets it apart from a lot that I've seen appear lately. The price is very much open to negotiation though to the right buyer.

Any questions...please ask away.

Demo runs out welcome, likewise test drives provided you have appropriate insurance in place.

Assuming it's still with me by then, she will be on display at the Festival of the Unexceptional, and I'll be hovering around happy to discuss things.

The photos below were taken yesterday evening, I'll try to get out to get some better ones in the next few days when it's not boxed in.

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I'll be really sorry to see the car go. I spent a long, long time looking for one, and have really enjoyed it...but this feels like one of those opportunities I need to just grab with both hands. A lot of the best cars I've had have been those I've not been looking for after all.
LOZ: Oddball cars, lighting information, and anything else I remember to upload!
Current fleet: 02 VW Caddy 1.9SDI, 90 Mercedes 208D Autotrail Navajo, 85 Sinclair C5, 78 Vauxhall Cavalier 1.6GL, 73 AC Model-70.

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Re: 1993 Riva 1.5E Estate For Sale

Post by Tom. » Mon Jul 02, 2018 7:36 pm

Someone's going to get a good car there. Good luck with the sale. :)
97 Niva 1.7i
2107 Riva Sport
2104 Estate 1500

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Zelandeth
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Re: 1993 Riva 1.5E Estate For Sale

Post by Zelandeth » Mon Jul 02, 2018 10:13 pm

It's one of the best I've come across, certainly in terms of cars that are actually used anyhow.

Few things need tidying up, but it's a good, usable motor. With the injection kit in place now, hopefully it should be a reliable car long term too.

I really wasn't expecting to be selling it to be honest...and if I had space on the drive I'd definitely be keeping it...sadly there are only three parking spaces to go round!

We'll...two for me. Number three is taken up by a boring, uncomfortable company car.
LOZ: Oddball cars, lighting information, and anything else I remember to upload!
Current fleet: 02 VW Caddy 1.9SDI, 90 Mercedes 208D Autotrail Navajo, 85 Sinclair C5, 78 Vauxhall Cavalier 1.6GL, 73 AC Model-70.

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Re: 1993 Riva 1.5E Estate For Sale

Post by Zelandeth » Sun Jul 22, 2018 10:37 pm

I can confirm that the throttle linkage issue is now resolved.

It's a bit light for my liking at present so I'll be looking to see if I can find a return spring to help things out a bit. The throttle pedal in these cars is always pretty light anyway to be fair.

The issues with it being notchy in action and unable to reach 100% throttle have now been totally eliminated though, making it far more pleasant to drive.

She was on show at the Festival of the Unexceptional on July 14th and had quite a few folks getting misty eyed at the nostalgic memories of friends, parents or grandparents who had Rivas.

Was nice to not be the only Lada there...even if the orange 2107 (I think) was in a different league, and in the concourse event.
LOZ: Oddball cars, lighting information, and anything else I remember to upload!
Current fleet: 02 VW Caddy 1.9SDI, 90 Mercedes 208D Autotrail Navajo, 85 Sinclair C5, 78 Vauxhall Cavalier 1.6GL, 73 AC Model-70.

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Re: 1993 Riva 1.5E Estate For Sale

Post by Zelandeth » Fri Jul 27, 2018 2:53 pm

Having just wasted another hour of my life standing outside in the sun in 30C heat with a supposed interested buyer who went over the entire car with a magnifying glass and then offered me £350, have a price drop.

£3000 or sensible offer.

I wasn't in a massive rush to sell this originally. I know it's not a cheap car and that it would probably take time for the right buyer to find it. However having to deal with a seemingly endless stream of tyre kickers is making me lose the will to live and leaving a very sour taste in my mouth. As such my openness to a cheeky offer is definitely increasing.

Having to deal with this nonsense was the sole reason that it's not been advertised on Gumtree...I'd hoped that a sign in the window wouldn't attract so many of the same types.
LOZ: Oddball cars, lighting information, and anything else I remember to upload!
Current fleet: 02 VW Caddy 1.9SDI, 90 Mercedes 208D Autotrail Navajo, 85 Sinclair C5, 78 Vauxhall Cavalier 1.6GL, 73 AC Model-70.

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Re: 1993 Riva 1.5E Estate For Sale

Post by Tom. » Fri Jul 27, 2018 5:45 pm

Stick one of these at the bottom of your drive.

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97 Niva 1.7i
2107 Riva Sport
2104 Estate 1500

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Re: 1993 Riva 1.5E Estate For Sale

Post by Zelandeth » Fri Aug 31, 2018 9:53 pm

Pleased to report that the somewhat lumpy and high idle that has been on the niggle list forever has now been resolved.

Nothing more sinister than a vacuum leak that needed a nut on the inlet manifold nipped up a tiny bit.

Now the thing actually idles nice and smoothly hang on the correct speed. Driveability, especially in traffic is massively improved - and with the idle speed down to a more sensible speed the cooling fan is far less busy in traffic, as you would expect.

One less item on the snagging list the new owner will need to think about.

Astonishing how much nicer it is to drive now.
LOZ: Oddball cars, lighting information, and anything else I remember to upload!
Current fleet: 02 VW Caddy 1.9SDI, 90 Mercedes 208D Autotrail Navajo, 85 Sinclair C5, 78 Vauxhall Cavalier 1.6GL, 73 AC Model-70.

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Re: 1993 Riva 1.5E Estate For Sale

Post by Andrew353w » Sat Sep 01, 2018 8:09 am

Zelandeth wrote:Pleased to report that the somewhat lumpy and high idle that has been on the niggle list forever has now been resolved.

Nothing more sinister than a vacuum leak that needed a nut on the inlet manifold nipped up a tiny bit.

One less item on the snagging list the new owner will need to think about.

Astonishing how much nicer it is to drive now.
As soon as you think about selling it the car behaves itself.....You don't think this is a message from "on high" to stop you selling it?
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Zelandeth
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Re: 1993 Riva 1.5E Estate For Sale

Post by Zelandeth » Sat Sep 01, 2018 3:37 pm

To be fair tracking the cause of that has been on the to do list for a while - but given it's for sale I decided it really needed sorting.

I will be continuing to use and where possible improve it until the new owner turns up, I realise that might be a bit of a wait.
LOZ: Oddball cars, lighting information, and anything else I remember to upload!
Current fleet: 02 VW Caddy 1.9SDI, 90 Mercedes 208D Autotrail Navajo, 85 Sinclair C5, 78 Vauxhall Cavalier 1.6GL, 73 AC Model-70.

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Re: 1993 Riva 1.5E Estate For Sale

Post by Zelandeth » Sat Dec 07, 2019 10:41 pm

This is still available folks.

The car is now out of MOT (I consciously let it lapse as I had no intention of letting it near the road when there's salt on the roads over the winter), but will be sold with a full 12 month's MOT on it. Likewise if someone seriously thinks they're interested, I'll get it tested to enable test drives. Just seemed little point when all it will be doing is waiting for the spring for the next couple of months.

Price now dropped to £2500, though I'm also open to possible swaps...

Items on the wish list I would happily trade keys for would be:

[] MGB GT.

[] Jeep Cherokee 4.0 (93-97).

[] Renault 25 (Mk I in Monaco or similar spec)

[] Vauxhall Nova Antibes.

[] Citroen GSA.

[] 70s/80s Volvo because I've never tried one.

[] Saab 9000...as above.

[] Saab 900 if it's a really nice example...preferably a late 8v injected one...with an auto box...turbo just seems overpriced for what it is these days and I really liked how my previous two autos drove.

[] Possibly some sort of wafty yank land barge.

So if that makes it more attractive to anyone, drop me a line.
LOZ: Oddball cars, lighting information, and anything else I remember to upload!
Current fleet: 02 VW Caddy 1.9SDI, 90 Mercedes 208D Autotrail Navajo, 85 Sinclair C5, 78 Vauxhall Cavalier 1.6GL, 73 AC Model-70.

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Re: 1993 Riva 1.5E Estate For Sale

Post by Zelandeth » Mon Dec 16, 2019 11:25 pm

This is now wearing a fresh MOT and we look to have provisionally got a deal agreed.

Will update this thread once things have reached their conclusion with the deal. Glad to report that it's an enthusiast that's looking at it, not just a random man on the street.
LOZ: Oddball cars, lighting information, and anything else I remember to upload!
Current fleet: 02 VW Caddy 1.9SDI, 90 Mercedes 208D Autotrail Navajo, 85 Sinclair C5, 78 Vauxhall Cavalier 1.6GL, 73 AC Model-70.

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