Ok so a few of you out there have encouraged me to get a blog going so that you may look in on me a little more effectively.  Fine.  I will try to keep this thing more or less up to date.  So first a summary.  Left June 7th a few days later than we had expected.  Showed up on Jmes and Erica's doorstep and let them lead us out for dinner in Saskatoon and church the next morning.  Onward through Alberta with a quick stop at Vegerville for a photo op with the Egg.  Found that driving at 90-100 really makes for a longer trip.  Lost looking for Xisra north of Edmonton and met up with Pat and Kathleen in the same predicament.  HUng there for a couple of days before heading south to find our good friend Becky!  Only a day there before moving on.  Spent a night in Losegun Campground!  Only in Alberta.  10 miles of really crappy gravel road but a pretty little lake.  On north to search for Pascal and Meg.  Overshot them in Dawson and had to backtrack to their place on the border.  Ended up spending quite a few days with them going to horse sales, shoeing and trimming horses and finnishing with participating at a branding in Hudson's hope.  North again we make fort Nelson.  A night or two in civillization in a rather expensive RV park.  UGG!  Notrh to Watson Lake!  Yukon Finally!  Spent 48 hrs in the camper in the rain with the mosquitos.  Horrid.  Decide to push on and not stay in the town of signposts.(Never did find one from Kamsack)  Next night we stopped at Mukluk Annie's Salmon bake outside of Teslin!  Fantastic fish and a beautiful little area.  Boat ride with Chuck to feed that seaguls.  Lots of fun.  Met a few 'Maricans heading various directions with all kinds of great stories.  Now we're here in Whitehorse and settled in to look for work.  Rita already picked up a job at a hotel and I hasve a few good leads too.  With the wages up here we'll be making more money than we have in a while! 

  It has been quite a while since I added anything to the "Lada Report".  This was partly due to cold weather preventing me from doing any further work and also to the fact that I had not been driving my car much.  The Ski Hill has a Staff shuttle and I was the primary driver.  So other than bombing around town and a few short trips the Lada had a lot of off time. 

 

  So I was finnally doing one of the things that I set out to do at the beginning of the season.  I was going to audit a Level one Snowboard course and get my evaluator's cert.  Then I could spend the real time on the snow I meant to this year.  As with most of my best laid plans this one too was a little behind.  Took the Precourse in December but never got a free weekend until March.  I needed to attend 2 courses to see how other instructors ran the course and to get a chance to see a course in action.  I took my level 1 about 12 years ago.  A few things may have changed in that time.

 

Anyhow, this was why I was on the road.  I was on the third day of a 3 day course and had to be there for 9am.  Which was 8am Sask time.  Which meant that I had to leave at 6:30am to get to Asessippi on time.  No problem really. 

 

  It had been a warm weekend and Saturday night the wind had picked up and some snow was falling.  So the warm hwy and the cold snow made for an instant bond.  So the road was snow and ice covered and very white.  I was driving south and the wind had been from the east the day before so there were many little finger drifts across the road.  I underestimated these little drifts.  I thought that they would not be as hard as they turned out to be.  Most of them were in the other lane and so I was not really thinking about them much.  So when I hit this one that was extending about 2 or 3 ft into my lane I was expecting a little bump and little else. 

 

  The drift caught my driver side front tire and spun me around backward.  I countersteered a bit but quickly realized that I could not recover and braced for hitting the ditch backward.  Ditching is no big deal, just get a tug and back on the road, right?  That could have been the case except for how hard the wind had pounded the snow in the ditch.  My rear passenger side tire was the first off of the road and onto the shoulder.  When it hit the snow it was like hitting a wall.  And I flipped.

 

  It's amazing all of the thought time you have while spinning upside down in a car waiting for the inevitable, horrible landing.  I was thinking of all of the people that die this way every year and how I was about to become one of them.  I even remember thinking, "I really don't want to die like this."  Really calmly too.  Hmm so how would I like to die?  Subject for another day maybe.

 

  The car did a 1 and a quarter barrel roll on kind of an off kilter axis and landed on the passenger side, nose first.  It was quite the ride.  If I hadn't been in mortal danger it might have been fun.  So everything comes to a halt and I do a quick check.  I'm ok.  I'm hanging in my seat with my car on it's side.  I had covered my face expecting flying glass and crunching of metal.  None of that really happened.  I didn't even crack a window.

 

  So I did what most people with a system overrun with adrenaline do.  I was not thinking much.  I reached over and hit the seatbelt release.  And fell into the passenger side.  I had a chuckle at that.  Then I reached up and turned the key off.  I don't know if the engine was still running or not but I was thinking enough to realize that needed doing.  The lada was on the passenger side and happily emptying it's gass tank into the snow.  Crap.  That was just filled. 

 

  So I stood up and began to try to get out.  It was at this late point that I sustained my only significant injury.  I popped the driver's door open and pushed the door up.  And it came right back down on my head.  Ouch.  Good thing I wasn't injured.  The door would have finnished me off.

 

  I climbed out and stood on top of my car.  I had just passed a farm and so I knew what my next step was.  To get help.  I jumped off of the car expecting to sink up to my waist in snow and landed on what felt like concrete.  Wow.  The car was where the middle of the ditch should be and sitting on four feet of snow.  The ditch was full and even with the road.  If I could have tipped my car back up I could have driven out.  It hardly made a dent.  No joke.

 

  There were a few dents in the Lada though.  I walked around it and surveyed the damage.  Not bad considering.

 

  So the nearest farm yeilded friendly results and Mr. Don Walsh got up out of bed an made me coffee before giving me a lift back to town.  My thanks to him also.

 

  So what have we learned?  Ladas can survive a crash quite well.  Seatbelts work.  A properly adjusted seat can really help in a crash.  Doors can be heavy.  Snow is not always soft.  Really it's been educational.

It has been some time since I wrote anything and I'm sure that all my fans in the stands must think that this is because nothing new has happened.  O how I wish that were true.  Just when you think things should be smooth sailing...

 

And so, the Lada has been on the road and always just a little lacking.  It seems that after a little Q&A with a few mechanics my car fires only on 3 cylenders.  This could be a head gasket problem, a valve problem, or a ring problem.  At any rate there is no fixing it right now due to cold weather and lack of funds.  All of those fixes require cash and opening up the engine.

 

In the mean time life goes on and my car still runs.  Until it died in mid stride the other day.  Started up, round the corner and silence.  No cough, sputter or anything.  So I coast to a stop, push it to the curb and shake my head.  It turns the starter Ok but nothing is firing.  Spark or Fuel? 

 

Well after a quick tow home and some tinkering I determine that fuel flow is not the problem.  Note: The electric fuel pump can sure fire a stream of gas when it starts up.  After cleaning up that mess I started checking for spark.  Nada.  Nothing I could detect anyhow.  So now I have reached the end of my expertise and must seek professional help.  I do not like to take my car to a mechanic any more than I like going to the Doctor.  Less even.  But I can tell when I don't have the equipment to figure out the problem.

 

Long story shorter, turns out that the ignition modual, that replaces the coil on carberated cars, had developed a crack in it's housing and had chosen that day to let me know.  And the best part!  It's a GM part!

 

So, too much money later we are back on the road.  But as I'm leaving the Mech mentions that my battery seems to crank a little low.  What!!  this is just the kind of thing that keeps me away.  Always one more thing with a shop.  Besides, that battery is not quite 3 years old and has a 60 month warrenty.  So off I go.  After a boost.  And one the next day.  And trouble starting all the time now.  I'm becoming quite good at praying.  Downright penitant if I do say so.  So after being stranded in a snowbank that should never have presented a problem.  Bought a new battery.  The shop now owns part of my soul.  I almost had some savings there.  I was almost not fearing Christmas and the yearly draining of my savings during the end of the year materialistic blowout.  So much for that.

 

Now you might think that I now am set up for a few days peace.  I thought so.  Ha hahaha!  I get my new prize home and set to work changing the battery.  It seems that the modifications that I made while installing my remote starter solinoid includes no extra cable.  Who knew that different batteies had their posts in different spots.  Two inches short on the positive terminal.  Shit. 

 

So back downstairs to my bag of wire.  I knew that there was a reason I grabbed all that extra at the wreaker's.  Found a Long piece and rewired a few connections.  Boy I am glad that it isn't really cold right now.  It was downright pleasant working on the car outside.  And the moon was shining.  I could almost see.  Maybe God does like me.  Hmm best not to tempt him further.

 

Back on the road again...

Once again I have been out for a while.  Had a few minor Lada Adventures though.

 

I always had a few electrical glitches that I didn't understand.  As the weather turned cold a few gremlins reared their heads.  My signal lights were starting to malfunction.  By malfunction I mean fail to blink and take most of the dash guages with them.  Asked Tyler his opinion and he reccommended that I look for loose connections and grounds.  Seemed a simple fix.  It was even easier than that.  I decided to start by checking the fuses.  Sometimes I'm smart by accident.  The fuse for the blinkers is the same fuse  that runs most of the dash guages and lights.  Explains the drain from everything else too.  Inspecting the fuse I found that it had corroded a circle around the tips right where it contacts the leads.  Sandpaper to the corrosion and voila!  Back in action!  I love easy problems.

Pat challenged me to post five things that I found to be universal truths.  You know those things that seem to you to be little gems of the greater understanding.  I challenge anyone who reads this to do the same in their blog or my comments!

 

5.  A friend is someone who knows all of your worst faults and likes you anyway.

4.  You can get blood from a stone.  You just have to hit who you're aiming at.

3.  The best thing for the inside of a man is the outside of a horse.

2.  A man with one watch always knows what time it is.  A man with two watches is never quite sure.

1.  Eat, Drink, and make merry for all is folly and tommorrow you may die.

 

and one for bonus

 

Any day the sun rises is one more gift from the creator!

It seems that I have neglected my little space.  And I have left you, my adoring public, in the lurch waiting patiently for the next installment of "La Lada Loco".  Well fret not for here I am.

 

When Last I wrote I had made some of the final touches to my baby.  There had been a small problem with the starter and heat.  I rectified this problem by creating a starter relay using a Ford solinoid.  Works beautiful.  Tested it out going to Regina and back.  No heat problems now.  Starts every time.  I feel so smart.  But alas I stand on the shoulders of giants.  And google.

 

So here are a couple of shots of  the new starter relay. 

 

I have been a busy boy these days.  Two weeks on course for Officer Training and then helping guide our annual trail ride out at the farm.  I took lots of pics but they need a little touching up before I show them so stay tuned.

 

One sample though of my mom riding her horse Dixie, one of our dog Daisy, one of my horse Tango, and me.  I will probably touch these up later too.

  And so, as I have said before, owning a Lada ensures that this blog will continue. 

 

So I had hoped to take the Lada on tour this last weekend but for a sight glitch that I have encountered. 

 

My Bro Curt was hurting this last week so I went on a mission of mercy to the Queen City.  I had been noticing a hot starting problem but I wasn't sure why it was happening.  I thought that it might be a loose or coroded connection.  So I cleaned a few of the obvious connections and off to Regina.  I knew that if it was true to what had been happening I would have to go non-stop.  So I made it and sure enough it quit on me.  Yet later that night when I came back for my car it fired up first try.  So non-stop back home to the realization that we would be driving a dodge to Brandon on the weekend.  And I was sooo looking foreward to showing my baby off.

 

In the mean time I start to try to think of ways to solve this problem.  I thought of extra heat shielding but it would mean some creative manufacturing and messing with fitting it to the engine.

 

Then I recalled a conversation with my good friend Len.  He had said something about bypassing a starter problem by istalling a remote ford relay.  Looking this up on the net it turns out that he was exactly right.  Hot startng problems are common in chevys.  Well, the little ruskie has enough GM parts to qualify.  Also the starter is similar enough in form and mount position.  So off I go to Can Tire.

 

And to the wrecker.  There are a few extra parts, wire, plastic, and whatnot that would aid in this new solution.  So I walked the yard dreaming of things I need.  There it was.  something to improve the voice of my baby.  An 80's Chevy Van.  Smile.

 

Into the engine and soon I'm up with the prize.  A GM double hi-lo horn to make the baby roar like a giant! Sweet.

 

So home again with the prizes: starter solinoid- $12, wire and parts including horns- $15.  Not bad.

 

First Adventure is the horn.  Now of course there are only so many ways to hook up a horn.  It helps to know how yours is wired before you begin.  I did not.  I soon found that the double horns would not work with the set up as they were.  Now really there is only two ways to wire two horns.  Parallel and series.  Trouble is that on a chevy the horn switch controls the hot or power coming in and the ground goes to the bolt on the bracket.  In the lada, the horn switch controls the ground and the hot comes in on all the time.  You can hook them up in series and only the first horn plays.  Hook them up in parallel, as they were on the chevy, and all you get is a little click.  Short them out to the body and both horns blast like crazy.  They should be set up in parallel.  That is how they were and that is the most logical way for them to work here.  Only they don't.  The only reason I can think of is that there is some problem with resistance over this long wire back to the steering wheel. 

 

In the mean time I settled for the one Low Tone horn and hooked it up.  It already sounds like a truck!  I'll have to figure out a way of energising the wires the other way.  Without frying anything.

 

Tune in later for the "Ford Starter".

Yes indeed!  It is back on the Attack!  The Lada passed the safety with little problem.  Some of my concerns were decidedly taken care of.  The wheel seal was apparently not a problem after all.  My adjustment on the steering reduced "Replace steering box" to "wheel alignment".  Which was not worth a failing grade.  The Mechanics complimented me on a nice paint job.  How crazy is that.  Rust was not even mentioned.  Another fine example of "Wear the right costume and the part plays itself!" 

 

True I had taken care of the most important parts of rust.  That being the exterior rust and the wheel wells.  I was nervous none the less.

 

So my baby is back on the road and not a moment too soon.  Gas prices are high and my tank is small.  Vacation is coming up and a road trip is in the plans.  The town parade is next week and what a great reason to show off.

 

So is this the end of the adventure?  Well nearly.  The rest is cosmetic.  The running boards have to get paint and then put back on.  I have to tint a couple of windows.  There is still the irritating problem of the ghost in my radio. (It works whenever it feels like it)  The heater fan could use an upgrade.  Decals are nice touches.  I'm sure I could go on.  The important bit is that I am back on the road. 

 

I will continue to "pimp my ride" as time and cashflow permits.  I will post final pics once the windows are done and rails are back on.

 

Gotta go pick up my chic...

Tommorrow is a big day for the Lada.  8:30am we are going in for the safety.  Yaaa.  However, I make no fantasies about passing with flying colours.  The steering issue and the wheel seal issue have not been solved yet.  I hope that rust on the undercarriage is not going to be a problem either.

 

Today I sprayed rubber undercoat into the rear wheel wells.  Covers the rusty bits and prevents further damage.  Great stuff.  Goes on thick and goey. Love it!

 

Also I took the time to solve a small problem I discovered a few days ago.  I figured I had better check a few of the systems for bugs.  I found one.  The rear windo wiper, good, the washer, kind of enemic but ok.  I go around back to see the water running down the new paint.  Aww got to wipe that up.  How come the water is not making the door wet but it is dripping off of the bottom?  Crap.

 

Immediately I know what the problem is.  The hose from the tank has either come off from the nozzleor has broke off.  So I remove the interior panel.  Guess which one it is... Busted.  Crap.

 

So I cut our the remains of the nipple from the hose and trim the hose back.  The nozzleis in a really inconvenient spot.  And so with much swearing and grunting and hammering and prying I finally get the nozzle out.

Hmm.  Superglue perhaps?  It is holding many other parts together.  So I glue it.  It sets in a few minutes and I get excited.  Then I do a stupid thing.  I try to reattach the nozzle.  Breaking it the second time is never as hearbreaking as discovering how useless superglue is at sticking to itself.  Finally I have to give up and go home for supper.

 

Sunday morning I try to reattach the nozzle again.  Ok I didn't really think that it would work.  So with no stores open and limited supplies I realize that it is time for MacGuyver. 

 

Examine the problem:  The nipple has broken off at a weak spot that really should have been a 90 deg elbow.  The parts can't be glued because they can't support the stress any better than the original plastic.  It needs support.  Like a tiny tube slid inside, one that can flex and bend.

 

This next bit is for my mom and dad.  Remember all those pens that I used to take apart and make into parts for the toy men and Gi-joes.  All of us kids did it and we always had the impression you didn't really approve.

 

So I need a small plastic pipette.  One small enough that it can be fit to the nozzle.  So I fount a ball-point pen.  One that had been used a bit so that the ink was down.  I nipped off the empty end with scissors.  I now have about two inches of the needed pipette.

 

Attaching it was easy after that.  Bore out the shaft of each of the parts and run the new pipe up the middle.  Secure with superglue.  Better than the original!  It flexes.

 

It's little victories that keep a person motivated.  I know it's not much but it did frustrate me a bit when it was happening. 

It seems that the washer back there has enough pressure to hit the garage door above the car.  Hmm gotta adjust that.

 

Tune in next time for "The Damage (safety) report"...

So I spent Saturday just tinkering with details.  Had some side lights to repair and put on.  Put the wheel well protectors in.  Rubber bumper ends back on.  Plastic grill and endgate trim parts back on.  Discovered that I have a tail light problem to fix.  Burned wires.  Should be an easy fix.  I have to get some of that rust on the undercarriage taken care of.  Sounds simple but who knows.  I just want it back on the road now. 

 

I still have the running boards to put on.  They could use a paint job.  I can't put rough looking running boards on my fresh new lada!  Back to the hardware store. 

 

The mudflaps look like they are going to be a challenge.  I'm going to have to manufacture some sort of bracket for them.  The old ones were crap.  They were mounted too far back to be of any protection to the fender.  These new ones should go inside the wheel well.

 

Rita thinks she can score me Tonka decals too.  Should be a nice touch.

 

And I want to tint the windows but it has been suggested that I wait until after the safety.  Just in case.  Sage advice.

 

THis project seems to get longer the longer I work on it.  Gonna be a big party when I get this done.

Well I am quickly nearing the end of my Lada oddesey.  This week was significant.  I unwraped the lada from the masking and started to put it back together.  Then I got Rita to help me Mask the car again for the rockguard section.  After some experimenting and Nearly buying some unneccessary supplies I took a quick trip to Yorkton to finish the exterior of my car.  More or less.  I still have a lot of trim and lights and other things to re-attach.  I have a back window to put back in.  I still have to fix the front seat and get the rear wheel seal replaced.  And now some people have me paraniod about rust on the undercarriage.  So I still have a short list before the "Safety".  But now I have a time limit.

 

The crappy Dodge that we are currently driving has some problems.  Until recently I thought the growing muffler noise was the greater of the evils from underneath.  Not so.  Lately the brakes have begun to make noise.  Like for a week.  Or maybe two... I can't remember.  Hear's a hint to all of you.  If you can no longer remember a time when the car didn't make that noise.  You're too late.  So after successfully conquering the Lada's brakes I thought, Sure I can change the brake pads.  If that is indeed the whole problem.  Jeeze I wish I had the camera with me this afternoon. 

So after I nearly punch the jack though the rusted body of my car trying to get it off of the ground, I find behind the left front wheel a mess.  Really.  The brake disk is scored like an old record.  Like 5mm scores.  I don't want to alarm anybody but I am driving a wreck.  And I will continue until I have the lada to replace it.  There is simply no choice right now.  Things to do, places to be...

Now I have choices.  Do I stretch my already thin budget and buy a new brake disk or do I pour everything into the lada?  The lada is sooo close to ready.  I want to pick B.  Please let it be B.

Ok here I go again.  This is the third time that I have tried to post and it keeps screwing up.  Not happy.

 

So in the time that I have been gone there has been the experimental first coat which I screwed up and had to catch all of the drips with the paintbrush. Then there was today where I conquered to spraygun by standing well back of the reccommended distace and achieving success.  At this distance the surface is pebbled lightly which I like because it is original and hides flaws. 

 

The pictures are crap.  As usual.  The lighting is poor and the resulting colour is wrong.  I will take final pictures outside in the sunshine.  Until then take my word for it that things are looking good.

It seems that I haven't written here in a while.  The reason for that is that I haven't been at the Lada much this week.  Instead I was called out as a volunteer fire fighter to a fire outside of town.  It seems that spontanious combustion set a stack of bales on fire at the strawboard plant.  Doesn't that sound like a potential disaster?

Long and short of it is that we fought fire for three days and would still be there except that the fire was disposed of by burying it using trackhoes and D7 cats.  Big job.  Contrary to popular belief, Straw does not burn fast.  At least not when packed tightly like it is in bales.  And it can burn wet too.  It just smokes more when wet.  It was not fun.  But it was contained and only two of the many stacks of bales burned.  Keep in mind that these stacks are the size of a three story building and the bales have to be moved with a forklift.

 

So what has become of the Lada?  Well I have done a bit of sanding and patching, taping and masking.  It is slow but neccessary work that is happening right now.  Especially the patching of the few holes in the body.  I'm not too worried about perfection in my repairs as most of the most serious spots will be covered by paint and then by rubberguard.  Still, a certain amount of care is neccessary anyhow.  I'll add pics later.

Yesterday, armed with paint and brush and new electric sprayer, I attempted the first coat on the hood of the Lada.  Yellow was the final decision and I think it will be great.  Lada's look great in yellow and it seems that Yellow is the new red.  It used to be red cars that stood out from the crowd but now everyone has a red car.  yellow sports cars inspired from films and TV are the new stand out colour.

 

So a few days ago I tested out things a bit with the primer.  I had removed the hood so that I might use it as a tester without fear of screwing up the whole car.  One of my better ideas.  The primer went on fantastic.  Easy to handle, neat, easy cleanup, (none) and looked good.

 

Now the plan is to use Tremclad.  Or at least the Home hardware equivallent.  Good plan.  Got my supplies and everything set out.  Read the instructions even.  Twice.  Paint from the can has to be thinned to be sprayed.  And so I thinned.  And thinned, and thinned.  When according to the instructions I was in the ballpark for the  right thickness, thinness, whatever, I loaded up the sprayer.

 

Now that said, I had already made quite the mess getting that far.  In order to thin a new can of paint you have to make some room in the can.  So I removed some paint to another container.  And the floor.  At least I was bright enough to lay paper down first. 

 

Now the sprayer instructions says to hang up some cardboard and practice to get the timing and to adjust the spray.  Did it.  Good.  Sure pumps the paint out.  Runs are a serious concern.  Just don't overdo it.  Who me?

 

So I started out pretty good and it was looking OK but then I tried to cover a few light spots.  Should have left it.  And a few other light spots.  Should have waited.  Isn't learning fun.

 

So in the end I found myself brushing off the excess paint and returning it to the can.  The paint was still coming out a bit thick too.  I might have been standing too close too.  It said 12 inches. 

 

In closing, tonight I am going to see how well yellow tremclad sands.  The second coat should be better.  I have to find easier ways to handle the paint.  And easier ways to thin it.  Good news is that the spray gun worked exactly as advertised.  I just have to run to keep up.

Last time on "Adventures in Ladasitting" we saw how you can make a hell of a mess with ordinary things found in a garage.

 

And then there was the problem of bleeding air out of the brakes.  So last Friday I convinced my lovely wife to become my lovely assistant.  Worked pretty good.  So I was in charge of watching as the air and brake fluid left the system via the bleeder hose and she was in charge of pumping the pedal and keeping the resevoir full. 

 

Great.  Except for the fact that I had tried this once on my own already and now there was air in the lines as well as the calipers that I just replaced.  So everytime that I considered capping it off because I hadn't seen any bubbles for a minute, there they went again.  We poured a full litre of brake fluid through the lines.  And Of course Lada's have two lines to each of the front calipers.  Fortunately we got most of the air out through the one side somehow.  The second side was done in no time. 

 

I know what you're thinking.  You must have left some air in there.  Possibly.  But the brakes really firmed up and the fluid was clear and new.  And no bubbles.

It was a long and tedious process but Rita brought some homework and nailed both birds.

 

I could, and should, bleed the rear brakes too.  They need to be rid of the old fluid also. (Black as pitch)  And I also want to change the fluid in the clutch system too.  However I got some advice about the clutch system never being the same again and chickened out for now.

 

Today I wash the car and prep for bodywork.

And so finally my parts have all arrived from the Motherland and I can begin the actual work to revive my wee car.

I need to fix the brakes to go move the car.
I need to move the car to wash before painting.
I need to paint the car to get my safety.
I need to get the safety to get back on the road.

So all depends on the brakes...

 

So you see how things in my world are neatly organized.
That's where we begin.

 

So I decided to do the brakes today.  New pads, new caliper, new fluid.  Things are good.  Supplies and advice from the harware store and we're on the way.  Pull into the garage with the other car for tunes and think about how to begin.

 

So I decided to start things off with the good side.  The caliper that still works.  It just needs new pads.  Nothing messy just a quick switch of pads.  Right.
Offf comes the tire and soon the brakes are disassembled and ready for new pads.  Sitting there I begin to think about the probability that this side may be less than perfect.  So I do a quick check.  I give the brakes a pump or two to see how the pistons move.  Well sure as shit the center piston of three sticks.  What now?

 

Well my original decision many, many months ago was to simply rebuild the caliper that was giving the trouble originally.  So I had a rebuild kit.  This consists of a rubber cover and an O-ring for each of the pistons.  So lets have a look see.  Yep the covers tear to pieces when I remove them.  They were cracked and not doing as they should be protecting things.  Ok now what? 

 

Where do these bloody O-rings go?  I was told that they go below the rubber cover, but how?  The O-rings were just the right size for slipping over the pistons.  They must have a slot.  Push the piston in.  Nope.  Out maybe.  How do I get them out?  Well...

 

One of the Lada sights said that the easiest way to get the pistons out of the brake caliper is to use the system.  So I pump the brakes.  And a few more pumps.  And a few more.. POP.  SPLASH. Shit.  Well now I have two pistons and a whole lot of brake fluid on the floor.  But I can see the old O-rings! 
That last stubborn center piston didn't budge. Hmm.  I work it a bit with my pliers.  I ponder if the Harware store is still open.  Don't think so.  Blunder foreward with what you have.  Wiggle, wiggle, give, FREE!

 

So new rubbers and O-rings go in, pistons cleaned and reset.  Feeling good. I'll have air to bleed from that side too later. 

 

Reassembled and new pads in place (skipping lightly over the grunting and swearing that that took) The driver's side looks good.  On to the main event.

The new caliper came as just the cylender block.  There is an extra piece that makes up the top of the actual caliper.  I had sped things up by tackling this problem a few days earlier.  I took the old crappy caliper that I bought from the wrecker and had a brake shop remove the parts for me.(They used a hammer over the vice)  I could have done it but I wanted someone else to blame if it went wrong.  This was a spare anyway.  So with a little cleanup and light tapping the two became one.  There was a pin to hold them together and I replaced this with a new one.

 

Out with the old in with the new.  Brake lines off, fluid all over, new caliper on.  Good.  Or so I thought.

 

So new pads go in, brakes are reassembled (with slightly less grunting and swearing than the first side) and looking good.  Now to bleed the air and the old fluid.  Starting on the driver's side I crack open the first bleeder nipple.  Put my hose on and into a jug.  Just the way the manual says.  Bubbles, bubbles, pump brakes, bubbles, bubbles, pump, gross black fluid, bubbles.  Looking good.  Fluid clears and the bubbles seem to stop.  And then I hear the drip, drip, drip... Shit.  Now what?

 

My brand new caliper is leaking.  Shit! Tighten, tighten.  No effect.  Panic sets in.  I can't tighten these any further without stripping something!  OK,ok.  Calm.  What is wrong here.  Think stupid.  No think simple.  Look at the old caliper.  What's different?  Well nothing really. They are identical in most every way except for his little bit of copper showing around the bolt holes.  Hmm.  Pry with my knife.  Yep, I am a dummy and those are copper washers.

 

Disconnecting the brake lines for the second time, my learning curve begins to go up.  Washers in, lines back on, cleaning up fluid.  No leaks.  Whew.

Ok back to bleeding the air out.  Well this has gone on for long enough so summerizing.

Lot's of air still to come, almost stripped a nipple, ran out of brake fluid.  Shit.

Tune in tommorow, same Bat time, same Bat channel for the exciting conclusion of "The Brakes of the Lada"!

Photos to follow.

For anyone that leads a sad enough existance that they dont know what a Lada is I'm sorry.  They are the best damn 4x4 that rubles can buy.

 

I have owned my 95 Lada Niva Cossack since 2000.  It has taken me from my home in Saskatchewan to my work in Banff, AB, to the apartment in Brandon, MB.  And now we have returned home.  Now the Lada needs a little TLC.

 

A quick list of my hurdles to get my car back on the road:

1. New front brakes (A caliper ceised)

2. Rear wheel seal replaced

3. Bodywork to eliminate rust

4. Paintjob

5. Fix front seat

6. Possibly fix or adjust steering

finally

7. Safety

 

O yeah and a couple of minor problems

8. Sterio cuts out

9. heat needs help (it used to have great heat)

 

So today I got my first package from Rus.  New Brake pads.  The replacement caliper is on it's way and should be here next week.  Then we get serious.

 

Once the brakes are back in working order then I have to get it washed.  I have been using rust remover and a grinding wheel to get rid of the nasty. (not together mind you)  And so between dirt, dust and acid residue it needs a wash before I can Paint it!

 

Paint.  I have been wrestling with the choices for a new color.  Tremclad does limit my choices a bit but I have always liked basic colours.  Real auto paint would be nice but it would double the value of my vehicle.  It is currently the factory off white.  I originally thought I might celebrate it's Russian roots and paint it commie red.  I had a lot of votes for this choice.  However I was out for a drive the other day and noticed how many red cars are out there.  What is the point of having a car that stands out and then painting it everyone else's favorite color.  Then my playful wife suggested Tonka Yellow complete with stripes and Tonka rip off labling.  This still could happen.  I have a great fondness for those toys of the sandbox.  The Lada looks remarkably like one anyhow.  Dark blue is what I have settled on for now and I played with the ole' paint program to see how it might look.  It looks like a cartoon.  But that's the best you get with paint by nos.  The Inlaws have given me an airless sprayer to experiment with.  Should be fun.  Also planning to rubberguard the lower half of all of the pannels.

The wheel seal and the steering I might get done at the local shop.  I have the parts and sadly not the tools and experience.

 

The seat I may try to fake long enough to pass the safety.  Weldbond comes to mind.  An adjustment inside the seat is broke.  The alternative is to seek out a new (and more comfortable) seat from a wrecker. 

 

All of this before the first of July.  Canada Day mudbogging is an event I have to make.