Project Cars: 1988 Lada Niva – Update 5

Summer is just around the corner, and I feel my 1988 Lada Niva needs a little makeover in preparation for getting outside, to live its best life, just as the Politbureau intended.

I’m thinking something of a Russian-Med vibe, for a look that would have fit in, cruising the Baltic promenades back in the late 1970s.

The first item on the list is an update to a down-date grille, with a chrome trim surround.

The original grille on a Niva was chrome-framed this until the early 1980s but was most likely an option, as not every image depicts it in place. The extra glint of silver matches the window surrounds and really changes the front profile of the car to feel more '70s than '80s... or in the case of the Niva, '90s, '00s, '10s and '20s as well.

Finding an original part is near impossible, so I’ve opted for the customisation route by way of some adhesive chrome trim from Supercheap Auto. And yes, this is the same stuff that upgrades a VN Commodore from an Executive to a Berlina. Fancy.

The grille is secured with six screws (which on my car, are conveniently all different sizes) and simply requires the headlamp wiper arms to be removed before coming off.

Sticking the 10mm wide trim to the grille is not a one-person job, so I enlisted Kez’s help for a bit of a screen-break ‘crafternoon’.

We cleaned the grille around the edges with a handy alcohol wipe (thanks COVID) and set about fitting the trim in place to ensure everything would work around the tight radius corners. Kez and I secured the ‘mock up’ with some basic masking tape, just as all ghetto mods should be.

Happy with our handiwork, it was simply a matter of peeling back the adhesive cover and re-tagging the chrome down securely as we went. There is a large crack on the top edge of the plastic grille, so we took care not to push it down too firmly.

A bit of attention to detail was needed, but after about 30 minutes, a far more deluxe and period-correct Lada Niva grille was in hand.

A quick test placement on the car illustrated a reward that far outweighed the cost or effort involved, but without any TV magic options of showing you a completed one we prepared earlier, we’ve left the grille to one side so the adhesive can cure, before refitting to the car.

To keep the 'super summer body' headline going, something else arrived during the week which offered even more Niva distractions…

I’ve come to the realisation that rolling on the car’s current pre-Chernobyl 1985 Russian all-terrain tyres is not something I should really be doing. They are a rare and important piece of keeping the car ‘original’, but they are also as hard as Lego and vibrate at any speed greater than 5km/h.

Further, to say there is no wet-weather confidence in the Russian rubber would be an understatement.

But finding something to fit the 16x6-inch wheels isn’t easy, so in keeping with my ‘Baltic Beach’ spec, I’ve gone a bit off-menu.

For its 2022-look, the summer rolling stock will be by way of a set of white Dynamic Sunraysia steel wheels in 15x7-inch with a 5x139.7 PCD. There aren’t many choices for a simple (and white) wheel, and I think the Sunnys fit the bill (as well as they fit a Suzuki Sierra, Jimny, Vitara, F100 and first-generation Kia Sportage).

They are a slightly different offset to the regular Lada ones, but being wider overall should balance nicely

However, these alone aren’t USSR enough, and knowing that I won’t be venturing off-road so didn’t need to shop for all-terrain rubber, meant I could add a little more class to the Niva’s stance with…

Whitewall tyres!

Not raised, white letters, no, no. We’re talking old-school 30mm white bands on the sidewall.

The ah, Suretrac Power Touring rubber (no doubt right next to P-Zero Rossos on your shopping list), are 215mm wide which will give the Niva a slightly wider stance, if in a less-aggressive on-road format.

As well as looking swish, they will help the Niva stop and turn which to be honest, is a whole new game!

As you can imagine I just want to get the green machine in the air and these all fitted up, but the battery is still on the floor of the office and we need to wait for an appointment, so we’ll get the grille fitted, the engine cranked (literally) and book into the local Bob Jane to have things ready before you can say glasnost!

Plus, the team at Recal Decals have a package ready for me, so along with the new shoes, the Lada is all set to rock a whole new look for the long days ahead.

Stay tuned!

Current Status – Deluxe!
Odometer – 101,500km (yeah, that battery thing...)
Next up – Diggin' the scene with a gangsta lean, Gangsta whitewalls... TV antennas in the back.

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