Greetings!

Manic · Posted: Wed Dec 27, 2006 11:08 am Post subject: Greetings!

Hello everyone... Im a new member in difflock but an old owner of a Niva..

My father has one and I fell in love with it from an early age, so when I closed 18 I got my own...

I live in Cyprus and I was lucky enough to find one of the convertible nivas that were converted in Greece in the mid-late eightes..

The niva is an '88 model, 1.6 and 4-speed, and a lot of mechanical changes were done by its previous owners.. namely:

Suspension: Billstein at the front and Monroe at the back.
Electric fuel pump.
Wheel change to Vitara rims and goodyear at the front and michelin at the rear.
Carbyrator change (from a Riva).
A complete seat change, front and rear seats.
Astrali steering wheel.

Since I got it Ive changed the gearbox (4 speed ftw!), lightened the steering wheel with ball bearings, and installed a good audio system to drown out the engine noise during long journeys...

Future projects include changing the carb's filter and maybe installing optional 2X4 (meaning 2X4 as an option, not a permanent conversion).
Ill also build a tailgate for the back from the rear door of my spare niva (Its hell finding spares here, the easy way is to get a whole niva for spares)

More pics are available at http://www.cardomain.com/ride/798120 (if the site is against the rules please edit it out)

Hope there are more convertible niva owners out there!

SimonWH · Guest

Hi, Manic. Welcome to the forum.

Nice Niva you have there, the good Cyprus weather must suit them!

Simon

Guest · Posted: Wed Dec 27, 2006 4:30 pm Post subject:

Nice motor, Manic. Is that the original colour or has it been resprayed? And welcome to the forum.
Regards,

wouter · Posted: Wed Dec 27, 2006 4:31 pm Post subject:

Hi manic,

your niva seems to be in good condition.

I'm surprised to see your niva is a right hand drive. I thought in greece cars were left hand driven.

Manic · Posted: Wed Dec 27, 2006 7:46 pm Post subject:

Hello guys and thanks for the welcome!

The car has been repainted about two years ago, and I polish the paint everytime I wash it, thats why it looks so new Very Happy

Its a type of red used mainly on Vitaras, but was mixed with a pearlecent red to make it a unique combination! (beautiful on the niva, but serious problems if someone crashes into me and it needs repainting!)

About the right hand drive, all cars in Cyprus are right-handed... this niva is quite rare in that its a convertible right handed one Razz

Nice nivas youve got there guys, glad to see that people still love them in other countries!

Here in Cyprus there arent many left... probably around 40.

Luckily the Hellenic Niva Club in Greece has been very helpful so far (Im their only member from Cyprus!)

Hopefully ill add some offroad pics soon...

nivaman · Posted: Wed Dec 27, 2006 8:38 pm Post subject:

welcome manic
your steering conversion with ball bearings, tell us what you did i for one am keen to hear how you went about it.

Manic · Posted: Wed Dec 27, 2006 9:04 pm Post subject:

ok... first of all you shouldnt view it as a conversion, more like an addition.

its not exactly what you think, as with ball bearings I mean a small device that I dont know how to translate in english.. (γρασαδόρος in greek). Basically its a small pivot like device with a ball bearing, and you add them on the steering mech.

I dont have any pics now, but the car is going to the mechanic in a few days and I will gladly take some photos for you guys.

It helps a lot when parking though, especially if you have a racing steering wheel like I do Razz

nivaman · Posted: Wed Dec 27, 2006 11:30 pm Post subject:

yes pics would be nice.
would be good to see what you did and anything to make the steering better at parking speeds is a good thing.

manos · Posted: Fri Jan 05, 2007 9:11 am Post subject:

Hi, Manic
glad to see you here, too
Manos (mato in www.ladanivaclub.gr)

Manic · Posted: Fri Jan 05, 2007 1:11 pm Post subject:

cool, we greeks/cypriots get everywhere!! Very Happy