These guys love Ladas.
The Russians at Garage 54 make a habit out of showing off the resilience of Ladas, including burying them in mud or converting a Niva into a six-wheeler. This time the team leaves the car in a pond for six months, including through a harsh Russian winter, and they then try to start the engine.
The Lada was in a fairly shallow portion of the lagoon, and this was bad news for the car. During the winter, the water froze deep enough to collapse the vehicle’s roof, leaving it looking very rough after a crane hauled the machine out of the temporary watery grave.
The guys at Garage 54 don’t care what the Lada looks like because they just want to see if the engine can start. To bring the vehicle’s heart back to life, the guys remove the spark plugs and crank the powerplant to pump out the water in the cylinders. They also drain the significant amount of water out of the crankcase and replace it with proper oil. Amazingly, the ignition system is robust enough to generate a spark at the plugs after drying things out.
After about an hour of work, the engine sputters back to life. However, the fuel delivery system is shot. The guys try rigging up a makeshift temporary gas tank that comprises a plastic bottle full of gasoline and a tube. It doesn’t really work, though.
With a few more hours of wrenching, it would be possible to repair the fueling system and get this Lada running properly. If you cut the crushed roof off, the Garage 54 team could probably convert the car into a convertible for crashing around off road.
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