Lada v Fiat 124

From memory the top spec four headlight T series 124 had the fiat twin cam engine and all round disc brakes and was a bit of a hot rod, they rusted as fast as all ‘60s/70s fiats though.

Lada = Russian pig iron
Fiat = Italian tin foil

Depends which lada you mean. A 2101 is only mildy heavier than a fiat 124. 50kg or so.

A riva is about 100-150kg more depending on the spec of the cars in question. But, you can tell it’s all been put in the right places. It’s mostly shell stiffening around the firewall/A pillars and the rear suspension mounts. It doesn’t feel any heavier to drive (mostly cos the steering and suspension is all pretty much identical).

At the end of the day the riva still only weighs a ton, which is light enough for a RWD car with a 5 link rear end and twin A arm front.

Lada really went to great lengths to not add weight in the wrong places if at all possible. It’s why the bumpers are extruded aluminium and the rear drums alloy as well.
Speaking of the drums, they are a really quite significant upgrade over the 124 discs. The 124 discs are very small and offer little braking effort. Don’t let anyone tell you discs are an upgrade.

Depending on which engine variant of 124 you are looking at, power to weight will proably be greater than the lada, but you’ve got to make sure you’re comparing apples with apples. The 1200 version of the 124 was just as dog slow as the 1200 lada is.
The 1500s of either offer middling performance but don’t feel dangerously slow like the 1200s do.
The 2000 124 had almost twice the power output of the 1200 124, so it’s going to feel like a different car.

Excellent info, many thanks!
My Dads was the later version of the Lada, the earlier ones are certainly more faithful to the original Fiat design so, I suppose, the driving experience is very similar.
I've seen a 124 for sale, not the dog slow 1200 but not the Special either, a peppy one, if you like.
I have always liked a boxy shape and Fiats, the 124 goes hand in hand, plus I spotted some alloys that would look great on it.....
You know how it is.
Thanks

It's been an hour. Did you buy it yet?

A fellow auto-surgeon friend of mine fitted a 124 twin cam engine to his mk1 cavalier. that was the one day in my life I ever liked a cavalier..inspired me to run a 131 supermirafullofrustori just to experience that engine again.
Gaffa tape silver with optional doorskins but a total rocket, that model was world rally champion in 1981, no with me driving, I was only 11 then.
Havent worked on any 124's but kept a fleet of Lada Riva taxis going for , quite frankly, too long.
A solid 124, if found, would make for a great sleeper project.