Spares/tips

Even a Russian car can break down or get a dent. Or get to know the creature that a car enthusiast dislikes most, "The Rust Worm".  This page is based on features in ^© no. 18 and 19, but some of the names are removed. Some people are not too enthusiastic about having their name and telephone number spread all over the World Wide Web. And besides, there has to be some benefits left for our members. Or those buying the magazine.
 

Where do you get spare parts for a Moskvich 427? Photo: Jan Paulsen

Where to get spare parts?
The MIG-Register have been regular participants at the Ekeberg Market, and one of the frequently asked questions is: Where do you get spare parts for these rare old cars? The answer is that for most members there is no problem at all. Some have a room of their own, filled will spare parts, the others know where to go or where to call. The main rule for our members is: Check your MIG vehicle and owners list, find people with the same kind of car as yourself, and call!

Complete happiness is to find the part you have been seeking for a long time. Like these four perfect wheel caps for a Lada.  Found by Björn Nesfeldt at Ekeberg. Photo: Jan Paulsen

 You will meet a lot of friendly people, and sooner or later you will also meet someone who has the part you want, or knows where to get it. We have members that have worked for the Norwegian importer, and we have members with good connections in the former East Bloc countries, especially in Russia and the Baltic countries. We know fellow enthusiasts in Sweden, and we keep in touch with the Finnish Moskvich Club. Some of our members have specialized in a particular car or make, like the Pobieda or the Moskvich 412.  The ad pages of ^©, or on this web site, can be useful reading. And as the picture on the left shows, it is still possible to make a scoop on one of the markets.

Spare part catalogs always come in handy, and we have them, among the members. If you have friends or relatives visiting Eastern Europe, it could be a wise thing to send photo copies from the spare part catalogs along with them, and have them buy the parts you need. Or if you yourself are going.  Volga Kaupluse A/S in Tallinn, the capitol of Estonia, is one of the recommended places to visit. Several adresses for car part shops in Estonia are found  here . Good service and fair prices, even though the prices are said to be better in Russia. E.g.: The price of a water pump would in Estonia be something like NOK 450. (2001 prices).

E-bay has become an important arena for buying and selling parts for old cars, and even whole cars. The German version of E-bay is a good one, but remember to spell correctly when searching. The germans often uses 'w' instead of 'v'. Try different spellings, like Wolga instead of Volga and Moskwitch instead of Moskvich. The British version if E-bay is found  here . And there are of course other markedsplaces on the internet as well. The Eastern European ones are particularly interesting, but they do require some language skills.

 

"The Crank Handle"
^©  have from time to time a column called "Sveiva" or "The Crank Handle". The column is a way of spreading useful tips and advices from one member to other members.  We are bringing one example here, and the "advisors" are Jan Paulsen, along with our two top experts.

Wobbly steering idler:
This is an easy matter to fix. It is not even neccessary to remove the steering arm from the rod, at least not on a Mockvich.
Remove the split pin and the nut on top of the shaft that goes through the steering idler. Push the shaft down. After a thorough cleaning, and the removal of any rust, put silicone on the conical bushings and put the parts back together. Tighten the top nut properly. (NB! In some cases, it is not even neccessary to do the full operation. To tighten the top nut will be enough).

Jan Paulsen has tested the tip, and it worked! His 1966 Moskvich 408 had failed the Periodical Vehicle Test. (Similar to the British MOT). "Wobbly Steering Idler", was the discouraging diagnosis from the official at the testing station, while putting on his most official expression of face. Paulsens mood was rather low. In his inner mind he pictured ordering of new parts, waiting for them to arrive, maybe they weren't even possible to get, so that they had to be custom made by some mechanical shop.  But the recipe above did the trick.  The Moskvich passed the next test with flying colours.

What are friends for......

Those who have the oppotunity to "surf" the Internet, might find things as well. Probably a lot more if you are able to read Russian or any other East European language.  But English, German or French can get you a long way. Remember that countries like Belgium, The Netherlands, Austria and Great Britain have imported quite a number of Russian cars, and thereby spares.

Another tip, from Henning Sjölie, a car electrician in Oslo, is as follows:
My father bought his first Moskvich in 1954, and since then he had several cars of this make. Myself, I became a car electrician, and when mat father asked me to give his present car, a Moskvich 1500, a service and a tune up, I discovered something interesting. The distributor was not at all adjusted, it gave full advance ignition as soon as the engine turned. Later I discoverd the same thing on all Moskvich 1500's from the early 1970's. After adjusting the distributor and the carburetor of my fathers Moskvich, using technical specifications from a similar hemi engine, it was like driving another car. It ran perfectly on low octane fuel, the power was increased and the gas consumption went down to about 0,6 liters per 10 kilometers. The technical specification I used was for a French Chrysler engine, 1.6 liter, model 1972. The construction of this engine is quite similar to the Moskvich engine, including a 10 degree basic adjustment.  If any of you have a Moskvich from the early 1970's, this adjustment might be worth trying. The Moskvich carburetor do have an adjustment screw for the CO-emission, but straight from the factory they are adjusted and sealed at more 10 % CO.

The best of luck, and, the adresses for the MIG-Register are found here!

Bringing a tired Moskvich 402 back on the streets will always be a praiseworthy task. But you will probably need some good advise, as well as spare parts. Photo: Terje Andersen (taken in St. Petersburg)

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