The time has come for this very reluctant for sale post.
I bought this car to enjoy over the summer and a Sunday drive car and something to take to shows whilst I was mx5 swapping my Lada.
It is a 1973 zaporozhets 968a built in Ukraine. It then spent its life in Lithuania before sitting in a museum in Wales for many years and now at 50 years old it's finally had some time on the road and is being used how it should.
It has an air cooled 1 2 v4 engine on the rear which starts every single time and purrs so beautifully. And irs honestly an incredible soundtrack for this car.
It's a 59 year old car that has a million quirks. She's a tatty old girl but in my opinion the patina is perfect and I've never wanted to do anything about that as she wears it well. There's zero areas of rust on this car that I am concerned about.
It has drum brakes all round that surprisingly work very well despite there terrible reputation.
The gear layout is very strange which adds to the quirkiness of the car. 4 speed gearbox. 1st and 2nd are swapped round from the traditional gear layout as is 3rd and 4th. Almost like a dogleg gearbox.
What I've done in my ownership.
Lada riva brake master cylinder (dual circuit upgrade)
Replaced the brake slave cylinders front and rear (all 6)
Cleaned and adjusted all brakes.
New brake shoes all round.
Replaced the alternator with a new old stock one.
Replaced the voltage regulator.
Upgraded the distributor to an electronic ignition system.
New fuel pump.
New brake lines front to back.
Stainless steel rear brake pipes.
Removed the heater system as the whole concept of a 50 year old petrol heater In a car petrifies me.
Made an adjustable front beam for the suspension.
Air shocks on the front.
Made custom front turrets to accommodate for the air shocks.
Cut springs on the rear.
New tyres all round
I have everything to put the car back to standard that'll come with the car. With the objection to the front shocks will have nowhere to go with the new turrets.
The car is being sold as a driving project but I have been driving it on the weekends and driving it to work in the evenings. I'm saying a project as it needs a few things to make it a great car but to be honest she drives very well and comfortably surprisingly.
The car needs a few things to be fantastic.
In my opinion the following needs doing.
Front turrets needs finishing as in seam welding from inside of the wings etc if you're picky and seam sealing/painting.
Front brake hoses need lengthening as when the cars fully dropped they are stretched.
Rear arms need bumpstops as it's crushing the brake pipes over big bumps.
And the tracking needs doing.
Front air shocks need a proper system. I just use a 12v car tyre inflater to pump up the shocks for drives. But to be honest since fitting them I've only put air in them once as it drives very nice as low as it is. But I need to raise it to get out of my yard as even standard cars bottom out in the lane to my workshop.
She doesn't like it when it's very hot out. She will drive fine if you're moving. If she's sat still for a bit she will start to play up . I have put this down to the fuel pump getting too hot and the fuel vaporising before it reaches the carb. (If you pour water over the fuel pump to cool it she resumes to normal happy driving)
When she's very warm she also loses power.
The electrics are a bit poor as the original steering Column switches are missing. But I have spare switches in the car. The previous owner made a temporary switchbox on the dashboard which all works fine but ideally it needs the proper switches or a tidy up of the wiring. I havent touched any of it myself.
The fuel gauge and temp gauge have recently stopped working at the same time the indicators stopped working. It's going to be something simple and I'll probably have it sorted if I get the chance.
I'd recommend a proper tune up she's a great runner but as I say she struggles to pull herself up hills etc when it's warm.
The car also has no key for the locks so it doesn't lock and that also needs addressing.
I have fallen in love with this car and id love it to go to a great home. If I had the space and wasn't saving up for a house I'd keep it. This car gets incredible attention wherever she goes and is such a rewarding car to drive.
I recently took a long trip to Manchester to clear someone's garage of a lot of spares for the 968a and also 968m which I'll throw in with the car. Plenty of spare parts from bushes to suspension components. 2 spare wheels and a set of seats. Lots of ussr NOS parts and a few used parts.
Also a brand new NOS carb ibought for it but never needed to fit.
Tax and mot exempt. Cost me £113 to insure for the year on a classic policy.
Difficult to price as there's only 5 of these in the UK but I'm going to ask for £4.5k for this as a running driving project car.
Any more questions feel free to ask. Just bare in mind I work nights so I sleep during the day.
I'd recommend trailering it. She's a bit unpredictable with the fuel pump. It drives fine to get me to work and back on a 3 mile run but the moment she starts sitting around at lights etc getting a bit warm she starts throwing fits.
I can deliver it for the price it costs me for trailer rental £50 plus fuel.
Located in Bracknell RG12
There's a build thread for it here which needs updating. forum.retro-rides.org/thread/224524/1974-zaporozhets-zaz-968a?page=1
I bought this car to enjoy over the summer and a Sunday drive car and something to take to shows whilst I was mx5 swapping my Lada.
It is a 1973 zaporozhets 968a built in Ukraine. It then spent its life in Lithuania before sitting in a museum in Wales for many years and now at 50 years old it's finally had some time on the road and is being used how it should.
It has an air cooled 1 2 v4 engine on the rear which starts every single time and purrs so beautifully. And irs honestly an incredible soundtrack for this car.
It's a 59 year old car that has a million quirks. She's a tatty old girl but in my opinion the patina is perfect and I've never wanted to do anything about that as she wears it well. There's zero areas of rust on this car that I am concerned about.
It has drum brakes all round that surprisingly work very well despite there terrible reputation.
The gear layout is very strange which adds to the quirkiness of the car. 4 speed gearbox. 1st and 2nd are swapped round from the traditional gear layout as is 3rd and 4th. Almost like a dogleg gearbox.
What I've done in my ownership.
Lada riva brake master cylinder (dual circuit upgrade)
Replaced the brake slave cylinders front and rear (all 6)
Cleaned and adjusted all brakes.
New brake shoes all round.
Replaced the alternator with a new old stock one.
Replaced the voltage regulator.
Upgraded the distributor to an electronic ignition system.
New fuel pump.
New brake lines front to back.
Stainless steel rear brake pipes.
Removed the heater system as the whole concept of a 50 year old petrol heater In a car petrifies me.
Made an adjustable front beam for the suspension.
Air shocks on the front.
Made custom front turrets to accommodate for the air shocks.
Cut springs on the rear.
New tyres all round
I have everything to put the car back to standard that'll come with the car. With the objection to the front shocks will have nowhere to go with the new turrets.
The car is being sold as a driving project but I have been driving it on the weekends and driving it to work in the evenings. I'm saying a project as it needs a few things to make it a great car but to be honest she drives very well and comfortably surprisingly.
The car needs a few things to be fantastic.
In my opinion the following needs doing.
Front turrets needs finishing as in seam welding from inside of the wings etc if you're picky and seam sealing/painting.
Front brake hoses need lengthening as when the cars fully dropped they are stretched.
Rear arms need bumpstops as it's crushing the brake pipes over big bumps.
And the tracking needs doing.
Front air shocks need a proper system. I just use a 12v car tyre inflater to pump up the shocks for drives. But to be honest since fitting them I've only put air in them once as it drives very nice as low as it is. But I need to raise it to get out of my yard as even standard cars bottom out in the lane to my workshop.
She doesn't like it when it's very hot out. She will drive fine if you're moving. If she's sat still for a bit she will start to play up . I have put this down to the fuel pump getting too hot and the fuel vaporising before it reaches the carb. (If you pour water over the fuel pump to cool it she resumes to normal happy driving)
When she's very warm she also loses power.
The electrics are a bit poor as the original steering Column switches are missing. But I have spare switches in the car. The previous owner made a temporary switchbox on the dashboard which all works fine but ideally it needs the proper switches or a tidy up of the wiring. I havent touched any of it myself.
The fuel gauge and temp gauge have recently stopped working at the same time the indicators stopped working. It's going to be something simple and I'll probably have it sorted if I get the chance.
I'd recommend a proper tune up she's a great runner but as I say she struggles to pull herself up hills etc when it's warm.
The car also has no key for the locks so it doesn't lock and that also needs addressing.
I have fallen in love with this car and id love it to go to a great home. If I had the space and wasn't saving up for a house I'd keep it. This car gets incredible attention wherever she goes and is such a rewarding car to drive.
I recently took a long trip to Manchester to clear someone's garage of a lot of spares for the 968a and also 968m which I'll throw in with the car. Plenty of spare parts from bushes to suspension components. 2 spare wheels and a set of seats. Lots of ussr NOS parts and a few used parts.
Also a brand new NOS carb ibought for it but never needed to fit.
Tax and mot exempt. Cost me £113 to insure for the year on a classic policy.
Difficult to price as there's only 5 of these in the UK but I'm going to ask for £4.5k for this as a running driving project car.
Any more questions feel free to ask. Just bare in mind I work nights so I sleep during the day.
I'd recommend trailering it. She's a bit unpredictable with the fuel pump. It drives fine to get me to work and back on a 3 mile run but the moment she starts sitting around at lights etc getting a bit warm she starts throwing fits.
I can deliver it for the price it costs me for trailer rental £50 plus fuel.
Located in Bracknell RG12
There's a build thread for it here which needs updating. forum.retro-rides.org/thread/224524/1974-zaporozhets-zaz-968a?page=1
