RE: The people's car. The former SSR of Azerbaijan

That bit about swapping the HT leads on the Anglia made me smiel :)
I once did the same on a friend's Maruti and spent an hour wondering why it coughed like a chain smoker.
The way you frame the Lada as a Fiat turned tank feel like engineering by necessity more than romance.
I liked your note about the one battery and let the engine handle the rest, their is a stubborn beauty in that simplicity and if you can fix it with a spanner and a hammer, my wallet is happy.