do keep in mind that Russia is the biggest country in the world, who knows what other priceless cars are hiding in its borders

Another possibility is that only the body is a Toyoda AA. It's not unheard of to put one body on a different frame. It could explain why the steering wheel is on the wrong side and the significantly different frame from the AA shown earlier in the thread.

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My JNC: 1983 Subaru GL wagon
My JNM: 1979 Yamaha XS Eleven

+1 that makes sense

Certainly the case with bot these vehicles, if the bodies are indeed by Toyoda.

The partial car is definitely on an incorrect chassis and the complete car apears to be on a truck chassis.

So it could still be that these are both Russian built copies.

I wouldn't put it past the Russians to have a captured AA and build cars based on reverse engineering. I collect Russian copies of Leicas and Contax cameras. They started making knock-off leica based cameras before the war and continued well after. Except after the war the Russians got the entire Leica and Contax plants as reparations and just moved the plants and the engineers back to Russia. Most likely, these are cars that were 'butchered' as it were to keep them running. The AA rear wheel well was most likely cut out to fit it on the chassis that it now resides on. That would account for the inner wheel well not matching the replica.

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1976 RA29 project car, now a driver!!!!!
1985 MX72 soon to be...
1985 Celica GT, driving the wheels off
1991 MX83 soon to be 7MGTE

This certainly has been an exciting thread to follow! I suppose all questions would be answered if the owner could provide evidence such as motor mount locations or some serial number inscription on the chassis. I suspect this has not been done, because the chassis has long since been replaced.

The undercarriage is certainly different, but perhaps the original one rusted away and a new one was fashioned in it's likeness, with certain "liberties" taken to save money. This was the USSR, and I can't imagine having a car, let alone spare parts, was anything short of a luxury item.

If I were to tell this car's story, I'd say some struggling metal worker built a car out of a rusted AA hulk and presented it to a local official in exchange for favors "down the road", so to speak.

I too would pay no attention to the chassis and lower 6 inches of the current body. The people keeping these old cars functional just used what was around. The vehicle ID number will most likely have been changed at some point too.

Here is what the VW38 looked like when it was found. It is sitting on a later Volga chassis that is front engine and rear drive with a solid axle. The VW should have a rear engine, torsion bar supported independant rear suspension transaxle.

My opinion? Clearly the body is what's left of an AA. The chassis is from something else. I looked at all the pics and can tell you that al tleast we know that it is NOT an Airflow of any kind. The Airflow was a huge car and the AA was a bit smaller. It would be interesting to see what engine is powering that Russian car. The bits I studied was the rear edge of the rear door and the two character lines behind the obviously purloined chrome strips near the rear. Exactly where the AA would have them. Soviet car makers copied many cars, aircraft and other machinery. The early GAZ trucks were copies of Ford AA trucks as Henry Ford sold the dies to the Soviets which the Soviets never paid for BTW. Those old Zils that resemble Packards are not made from Packard tooling. They just resemble them.
Autosoviet is a great site. I can't post links yet.
This site is invaluable for researching Russian cars and trucks. No Russian maker of cars ever copied early Toyotas.

I just wanted to update everyone regarding my own efforts on this matter.
Of the people I contacted in Japan, they have examined the photos, however they all have some doubts as to the authenticity of the car. Due to their good-standings in the Toyota community in Japan, they would prefer to not approach anyone at Toyota on the issue of this car (especially if it were to result in a wild goose chase). I can understand and sympathize with them and do not want to put anyones reputation or credibility on the line. However, I am still trying to figure out for myself if there is someone within Toyota, in Japan, that we can contact directly.

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Michael - Collector of Toyotamobilia ~ www.toyotageek.com
Tomica Fan Club ~ www.tomicafanclub.com

Thanks for trying Mike. Did they at least say why they don't think it's an AA?

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I don't think it's so much as they don't think it's an AA, as it is they are 'unsure' if it is an AA, and it's that uncertainty that is a factor...

And there-in lies the conundrum. We all want to know if it is for sure an AA, but how can we know unless someone with some expertise in the car checks it out - but we can't get anyone to check it out unless we can prove it's an AA

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Michael - Collector of Toyotamobilia ~ www.toyotageek.com
Tomica Fan Club ~ www.tomicafanclub.com

Toyota spends tons of cash supporting Scion clubs yet people are afraid of them wasting money to see if an actual piece of history exsists? No one has to put their reputation on the line if they just mention that this "could" be an AA and let Toyota decide if they want to persue it. Some people are overly careful and way too spineless these days. Sorry for the rant it's just stuff like this aggrivates me.

You shouldn't be so easy to judge. The cultural climate is completely different in Japan. Things are done differently. Thankfully not everyone has the American 'gung-ho' attitude.

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Michael - Collector of Toyotamobilia ~ www.toyotageek.com
Tomica Fan Club ~ www.tomicafanclub.com

No I understand it I just don't agree with it is all. American Gungho attitude is not bad, sometimes it's a little misplaced but it has lead to great things. Besides to quote Thomas Jefferson "a little rebellion now and then is a good thing".

I'm not trying to spark any type of debate, again I'm just frustrated with the lack of interest this should be getting from those who should be the most interested in a possible major part of their history.

I agree it would be nice to ask someone while admitting doubt, but I see where they're coming from with the expenses. After all, would owning an AA earn them as much money as cultivating enthusiast groups? But IMO this should not be about profit. I guess the bigwigs will decide.

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92 Honda Civic - 65 Ford F100 V8

You also have to realize that the Toyota that supports the Scion clubs is most likely Toyota Motor Sales (TMS, USA) as opposed to Toyota Motor Company (TMC, Japan). Afterall, TMS is pretty much just a franchisee to TMC, they have no vote in how cars are made, design, anything.

True but it's like GE owning NBC. They don't directly control the programming but the money is still all coming from the same pot so to speak.

any more updates on this heep?

I don't think this 1950s Volvo Sugga is what it is, but damn if there weren't a lot of cars with this body style.

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Don't think it is the Sugga. A lot of those old cars had similar lines. I am willing to bet that the Russian car does indeed contain Toyoda AA body parts. The chassis is most likely long gone...or serving as tractor in Belarus...LOLZ