Fiat a.k.a Premier Padmini 137D

[quicksilver]

Originally Posted by abhi1309

Yes my fathers old 83 model Padmini's R/C book said 12 HP. I don't know what was wrong with the 1980's.

Well, nothing was wrong really, it was one of the best times in fact. Our parents/grand parents had enjoyed driving like we never would. The cars seem under-powered on paper but were quiet adequate for the conditions they had back then.

I have heard stories about my Dad and his friends doing 100 MPH sprints on the highways (which I presume were almost empty compared to what we have now). The 137D was a different story though, surely underpowered but delivered an FE that was phenomenal even by today's standards. It could easily do 20KM/L for me with spirited driving (without A/C) and 18KM/L with A/C.

[ramzsys]

I am planning to replace the gearbox(nissan floor) with any 5 speed box. I have 2 queires;

1) should i change the differential also?
2) will a isuzu box from ambassador/contessa fit without tinker work?

Apart from that i have asked for disc brakes from the 118NE.

[quicksilver]

Do you want to do that because you need the 5th gear? The Nissan gearbox was a perfect match for that engine, butter smooth even with the diesel.

Besides that, I doubt if you'd be able to mate a ISUZU box without much tinkering.

Please do have a re-think about it.

Originally Posted by ramzsys

I am planning to replace the gearbox(nissan floor) with any 5 speed box. I have 2 queires;

1) should i change the differential also?
2) will a isuzu box from ambassador/contessa fit without tinker work?

Apart from that i have asked for disc brakes from the 118NE.

[planet_rocker]

this is what Mr. Dhabhar once said about the nissan GB:

After reading all the mails that you guys are shooting to each other on the S1 transmission et al, let me clarify as follows:

First of all, the ratios are 3.757 / 2.169 / 1.404 / 1.000 for NISSAN transmission and 3.86 / 2.38 / 1.57 / 1.00 for FIAT transmission.
The Padmini was introduced with NISSAN aggregates in 2 phases. 1 - only the gearbox (quite good number of cars were released in the field) and 2 - engine and gearbox (very very few cars were released in the field).

As far as the F4W56A gearbox is concerned, the main casing was changed to incorporate the Padmini engine bell housing configuration, so gravity die cast housings were made and cars were sold with these housings. The housings were not pressure die cast as the die cost is prohibitive. As far as your specific query on cross member is concerned, as the cars were with floor shift (deluxe BU) as well as column shift (deluxe BE), you will all appreciate that in the floor shift the stick is directly connected to the gearbox whereas in the column shift, the system is remotely operated. In order to have the column shift, original NISSAN design of shifter was adapted where the "REAR EXTENSION OF THE GEARBOX" is smaller in length (this gearbox is NISSAN van derived). Thus it was necessary for us to use a two piece propeller shaft in the column shaft car with the NISSAN gearbox (Euler's theory of long columns), whereas we stayed with the single piece propeller shaft in the floor shift gearbox as the length of the rear extension of the gearbox was adequate by design. Therefore, in the column shift car, there is a centre bearing for the propeller shaft (118NE derived), mounted on an additional cross member bolted to the floor. With the kind of corrosion that the floor is susceptible to, you can well imagine the condition of this cross member. Therefore, if anybody is thinking of buying an S1, I will strongly recommend only floor shift as these hassles are avoided.

Further, in the NISSAN transmission cars, the clutch was operated by a cable instead of a link which is another problem because Remsons cables who was the OE vendor may not be manufacturing these cables any more. With the kind of dusty environment at the cable location, performance gets disturbed.

Further, in order to orient the cable correctly away from the exhaust, thee is a 7 degrees orienting spacer assembled in the bell housing. Many mechanics do not know all this and end up destroying the design.

With all above information known to me (I happened to be one of the designers of these systems), I DO NOT PURCHASE NISSAN TRANSMISSION CARS AT ALL. I only purchase cars with FIAT transmission, so no problem.

[ramzsys]

So, finally got the engine specs.
http://www.engine-cemberci.com/engine/CMD/2.pdf

44 hp@4500 rpm, built by a marine diesel maker.
Also, there is a 60 hp turbo/ 75 hp intercooler turbo on the same engine.

[ramzsys]

@quicksilver yes, the nissan's GB feels better, but for the OD. One of my relatives has got a Padmini with Mazda engine, 1.7 L (1720 cc) PN, Diesel, 8-valve, 57 hp/107nm He needs the versa(gypsy) gearbox, used or new. Can anyone give an idea of the price for a new box(provided Maruti is willing to sell) as a used one is as rare as Versa itself...

[mituadas]

Today I gave my 137D for engine overhule. Now i am planning to change gearbox. Mostly I prefer 118NE gearbox. Can anybody suggest what are the work has to be done for this. Any suggestions are most welcome.

Thanks & regards

S. DAS

[Dippy]

Nice review Ram. The 137D is one hell of a workhorse. A favourite among taxi drivers at one time. She looks clean too.

One of my relative had installed a Mazda mated to a isuzu 5 speed box. But getting an RTO endorsement is a problem nowadays.

I had the same combo in my Fiat. A Mazda 1.6 diesel mated to a 5 Speed Isuzu. It was an awesome performer and I used to smoke Esteems and Cielos at traffic lights. Very silent too once it warmed up. Miss that car.

[jaisha8]

I have a Petrol engine Premier Padmini, 1996 model S1,Executive. Is it possible to change to Diesel engine, I mean would RTO authorize it? If so which would be the best Diesel engine for Premier Padmini.

[ramzsys]

AFAIK, there is no problem in RTO endorsements for the original 137D engine. But the rules are getting stricter with reference to emission norms.

[Silver Knight]

We had a 1993 model 137D which we used for 10 years an logged 1.25 lacs KM. Learned driving in that. Still has those sweet memories. Great car.

[shantyrocks]

great review ram!

does remind me of my first car a petrol premier padmini with steering attached gear shift.i learnt my driving on that car ,used it for 4 years and sold it of to a taxi driver for 30,000 in 1999.i remember during those days i used to fill up 10 lts of petrol in 100 bucks and it used to last me one whole month.

[cuttingcrew]

PP brings back a lot of old memories. I learned driving in one. It had a amazing steering and was fun to drive (it had floor gear but it was a pain). It was very well maintained by my father (my mother made sure of that), till we (my brother and me) started driving it. It was sold of in 2001 (for 15K).

p.s. remember AB driving a PP in the film Abhiman?

[loving_alaap]

We also had a Premier Padmini (petrol) in excellent condition. We had sold (with wet eyes litrally) last year, due to only parking problems. So, I can imaging, how you are feeling while you are driving.

Keep it up for as long as you can.

[amanmalhotra]

Premier Padmini brings back the good old memories, remember learning how to drive on it and ramming it into a bullock cart. Nothing happened to the cart, but was left with a rather bad dent and a broken head light. Was **** scared to tell my Dad that I had banged his car.
Was a family car till 1999 when we, as a family, changed loyalties and bought a Maruti 800.