1961 Italian Fiat 1100/D Special. A Restoration Project.

[V-16]

Hey Guys,
Just bought this 1961 Fiat 1100/d Special. It was cared for a lot by the previous owner till he suffered a paralytic attack and since then the car has been lying in the open. Its a rust bucket now but will be restored to pristine condition, I promise all of you.
A special Thanks to Moralfibre and Karlosdeville for finding it and letting me know about it, You guys are great!!
I immediately met the owner and only after he was convinced, that his car was going in good hands and would be given a new lease of life, did he part with it.
I had her driven by my Mechanic from where it was parked to where it will be restored. She purred into life with just half a crank and was driven all the way. All through the way, i was following them in another car and was being given instructions by the previous owner over more than a dozen calls regarding how i should restore her and what the origional colour schemes were and that where i would find certian spares. He spoke with a school boy's enthusiasm, exited as ever and sounded more eager than me. I sincerely Pray and hope that he gets well soon.
Below are some pictures I took and I plan to take more on every stage of its restoration. I hope that all teammates will participate in this process through this thread and when it will be ready, it will be our joint efort. Thats what team spirit is all about...Right?!!

Parked with badges galore at an open lot for many years, uncared for, waiting to be rescued, gathering dust and rust




The engine bay as it is now. Surprisingly everything works...even the interior lights





Rescued and now peacefully parked at the workshop where she will be worked upon





All interiors intact with all switches. Will loose the gauges on the dash and put them appropriately somewhere else. Also the steering wheel with the horn ring...wrong horn button tough.
Why is the speedo in a blue shade. I think it should be in a greyish shade right?








More pics as and when the restoration takes place. please feel free to post comments and suggestions to help me.
Why dont you guys suggest what colour the car should be sporting??!!

[v1p3r]

That's a beautiful buy, Gogi. Another exotic, and this time it's Italian. Or should I say, Indo-Italian! All the best, and we're just a post away.

[gr8guzzler]

Congrats Gogi...gr8 find. Good luck with the restoration.

Cheers!!!

[ananthkamath]

I can see it right now. Solid-gray colored 1961 1100 Special restored to perfect factory-stock exteriors, the only change being a good set of 175 width 14-inch radials. All chrome from the factory retained including the front and rear windscreen trims (no thick ugly rubber beadings). Gray rexine interiors with bucket seats and floor shift. All original dials and switches retained. All in all, a well-restored 1961 Fiat 1100. A small inconspicuous Veglia tachometer on the dash tells a different story, though.

The block is bored 030 over which brings the total displacement to 1115 cc. It breathes through twin Weber 32 DGV's (from the original Italian 1100) on a special manifold. Stock valves timed by a Piper rally cam breathe through swirl-ported intake ports. The head is shaved of course. Ignition is taken care of by a distributor taken off of a Contessa 1800 ISZ engine which does an excellent job because its a CDI. The exhaust gases exit through an Apex LCB header and S1 muffler. The cooling is taken care of by an aluminum Esteem radiator with electric fan and expansion tank.

The gearbox is from the S1 deluxe model which is the same as the 118NE with a different bellhousing.

You are cruising along when you pull up next to a pimped Santro full of college kids at the lights. The kids dont understand why the car is idling funnily and think the muffler's fallen off. They make fun of it but agree its in nice condition save for the muffler. When the lights are about to turn green you give the throttle a quick blip. The revs shoot and the kids are stunned at the response and the sound. Just then the lights turn green. Utterly stunned and confused at the sight and sound assaulting him, the driver of the Santro guns it. You do the same and you go through the gearbox hitting a clean 6000 in every gear. Its like taking candy from a kid. You pull cleanly away from the Santro like its nobody's business, leaving the kids thinking about what hit them.

How about all of the above now?

[v1p3r]

Originally Posted by ananthkamath

I can see it right now...

How about a sky blue Reliant Robin? To most, the car looks pretty ugly, was built by a bunch of thieves too. Pimped-out OHC-boy will never expect sliding rear to overtake him, laying down twin tracks of rubber while fishtailing. All you need is a G13B and a nice blower. Oh wait, that's already done! So now you should donate your car (to me)!

[ananthkamath]

Originally Posted by v1p3r

......... laying down twin tracks of rubber while fishtailing.

Actually the particular Reliant robin you're referring to wont fishtail because its running an independent rear with LSD. Heh Heh.

[Rudra Sen]

What are you going do with that clock and amp meter? Holes are going to be closed as metal or planning to put anything there?

[Dippy]

Gogi fantastic car. Looks like it was waiting to be rescued by you. I'll think about the colour. First of all get ride of those chrome mudguard decors et al. They dont go with an original classic

[suman]

Jeez Ananthkamath, that was an incredible scenario painted by you.....actually gave me goosebumps as I unconsciously floored the pedal....(errr, read waste paper basket under Office table !)

V-16, congrats, this makes me feel nostalgic for my 1967 1100D that I had to leave behind in Cal (could never have got it into Delhi what with the strict pollution norms etc)....she was eventually junked last year. If only I'd known that forum guys loved 1100Ds so much, would have handed her over free of charge (my interaction with Planet Rocker, 1100D & the Kolkata group happened too late in the day).

Good luck with the restoration and look forward to seeing pics post the event!

[planet_rocker]

wow V-16! congrats man! she will be a beautiful lady very soon. try to keep the bodyshell, the steering wheel and the grill original...dont loose the tags. but whatever mod you do..keep it under the hood. take care buddy and take care of the angel.

[moralfibre]

Congratulations V-16. If you require any further help I will be just a phone call away. Great to see the car in good hands.

[V-16]

Originally Posted by planet_rocker

wow V-16! congrats man! she will be a beautiful lady very soon. try to keep the bodyshell, the steering wheel and the grill original...dont loose the tags. but whatever mod you do..keep it under the hood. take care buddy and take care of the angel.

THanks. I intend to do all of the above

Originally Posted by moralfibre

Congratulations V-16. If you require any further help I will be just a phone call away. Great to see the car in good hands.

Thanks Moral, Guzzlu, V1p3r,Suman for your enthusiasm and encouragement.

Originally Posted by ananthkamath

I can see it right now. Solid-gray colored 1961 1100 Special restored to perfect factory-stock exteriors,.....................The block is bored 030 over which brings the total displacement to 1115 cc. It breathes through twin Weber 32 DGV's (from the original Italian 1100) on a special manifold. Stock valves timed by a Piper rally cam breathe through swirl-ported intake ports. The head is shaved of course. Ignition is taken care of by a distributor taken off of a Contessa 1800 ISZ engine which does an excellent job because its a CDI. The exhaust gases exit through an Apex LCB header and S1 muffler. The cooling is taken care of by an aluminum Esteem radiator with electric fan and expansion tank.......

.......... leaving the kids thinking about what hit them.

How about all of the above now?

Man, ure something else. I know whom to get in touch when i get down to modding this or any other car... that was some description...had me smiling from ear to ear...maybe ill be incorporating some of these in this build but I have my eyes set on another, newer Indian Fiat in which ill be taking these liberties and hence will be i touch with you a LLoott!
With all of the above my car should look something like this

Originally Posted by Dippy

Gogi fantastic car. Looks like it was waiting to be rescued by you. I'll think about the colour. First of all get rid of those chrome mudguard decors et al. They dont go with an original classic

Yeah Dippy.. i thought so too. Will loose them asap

Originally Posted by Rudra Sen

What are you going do with that clock and amp meter? Holes are going to be closed as metal or planning to put anything there?

Im thinking of retaining one for the clock. The amp, I may loose or incorporate elsewhere where it does not clash with the looks...lets see...what do you suggest??


Guys keep the comments coming..Right now im going to shop for new body panels and some other stuff.....will post what happened when i get back, ciao!!

[hell_rider]

oh...man !!!

V16, you lucky dog !!!!

so you managed to get your hands on one of those beauties. i wish you all the best for your restoration project.

ananthkamat
what a picture you've painted man !!!

hmm...now to get my hands on one of these.

[planet_rocker]

@ v-16, just FYI - the correct conversion of the 5-20-14 cross plys to radials is 165/80/14. i dont know about the 175s. hey that pic is one of my finds! check out the racing seats. Including the mods, a loud exhaust is a must IMO.

[scooby05]

Arre, Sirji,
A Big CONGRATS MAN!!!
always available for anything I can do in the project!
and you might know I've used the fiat like Mad.
she's been my Rally car from '84 to '88
Feel sad to have sold off the car. had a shrikant shah twin carb engine and all. body strenghtened ranchod bhai, also had special alloys et all, could have used parts.