MYB 2148 Fiat Elegant 1957

[MM440]

Hi guys,
This little car came into my possession by chance. It was previously owned by an old gentleman who fancied these FIATs and he used this for a while till he no longer could.And I would findout why sooner than later.
1.It is a 1957 model first owned by one of the Indian Express newspapers' offices in Bangalore.
2.It seemed to be in pretty fair condition given that it was used very little by the previous owner so I bought it without much negotiation.
3.My happiness though was short lived as it was smoking and the first and reverse gears would not engage.
4.An evaluation by Mr Menon followed, who is one of my gurus on all things mechanical.The verdict was the car needed a complete overhaul of the engine and all working parts.
5.So I decided to strip the S1 engine 1 procured,and the engine was rebuilt with new parts in addition to hardchroming of the pistons and porting of the head.
6. Some where along the way I also procured a brand new Solex 1066 car which is now doing service on the engine.
7.The radiator was upgraded to a 4 core one using the same radiator top and bottom.
8.And a new clutch assembly was installed.
ENGINE ISSUES :
1. The engine runs real fine without any hint of missing and starts at the flick of the key.
2.However I seem to have hit a dead end with the temperature of the vehicle which the electronic gauge shows to be hover 85 deg Celsius .
3.When I use a bi metal thermostat meter to check the water level it appears to be about 70 at the radiator inlet.
Thanks to my friend Rajeev who was very kind to ask his people to rebuild and tweak the engine higher level of performance than the regular S1 and Mr Behram Dhabhar for his input while I was getting the engine fitted back on .Thanks to his timely advice I decided to stay with the original gearbox rather than try and fit the S1's Nissan coloumn selector mounted gearbox.
Also thanks to Arun from FCB for all his inputs and help.
Cheers

[beetle_boy]

Hey mm440 good one, so one more to add on bangalore roads. Would love to meet in person and have a look.

Regards,
Saleem

Originally Posted by MM440

Hi guys,
This little car came into my possession by chance. It was previously owned by an old gentleman who fancied these FIATs and he used this for a while till he no longer could.And I would findout why sooner than later.
1.It is a 1957 model first owned by one of the Indian Express newspapers' offices in Bangalore.
2.It seemed to be in pretty fair condition given that it was used very little by the previous owner so I bought it without much negotiation.
3.My happiness though was short lived as it was smoking and the first and reverse gears would not engage.
4.An evaluation by Mr Menon followed, who is one of my gurus on all things mechanical.The verdict was the car needed a complete overhaul of the engine and all working parts.
5.So I decided to strip the S1 engine 1 procured,and the engine was rebuilt with new parts in addition to hardchroming of the pistons and porting of the head.
6. Some where along the way I also procured a brand new Solex 1066 car which is now doing service on the engine.
7.The radiator was upgraded to a 4 core one using the same radiator top and bottom.
8.And a new clutch assembly was installed.
ENGINE ISSUES :
1. The engine runs real fine without any hint of missing and starts at the flick of the key.
2.However I seem to have hit a dead end with the temperature of the vehicle which the electronic gauge shows to be hover 85 deg Celsius .
3.When I use a bi metal thermostat meter to check the water level it appears to be about 70 at the radiator inlet.
Thanks to my friend Rajeev who was very kind to ask his people to rebuild and tweak the engine higher level of performance than the regular S1 and Mr Behram Dhabhar for his input while I was getting the engine fitted back on .Thanks to his timely advice I decided to stay with the original gearbox rather than try and fit the S1's Nissan coloumn selector mounted gearbox.
Also thanks to Arun from FCB for all his inputs and help.
Cheers

[PAVAN KADAM]

Originally Posted by MM440

Hi guys,
This little car came into my possession by chance.Also thanks to Arun from FCB for all his inputs and help.
Cheers

Dont get rid of it, else you will never get a second chance

Thats a very neat looking car, congratulations

Arun is always like that, a NUT when it comes to Fiats....

Surprising that you found a Brand New Solex carb.

Just get rid of those Tints and the car will transform.

Some interior pics please.

[ariesonu]

Oooh man, I love that color. Very nice catch MM440.
+1 to PK, get rid of those tints.
The dicky lock & side indicators doesn't seem to be original.

Raab Rakha.

[SuperSelect]

Hey, the baby looks to be in real good nick ! All the best to you, welcome to the Fiat fraternity, and happy motoring .

p.s.: try to procure whitewall tyres while they're still scantily available. They will transform the car's looks, Don't wait till you do a full resto, because they may not be available anywhere by then !!

[SPEED_DEMON82]

There is a simliar 1957 Dukkar with my Uncle. He has been facing a few problems with the car lately, braking issues, engine trouble and a very similar heating issue as mentioned above. Is there anyone in Mumbai who i could talk to/meet to get some help/tips?

[EARTHed]

Congrats Anand! Nice to see yet another FIAT Elegant joining FCB! Lucky to find such a good car and I am happy its in safe hands now.

[beetle_boy]

Originally Posted by SuperSelect

Hey, the baby looks to be in real good nick ! All the best to you, welcome to the Fiat fraternity, and happy motoring .

p.s.: try to procure whitewall tyres while they're still scantily available. They will transform the car's looks, Don't wait till you do a full resto, because they may not be available anywhere by then !!

Any hint for whitewall tyres i am looking.

[EARTHed]

Beetle_boy: Try in Madhus on Double Road. Its available there. Costs 4250 per tyre.

[SuperSelect]

Originally Posted by beetle_boy

Any hint for whitewall tyres i am looking.

They were certainly available in Mumbai till a year back. I'll check and let you know !!

Originally Posted by EARTHed

Beetle_boy: Try in Madhus on Double Road. Its available there. Costs 4250 per tyre.

4250 ?? My Goodness, I bought mine for approximately half that amount in 2009 !! I guess a shortage / non-availability will certainly hike prices !

[GreenDay]

MM540 Congrats on the new Acquisition. I would like to see the Beauty in person. Hope to see you inforth coming FCB Meet

[manishalive]

Originally Posted by SuperSelect

They were certainly available in Mumbai till a year back. I'll check and let you know !!

Infact ravi bhai I also need them. the contact that you gave is by mistake deleted from my inbox and phone. can you give that again.

[MM440]

Hi guys,
Thank you all for your kind compliments and sugestions.
1>The lastest I learnt about the FIAT is that it shares the same water pump assembly as the minidor auto.
2>If any of you are looking for it ,match it with minidor's.It should work fine according to one of the old gurus.
Cheers.
Jammy

[DHABHAR.BEHRAM]

Originally Posted by MM440

Hi guys - the lastest I learnt about the FIAT is that it shares the same water pump assembly as the minidor auto. If any of you are looking for it ,match it with minidor's. It should work fine according to one of the old gurus. Cheers. Jammy

Dear Jammy - as regards water pump, it is the other way round. Minidor has adapted Premier Padmini water pump for its single cylinder engine application. I had also adapted the same water pump with Greaves 510 cc engine when I did Mahindra Champion project in the year 2000. Please see BS1 Champion vehicles. You will see the same water pump. However, please note that for Champion application, the mass flow of water is 17 liters per minute whereas for Premier Padmini, the original FIAT specification calls for 54 liters per minute. So, if you use Minidor / Champion water pump in Premier Padmini engine, it will fit but it will not work because mass flow is different. Impeller design is different.

Please be careful.

Best regards,

Behram Dhabhar

[MM440]

Dear Behram sir,
1> Thank you once again for the wonderful tech tip.My overheating problem is now solved in principle.
2>We did notice that the impeller was chopped at the fins compared to the original which was doing duty in the the car.
3>I shall immediately remove the water pump and replace it with a FIAT spec one.Will post pics of the removed impeller(the shopkeeper sold as a FIAT pump) when I get back.
4>Also plan to replace the diesel FIAT's plastic fan with the original spec 4 leaf metal one.
5>I reckon it will create more turbulence at the working area of the radiator as it will flex less.
Should I do that sir or will the cooling dept be better served with a 6 blade plastic one?
Regards
Jammy

Originally Posted by DHABHAR.BEHRAM

Dear Jammy - as regards water pump, it is the other way round. Minidor has adapted Premier Padmini water pump for its single cylinder engine application. I had also adapted the same water pump with Greaves 510 cc engine when I did Mahindra Champion project in the year 2000. Please see BS1 Champion vehicles. You will see the same water pump. However, please note that for Champion application, the mass flow of water is 17 liters per minute whereas for Premier Padmini, the original FIAT specification calls for 54 liters per minute. So, if you use Minidor / Champion water pump in Premier Padmini engine, it will fit but it will not work because mass flow is different. Impeller design is different.

Please be careful.

Best regards,

Behram Dhabhar