Advice Needed on Buying a Contessa 1.8GL ?

[Steeroid]

Out of interest - is the original carb on the Conti 1.8 Isuzu (the one BEFORE FE-dictated lower power ratings) a Mikuni or a Hitachi? I have 2 carbs with me, one Mikuni and one Hitachi - which one is better for power delivery?

[Miyer]

Hi steeroid,
As a thumb rule the glass window type nikki carb is better for performance since the venturi size is bigger.Also you can overhaul the carb and over size the jets for added performance. All this is without opening the head or pistons.
Mikuni type is the maruthi type and is usually for better milage.Adjust the air screw in idle to a rough knock for performance in the glass carb and a smooth idle for milage simple settings. If your not confident of your carb my advice is not to filddle with the settings.

Originally Posted by Steeroid

Out of interest - is the original carb on the Conti 1.8 Isuzu (the one BEFORE FE-dictated lower power ratings) a Mikuni or a Hitachi? I have 2 carbs with me, one Mikuni and one Hitachi - which one is better for power delivery?

[Jaggu]

use Hitachi they will give you better performance. Do a thorough clean up/overhaul before you install.

[Miyer]

Dear Shekaran,
Thanks for the acknowledgment..our unified goal is to get the coniti back on the road and we will stand by each other in this trip.

Originally Posted by shekaran

Dear Mike,
Thanks for your excellent - well depth replies.
Actuallly, You are a genuine Contessa Physician, like mr.keshav@Psycho.
I am Glad to have Advices from you, Very Precisely, Thanks Again, Mike....
[/indent][IMG]file:///C:/DOCUME%7E1/Ramesh/LOCALS%7E1/Temp/moz-screenshot-1.jpg[/IMG][IMG]file:///C:/DOCUME%7E1/Ramesh/LOCALS%7E1/Temp/moz-screenshot-2.jpg[/IMG]

lastly, thanks mike, for all your valuable time and suggestions, have a nice day.

sure ..thanks a ton fr all your queries and will pitch in whenever possible to help.

[shekaran]

Dear Mike,
After all the cleaning, checking of my contessa, i have landed into a small problem.
the car wobbles, the whole body wobbles, as though the tyres are not balanced.
i checked the tyres balancing, and also the wheel alignment, but could not rectify the problem.
i find that the vibrations stop only after 70 kmph speeds.
from idle, till 10 kmph, i have no vibrations.
after 10 kmph, the wobbling starts to make effect ...
i am confused - about what to do ?
i have some doubts, please clarify ...
1. will the tyres, or wheel rims can make such vibrations ?
2. do i need to check the rear propeller shaft ?
3. do the wheel rims make any such wobblings ?
acc to the wheel alignment center, the alignment is spot on.
the wheels are also balanced, but he says that some or one of the tyres could be the culprit.
please advise.

lastly, what is the standard tyres for the contessa ? 175-70R15 size ?
will 185-70R15 make any speedometer reading errors ?

thanks for all your advices.
regards.

[Miyer]

Hi KS.. I have responded to your other PM in detail..
Check the disk trueness. A bend could mean the wobble. Also check for proper tyre seating. Use some soap solution on the seating edge of the tyre while fitting the tyres so that they snap with a thud into the disk. Check all the wheels bearing play.
reg
mike

Originally Posted by shekaran

Dear Mike,
After all the cleaning, checking of my contessa, i have landed into a small problem.
the car wobbles, the whole body wobbles, as though the tyres are not balanced.
i checked the tyres balancing, and also the wheel alignment, but could not rectify the problem.
i find that the vibrations stop only after 70 kmph speeds.
from idle, till 10 kmph, i have no vibrations.
after 10 kmph, the wobbling starts to make effect ...
i am confused - about what to do ?
i have some doubts, please clarify ...
1. will the tyres, or wheel rims can make such vibrations ?
2. do i need to check the rear propeller shaft ?
3. do the wheel rims make any such wobblings ?
acc to the wheel alignment center, the alignment is spot on.
the wheels are also balanced, but he says that some or one of the tyres could be the culprit.
please advise.

lastly, what is the standard tyres for the contessa ? 175-70R15 size ?
will 185-70R15 make any speedometer reading errors ?

thanks for all your advices.
regards.

[sukrit7]

I have a neighbor who's had his ride completely modified, it barely looks a contessa anymore, would you guys like some pictures ?(please pm me if u do want the pics to be put up) cheers.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by sukrit7

I have a neighbor who's had his ride completely modified, it barely looks a contessa anymore,

Bring 'em on! If its a good looking mod, please post it here. If not, head over to the weird & wacky thread.

[jaideepshinh]

Originally Posted by shekaran

Dear Mike,
After all the cleaning, checking of my contessa, i have landed into a small problem.
the car wobbles, the whole body wobbles, as though the tyres are not balanced.
i checked the tyres balancing, and also the wheel alignment, but could not rectify the problem.
i find that the vibrations stop only after 70 kmph speeds.
from idle, till 10 kmph, i have no vibrations.
after 10 kmph, the wobbling starts to make effect ...
i am confused - about what to do ?
i have some doubts, please clarify ...
1. will the tyres, or wheel rims can make such vibrations ?
2. do i need to check the rear propeller shaft ?
3. do the wheel rims make any such wobblings ?
acc to the wheel alignment center, the alignment is spot on.
the wheels are also balanced, but he says that some or one of the tyres could be the culprit.
please advise.

lastly, what is the standard tyres for the contessa ? 175-70R15 size ?
will 185-70R15 make any speedometer reading errors ?

thanks for all your advices.
regards.

i've had the same problem- it is the drive shaft to the differential which is bent... happened when the lowered the gear box. being hollow, the shaft does tend to get bent if the mechanics are negligent.

it will have be trued on a lathe or something. i'd suggest getting a new one, as the dudes at the workshop can never get it as straight as an original...

[Miyer]

Originally Posted by jaideepshinh

i've had the same problem- it is the drive shaft to the differential which is bent... happened when the lowered the gear box. being hollow, the shaft does tend to get bent if the mechanics are negligent.

it will have be trued on a lathe or something. i'd suggest getting a new one, as the dudes at the workshop can never get it as straight as an original...

Most contis will have this propeller shaft problem....it is the weak link in the transmission.If the thug..thug..thug noise is not big and bothering leave it.
If the sound is bigger and bad it results in a catastrophic results.To start with
ensure you bolt a U clamp below the longer piece of shaft just in case the star gives way and you have a dangling shaft. By the way it is a 4 piece shaft with a rubber flinger centre bearing and 3 universal joints.
1.The Clutch end slides into the gear box main shaft and has a felt seal for greasing. There is a Universal joint immediately and connects to the main shaft.So piece one identified you can replace this and check for the same problem.
2.Main shaft..check and look for balancing metal pieces on the shaft body if worn out missing or damaged and could cause all the effects of a unbalanced rotating mass.
Check for truth..you could use a wheel alignment machine a laser guided one from tip to two on a fixed Jig to check for any warpage or bends (from the torque and from pitch)
3.Check the centre bearing and also the Univsal joint immediately and look for the wobble.If you place the shaft vertically and rotate the centre bearing it should ideally run without a wobble..if the bearing is well seated,however there could be a slight degree from the unproper moulding of the rubber flinger.
4.Main shaft differential end with one more joint on the end.Do the above checks and refit the shaft.

The problem persists it could do some bit of a damage to the the gearbox main shaft and the oil seals at the end and the differential bearing and oilseal due to the wobble.

Putting the shaft in a hydraulic press and straightening is a bad practise because it will not do any good and only worsen the condition unless done with some precision equipment and guages.The vertical load on the shaft will cause shear fractures compared to the tourque loading the shaft is actually designed to take.SO if any of the above checks dont work find a salvage shaft from an old conti and replace to see if ot works..many a times the rear axle or the engine-gearbox misalignmebt could also cause a shift in the alignment of the drivetrain and cause unnecessary NHV and such wobbling.

Again checkall the links from the engine mounting to the rear suspension to rectify the problem.
Do write again if you need any additional help or support.

[jaideepshinh]

Originally Posted by Miyer

Most contis will have this propeller shaft problem....it is the weak link in the transmission.If the thug..thug..thug noise is not big and bothering leave it.
If the sound is bigger and bad it results in a catastrophic results.To start with
ensure you bolt a U clamp below the longer piece of shaft just in case the star gives way and you have a dangling shaft. By the way it is a 4 piece shaft with a rubber flinger centre bearing and 3 universal joints.
1.The Clutch end slides into the gear box main shaft and has a felt seal for greasing. There is a Universal joint immediately and connects to the main shaft.So piece one identified you can replace this and check for the same problem.
2.Main shaft..check and look for balancing metal pieces on the shaft body if worn out missing or damaged and could cause all the effects of a unbalanced rotating mass.
Check for truth..you could use a wheel alignment machine a laser guided one from tip to two on a fixed Jig to check for any warpage or bends (from the torque and from pitch)
3.Check the centre bearing and also the Univsal joint immediately and look for the wobble.If you place the shaft vertically and rotate the centre bearing it should ideally run without a wobble..if the bearing is well seated,however there could be a slight degree from the unproper moulding of the rubber flinger.
4.Main shaft differential end with one more joint on the end.Do the above checks and refit the shaft.

The problem persists it could do some bit of a damage to the the gearbox main shaft and the oil seals at the end and the differential bearing and oilseal due to the wobble.

Putting the shaft in a hydraulic press and straightening is a bad practise because it will not do any good and only worsen the condition unless done with some precision equipment and guages.The vertical load on the shaft will cause shear fractures compared to the tourque loading the shaft is actually designed to take.SO if any of the above checks dont work find a salvage shaft from an old conti and replace to see if ot works..many a times the rear axle or the engine-gearbox misalignmebt could also cause a shift in the alignment of the drivetrain and cause unnecessary NHV and such wobbling.

Again checkall the links from the engine mounting to the rear suspension to rectify the problem.
Do write again if you need any additional help or support.

good detailing. the hydraulic press is what they'd used to straighten mine out. as a result, my vibrations are mostly gone. i couldnt get my hands on a new drive shaft so i'm using the old one.
out of my experience, i've realised that mostly the rubber gives problem. i have had about 7 contessas till now, out of which 2 have had a rubber problem; amongst those two one had a driveshaft bent during repairs due to a negligent mechanic. rest all did just fine....

[Miyer]

Originally Posted by jaideepshinh

good detailing. the hydraulic press is what they'd used to straighten mine out. as a result, my vibrations are mostly gone. i couldnt get my hands on a new drive shaft so i'm using the old one.
out of my experience, i've realised that mostly the rubber gives problem. i have had about 7 contessas till now, out of which 2 have had a rubber problem; amongst those two one had a driveshaft bent during repairs due to a negligent mechanic. rest all did just fine....

Thats excellent JD....all conti fans..we have JD as well here with loads of experience with contis...so keep the contis alive with some diehard fans of the car like JD..
Kudos...
Mike

[jaideepshinh]

Originally Posted by Miyer

Thats excellent JD....all conti fans..we have JD as well here with loads of experience with contis...so keep the contis alive with some diehard fans of the car like JD..
Kudos...
Mike

Thanks Mike.... You seem to knows things in good detail, which makes reading your posts a pleasure. btw, do you also have a contessa? as of now, i have 2... the previous ones were company cars which came and went. these two are my personal contessas.

[shekaran]

with JD and Miyer,
i am rest assured that my contessa can live longer.
thanks to you, both friends.
i am in the process of ironing out all my problems, and will post an update soon.
cheers.

[Miyer]

Originally Posted by jaideepshinh

Thanks Mike.... You seem to knows things in good detail, which makes reading your posts a pleasure. btw, do you also have a contessa? as of now, i have 2... the previous ones were company cars which came and went. these two are my personal contessas.

Thanks JS!!! ..I do have a very well maintained 1989 petrol car.Will be in hyderabad in Feb and we can catch up for some coffee and conti....