Advice Needed on Buying a Contessa 1.8GL ?

[Astleviz]

The conti looks fabulous in the last pic (against the rocks). You have do a great job in maintaining your car like that.

[anuj1237]

Originally Posted by Miyer

Hey.. thanks again guys..its very encouraging!!!
In fact Anuj was here last evening to see the car and get a ride..he was thrilled and I could see it in his eyes.
We need many more people to revive this dying car.. to own and appreciate this machine and not let the remaining ones to be broken down into scrap around the country.
cheers,
Mike

the car indeed is awesome! and i know i dont think anybody has the right to put a price on his car, its truly priceless. i know that feeling because i have gone through the same because i have a 93 RX 100 which i restored and built more or less by myself. i know its very small compared to what mahesh has done to his conti but i just undestand more than ever, how it feels to be one with a car.

well, about his car like he said, i was just thrilled to drive it and i urge all conti owners to not sell off their car for scrap or to anybody who wouldnt respect it. by doing that there will be no hope of seeing good contis on road. well done mahesh, really look up to you.

[Miyer]

Hey Thanks leviz and Anuj...lets see many more contis on the road guys...and revive this piece of engineering.

[Aditya]

Originally Posted by Miyer

You have one of the best maintained contis in town Adi.. and I have see the pics on TBHP many times. Are you planning any major overhauls? Keep me posted if I can be of any help.

Thanks.
My car's looking good and working fine. So no major work planned for the time being.
These pics were taken on the way to Goa in August 2008. Love this babe!

[Miyer]

Hi Adi,

It looks chilled out and the monsoon on the backdrop is left the place green and wet. I guess you have got a fresh coat of paint since and have always seen your car in the original biscuit colour.

The contrast of the black tarmac and the white car with a truck in the backdrop in full rugged mud slapped tyres/wheels looks awesome..!!!

The black paint job on the head light fibre housing also looks great and goes with the overall scheme of the car. An amazing package in all…

Do you think the older grill will look any better from the half grill now? There is the void that the fibre bumper once hid from the public eye.

Cheers
Mike

[Aditya]

Thanks again.
The car was painted white in late January 2008. The original GLX grill which I still have looks good. I've had a mesh grill put on the void, but, viewed from the front, the number plate hides it. So, most of the time, it's OK.
Cheers

[?ushk@r]

I'll be happy to share some pictures.. however, I wish to change the steering wheel.. I am 6'3" and have to move the seat till the end for me to fit in

Can you tell me which would fit in

Originally Posted by Miyer

Hey why dont you put up some pics..weill get a good look of the car and perhaps lets us know the things you will like to fix..I can then recomend the necessary action that you can work on to make your car any better.
cheers,
mike

[PAVAN KADAM]

Congrats on your decision.

A Contessa sure is a classic, and only for Mustang wannabe's.

It resembles so much with the erstwhile fords, with of course some serious modifications.

Adi, neat car you have there, please dont let go of this car.

Just see these cousins

Someday i'll achieve this, for sure.

[Miyer]

Hi Pushkar,

You can go to the nearest shop that sells extra fittings like steering wheels and alloys and ask them to fit a suitable wheel. Most steering stems have the same milling in the driving end and are compatible with some minor adjustment here and there.

The only issue I see by fitting a smaller steering wheel is that you will have to make many more rotations from end to end radius.

Driving on a ghat road will become strenuous affair since you will have to rotate the steering so many more times to make each full turn and even in city traffic you cant feather the steering like the original to make a gentle arc but perhaps make a 90 degree twist.

On the other hand if you are using an all new rack and pinion with a lower ratio from the standard then you can balance this effect out.

The other practical alternative which is simple yet effective is to reduce the foam on your seat and if you live in a warm place, to actually replace the lower seat with a plastic wire mesh/ similar material.



The office chairs off late have a very good breathable fabric for the back and seating area and could work as an alternative if aesthetics are to be managed. Sounds weird but is a practical solution for this problem and is also comfortable on long runs and the city traffic except that you will leave funny patterns on your garments and beyond.
Cheers,
Mike

[?ushk@r]

I spoke with my mech.. he said.. that fitting any wheel isn't that easy!! will have to change some parts @ the joints.. Is that true?

If we assume that is the case, which wheel would fit without making any changes @ the joints?

[Miyer]

The conti as far as i know has two types of steering Stem's and unions.
The first type is the rigid type with a rubber union to the steering box.
The second type is a telescopic type that slides in and out of the stem shaft and has a universal joint.
The steering slides into a milled end and had a nut with a spring washer under the Horn cover. Any steering with the same milling will fit into the groves and can be fastened down and do not see that as a challenge.
Why don’t you go to an extra fitment shop and try out some steering wheels if you are still so keen to change it?
Sometimes you may have to alter the entire rod from the steering end to the union that joins the wheel to the box. Also you can cut and weld only the milled end that the steering fits.

[Aditya]

I have a smaller steering wheel fitted in my car. I had to put a hub on which the steering wheel is fixed. This works fine if your car has power steering. If not, I suggest you stick to the large wheel which came with the car. Otherwise, steering the car will be a tedious affair.
I'll post some pics in a couple of days.

[Miyer]

So in Adi case the hub fits into the millhead of the original shaft and the hubs outer will fit on the new steering wheel milling and is the usual/easy method without any major alterations to the steering rod.

Again like Adi said it will be very difficult on a manual steering and you will have significantly increased rotations to lock and also the effort needed to rotate since the reduced circumference will require more torque to twist it if you lack a Power Steering.

This makes it clear as to why heavy trucks and buses without a power steering have a large diameter steering wheel to reduce the effort on the driver and reduce the turns to lock, comparitively to the PS trucks which have small dia.

[shekaran]

To Miyer, Aditya, ?Ushkar, Anuj1237, and all Contessa fans,
Thank You Guys - for all the positive words, encouragement, and a great salute to share your knowledge to people who want to have their conti's in good shape.

i have no words - especially for mahesh and aditya, who happen to have the best contessa's in india. Mahesh is better than the best, no words to appreciate his spotless work - infact no words can equate his passion and the labour behind his restoration.

Can i ask you guys, a little request ?
Shall we open a exclusive contessa thread, with all informations about alterations, mechanical explanations, and et al, so that more and more people are able to know about this true indian muscle car ?

Keep up the good work friends.

[Miyer]

Hey thanks a ton on behalf of all the conti lovers...
Sure KS..why don’t you initiate the thread and take Adi's help for a public announcement to start a thread. I met a couple of conti lovers the other day and got them to look at TBHP. They were thrilled about the information they got to see.
I am planning to start posting a series of the entire build of my car to show by example what is possible on this car and also the minute detailing that has to be taken care of at each step.