Hello! I hope everyone is doing good in these unprecedented times.
This is going to be my first long-ish post on Team-Bhp. Please excuse me for any errors.
Firstly, I am prepared to receive a lot of condemnation from bellow bhp-ians for rendering a loved by everyone and perfectly running good ol zen no more road-worthy. Let me tell you, I had reasons which you shall understand as you read on. If not this, it would be scraped.
Our company was working on a project in a remote place in Haryana and we acquired an old 1998 zen to ferry manpower and sometimes tools & tackles to and from the project site to the nearby market (everything within a 5km radius). For just about 40k we had a nearly 57000 kms done in quite a good condition.
The project was completed in the mid of 2019 and the Zen was brought to our office in New Delhi.
The lil boy returned almost 13-14 km/ltr in the last highway journey it would ever undertake which I feel is pretty decent for a 20 year old carb engine.
I used to drive the zen around my house but soon realised that repairs to the brakes & steering were needed if I wanted to continue driving the little bean around anymore.
As the car was nearly 2 decades old, it could not be driven in Delhi-NCR legally (NGT rules), neither could it be sold owing to the some complications which made it nearly impossible for the new owner to register the car in their name. I was in no way selling a car with it still being registered in our company’s name.
The bean sat in a corner for a few months. We decided that the only way forward was to scrap it. It was then that my younger brother asked me if he could plonk out the engine and convert it into a generator for his engineering college project. I was thrilled by the idea. The entire process of dismantling the engine and converting it into a generator would give him a ton of practical experience about engines and familiarity with using tools. I instantly agreed.
We drove the Zen to our factory and started the dismantling procedure. The entire project was executed by him and I offered only some guidance when required. He was able to successfully take out the engine along with transmission, fuel tank etc. and fabricate a mounting trolley for them. He even started the engine on the trolley. We were in the talks of buying a suitable alternator when the pandemic hit us and it was no-go for my brother to scavenge for an alternator in the densely populated areas in Delhi. The entire plan for the generator was pushed aside.
Now, whenever I went to our factory, I saw this engineless beany boy staring at me like asking me to save it from the gallows.
While working one day, I was suddenly struck by one of my old childhood memories and I totally knew what I wanted to do with the engineless zen. It was to made into a bed! I called up my brother and told him what I was planning to do. Being a grease monkey that he is, he got all excited to be finally able to get his hands dirty again.
The design was planned in such a way that:
The bed should be totally flat and comfortably usable by a 6 foot adult.
All four doors should remain operable using the existing door handles and opening them would reveal the storage space.
The boot should have flap-type lid, which would offer access to even more storage space.
The Bonet would also open and offer more storage space.
The headlights and tail-lights should be fitted with small LED’s - which would act as night lights.
A bluetooth speaker system should be installed in the engine compartment.
The car should remain as original as possible except the roof.
We have nearly completed this project and have complied a video of the process. I would love to have your inputs on making it better.
As I am not so good with words, I would let the pictures do the talking. The car bed is complete and for the generator, I need help from fellow bhp-ians regarding the selection and correct coupling of the alternator shaft to the engine shaft. As of now the engine along with the fuel tank, cooling system etc has been mounted on to a movable trolley (which shall be the chassis of the generator as well) using the existing engine mounts, transmission has been removed and the engine is in working condition.
THE PROJECT CAR
Exterior
Interior
Parked Inside our factory - My brother drove it here
The stripping begins:
Bumpers, headlights and grill taken off
The interior is stripped, seats, dashboard etc.
Fenders are removed to avoid any damage to them during the removal of the engine and other accessories
Cleared engine bay of unwanted parts such as compressor, wiper motors etc. to make more space for engine removal. Engine mounts can now be accessed easily.
The zen then placed on in-house fabricated jacks to raise its height enabling easier access to the silencer and fuel tank disassembly.
The axle is removed as they are connected to the transmission. We took out the engine along with the transmission.
A pulley is mounted on an in-house fabricated hoist and using chains, the engine is lifted off the zen after unbolting all the engine mounts.
A time-Lapse video of the engine removal process.
The engine placed on a trolley. The engine was removed while still coupled to the transmission.
Fuel Tank Removal
The silencer was also removed. Don't have pictures. The Zen back on its feet.
Once the engine was removed, saw some crazy corrosion damage to the chassis. Regretted driving it instantly. The majority damage was on the battery side.
The repair work to the chassis begins. Cut out the corroded metal, welded fresh new metal in its space and applied red-oxide.
Bruised up boy
Repainting using spray paint cans.
The windshield was removed and the roof was cut off. A time lapse video of the process:
The re-fitment starts, the door frames and small stubs of the frame were intentionally left out for a later stage.
Bonnet installed
.....Continued in the next post