The Premier 118 NE thread

[Scarlet_Rider]

Originally Posted by DHABHAR.BEHRAM

There are so many funny incidences, it will fill a whole book and you will fall down laughing! HaHaHa! .

Why not revive the The Premier Automobiles Ltd - The Remembrances Thread with these incidents?

[DHABHAR.BEHRAM]

Originally Posted by Scarlet_Rider

Why not revive the The Premier Automobiles Ltd - The Remembrances Thread with these incidents?

Dear Rahul - I wish I could accede to your request in totality because by my nature, I just love to laugh at a good joke. Please refer my first post of the PAL remembrances thread. I have mentioned there - "a glorious legacy wasted away!" Something inside me tells me not to transgress this border on an open forum. I am genuinely sorry! I know that you will understand.

Enjoy your 118NE car, it is a wonderful product. It taught me to think logically and work properly, like NISSAN.

Best regards,

Behram Dhabhar

[samsag12]

Originally Posted by DHABHAR.BEHRAM

Dear Samsag12 - Regarding 1, yes please. The inlet goes into the side of the filter, the outlet comes out of the center of the filter, means fuel flows from out to in, that means that there is ample place inside the housing to store impurities till they are disposed off. Regarding 2, yes, or you can use Maruti Esteem fuel hose. The hose is not supposed to react with fuel. Regarding 3, there is a plastic pipe going down from the curved pipe with a holding clip on the rear nut of the fuel pump. You will not get a new one. You will have to dig it out at the scrapyard.


Best regards,

Behram Dhabhar

I have repositioned the filter and rerouted the petrol pipes as per your guidance. Please have a look and comment.

Link to the pics: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techni...ml#post2820492

[Scarlet_Rider]

Originally Posted by DHABHAR.BEHRAM

Something inside me tells me not to transgress this border on an open forum. I know that you will understand.

Yup! Fully understood!

By the way was curious to know whether there were any 118 NEs made that had gear levers near the steering wheel (like the PP). My friend who is interested in acquiring a NE, contacted a person who had given an ad for the sale of his NE. To his surprise (and mine), the gear lever on this petrol NE was near the steering like the PP instead of the floor. Attaching pictures that my friend sent me. The body of this car is in a real bad shape hence my friend is in two minds.

Regards and Keep Revving,

Rahul Waghmare.

[DHABHAR.BEHRAM]

Dear Rahul - your question on 118NE with column mounted gear shift lever, yes, very few vehicles were actually rolled down. The idea never really took off. The first prototype was MZM 7331, it was a blue car made in R&D Kurla. The transmission was from the NISSAN VANETTE. The rear extension length was small, it had a hanging mounting from the top, for which a bracket was spot welded to the transmission tunnel. The linkages were very complicated. The gear lever had a ball fulcrum, the long rod had complex movement in 3 planes, it was very difficult to align and adjust all parts. I worked on the layout and it was indeed a learning experience, putting all the third semester engineering drawing knowledge into practice (projection of lines, projected length, true length etc). The original FIAT 124 layout was available to us for reference but as half of it was FIAT (body side) and half of it was NISSAN (transmission), packaging engineering was done by us. There were two levers, one for selection and one for engagement. One had a vertical axis, one had a horizontal axis. The operating bell crank lever was mounted on the inner side of the RH wall of the transmission tunnel. Replacing the lever bushes was a horrible exercise due to lack of access. We had also made a prototype with Padmini arrangement and simplified rod movement in 2 planes. We used it on MMY 7212, a white 118NE prototype with Padmini engine and transmission.

As far as I know, MZM 7331 was with my colleague Mr.Ramanathan somewhere in South India. I don't know what happened to MMY 7212.

Best regards,

Behram Dhabhar

[ilangop]

Originally Posted by DHABHAR.BEHRAM

The transmission was from the NISSAN VANETTE. The rear extension length was small, it had a hanging mounting from the top, for which a bracket was spot welded to the transmission tunnel. The linkages were very complicated.

BD Sir,
Thanks for sharing this piece of info. Did all the column shift variants come with the Vanette gearbox? Which would have meant that propeller shaft was also little longer for these variants. The Vanette came with a cable mounted gearshift right? The one with which you had prototyped, was it a 4 speed or 5 speed? Coz I had gone through Datsun forums where they have mentioned about Remote shift 60 & 63 series transmissions.
Why was a 5 speed never made available to the Indian market? I presume that with a 5th overdrive, this car would have been well ahead of its competitors for those days.
-Ilango

[anjan_c2007]

Those were the days when the threesome ruled. This is from IAJ, June 1991- the cover picture, the tech specs comparison and the things under the bonnet of the three cars.

[KkVaidya]

Originally Posted by anjan_c2007

Those were the days when the threesome ruled. This is from IAJ, June 1991- the cover picture, the tech specs comparison and the things under the bonnet of the three cars.

I have seen this in the old magazine thread here on T-BHP.
Sad that we cannot publish here in this open forum but i am sure everyone will love to read it.
Any chance you can send me the full article scan? I can PM you my email address?

[anjan_c2007]

Buyers Guide in Auto India of December 1996 featuring the 118 NE and 1.38D

Originally Posted by KkVaidya

I have seen this in the old magazine thread here on T-BHP.
Sad that we cannot publish here in this open forum but i am sure everyone will love to read it.
Any chance you can send me the full article scan? I can PM you my email address?

Yes OK, please pass on your mail id.

[KkVaidya]

Originally Posted by DHABHAR.BEHRAM

Although on the dot is the best, between - and +, I prefer + side so that I have slightly more fuel in the float chamber at any given time, but within 1mm.

Dear Behrambhai: I have attached the pictures of the revision in the project. As per your advice, I changed the fuel pipes to a good quality make. Also the routing is changed - the pipe coming from the rear now goes straight to the vapour separator.
Still I have 2 issues which need to be sorted out. In 3rd gear, at speeds near 70kmph, the car seems to hesitate while accelerating, like fuel supply is being hampered. I know it was not there when i was running on the mechanical pump.
2nd issue is that car takes a lot of time for warming up. And this problem is not recent (after this vapour lock project). It is since I changed the carburetor to Hitachi from Mikuni in 2007. I even checked the thermostat and it seems to be working fine. Yesterday the ambient temperature was 35deg and yet the needle was not even in the center. It was just a nudge above the cold mark. And i don't think its a reading problem - the engine also takes a lot of fuss till it runs for 10-15 minutes.

[DHABHAR.BEHRAM]

Originally Posted by KkVaidya

Dear Behrambhai: I have attached the pictures of the revision in the project. As per your advice, I changed the fuel pipes to a good quality make. Also the routing is changed - the pipe coming from the rear now goes straight to the vapour separator.
Still I have 2 issues which need to be sorted out. In 3rd gear, at speeds near 70kmph, the car seems to hesitate while accelerating, like fuel supply is being hampered. I know it was not there when i was running on the mechanical pump.
2nd issue is that car takes a lot of time for warming up. And this problem is not recent (after this vapour lock project). It is since I changed the carburetor to Hitachi from Mikuni in 2007. I even checked the thermostat and it seems to be working fine. Yesterday the ambient temperature was 35deg and yet the needle was not even in the center. It was just a nudge above the cold mark. And i don't think its a reading problem - the engine also takes a lot of fuss till it runs for 10-15 minutes.

Dear Mr.Vaidya - the pipes are unduly long, although it will not affect performance, it does not give a WOW feel. For vapour separator in the engine compartment, please locate its mounting bracket on the LH side of the air cleaner and fit it properly. Lot of time for warming up indicates a leaking thermostat and / or improperly set tuning parameters. If main jet size is bigger than specification, this will happen and you will scratch your head trying to find out what went wrong. Also check all iginition system parameters and reset to specifications. Spark plug specification is NGK BP5ES (same as Maruti 800 carburettor), spark plug gap is 0.9 mm (36 thou), valve clearance is 0.25 mm in cold and 0.35 mm in hot condition (10 and 14 thou), dwell angle is 52 degrees, ignition timing is 7 degrees BTDC, vacuum is minimum 480 mm Hg in idling. Also check the bimetallic strip inside the air cleaner for cleanliness. There is an orifice in the thin pipe below it, please check that it is clear. .

Did your needle valve problem get sorted out?

Best regards,

Behram Dhabhar

[KkVaidya]

Originally Posted by DHABHAR.BEHRAM

Did your needle valve problem get sorted out?

The needle valve problem is rectified. I used a carburetor cleaning spray followed by petrol and now things are fine.
The tuning is spot-on as per your specifications. But still it takes time warming up

And what about the hesitation at 70kmph in 3rd gear? Should i remove the separator at air filter and make it direct? I suspect the fuel travel is too long - the pipes are almost the required size and not too long.

[anjan_c2007]

Some 118 NE memorabilia here. It includes advertisements, the offer for secured debentures by PAL in 1983 (when the 118 NE was in the embryo stage), the bookings advertisements and also pictures from Autoriders, Bombay ( Indian Auto, April 1992) and other related pictures.





















The last two images are from The Hindu, Madras of 10/05/1985 - the day when the 118 NE bookings opened!

[KkVaidya]

Originally Posted by anjan_c2007

Some 118 NE memorabilia here. It includes advertisements, the offer for secured debentures by PAL in 1983 (when the 118 NE was in the embryo stage), the bookings advertisements and also pictures from Autoriders, Bombay ( Indian Auto, April 1992) and other related pictures.

The 3rd last image of the white car with chrome bumpers and head-rests is something new. The chrome bumpers look really cool - to die for.

[Scarlet_Rider]

Originally Posted by KkVaidya

The 3rd last image of the white car with chrome bumpers and head-rests is something new. The chrome bumpers look really cool - to die for.

I think the chrome bumper is from the original Fiat 124. Never seen any NEs till date with original head rests. I am hunting for the old type NE bumpers for our Viceroy, the same ones that we have on our NE. I personally prefer the old style bumpers compared to the straighter ones that came in later models.