[esteem_lover]

The manouverability was pretty bad with very limited turning radius. But the AC was damn good even in Madras heat.

[hell_rider]

Originally Posted by satish_appasani

My dad booked one in 84 or 85 before it was released and the car was alotted to us in 91. But we did not take the delivery. Took back our money.

I think Peugot also tried to help PAL sell that car with a new name "Viceroy".

Though it was from 60s, it did not show it's age till the likes of Cielo and Opels entered the market.

84-85 booking and delivery in 91 ?????

satish...is that a typo by any chance ???

[satish_appasani]

Not a typo. From what i can recollect from the past more than 20 years ago, PAL has opened bookings long before the 118 NE launch. I think the deliveries finally started in 87. Long waiting periods were not unusual in those days. The delivery was in 1990 or 1991.

[moralfibre]

Originally Posted by satish_appasani

Not a typo. From what i can recollect from the past more than 20 years ago, PAL has opened bookings long before the 118 NE launch. I think the deliveries finally started in 87. Long waiting periods were not unusual in those days. The delivery was in 1990 or 1991.

Not to mention the long wait would even surprise you with a dented car at delivery and you had no choice but to keep it since there were others willing to pick it up if you thought of leaving the car at the dealership and taking your refund.

[esteem_lover]

Yeah, those were the days. I remember my friend's dad had to wait for more than 10 years to get the Bajaj Super. And Bajaj Chetak was available only on foreign exchange.

[V-16]

Originally Posted by hell_rider

84-85 booking and delivery in 91 ?????

satish...is that a typo by any chance ???

No not a typo, this was true. Premier always took its customers for a ride (an uncomfortable one too). Even in the old President/Padmini
days when that was the only car available besides the Ambi,the waiting list for a car was as long as ten years. Then they would remove extra fitted cars in wierd colours like yellow called ''Jonquil" for some reason. Maybe they should've called it "Jaundice". Well so these guys at premier would plonk an A/c, Tinted Glasses, a dumb Sanyo Two in One (in your glove box) Horrid speakers, a steering lock and some "Oh-So-Ugh" Graffics and fleece you, charging you almost 300% more of what you'd pay if you got the same things installed aftermarket.
Well Marte Kya Na Karte, everyone bought these as there was no choice. Due to Dutta Samant, the union leader, the company was perpetually on strike and so there was a backlogue of delivery. Can you believe that they had no Black colour available till more recent times? One was looked upon as very ''Arrived'' if one had a Factory painted Black Fiat. The black had to be got from Taxi Quota at a premium of course. This was the only car I knew which, if after one purchased it, used it for a few years, would still get the prevailing price which was far more than what one had paid for it.
I remember I once bought a car "Desert Mist" from Maha Auto in Kurla coz i knew them (influence) at some stupid premium and what i got was a car which had no Head Lights, Wipers or Wiper Motors and No Wheel Caps either and I was happy to get it. No PDI nothing. Not even a car wash. had to take delivery of a dusty Biege coloured car and was very happy to get it in that condition inspite of paying a premium for a car that was not even all there.
Now see them...They coined out a whole new defination ot the term "Caveat Emptor"

@ MoralFibre - I remember getting a 118 NE from Sanghi Motors at Kemp's Corner wherein I found much to my dismay that the right door was repainted and the colour did'nt even match. They did do it for free later tough

[spadival]

118NE.. It was not a car.. It was a beautiful engine + gearbox trapped inside the body of a rusting boat chassis. My grand father had one.

When the gear is slotted in, you could hear the "click" sound.. The gear box was a real piece of engineering. It was a fast car (at the time), but without the looks of a fast car.

No amount of modifications could have improved the looks either. It was that ugly. I think the radiator or something developed holes because of rust.. And it had to be painted every 6 months, because it would develop "skin" diesease every now and then. Scrapped the bottom on every single speed breaker.. big and small. The accelerator got stuck once while on the road!!

[moralfibre]

Originally Posted by V-16

They coined out a whole new defination ot the term "Caveat Emptor"

Aren't they reaping what they sowed?

@ MoralFibre - I remember getting a 118 NE from Sanghi Motors at Kemp's Corner wherein I found much to my dismay that the right door was repainted and the colour did'nt even match. They did do it for free later tough

My uncle settled for a dented fender Premier Padmini! Sometimes I feel their past attitude to the junta is paying off nicely for Fiat in its present days.

Same goes with Kinetic, they did ruled the roost in Luna days. From heard stories: People used to queue up at godowns on hearing "A new truck with Luna's is going to arrive". And I hardly get to see any Kinetics around now.

Bajaj and Maruti have managed to remain sane and consistent throughout.

[gendarmee]

Originally Posted by satyamenon

Can anyone provide the engine specs of the 118 NE? PAL used to make it in India some years back. I think the last production model was in 1998/99

I remember our 118NE in Cochin (many years ago). Lovely car. Comfortable seats, nice gearbox, decent engine. But crappy body panels. Used to rust like mad. I heard that post 1997, they had a new method of anti-rust treatment for the body panels.

Its a 1171 CC 4 cylinder petrol engine, rear wheel drive.
I've had this car for the last 11 years, its a 96 December model.
It makes a amazing Car. 60000 Kms done. still gives 14KmpL, little lesser with the AC.
I get it maintained at this guys worked at the PAL service station for over 20 years.
I learnt on my 59 FIAT 1100, and this was the ext one i drove. many came after this but this has stayed, i have an ikon along with this right now but still prefer the 118ne to that!
The ride is good, the steering is super soft better than the fly-by-wire feel power steering, good A/C and above everything else functionality for a city car,Lots of space inside and the boot, handling this car in traffic is a breeze it feels like sitting in a glass house! the view in front and to the sides from the driver's seat is very good, one knows where the bonnet exactly is with respect to the other cars tail! also the sides are easy to keep track of. I'm a big fan of this car for the rear view it has, one can turn his/her head and see ever thing behind the bumper of the car that comes in so handy while parking the car and when parking in a mall's parking lot, no other car is as comfortable to reverse as this even to this day, i need to use a parking assist to reverse it to close distances to the other car.
Spares are easy to get and not expensive.
Has any one ever noticed people sitting in the front seats of this car for the outside? damn! looks so stately! try and see that.
Easy to maneuver while treading through traffic, unless you are comparing a sedan to a 800 or a zen! turning radius is good for a sedan class car.

We've had fiats for a long long time, and when we got this we were aware of the rust problem they are prone too, go we got the mud guards, under body, the doors ( from the inside after removing the door panel), boot's inside coated in pitch.Right after we got the car, it has worked to prevent rust over the years.
And also during washes and the rainy season water gets collected in the doors, the catch is to keep at hole at the bottom of the door open(door's floor), one can do this using a match stick, it gets clogged often due to dust and grease


Unlike the posts i see here, I've had no major problem with rusting and no reoccurring suspension problem, if fact its completely normal to find rust on a car, not all rust is superficial. I've had rust only near the boots rubber housing which was burnt to remove the paint and coated in a fresh coat of paint after priming the surface and for suspension I've got the shocks/springs replaced once and the tie rods twice thats about it the front suspension performs better with the thinner stock tyres and also the steering wheel is softer.
No mods done to the car. completely Stock original paint!

[gendarmee]

Originally Posted by apurvapatel

I think Premier had purchased the design from Lada and were making the 118NE / Viceroy as their brand.
As for the gear box, since the box is located else where most cars have the gear stick connected to the gear box by a cable. Where as in the 118NE, the box was located directly under the stick, i.e., the stick was directly connected to the box, no cable was required/used. Hence the smoothest shift in the car!!

The design of the 118NE is that of a FIAT 124. the body manufacturing plant was bought out my the walchand group from italy when it was being scrapped my 118NE they sold it in india after putting in an isuzu petrol engine.
Viceroy was a limited edition Premier 118ne/ 138D series with some extra features like Ford ESCORT had their Limited "anniversary" edition.


Mod's Note: Don't make posts in all bold. Post edited.

[gendarmee]

Originally Posted by satyamenon

Can anyone provide the engine specs of the 118 NE? PAL used to make it in India some years back. I think the last production model was in 1998/99

I remember our 118NE in Cochin (many years ago). Lovely car. Comfortable seats, nice gearbox, decent engine. But crappy body panels. Used to rust like mad. I heard that post 1997, they had a new method of anti-rust treatment for the body panels.

How modern can you get when you borrow from the 1960s? The 118NE, launched in 1986, was Premier Auto Limited's 'new' car. Its body is reminiscent of the 1966 "Car of the Year" -- the Fiat 124 which is outdated today except in India and Russia, where it operates as the Lada. The 118NE uses a Nissan engine [hence the suffix NE] and gearbox. The engine is very smooth, free-revving and is no glutton on gas, consuming a reasonable 12 odd kilometer per litre. The gearbox, a FW56A unit, is super-slick with a delightful feel -- it provides the smoothest gear shift amongst all Indian cars.


Technical Specifications

Engine Values
Type----------------Four-cylinder, in-line, longitudinal location, petrol
Displacement-------------- 1171cc
Bore x Stroke [mm]- ------- 73 x 70
Cylinders------------------- Four
Maximum power- ----------52bhp @ 5600rpm
Maximum torque- ---------- 8.1 kgm @ 4000rpm
Compression ratio---------- 9:0:1


Transmission- -------------- Manual rear-wheel drive
Number of gears------------- Four


Dimensions Values
Length-4,048 mm
Width- 1,611 mm
Wheelbase- 2,420 mm
Ground Clearance- 155 mm

Others Values

Weight- 900 kg
Maximum Speed- 130 kph

(PREMIER 118NE [INDIA] PAGE)

[kuttapan]

I have sweet memories of this car. Started my driving in this.

Friend left the car with me and I asked for the keys. He gave without askign whether I knew to drive, and I started off, giving myself driving lessons and putting all those theory I learnt over the years to good use.

I loved the direct shift gearbox.

[tsk1979]

Speaking about handling, I had 2 crashes in our NE
1. I decide to "drift". i.e. take a fast right turn on a very empty road. It was not 90 degrees right, but around 120 degree soft right.
So I take her upto 80 and smoothly take the turn. The tail starts to spin out, I am still on throttle and give opposite lock. The tail spins in the opposite direction, I again try to correct, but overcorrect, and forget that the accelerator is still pressed. After a few jiggles the car goes 90 degrees and starts to slide sideways parallel to the road with face towards the right and the car moving slightly in that direction too. The front fender(left) hits a pole "whack" and the car stops. This happens right in front of a house. A little kid comes out looks at me, looks left, looks right. The whole road is empty, and there is not a soul in site. And he gives me a very very funny look. I back up embarressed, and start thinking what to tell dad. At that time I was still in my teens
2. Second accident happened few months later. Its very foggy and I am doing 40, which is a little to fast. I have to take a left turn, and I have mentally marked a streetlight after which the turn comes. A parked truck makes me miss it, and soon the divider starts. I see it and slam the brakes. All 4 wheels(cross plys) lock up, and since the road is wet the car does not even slow down a teeny weeny bit. Whack into the divider, with tie rods broken.
The car was in workshop for months due to lack of parts.

When I applied the brakes it slid towards the divider, if it had remained straight, I would not have collided! That thing was a boat.

[Technocrat]

I have had a chance to drive an Unlce's 118 NE during my early driving days & all I remeber is that it had a Beautiful Gear box, it was total Makkhan, we had a 1984 Premier Padmini BE then, so the difference was quite noticeable.

[gbpscars]

ah!!! i hadnt seen this thread until now.

i have had my share with the NE too. in fact it was the car i learnt to drive on.

i was nervous, not because of the learning, but because it was my would-be, could-be dad-in-laws only car. hehehe, he trusted me with the car more than with his daughter.

he waited for a year to get the car delivered in 1991, long long before i met eithr his daughter or his car.

his was the one among the 5 cars that were parked at DL Vaidya road, Dadar. (now, in 2007, i plan to get to his home only after 1130 in the night or before 0700 in the morning to get a parking place!!!)

ok,... the gearbox was the best ever i have seen (even later on in my driving life) as someone said,.... until i got the OHC VTEC.
"hot knife through butter" is the experience on both.

later on me and my wife have done enough highway runs.
those were the days when the golden quadrilateral was not even talked about.

we have done mumbai - manipal, manipal - chennai, chennai - bangalore, bangalore - mumbai forming our own triangle across this part of our country a couple of times. the engine was super smooth,... with windows closed, there was no sound, but lots of vibrations, thanks to the wonderfully rusty body. and of course we had to keep apart an amount for the rebuild of the body after every 2 mumbai monsoons atleast.

at signals, i could still give a good start with that Nissan engine even with the modern cars around in 2000, 10 yrs after this NE was bought.

and atlast the rust killed the car!!!!
one day i felt so strange driving it from dadar-vashi and the feeling was
similar to floating on air!!! a good checkup the next morning showed
a horrific view of the chassis near the engine mount having cracked up!!!!!

that was the last i drove that car.

my dad-in-law did not want it dismantled and sold.
he decided to sell it off and leave the decision of breaking it apart to that chap.
and surprisingly due to the maintenance of the body and the quality of the engine, he managed to get 10% of the original OTR cost!!! after 13 years too.


truly a great nissan engine, but a rotten material for the body.