[Steeroid]

Originally Posted by Sam Kapasi

You have to love Team-BHP.

Somebody revives a thread after 4 years and everyone carries on the conversation without skipping a beat.

Well its a car that they stopped making about 20 years ago...what's a 4-year gap in the conversation compared to that?

[Jaggu]

Came to know today that it was sold :( This one had the ISZ 1800 Engine and gear box.


By jaggu_nothing

Back then college going chaps liked to pose with it, and no thats not me.

[esteem_lover]

I bet even now college kids would love to pose with this car. It did move pretty fast too compared to the ambys.

[spadival]

I have sat in one a looong time ago when I was a kid. Its a 4 seater really.. the middle part in the rear seat was really hard and the huge transmission "hump" in the middle meant that legs go on each side.. So it was very uncomfortable even for a kid to sit in the middle. And I remember the driver complaining about the rubbish engine (even then)

So a car with a lousy engine, poor milage and seating for only 4 people.. No wonder it failed at the time!! Now, I think we are a bit more forgiving

[trrk]

Hi,

> And I remember the driver complaining about the rubbish engine (even then)
> So a car with a lousy engine, poor milage and seating for only 4 people.. No

Having driven one for 800kms in its petrol avatar way back in 1992 9was dieselised later), I have to say that the engine was refined and cannot at all referred to as a lousy engine.

The ads for it claimed '16kpl under test conditions' and it could never live upto that. That was the reason why it did not click. That was the hey days of Maruti 800 and its mileage.

Being a four seater was not its characteristic alone. Most cars even today are only really comfortable for 4.

[maxbhp]

We had a white one in the family . As a kid I always would compare that with the Knight Rider. I really felt great everytime I rode in that. I remember my dad touching close to 130 and it was really a thrilling experience and even better boasting about the same among friends LOL !

[DKG]

I was just telling a friend this afternoon about using the Standard 2000 for a hotrod project and saw this interesting thread. It has great lines and with a american V8, lowered suspension, great paint job and trim it would sure set the streets on fire

[thereal]

I am actually interested in getting one of this kind,
1.do anybody have any idea about engine+transmission swaping and approval for the same in India.?
2.Do they really allow these stuff now?
3.if so what will be approx cost for the same.
4.Any body have any idea about the kerb weight of this car?

i am planning to get a standard 2000 , with good body condition and decent interior and swap some good engine and transmission + alloys+ tyres + KOYAS upholstery job + RTO approval stuff +Nice paint job at last

i know i should get a good labour for the same.

5. Experts,how much does the above above idea cost approximately?

[Jaggu]

Keep atleast 5 lakhs handy for the above, conti petrol engine + tranny is the best choice for swap job.

[ajay99]

If anyone knows of any STANDARD 2000(PETROL) with KERALA number plate/registration, please inform.I am interested

[JayD]

Originally Posted by ajay99

If anyone knows of any STANDARD 2000(PETROL) with KERALA number plate/registration, please inform.I am interested

There is a white car around here, kerala regn. Might be for sale, the owner has lost interest.

[AirWind]

Originally Posted by thereal

i am planning to get a standard 2000 , with good body condition and decent interior and swap some good engine and transmission + alloys+ tyres + KOYAS upholstery job + RTO approval stuff +Nice paint job at last

An American muscle car (Ford Mustang) in the making?

[prabhuav]

Ahem , it will be more pseudo british

I loved the lines of the car though

[thereal]

Originally Posted by Jaggu

Keep atleast 5 lakhs handy for the above, conti petrol engine + tranny is the best choice for swap job.

Oh ,I think i need rethink again..poor me, not wealthier enough to spend that much for a backyard celebration.

truly when modded a standard 2000 will be head turner.

i spoke with few mechanics today. and the answer i got was ,sourcing parts will be an issue. it seems i need to mold almost all the parts i need starting from head light cover. practically difficult

i may settle with an good petrol lancer (An add on to my VDi),skirt the same and tune them thru one of the finest tuners in India like Leela in Coimbatore for less than 3-4L

[anjan_c2007]

Originally Posted by v12

The story behind the Rover's SD1's short-lived rebirth in India was down to a relaxation of the government's policy on carmaking. If the government's intention was to inject some life into the car market, it succeeded, because it encouraged the managing director of Standard Motor Products of India, C V Karthik Narayanan to approach Austin Rover in the UK about the possibility of producing one of its cars.

The Standard 2000 was the forerunner in the line-up of cars that followed in its class, later on.Its closest competitor was the Contessa, which had the old Amby BMC 1489cc petrol engine under its bonnet, during 1985-87. Only in 1987, did the Contessa Classic came along with the new 1817 cc/88bhp Isuzu engine.
So the Standard 2000 rolling out with the old 1948 Standard Vanguard 1991cc petrol engine, was under lots of compulsions. Thats because imports of automobile components were very restrictive and companies faced problems in indigenising cars as stipulated by law, in a phased manner for sustenance.
There were lower duties for fuel efficient, car technology imports. The efficiency norms were very bureaucratic and not level-headed or practical, just like the present day small car definition bureaucrats have made since 2006.
Here's where Standard Motors (Standard Motor Products of India Ltd) faltered.The car was claiming duty concessions for import of components from the government. The Rs 2.12 L price was quite an amount those days and more duties would have put the car's price in a much higher bracket.Very soon after its launch, reports in the media appeared about its high fuel consumption as the car was doing 6 kmpl with the A.C. (the vintage Vanguard engine was never meant to power an A.C.) and the buyers complaining about it.
The last nails to the coffin of the SMPIL plant came as a result of the Deptt of Revenue Intelligence (DRI under the Ministry of Finance) raid on the factory. They seized some cars and got them tested which really showed that the cars were not that fuel efficient as claimed by SMPIL. So a case for evasion of custom duties was filed and SMPIL never came out of it. The Standard 2000 production had to stop abruptly, but the Standard 20 commercial with its diesel engine (on the Vanguard engine block)sold for just a few years after the demise of the Standard 2000. Eventually, SMPIL went under the control of an industrialist A.C. Muthaiah and wound up very soon under his ownership.
The mid-1980's were really a period of revival at SMPIL after the Gazel fiasco of the mid-1970's.The company even exported gear boxes then for being used as transmissions in the famous London taxi.
SMPIL's sudden and abrupt collapse was too sad for Standard car lovers.