[Leoshashi]

India's first Maruti 800, Mr. Harpal Singh's baby, is getting restored. More details awaited:

[CaliforniaKnight]

Originally Posted by Leoshashi

India's first Maruti 800, Mr. Harpal Singh's baby, is getting restored.

This is such a wonderful news. The very first look in the restoration photo and I see the bumper lamps have been changed to the original full amber 'Tokaidensos'. The headlamp also looks like proper 'Stanley sealed beams'.

In the other snaps, where the car looked abandoned, the head and tail lamps seem to be with Indian ones.

[Leoshashi]

Originally Posted by CaliforniaKnight

This is such a wonderful news. The very first look in the restoration photo and I see the bumper lamps have been changed to the original full amber 'Tokaidensos'. The headlamp also looks like proper 'Stanley sealed beams'.

In the other snaps, where the car looked abandoned, the head and tail lamps seem to be with Indian ones.

Its now owned by MSIL, and is being restored for keeping on display. Hence those original bits are not surprising.

Regards,
Shashi

[CaliforniaKnight]

Originally Posted by Leoshashi

Its now owned by MSIL, and is being restored for keeping on display. Hence those original bits are not surprising.

Regards,
Shashi

Great, thats how it should have been and even awesome, they DID take it back. Is it going to be in a museum or within MSIL itself?

So, those parts are still available within Maruti or some New Old Stocks lying around. I myself have checked with Stanley and Tokaidenso and have in writing, that they are not available. However I sourced some from a store in Osaka,

[Leoshashi]

Originally Posted by CaliforniaKnight

Great, thats how it should have been and even awesome, they DID take it back. Is it going to be in a museum or within MSIL itself?

So, those parts are still available within Maruti or some New Old Stocks lying around. I myself have checked with Stanley and Tokaidenso and have in writing, that they are not available. However I sourced some from a store in Osaka,

They have access to parts all across the world, so finding a pair of Tokai Densos for their own pet project won't be a difficult task for MSIL.

[Leoshashi]

Some more pics of Mr. Harpal Singh's SS80:











PS: Emblem positioning and the 800 emblem itself is wrong.

Source: Whatsapp forward

[fx45]

Restoration looks clean but they messed up on the badges at the back.

[BeemerBug_06]

Originally Posted by Leoshashi

Some more pics of Mr. Harpal Singh's SS80:

Attachment 1849015

Attachment 1849012
PS: Emblem positioning and the 800 emblem itself is wrong.

LeoShashi you're right about the 800 emblem being wrong and wrongly positioned. I think the ss80 got a bigger 800 emblem which was black and had silver boarders. Even the Maruti Suzuki Emblem is slightly off. I think for this particular car the 800 monogram on the front grill should be Red as the car originally had a red one. Another thing that Maruti Suzuki should include is the factory OK stickers on the glass of the rear doors to make this awesome project more complete The car has amazingly been restored nevertheless!


Notice the Red 800 monogram


The OK sticker that every car received once it left the factory!

[Leoshashi]

Originally Posted by BeemerBug_06

. I think for this particular car the 800 monogram on the front grill should be Red as the car originally had a red one.

Are you sure the Red 800 emblem on the grill was a genuine one and not done later? Because I am yet to see any other ss80 with those red emblems.

Some other original cars you can see here without the red emblems:

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/india...ml#post3500023 (Maruti Suzuki SS80 DX)

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/india...ml#post1462569 (Maruti Suzuki SS80 DX)

Regards,
Shashi

[BeemerBug_06]

Originally Posted by Leoshashi

Are you sure the Red 800 emblem on the grill was a genuine one and not done later? Because I am yet to see any other ss80 with those red emblems.

Yes Shashi. I'm pretty certain that the Red 800 emblem on the grill was a genuine one. Even I had the same question a few weeks ago. After much research I've concluded that the early ss80s that were produced from Dec 1983 to say some point in early 1984 had the Red 800 emblem


This is another initial ss80 from late 1983 with the Red 800 emblem


Another picture of DIA 6479


This is a 1984 ss80 which has the Red 800 emblem too!

Cheers!
BeemerBug_06

[GTO]

Thanks for sharing Leoshashi! This one surely deserves its own thread.

[libranof1987]

Lovely news. This M800 has a special place in history considering it heralded a drastic new beginning in the automotive landscape in the country.

Maruti could/should have done this much sooner but glad they have done this. Hope this gives rise to an automotive museum culture in our country.

[Leoshashi]

Some more pics, courtesy Facebook SS80 Group:

[v12]

I like the resto-modification on the red 800 - it retains the original look and still has modern touches. Very well executed - the best part I like is the shape of the headlights and tail lights have not been modified (I would have preferred a slight blackened tail light).

[anjan_c2007]

India’s first Maruti 800 SS 80 restored completely, and displayed at Maruti Suzuki headquarters. The first ever Maruti 800 SS that rolled out of the Gurgaon assembly line was owned by Mr Harpal Singh. The keys of this first Maruti 800 was handed over to Mr Harpal Singh who hailed from New Delhi by the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, during her visit for the formal inauguration of the production facility. It got its registration number as DIA 6479, and remained with Harpal Singh till his death in 2010. The car had become famous as Maruti #1 of India.

After Mr Harpal's demise in 2010, the car remained unattended outside his home and had started decaying. A few pictures of this car in an abandoned state started surfacing on the social media which caught public attention. The descendants of Mr Harpal took it to a workshop for repairs and were not much interested in letting it go.

However, the pictures of this Maruti 800 caught the attention of Maruti Suzuki headquarters in India too. The company helped in the restoration of the car. Genuine spares were used to restore and bring back the Maruti #1 to its original glory. However, as the car is 39 years old, it is no more eligible to be driven on the Delhi and NCR roads. Owing to such a reason, Maruti Suzuki decided to keep this car for display at its headquarters, showcasing its first-ever production car in all its glory.

The 1984 Maruti 800 SS will qualify as a VINTAGE by 2034 under the government's new amendments to the CMVR done in July 2021 and MSIL can update the car's papers then. It can thereafter also be proudly displayed at the V&C rallies in the capital and also elsewhere.

For the full news with images :-

https://www.cartoq.com/indias-first-...-headquarters/