[anjan_c2007]

The "S" logo was stolen recently by some urchins. I bought a new one and this is now shining (till its there touchwood !)









Some more pictures of my 26 year old beauty !

[Maky]

After reading through this thread. I'm now missing my old Maruti 800. I must agree with the member who mentioned it felt like a go kart. Not only because the driving dynamics kind of reminded you of one but also because of the dimensions. Nowadays they just don't make hatchbacks that small anymore. They are all either tall boys or bulbous or both! I'll attach a picture of my old 800 2 weeks before I sold it : )

[pyrodrive]

Nice to see so many old M800 mantained so well.
We had a red M800.It was the car i learned to drive in.Remember my college days with the car..instant bunking plans and impromptu picnic type trips and what not!
Never let us down.rattles did develop as she aged but still was a joy to drive.Ended up selling the car to a family ,i think around 2005.guess for how much??
33k bux ! just because we were running out of parking space.never seen her since.just faded away into the sunset.

[EFF-EIGHT-BEE]

Hi all, though i am a member of this great forum for quite a long time but stumbled upon this thread today only. This thread reignited my 15 year old nostalgic memories of our beloved M-800 which is still a part of our family. She is 1997 make and is just 3 month shy in turning 15. Even after so many years, she always manages to put a smile on my face everytime i crank her . She was our first car and i still remember the D-day when i bunked the school just to go with my parents to bring her home. Since our running is quite low, she has managed just 49k in all these years and is also the reason we didn't upgraded her. She is taken care like a family member and is still showroom fresh!! The upgrade we made on her was sanden "chiller 507" a/c and a pioneer deck. Now i present the pictures

[glomus123]

Our quarter century (1988 model) young and trusted companion. Done 1L+Kms and still running healthy and economically :-)

[BoeingDriver]

My first stint with maruti 800 DX was in 1997, my grand dad's car (the person whose love for cars inspired me) when a radical new look was introduced. I still remember admiring those all new round head lights, a departure from the old square ones. And it was our first AC Car ( I was super excited about travelling in one). He loved the car soo much that it would be the first thing he would check to see any dust the moment he gets up in the morning. Should he find any finger print, the entire family would get crucified. I ve never touched any of the windows of any of my grand dads cars.

[sauravdc]

Stumbled upon this thread by chance !! and chance it be ...
Nostalgia - is possibly the best word to describe the 800.
My childhood was spent in Dhanbad, where, every officer of Coal India used to get soft loans from the company to buy a car and a handsome monthly allowance to maintain it too !!
Net result: every household had a car. predominantly, second-hand, mostly procured from Calcutta / Patna / Ranchi, per-owned by doctors, lawyers, etc. Cars used by businessmen were avoided.
Car meant Ambassador or Premier Padmini or Fiat or Standard Herald.
In 1984 one officer who had booked the Maruti got its delivery from Hazaribagh. It was a different technology altogether. Small, front wheel drive (that's how I learnt that there can be something called front and rear wheel drive), no water in radiator, boot opened with a lever (only that the glass that opened for luggage ingress would not have accommodated a large suitcase). We went in a team to inspect the car.
We owned a 1968 mark II Ambassador (bought in 1981 - typically second hand) those days. Much later in 2000 we sold the Amby and got a Maruti 800 of the 1993 model (again second hand - not because of budget). It was a carburetor model of new type. The car has till date done close to a lakh kms and is still in perfect running condition. Though it is sparingly used at Dhanbad, as we have not been able to get it to Kolkata because of the BSIV norms.
Parallely in 2000, a cousin (brother) of mine bought a new Maruti 800 in Delhi (again a Govt employee with soft loan facility and car allowance). He used it sparingly over the next 10 years. Meanwhile he brought it to Kolkata, got it re-registered here and planned to sell it upon his retirement. I was involved in the purchasing process at Delhi and was then came to know of the "fifth gear" in his car. Moreover it did not have the known device named carburetor!! Thereupon I was introduced to the concept of fuel injection. Found it very similar to the concept of diesel engine!! Remember, spending the first night under a table lamp to read through the owner's manual as if I were to appear an exam the next day!! It is a 5 gear MPFI of the first lot. In 2010 when the car was up for sale, I happened to be the first (and only) bidder. I have owned it for the last 3 years and run it extensively in city and highways alike. For a comparison, my brother clocked 20000 on the ODO in 10 years and I clocked another 20000 in less than 3 years. Now the car is used more as a substitute of a motorbike to negotiate the narrow bye-lanes of Kolkata. I have retired it from the highways since January 2013.
In January this year I got myself a Ritz VdI to circumvent the rising petroleum prices and my ever increasing appetite for mile crunching.
All said and done, as I look back upon the variety of cars we have owned, I see that with passing time, technology has become more advanced and less reliable.
Our old faithful Amby was driven all the way to Madhya Pradesh over the-then 2 laned GT road, numerous times. A journey each side was in excess of 600 kms consuming 20+ hours of time. We never batted an eyelid over the capability of the car.
Our older 800 was driven down from Guwahati to Dhanbad with just one night halt. We have used it extensively on highways, till my father stopped driving and employed the services of a professional driver. Drivers changed often and the car suffered. However it was my father's enthusiasm to maintain the car in immaculate condition, that is bearing fruit till date, as the car is still an old faithful when I drive it once every 6 months or so.
In comparison my brother's 800 has done a max of 300 kms one side (Kolkata - Dhanbad) some 10-12 odd round trips. Rest of the highway drives have been to the tune of 130 - 180 kms one way. It came from Delhi to Kolkata piggybacked on a truck !! More so, I was not allowed to take it to Puri (520 kms from Kolkata) doubting the capabilities of the car. Everybody else took the train instead, and I refused to go.
My Ritz VdI has done Kolkata - Dhanbad just once, and that is its only brush with the highways !!
I owned another faithful for 21 years, in the form of a 1990 model Bajaj Chetak on which I have traversed the length and breadth of Jharkhand.
Long live these legends!!

[anjan_c2007]

Getting ready to celebrate her 27th Birthday very soon on 23/04/2014. The car has been flawlessly doing its duties whenever called for.I still find it so simple to drive and manouvre amidst the oddities of our traffic system.

The last one rolled out of the MSIL assembly line just a few months ago. Thousands of examples of this iconic car still remain on the roads.Just can wish it long, healthy (mechanically) and happy life!

My liking for this first car of mine keeps growing and Touchwood ! Its so reliable..











This Sony music system was fitted to the car in 1998 replacing the older Sakura system fitted since 1987.

[arunr]

Maruti 800 was the perfect car for its times with unmatched maneuverability and refinement.

I learnt to drive in a rickety 800 and boy was it fun to drive with clear all around visibility, almost felt like an extension of a two wheeler, could squeeze into most parking spots where no other car would dare to go.

[anjan_c2007]

My 800 is into its 28 th plus year now. It still dons its factory paintwork. The car is so reliable and dependable till date for me. I still take it out for a spin at least two to three days a week. It has got new footwear last year (2014) - Bridgestone radials for the first time. These have given a new found grip and stability to the car (better than the nylons) and has made the rides a bit cushy. The suspensions are rudimentary but the tyres enhance the ride quality to a great extent.

[pranjal1984]

Anjan you have really maintained your car well. And 28th year!!! It is unbelievable. Even my 800 is more than 15 years old. A few dents here and there but overall running is only 35000 kms. It is still in excellent running condition. Only problem is it becomes unbearable in the summer months since it doesn't have any AC.

[anjan_c2007]

My car will be 30 years old, come April 2017. It was fitted with the changed grille of the 1994 model. The original grille lying in the spare dump at my residence was retrieved by me and fitted on the car after nearly 20 years today. Lost and found !

The car still dons its original factory paint. I have given it some much needed TLC last weekend and it looks a bit fresh now. Though not in very regular use, it does not fail to enthuse me. The engine is still extremely smooth with nearly 74,000 kms on the odo. It starts with a single self. The radials (Bridgestone) fitted nearly two years ago, have changed its handling and this has also added to my driving comfort. The old wheel feels almost like a power steering.

The only drawback is its too frail before today's cars, nearly everyone being mightier than this microcar in dimensions.

[sumitsinha0280]

My Maruti 800 turned 25 years old this February. It was bought on 8th Feb 1992 from Pebco Motors, Jamshedpur.







A brief walk through its life and stats

-Has done 4,10,000kms
-On its 2nd engine
-On 2nd gearbox
-Original shade was Cairo Dust
-Shade changed to Metallic Henna green in 1999
-We sold it to our relative in 2002
-After using for 7 years, he abandoned it, and our beloved was left to rot in open sun for 3 years
-My father brought it back in 2012
-It was mildly restored in 2013

This year, she will see a complete revamp. A project which will not know any prefixed budget. All I need is factory level finish, and BHPian Leoshashi's immaculately maintained 5 speed 800 will be the benchmark in terms of fit and finish.

My car trying to catch a glimpse of her future in Leoshashi's 17 year old, but immaculate 800




-Sumit

[V.Narayan]

My father purchased a Maruti 800 in December 1985 - sky blue in colour. I think because of the demand exceeding supply there was a computerized lottery to determine who will get it when. Compared to our Standard Herald the M800 was a pocket rocket - 55 hp on 800 kgs versus the Herald's 40hp on 950 kgs. I recall the accelerator was too touch sensitive for what we were used till then. Till then my driving experience was Herald and Ambassador. The M800s steering was too light, brakes way too effective and accelerator pedal too sensitive. It took me several days before I got the hang of it. The original M800 was a handsome looking car. In the 1980s it was a status symbol. The car stayed with us till 2002. Bought for Rs 56,000 and sold for Rs 25,000.

[Leoshashi]

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

Compared to our Standard Herald the M800 was a pocket rocket - 55 hp on 800 kgs versus the Herald's 40hp on 950 kgs.

The SS80 weighed around 610kgs and had 39.5BHP engine.

Regards,
Shashi

Originally Posted by Leoshashi

The SS80 weighed around 610kgs and had 39.5BHP engine.

Attaching a picture to substantiate my claim.



Regards,
Shashi