[greenhorn]

Just to update that after getting the mechanicals in order, It's the Bodywork's turn to get a makeover.
This started with me poking around in the wheel wells to and ending finding up giant rust holes on the exact same spot


Ended up giving to another body shop to undo the damage the first one did - and there was a lot





They did a great job cleaning up the rust - both visible and invisible Inside out.
Damping the floor - as well as replacing the felt floor damping that went missing

[greenhorn]

One of the things I've been doing slowly over the years is adding DLX features on my car. While removing the carpeting, i noticed a wire and connector poking out from under the driver seat. Curious about what it did, i tried shorting the pins together (Do not try this at home kids, you may blow up a fuse or worse, burn down your car. This diy was done under controlled conditions under the supervision of an equally curious mechanic)

And guess what? The seatbelt warning light lit up! After all these years it was just waiting there for someone to enable it.
Boodmo didn't have the correct part (from the indica/Indigo dlx) but there was a tiago part that looked suspiciously similar. I got the help of another bhpian who had a Tiago to check the dimensions of the Tiago buckle, and they looked close enough.

https://boodmo.com/catalog/part-buck...seat-37464665/

My mechanic did the actual fitting part, and he said he had to do a little bit of cutting/shutting so I'm not going to claim any diy here, but it's working!

I'm probably the only one going to so much trouble enabling the seat belt alarm in a car, when so many people are trying to disable it with fake latches

[Black_Star]

Originally Posted by greenhorn

One of the things I've been doing slowly over the years is adding DLX features on my car.

And guess what? The seatbelt warning light lit up! After all these years it was just waiting there for someone to enable it.

Wow this is simply amazing! They probably had the connectors there for export market variants!

But as an ex-Indica owner I cant think what is more funnier. You still modifying your Indica or Indica having seat belt lights.

[greenhorn]

Got the car re registered. Good for another five years. Mileage is at 114k

[greenhorn]

Some updates - AC conked off again, got a full overhaul done with new compressor etc.
Details here
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/other...ml#post5378767 (Car A/C work - Cochin Super Cool (Kowdiar, Trivandrum))

Horns Conked off - had wiring and horns replaced by my Neighbour's electrical shop
https://goo.gl/maps/SMhaBsUSwDLpKGwB9

Handles used to get stuck in the open position - and would open randomly during driving
Got a set of 4 new door handles from boodmo and that's sorted. got them installed at my local FNG

[greenhorn]

Some more updates
The central locking unit and master actuator had started acting up, probably the aftermath of getting flooded. Had them replaced with an aftermarket remote locking unit as it was cheaper and better

Installed a reverse parking sensor as wifey was using it more and more and she was more comfortable with one
Treel tpms added for all 5 tyres
Reverse parking sensor was acting intermittently and realised that the reverse parking Switch on the gearbox was acting up and replaced that. Also wiring harness for tail light was too corroded and some pins were damaged. Got an aftermarket wiring harness but it doesn't look very confidence inspiring. Running with direct wiring to the bulb and looking for the wiring harness to come back in stock

[RJKottayam]

I have an low mileage 2005 Indica V2 DLS (which has done 87K kms) used as a third car. Second owner. I also have power windows and central locking installed on the car.

This thread is a treasure trove of information for an Indica owner like me. The car alternates between in Kottayam and Ernakulam. So garage names from your thread is very useful.

I find, most of the local good garages won't want to work on old vehicles. Especially on Indicas. So finding a reliable and knowledgeable mechanic has been a challenge. Parts are available though.

Just today, the car started exhibiting a new problem: the steering has become quite tight in lower speeds. Guess something to do with power steering?

[greenhorn]

Originally Posted by RJKottayam

This thread is a treasure trove of information for an Indica owner like me. The car alternates between in Kottayam and Ernakulam. So garage names from your thread is very useful.

I find, most of the local good garages won't want to work on old vehicles. Especially on Indicas. So finding a reliable and knowledgeable mechanic has been a challenge. Parts are available though.

I can whole heartedly recommend topline in Cochin. The owner used to have an Indigo so he knows the car inside out. They're ok working on Indica's as well. I also know the challenge of finding a mechanic whose ego will let them work sincerely on an indica https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/stree...-car-bike.html (Have you ever been treated negatively because of your car / bike?)

Personally i find local availablity of parts is low and boodmo is the only option, and that too is drying up. There is a kl indica WhatsApp group. Pm me and i can add you there (you seem to have disabled emails so can't reach you that way. You'll probably have to wait until you're a bhpian) . They helped me find a TPS sensor from a Chennai dealer- even diesel Kerala in Cochin didn't have one. But even boodmo parts availability has begun to dry up. God knows how much longer i can keep it running without any compromises

Just today, the car started exhibiting a new problem: the steering has become quite tight in lower speeds. Guess something to do with power steering?

Should be. Check the steering fluid levels. Should be easy enough. Also air pressure in front tires

[RJKottayam]

Originally Posted by greenhorn

I can whole heartedly recommend topline in Cochin. The owner used to have an Indigo so he knows the car inside out. They're ok working on Indica's as well. I also know the challenge of finding a mechanic whose ego will let them work sincerely on an indica https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/stree...-car-bike.html (Have you ever been treated negatively because of your car / bike?)

Personally i find local availablity of parts is low and boodmo is the only option, and that too is drying up. There is a kl indica WhatsApp group. Pm me and i can add you there (you seem to have disabled emails so can't reach you that way. You'll probably have to wait until you're a bhpian) . They helped me find a TPS sensor from a Chennai dealer- even diesel Kerala in Cochin didn't have one. But even boodmo parts availability has begun to dry up. God knows how much longer i can keep it running without any compromises



Should be. Check the steering fluid levels. Should be easy enough. Also air pressure in front tires

Thank you. Before you made an official recommendation, I saw your work logs and sent the car there to Topline. It’s there currently. Front left suspension had an issue and there was power steering fluid leak. Both have been fixed. He only asked me to change one shock absorber, but we changed both anyway.

I have enabled the emailing option. It was disabled by default at registration. Please feel free to email me when you get time. It will be of a great help.

[greenhorn]

I had discovered my long lost tata specialist workshop doing fine.
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/other...rivandrum.html (Independent Tata Service center - Highway Garage (Trivandrum))

Had given my car for service there and the engine feels fresh!

Some niggles related to AC causing jerky rpm need to be sorted out, but they've done an amazing job. As always bill is 5 figures. This doesn't count the engine mounts I bought from boodmo which were another 2k extra

[greenhorn]

I wanted to post a detailed update on the body work that was done and never got the time to. It was a complicated story since I wanted to make sure I got time to write it all out.

I had one round of bodywork done at my local FNG but that was fairly shoddy - you can see the things they missed. Hence was looking for someone better to take care of overall bodywork before my Registration renewal. Had reached out to the local bhpian circles for a referral and got someone. Was told they were good, but they were a bit of a Prima Donna, and give them a bit of latitude. Met the guy. he wanted 15K advance. He talked a lot about how he wanted to do a good job and not make the typical compromises that he has to do with typical customers. Said things would be reasonable, but he refused to commit to any estimate. I asked if to check with me if anything went 10K more, which he agreed.

There were mistakes at my end too - I had asked him to do underbody coating as part pf the painting which was not in scope, had asked him to evaluate my Etios when i bought it second hand, and do a bumper refit when a scooty hit it on one side. We bonded over our common love of stereos etc. I had asked him to investigate the mechanicals and let me know if anything needed fixing.
Weeks became months, i got progress updates, but one left a sour taste in my mouth.
I got a call from him telling me that he had taken my mechanicals apart and spotted a leaky turbo and a faulty AC compressor. I was aware of both and asked him to put them back the way they were.
Then comes the bomb. Apparently he was convinced that he could not put the current parts back in, and had to replace them, but he had some junkyard sources through which he would arrange something reasonable.
Then when the time came to take the car back, he offered to refit the seats, carpet, insulation etc. which I had taken apart and was planning to put back.

Everything was put back together, and I was called to check the car out. Bodywork wise the car was in good shape, apart from a rear door that refused to close properly. The engine sounded like a wreck and drove lousy. And I owed him another 35K (50K in total), which according to him was a bargain because he had done far more work than what i was paying him. I had received quotes for full body work for 25-30K from elsewhere, so 50K was rather shocking to me. Post 391 has pics of the work done - roof, floor, rear doors were tinkered and painted. underbody coating was done, body parts refitted. In addition, he had done an inspection of my etios, and refitted a few bumper clips that came out. Also some unspecified mechanical work involving my AC compressor, turbo and engine which left things significantly worse.


Is this much bodywork worth 50K?



And to make things worse, with a door that was not closing properly and an engine that sounded like crap. My Bhpian Friend tried to smooth things out, but I was too agitated and just wanted to end this nightmare.

Regardless, I realized that I was the one who had given the blank cheque to this guy, and on the other hand may not have realized the impact of all this additional scope that had been added over time. I was already not in a good mood because he had done a lousy job on the Etios inspection. He had given me a clean bill of health on the car, only later admitting that he did so because he already knew the owner (after i confronted him with evidence of an accident on its service record) - and he had not bothered to inspect the car properly.

I did not want to create a scene, figured to cut my losses and escape. Our mutual friend the other bhpian also cut ties with him after his car's wheel came off while on a family trip because this gentleman forgot to tighten the bolts. I don't want to name and shame them because there were mistakes at my end, and don't want to point fingers. This gentleman offered to fix any issues if i bought the car back, but i had enough, and I denied him his chance to make things right. The bodywork has been mostly good, except one door which was repainted, but has started to show rust again.

But i did want to put up a warning to folks about dealing with youtubers/FNG's with a smooth sales talk/Passion about cars and a lack of professionalism. A lot of workshops are springing up claiming to do entire car restorations (plenty of them on youtube) wearing their credentials on their sleeve. Caveat emptor , and if the deal terms don't sound right, walk away. Lots of people talk about their achievements and great deals they got here. Plenty of them complain about bad service they got without introspecting how they might have made things worse. I've tried to be paint a fair picture here. Mistakes were made. This is the part about owning an old car nobody talks about. It's dark side part (What it takes to own a modded ride - Part II. The dark side!) III

Thankfully with my last round of repairs at highway garage, at least the engine screw ups have all been sorted out, and I am at peace with my car again. One door still doesn't close properly, but one issue at a time.

Please do not ask where this was. This is a closed chapter. It's been over a year now, and this has been just as bad as the worst Kulathunkal episodes. I'm just glad that things were solved, and wanted to share this to folks so that they can learn from my mistakes on how to NOT deal with an FNG.

[greenhorn]

Jerks have been sorted out. One of the injectors needed calibration. Also they discovered I'm running a regular indica clutch, and the spring was messing things up. Will have to live with it for now.
There was a fuel leak that was fixed, and they fixed a wiring issue because of which the oil pressure indicator was not working.
The car feels effortless to drive compared to earlier. I'm a very happy camper.

[greenhorn]

My alternator died again, so got it overhauled.
Suspension was making some weird noises. Got bush kit replaced

[greenhorn]

I have never had luck with my rear parcel tray staying straight. I have ended up having to replace them every few years. This year figured I'll get a more permanent fix. Got a mild steel bracket fabricated at a local metal fabrication shop. Cost 600 rs.

Used this video to undo the warp in the MDF sheet

https://youtu.be/flnai7j52rQ

I drilled holes and threaded nuts and bolts to hold it all together ( wood screws didn't prove to be strong enough)


Those are m4 50 mm nuts with washers and nyloc bolts. For the first time the rear panel tray feels solid!


In other news, car developed a random clicking noise which turned out to be a dying condenser fan which was triggering the relay also some damage in the belts. Got that replaced

[greenhorn]

Car is at 123K.
Gave it for service - Main issues
Weak spray nozzles - Turned out wiper spray motor needed replacement
Driver power window not working - Initial diagnosis was power window switch, but turned out to be corrosion in relay terminals
Weak braking - Cracked vacuum hose - Replaced
Coolant tank replacement - old one had turned opaque and you could not check coolant any more.
Bumper had come loose in one corner post a hit, had to be refit
Plus the regular stuff.


I'm not too happy they have filled 5W30. It should be 15W40, but I'm too cheap to waste 2k worth of oil, so I'll drive around and see if anything should arise. As of now car is pretty smooth. My sub amp was dead when i got it, turned out to be dead fuse. My ICE shop was suspicious that fuses don't blow without good reason, and was hesitant to turn on. I had a spare sub lying around, and was overconfident with my repair capabilities - Asked them to turn it on and it turned on just fine!