My 1987 Fiat (Premier Padmini)

newcoolgadgets · 28th February 2008, 19:53

Hello Fiat Lovers!

My Dad bought this 1987 Premier Padmini from my Chemistry teacher in 1996, who in turn had bought it 4 years earlier from the original owner, an advocate who is also known to us. The advocate's son, (I call him VS) runs an auto workshop in Nagpur and he suggested the car to my Dad when he wanted a Fiat. VS told me that he had himself driven the car from a showroom in Daman & Diu to Nagpur, as it was cheaper to buy it there in 1987.

After having learnt to drive in this car and taken my girlfriend (and now my wife) to countless dates and long drives, I decided that the Fiat's body need some serious TLC as it had started to show signs of rust. Mechanically the car is perfect having clocked 62,000 kms in the last 22 years.

I had the car's paint and upholstery stripped and gave her a complete new paint job and interiors. Fiat veterans, please post your criticism on the originality of the tail lamps, indicator lights etc. I do not know what came as original in 1987 and will be most happy to change anything that does not look original.

Mods: I had posted these pics when I joined Team BHP, but they had disappeared since the server they were on went down, so I am posting them again.

Click on the thumbnail to see the Padmini Pics page:

Please post your comments.

Cheers,
Rohit

Jaggu · 28th February 2008, 20:06

I aint a guru but i love these fiats

great job and keep her purring

jkdas · 28th February 2008, 22:42

Loved the interiors/upholstery.
87 makes it 20 year old. We had a 25 year old one, 1972 model

.

CBD · 28th February 2008, 23:23

very nicely done.The car looks really nice. Similar to what i had

Stanher · 28th February 2008, 23:52

Quote:

Originally Posted by jkdas

Loved the interiors/upholstery.
87 makes it 20 year old. We had a 25 year old one, 1972 model

.

1972- that would make it a 1100 delight.

jkdas · 29th February 2008, 00:06

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stanher

1972- that would make it a 1100 delight.

Sold it long ago:(

but we still have a S1 atleast.

CBD · 29th February 2008, 00:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stanher

1972- that would make it a 1100 delight.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jkdas

Sold it long ago:(

but we still have a S1 atleast.

that would have indeed been a 1100 Delite.
i too have a 96 S1. Sounds amazing with a freeflow that i have installed.

prabhuav · 29th February 2008, 00:27

That is really neat. I love the beige interiors.

Hopefully my fiat comes out looking as nice.

Vijay

Zappo · 29th February 2008, 00:28

We fail to see by what stretch of imagination does a 1987's Premier Padmini qualifies as a vintage car!

It is being moved to Long Term Ownership section as of now. Please take care of the correct sections when you start a thread.

1100D · 29th February 2008, 00:58

This is a nice car. Many of us have such sentiments attached to this particular car. Anyway would love to see the engine bay pictures.

Please dont worry about cosmetics as long as your car appeals to you.

1100D · 29th February 2008, 01:42

Some candy for you

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/vintag...e-fiat-12.html
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/vintag...ub-mumbai.html
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/modifi...0-awesome.html

Hope you have a good time here, there are some people on this forum who know every screw on the car.

Sorry for the second post, I was interrupted in the process of writing the previous one, and later when I came back the 20 mins had exhausted.

V-16 · 29th February 2008, 01:58

Firstly congrats for deciding to keep the car. Dhabar.Behram aka Behrambhai is an authority on Fiats (besides many many persons like Karl uncle and others

) who will advise you and guide you regarding any query on Fiats. He was incharge of the Padmini Setup while working with PAL.

newcoolgadgets · 29th February 2008, 07:59

Thank you for all your comments. Zappo, apologies for posting in the wrong forum. I was reading other people's experiences with their Fiats, esp. Mr. Dhabar.Behram'slove for his Fiats and got carried away :-) He is really an inspiration.

1100, thanks for the eye candy. The modded Fiats look extreme! I have been tempted to mod mine on quite a few occasions, but then decided against it , to keep my Padmini as original as possible. I have however installed an Air-Con in the Padmini last year to save me from the oppressive Nagpur heat. Maybe I will get another one and work on it!

Anyone from Nagpur here? We could have a chapter of the Fiat Classic Car Club in Nagpur too.

Cheers!

DHABHAR.BEHRAM · 29th February 2008, 11:18

Welcome to the Fiat club newcoolgadgets - if you need anything - that means anything - you just ask on this forum and I will guide you. This happens to be my hobby. I have 5 cars, 2 are restored, the left hand drive goes for restoration soon. Please let me know if there are any 56 / 57 fiats in Nagpur which I can pick up.

Best regards to you,

Behram Dhabhar

newcoolgadgets · 29th February 2008, 16:36

Thank you for your offer Mr. Dhabhar! I will certainly keep my eyes and ears open for any 56/57 Fiats in Nagpur. BTW, there is a 1960 Standard 10 for sale in Nagpur. The car is mechanically perfect and ran in last year's vintage car rally in Nagpur. If anyone is interested, I can get more details from the owner.

28th February 2008, 19:53	#1
newcoolgadgets BHPian Join Date: May 2006 Location: Nagpur Posts: 183 Thanked: 17 Times View My Garage	My 1987 Fiat (Premier Padmini) Hello Fiat Lovers! My Dad bought this 1987 Premier Padmini from my Chemistry teacher in 1996, who in turn had bought it 4 years earlier from the original owner, an advocate who is also known to us. The advocate's son, (I call him VS) runs an auto workshop in Nagpur and he suggested the car to my Dad when he wanted a Fiat. VS told me that he had himself driven the car from a showroom in Daman & Diu to Nagpur, as it was cheaper to buy it there in 1987. After having learnt to drive in this car and taken my girlfriend (and now my wife) to countless dates and long drives, I decided that the Fiat's body need some serious TLC as it had started to show signs of rust. Mechanically the car is perfect having clocked 62,000 kms in the last 22 years. I had the car's paint and upholstery stripped and gave her a complete new paint job and interiors. Fiat veterans, please post your criticism on the originality of the tail lamps, indicator lights etc. I do not know what came as original in 1987 and will be most happy to change anything that does not look original. Mods: I had posted these pics when I joined Team BHP, but they had disappeared since the server they were on went down, so I am posting them again. Click on the thumbnail to see the Padmini Pics page: Please post your comments. Cheers, Rohit
	() Thanks

28th February 2008, 20:06	#2
Jaggu Team-BHP Support Join Date: May 2004 Location: Bangalore Posts: 20,215 Thanked: 15,907 Times	I aint a guru but i love these fiats great job and keep her purring
	() Thanks

28th February 2008, 22:42	#3
jkdas Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Thiruvananthapu Posts: 9,687 Thanked: 1,492 Times View My Garage	Loved the interiors/upholstery. 87 makes it 20 year old. We had a 25 year old one, 1972 model .
	() Thanks

28th February 2008, 23:23	#4
CBD BANNED Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: mumbai Posts: 8 Thanked: 0 Times	very nicely done.The car looks really nice. Similar to what i had
	() Thanks

29th February 2008, 00:27	#8
prabhuav BHPian Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 672 Thanked: 128 Times View My Garage	That is really neat. I love the beige interiors. Hopefully my fiat comes out looking as nice. Vijay
	() Thanks

29th February 2008, 00:28	#9
Zappo Team-BHP Support Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Hyderabad Posts: 5,922 Thanked: 2,699 Times	We fail to see by what stretch of imagination does a 1987's Premier Padmini qualifies as a vintage car! It is being moved to Long Term Ownership section as of now. Please take care of the correct sections when you start a thread.
	() Thanks

29th February 2008, 00:58	#10
1100D Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Calcutta Posts: 4,390 Thanked: 4,096 Times View My Garage	This is a nice car. Many of us have such sentiments attached to this particular car. Anyway would love to see the engine bay pictures. Please dont worry about cosmetics as long as your car appeals to you. Last edited by 1100D : 29th February 2008 at 00:59.
	() Thanks

29th February 2008, 01:42	#11
1100D Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Calcutta Posts: 4,390 Thanked: 4,096 Times View My Garage	Some candy for you http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/vintag...e-fiat-12.html http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/vintag...ub-mumbai.html http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/modifi...0-awesome.html Hope you have a good time here, there are some people on this forum who know every screw on the car. Sorry for the second post, I was interrupted in the process of writing the previous one, and later when I came back the 20 mins had exhausted.
	() Thanks

29th February 2008, 01:58	#12
V-16 Senior - BHPian Join Date: May 2005 Location: mumbai Posts: 4,594 Thanked: 950 Times View My Garage	Firstly congrats for deciding to keep the car. Dhabar.Behram aka Behrambhai is an authority on Fiats (besides many many persons like Karl uncle and others ) who will advise you and guide you regarding any query on Fiats. He was incharge of the Padmini Setup while working with PAL.
	() Thanks

29th February 2008, 07:59	#13
newcoolgadgets BHPian Join Date: May 2006 Location: Nagpur Posts: 183 Thanked: 17 Times View My Garage	Thank you for all your comments. Zappo, apologies for posting in the wrong forum. I was reading other people's experiences with their Fiats, esp. Mr. Dhabar.Behram'slove for his Fiats and got carried away :-) He is really an inspiration. 1100, thanks for the eye candy. The modded Fiats look extreme! I have been tempted to mod mine on quite a few occasions, but then decided against it , to keep my Padmini as original as possible. I have however installed an Air-Con in the Padmini last year to save me from the oppressive Nagpur heat. Maybe I will get another one and work on it! Anyone from Nagpur here? We could have a chapter of the Fiat Classic Car Club in Nagpur too. Cheers!
	() Thanks

29th February 2008, 11:18	#14
DHABHAR.BEHRAM Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: MUMBAI Posts: 3,060 Thanked: 5,354 Times	Welcome to the Fiat club newcoolgadgets - if you need anything - that means anything - you just ask on this forum and I will guide you. This happens to be my hobby. I have 5 cars, 2 are restored, the left hand drive goes for restoration soon. Please let me know if there are any 56 / 57 fiats in Nagpur which I can pick up. Best regards to you, Behram Dhabhar
	() Thanks

29th February 2008, 16:36	#15
newcoolgadgets BHPian Join Date: May 2006 Location: Nagpur Posts: 183 Thanked: 17 Times View My Garage	Thank you for your offer Mr. Dhabhar! I will certainly keep my eyes and ears open for any 56/57 Fiats in Nagpur. BTW, there is a 1960 Standard 10 for sale in Nagpur. The car is mechanically perfect and ran in last year's vintage car rally in Nagpur. If anyone is interested, I can get more details from the owner.
	() Thanks