[regnex]

Can anybody help me out in sourcing the twin type headlights for the Contessa? new or used, no issues. Thanks

[mukundmenon]

There is a South India Contessa Meet planned to take place on Aug 18th at Mysore. So If anyone happens to be at Mysore on 18th, you wouldn't want to miss this! For updates on the event visit FB -Most of the online action has shifted to the Contessa FB page- CCI Conti Club India.

[adityasiera]

Here are a few pics of a tastefully modded contessa parked near my in-laws house in Himayat nagar, Hyderabad

[anjan_c2007]

A Contessa featured in an old advertisement:

[anjan_c2007]

The once Contessa assembly line at Uttarpara



(source Autocar India Issue 2007)

[G_AmbyMad]

FINALLY.

After years of lusting after one, I have a Contessa parked in my garage.

And not just any ordinary Conty, mind. This one used to belong to a possible Conty guru, an undoubted Conty encyclopedia and the starter of this thread, Shekaran. Before anything else, Shekaran I want to publicly thank you. For your patience, for your willingness to painstakingly respond to all my emails and most importantly sending me a car that purrs like a dream. So, thank you Sir and rest assured, she's going to be well looked after.

I saw the car on the TBHP classifieds earlier this year and contacted Shekaran. I recall his post was clear that he did not want to deal with any 'wannabe Mustang modifiers and lowriders' and one of the first things I did was tell him that I love cars and his would be treated like my (other) true love, my '59 Amby. As luck would have it, a series of unfortunate family health related issues put my Conty dream on the backburner and I told KS that I would not be able to go through with it right now and if he found a seller he should sell the car. That was that. Times got better, my '65 Willys was getting a makeover and I was concentrating on that and one day, out of the blue in June I got an email from KS asking if I was still interested.

Am not kidding, on that day I took that as a sign that the Conty was destined to be mine. Got right back in touch with the man himself, worked out a deal and planned to go visit him when time permitted. Many emails back and forth, everything fell into place and I was trying to worm out some time to make a trip to check out the car. One day I got an email from him that said 'started the car after 8 months, one crank, engine roared to life' and I figured, did I really need to go see it?

TBHP is such a wonderful forum, full of people who are passionate about cars and Shekaran's love for the car was more than obvious. If I could not trust such a man, who could I trust? That was it. We had not even spoken on the phone, never met. All I had were some pics of the car. And this thread. Sent him a message telling him that I didn't need to see the car and to just load it on a truck and send it.

And that's exactly what he did.

The car reached me 2 days ago, on Sunday night. The truck driver was a confused man and reached the wrong end of town. Luckily, I found a crane parked 3 minutes away from where the truck was parked and had it lowered. Got in, turned the key and I kid you not, it DID roar to life. Drove it 15 kms to my office where it was parked. Some excited friends came over and got themselves a ride in a classic.

Jaws dropped.

Today, took it to the garage I that looks after my wheels and got it washed. It's a 10 km drive to and fro. Ever watched NatGeo documentaries that show sharks lazily swimming through the ocean? Ever notice different schools of fish make way? That's what happened with the traffic today. Cars moved aside. People gawked. One of the mechanics swore Amitabh Bachchan drove a Conty. 'Item gaadi hai, boss' was what he added.

I haven't taken any pics yet so will post some of what I was sent by Shekaran. I still look at the pics and cannot believe that THIS is parked in the basement. All I need to walk down and look at it.

Ladies and Gentlemen, it gives me great pleasure, to present Shrek. Or The Hulk....

[shekaran]

Gautam Bro,
Thanks for the nice words, but am not a big guru or something - just another passionate man with an everlasting love for cars, automobiles in general.
Some things are destined in life - Enjoy the Classic.

[Sudhindra]

Congratts Goutam..!! Happy motoring.
I am aware of the passion and energy shekaran had in maintaining this conty and i bet you its one of the best one can lay his hands on.

[KkVaidya]

Hello everyone,
I am planning to give my '93 Contessa a change of paint. currently it is in the original White that it came with. I have some shades in my mind on which i would love to get some suggestions:

1. The original maroon shade (introduced as OE in 1992-93)
2. A very dark brown shade that will look almost black at night
3. A very dark Blue shade that will look almost black at night
4. BMW blue (the one seen in BMWs)
5. Copper Brown (seen in the latest model of the Honda City)

Colour 1, 2 & 3 will be non-metallic (solid) to give it a period look.

Please opine >>

[G_AmbyMad]

Originally Posted by KkVaidya

Hello everyone,
I am planning to give my '93 Contessa a change of paint. currently it is in the original White that it came with. I have some shades in my mind on which i would love to get some suggestions:

Please opine >>

Have you ever considered the classic British Racing Green which I am planning on at some point. It's dark, solid and is as original as they come on a British car. Please have a look at this link....

http://www.californiaclassix.com/arc...ag_S_c211.html


Best,

G

[KkVaidya]

Originally Posted by G_AmbyMad

Have you ever considered the classic British Racing Green which I am planning on at some point.

Best,

G

Well BRG has always been one of my favourite colours. A similar shade was available in the original Vauxhall Victor. But personally, I would like mine to have a more darker shade. This shade will suit the Ambassador more then the Contessa.

[anjan_c2007]

Another Contessa advertisement- its a bit mutilated :

[Viraat13]

Thanks for digging this out. Made for a good read.

"Throw the car into a high-speed turn and it corners virtually flat."
HAHA! Overly optimistic, I'd say.

[Amritg]

A Small buyer’s guide for the Contessa
The Contessa was a model of car manufactured by Hindustan Motors (HM). It was based on the GM Vauxhall Victor FE, it was introduced in 1983. The basic design of Contessa has remained the same throughout its life though HM made minor updates throughout the life of the model,
Here are few pointers on identifying the models
1983-1988 steel bumpers, full grill and 4-speed amby petrol engine (BMC).
1988-1990 steel bumpers, full grill and 5-speed Isuzu petrol engine 88bhp.
1990-1992 small fibre bumpers, full grill and Isuzu petrol engine 88bhp.
1993-1995/1996 small fibre bumpers, small grill and HM Isuzu petrol engine 75bhp.
All models up to 1995 had square headlights as stock.
1997/1998 They came out with a special edition with the distinct classic red badge for both petrol and Diesel models and had large fibre bumpers and twin head lamps.
2000-2002 It was phased out in 2002 at the end of production, there were three versions of this car; 1.8GLX (Isuzu petrol 75bhp), 2.0DLX (Isuzu diesel) and 2.0T (Isuzu turbo diesel), MPFI and a rear spoiler were the updates during this time.
They were many series of diesel engines that they produced throughout from 1990 till end of production but I don’t have information about their specs hence I didn’t mention them in the description above. I got the above information from an HM authorized service center.

[Amritg]

Coming to my Contessa I’m allergic to diesel for some reason well some of us are, aren't we? So it had to be petrol.
Well after 3 years of search I finally got her. A 1988 petrol, complete stock the way I wanted and in a very good condition, still on first coat of paint and interiors also neatly maintained. The car was styled (the vinyl’s, stickers and the red indian head) were all put by the previous owner I haven’t yet done anything to her except for oil changes and a tune up, it’s truly a joy to drive the huge bonnet in front of you the sofa seats which are ever so comfortable and the cars ability to stick to the road is something that makes you feel every single paise worth of petrol you fill to make her roar is totally worth it.
Here are few snaps of her