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Old 11th November 2012, 09:32   #361
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Re: Contessa Classic

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Originally Posted by Rattler View Post
Hi all,

I couldn't resist but, to post the following photos of my Conti. Isn't she a beauty?

Regards,

Sudhir.
Its pretty!

Nice buy there. Hope it serves you well too. I think the front facia will be much better if you get rid of the Indicator lamp hanging below the front bumper. Just my thoughts. (Though I understand the necessity to have it, may be in some other form?)
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Old 12th November 2012, 10:14   #362
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Re: Contessa Classic

Nice car, Rattler! Looks absolutely mint.

The front has a slightly raised look, I should think that it would look brilliant if it was level with the back.
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Old 12th November 2012, 13:52   #363
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Re: Contessa Classic

Quote:
Originally Posted by Rattler View Post
Hi all,

I couldn't resist but, to post the following photos of my Conti. Isn't she a beauty?

Regards,

Sudhir.
She is looking as good as new! Dead gorgeous!! And the alloys looks great too! Thanks for sharing Rattler!!

best

R-Six
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Old 13th November 2012, 15:39   #364
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Re: Contessa Classic

@G Ambymad,

Thank you for your comments. I had bought the car about 6 months back and it was like this. I have no information about the alloys except that they are HR alloys. I am too trying to find out the price and get one of those as my spare tyre has a normal disc on it.

Warm Regards,

Sudhir.
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Old 13th November 2012, 15:49   #365
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Re: Contessa Classic

@Ganesc,

Thank you for your comments and good wishes. The round indicators are placed on a fabricated mount to give a front facing angle. I too do not like that much but, immediately I have no plans to eliminate it or replace it with a better design as it requires the cutting and welding of the mounting of the lights, followed by painting too.

Regards,

Sudhir.
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Old 13th November 2012, 15:57   #366
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Re: Contessa Classic

@Coloneljasi,

Thank you sir for your valuable feedback. I have noted the elevated front end. I could not trace any alteration done underneath to increase the height.

Regards,

Sudhir.
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Old 25th November 2012, 22:50   #367
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Re: Contessa Classic

A modded Contessa Classic featured in Indian Auto of August 1992. The whole job looks somewhat overdone and dated in today's context. Must say that the original Contessa Classic design was much, much better than this mod job. Maybe, it was chic 20 years ago but not today ! It shows that original designs of yore that are pleasing to the eye, if modded have an expiry date, whereas the originals are evergreen!

Contessa Classic-picture-566.jpg

Last edited by anjan_c2007 : 25th November 2012 at 22:52.
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Old 12th December 2012, 18:30   #368
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Re: Contessa Classic

Why is it that earlier specs mention 88bhp for the Isuzu engine and after around '93 they suddenly started mentioning 77bhp? Was it that HM boffins De-tuned the engine?
Can anyone share some knowledge on how & why this change was done?
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Old 12th December 2012, 23:04   #369
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Re: Contessa Classic

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Originally Posted by KkVaidya View Post
Why is it that earlier specs mention 88bhp for the Isuzu engine and after around '93 they suddenly started mentioning 77bhp? Was it that HM boffins De-tuned the engine?
Can anyone share some knowledge on how & why this change was done?
The 88bhp in the carburreted version and the 75bhp is the mpfi version if am right.
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Old 13th December 2012, 13:53   #370
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Re: Contessa Classic

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Originally Posted by DicKy View Post
The 88bhp in the carburreted version and the 75bhp is the mpfi version if am right.
No No i am sure that is not the case. Reason is that MPFI version (GLX) came on in around 1999. But the specs show 77bhp (and yes some show 75bhp) from around 1993.
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Old 13th December 2012, 17:14   #371
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Re: Contessa Classic

^the reason is that the earlier versions had the nippon kikaki(niki) carburetor which generated more power and comparatively less fuel economy. the average person was able to manage no more than 8kmpl in the city, although i know quite a few people that refute this , and say the niki was more powerful and just as fuel efficient as the later mikuni. but these people were through and through gearheads that understood how to get the max from a car and were able to get an FE figure of 10kmpl consistently from this carb

the later mikuni generated 75bhp and generated better efficiency consistently, 10-11 was easy without really watching your driving and careful drivers have managed 14kmpl in delhis driving cycle as well

and i totally agree with anjan_c2007, the original contessa is timeless, mods may seem attractive but they lose their novelty very quickly. In the U.S. the hotrod market is big, but when it comes to resale value , the fancy hotrods dont sell for a fraction of the price of an equivalent original

similarly, in the years to come , only original contessas will be respected ,while the childish mods like the ones people are doing nowadays , wont fetch a second look

Last edited by mycarhasablower : 13th December 2012 at 17:19.
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Old 17th December 2012, 14:27   #372
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Re: Contessa Classic

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Originally Posted by mycarhasablower View Post
^the reason is that the earlier versions had the nippon kikaki(niki) carburetor which generated more power and comparatively less fuel economy.
But then why is it that my '93 model with a Niki carb shows 55.2 Kw (75bhp) in its Owner's Manual?
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Old 17th December 2012, 20:54   #373
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Re: Contessa Classic

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Originally Posted by KkVaidya View Post
But then why is it that my '93 model with a Niki carb shows 55.2 Kw (75bhp) in its Owner's Manual?
those were the days when the automobile companies had a very casual attitude. ive heard stories of premier delivering cars without door handles and HM delivering ambys without speedos. Often cars from the same time period had specs from before and after an upgrade. so probably they handed you a manual from after the change but your car got a carb from an old stock.93 was the year the change was made so yours was probably a borderline case where the things got mixed up between generations. Dont worry, you have the 88 bhp model. i on the other hand need to find myself a niki carb

Last edited by mycarhasablower : 17th December 2012 at 20:55.
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Old 18th December 2012, 18:47   #374
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Re: Contessa Classic

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Originally Posted by mycarhasablower View Post
those were the days when the automobile companies had a very casual attitude. ive heard stories of premier delivering cars without door handles and HM delivering ambys without speedos. Often cars from the same time period had specs from before and after an upgrade. so probably they handed you a manual from after the change but your car got a carb from an old stock.93 was the year the change was made so yours was probably a borderline case where the things got mixed up between generations. Dont worry, you have the 88 bhp model. i on the other hand need to find myself a niki carb
Yes but i still suspect how one can gain 13bhp just by changing the carburetor? Cannot Digest.
Can you share the detailed specifications of the Mikuni? I already have details about the NIKI, so if we get details about the latter then we can at least do a comparison & check where the culprit is.
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Old 18th December 2012, 23:42   #375
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Re: Contessa Classic

cant really be sure but my guesses would be , Bigger venturies ,therefore higher flow rates and higher revv limit as well. Plus the carb could be designed to run predominantly rich instead of the realatively lean in case of the mikuni.

i have no real data on the mikuni, except i do know its 95% identical to the esteem and 800 carb but the primaru venturi is biggest for the contessa folloed by the esteem and then the 800. If you can find data on the 800 or esteem carb , we can use venturi and jets sizes from the conti carb to interpolate data with reasonable accuracy
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