Contessa Classic

anjan_c2007 · 19th April 2013, 23:13

The Vice Chancellor, Nagpur University's car, has been acquired and recently restored.The new owner is extremely passionate about his new drive that is all powerful with the 1800 ISZ petrol engine.
The front headlight seal beam reflectors (original ones) have been fitted with small LED lights, that are activated with the parking light switch.
Some pictures here:

KkVaidya · 23rd April 2013, 14:42

Can anyone guide me on where can I source this kind of a wheel plate for my Contessa? I see that it is a 2 piece plate - one is the Rim & other is the Hub.

KkVaidya · 3rd May 2013, 09:44

Dear All,
I have been working on replacing the rubber pipes in the engine bay which have cracked over the years.
To my surprise, I have found that the one pipe from the vacuum pod of the distributor is open. I checked all the routings & was unable to identify where this particular pipe is to be routed.
I am attaching the pictures of all the pipes that have been confusing me these days. Pl. correct me if any of the current routing is wrong as it may be the case somebody would have wrongly routed the pipes while working on the carburetor or engine.

Samba · 9th June 2013, 15:21

I was going through this thread yesterday night and oh god this thread kept me hooked to it till night 3-30am!

I stay in Uttarpara near Kolkata and my house is located just half kilometers away from Hindusthan motors Company. My schooling was also done in Hindmotor High school which was inside the Hindmotor factory campus. When i used to go to school in 90's at that time this company was in a good position.

I used to see there R&D guys testing the Ambys and Conti's inside the factory. Have visited there manufacturing unite a number of times. Once i got a chance to seat in a Contessa which was going for testing purpose. There is a cobble stone road for 3kms and at its end there is a 45 degree inclination turning which the driver has to negotiate in high speed.(Its still there, ambys and HM winner's are now tested over there) I was thrilled on that test. And i must say the AC of the contessa was a chiller, it was a comfortable car too. We had a premere Padmini at that time. So from a Padmini, Contessa looked liked a fast luxury sedan. At that time most of the cars had 4 gears and this car had 5. So the drivers used to tell the 5th cog as special gear!

But the sad part is i have seen this company from doing roaring business to its downfall. Once upon a time when they had Amby, Contessa and Trekker with all three doing great business theirs staffs were so proud all the bungalows and colony apartments for the staffs were full. Once you enter inside, it was all happening. But now its like a ghost town ship in many places. More than 70% of those bungalows and apartments are now left empty with no maintenance, there are jungle in many places where one can find snakes foxes and few different types of birds too.

Am still attached to this company and more or less still now i regularly go inside their campus. Outsiders are not allowed but we do have a gate pass so if any Team Bhpian wants to enter there campus can PM me.

KkVaidya · 18th June 2013, 19:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by Samba

Am still attached to this company and more or less still now i regularly go inside their campus. Outsiders are not allowed but we do have a gate pass so if any Team Bhpian wants to enter there campus can PM me.

Very well reminisced. Can you ask if they still stock parts for the Contessa

BTW, mine has gone for a major body & Paint restoration.
I plan to change the mechanical fan to an electric one. I believe the GLX model came with an electric fan. Can anyone remember?

Samba · 18th June 2013, 19:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by KkVaidya

Very well reminisced. Can you ask if they still stock parts for the Contessa

As far as i know they don't. I will still inquire about that and if by any chance they make it i will PM you for sure.

badboyscad · 18th June 2013, 20:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by Samba

As far as i know they don't. I will still inquire about that and if by any chance they make it i will PM you for sure.

Please see if you could get door lock mechanisms(all 4 doors) for contessa.

My conti is in restoration too.

Samba · 18th June 2013, 20:16

Quote:

Originally Posted by badboyscad

Please see if you could get door lock mechanisms(all 4 doors) for contessa.

My conti is in restoration too.

If they still make spares will PM you too.

I have already made a couple of phone calls to guys working over there. But to our bad luck they answered the negative way. But still they told they will try to inquire once again if any third part vendor is now making the parts for them or not.

Viraat13 · 18th June 2013, 23:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by KkVaidya

Very well reminisced. Can you ask if they still stock parts for the Contessa

BTW, mine has gone for a major body & Paint restoration.
I plan to change the mechanical fan to an electric one. I believe the GLX model came with an electric fan. Can anyone remember?

Nope, always came with a mechanical clutch system. Electrical fans can be retrofitted though, it had been done on my car.
Cheers!

KkVaidya · 19th June 2013, 10:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by Viraat13

Nope, always came with a mechanical clutch system. Electrical fans can be retrofitted though, it had been done on my car.
Cheers!

Mechanical Clutch

or is this a typing error? If you mean you had retrofitted an electric fan in your car, can you please share the details?

Viraat13 · 19th June 2013, 12:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by KkVaidya

Mechanical Clutch

or is this a typing error? If you mean you had retrofitted an electric fan in your car, can you please share the details?

As far as I know, the fan in the Contessa mechanically driven via a viscous coupling. This can be called a fan clutch. I don't see what is tripping you up.

The details are foggy, but as far as I can remember, the viscous coupling had failed, so the fan would only run at the same speed the engine and the new coupling wasn't available, so an extra electric fan was fitted.

I hope this clears it up!

Miyer · 29th June 2013, 21:23

The viscous fan is indeed a state of the art spare on the conties. The Innovas and many new cars still use them. The electric fan could not do a good job for various reasons and the belt driven fan with a proper radiator shroud cools really well. In case you have a condenser coil in the front, an additional electric fan in the fan is mandatory.

KkVaidya · 5th July 2013, 18:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by Miyer

The viscous fan is indeed a state of the art spare on the conties. The Innovas and many new cars still use them. The electric fan could not do a good job for various reasons and the belt driven fan with a proper radiator shroud cools really well. In case you have a condenser coil in the front, an additional electric fan in the fan is mandatory.

I buy your point on the cooling property of a belt-driven fan but it saps a lot of power & is noisy at high rpm

KkVaidya · 13th September 2013, 15:53

I am attaching some pictures of the restoration going on.
Colour is 'Deep Sea Blau' with a little touch of black.

Viraat13 · 13th September 2013, 16:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by KkVaidya

I am attaching some pictures of the restoration going on.
Colour is 'Deep Sea Blau' with a little touch of black.

That is a fantastic colour! Really like how it's turning out. Are you planing a stock restoration?

19th April 2013, 23:13	#391
anjan_c2007 Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: India Posts: 8,301 Thanked: 20,482 Times View My Garage	Re: Contessa Classic The Vice Chancellor, Nagpur University's car, has been acquired and recently restored.The new owner is extremely passionate about his new drive that is all powerful with the 1800 ISZ petrol engine. The front headlight seal beam reflectors (original ones) have been fitted with small LED lights, that are activated with the parking light switch. Some pictures here:
	(3) Thanks

23rd April 2013, 14:42	#392
KkVaidya BHPian Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Ahmedabad Posts: 931 Thanked: 760 Times View My Garage	Re: Contessa Classic Can anyone guide me on where can I source this kind of a wheel plate for my Contessa? I see that it is a 2 piece plate - one is the Rim & other is the Hub. Attached Thumbnails
	() Thanks

3rd May 2013, 09:44	#393
KkVaidya BHPian Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Ahmedabad Posts: 931 Thanked: 760 Times View My Garage	Re: Contessa Classic Dear All, I have been working on replacing the rubber pipes in the engine bay which have cracked over the years. To my surprise, I have found that the one pipe from the vacuum pod of the distributor is open. I checked all the routings & was unable to identify where this particular pipe is to be routed. I am attaching the pictures of all the pipes that have been confusing me these days. Pl. correct me if any of the current routing is wrong as it may be the case somebody would have wrongly routed the pipes while working on the carburetor or engine. Attached Thumbnails
	() Thanks

9th June 2013, 15:21	#394
Samba Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: Kolkata Posts: 2,197 Thanked: 26,293 Times View My Garage	Re: Contessa Classic I was going through this thread yesterday night and oh god this thread kept me hooked to it till night 3-30am! I stay in Uttarpara near Kolkata and my house is located just half kilometers away from Hindusthan motors Company. My schooling was also done in Hindmotor High school which was inside the Hindmotor factory campus. When i used to go to school in 90's at that time this company was in a good position. I used to see there R&D guys testing the Ambys and Conti's inside the factory. Have visited there manufacturing unite a number of times. Once i got a chance to seat in a Contessa which was going for testing purpose. There is a cobble stone road for 3kms and at its end there is a 45 degree inclination turning which the driver has to negotiate in high speed.(Its still there, ambys and HM winner's are now tested over there) I was thrilled on that test. And i must say the AC of the contessa was a chiller, it was a comfortable car too. We had a premere Padmini at that time. So from a Padmini, Contessa looked liked a fast luxury sedan. At that time most of the cars had 4 gears and this car had 5. So the drivers used to tell the 5th cog as special gear! But the sad part is i have seen this company from doing roaring business to its downfall. Once upon a time when they had Amby, Contessa and Trekker with all three doing great business theirs staffs were so proud all the bungalows and colony apartments for the staffs were full. Once you enter inside, it was all happening. But now its like a ghost town ship in many places. More than 70% of those bungalows and apartments are now left empty with no maintenance, there are jungle in many places where one can find snakes foxes and few different types of birds too. Am still attached to this company and more or less still now i regularly go inside their campus. Outsiders are not allowed but we do have a gate pass so if any Team Bhpian wants to enter there campus can PM me. Last edited by Samba : 9th June 2013 at 15:24.
	(10) Thanks

29th June 2013, 21:23	#402
Miyer BHPian Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Bangalore Posts: 202 Thanked: 212 Times	Re: Contessa Classic The viscous fan is indeed a state of the art spare on the conties. The Innovas and many new cars still use them. The electric fan could not do a good job for various reasons and the belt driven fan with a proper radiator shroud cools really well. In case you have a condenser coil in the front, an additional electric fan in the fan is mandatory.
	() Thanks

13th September 2013, 15:53	#404
KkVaidya BHPian Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Ahmedabad Posts: 931 Thanked: 760 Times View My Garage	Re: Contessa Classic I am attaching some pictures of the restoration going on. Colour is 'Deep Sea Blau' with a little touch of black. Attached Thumbnails
	(5) Thanks