[dpuneet]

Originally Posted by deehunk

I see traces of rust in the photo, as suggested by Mr.Boss, get a thorough check done for rust and get the painting done.

Yes deehunk, rust has emerged out at several places. First I will get it rust free, then denting, patching (wherever required) and lines matching followed by paint job or wrap. But all this after I get desired punch from its engine.

[Mr.Boss]

Originally Posted by dpuneet

My contessa now is running on 205/65r15, and I am planning to opt for 205/50r15. Do you think it will help somehow?

Yes, 205/50R15 or 205/55R15 (worst case) will be the right choice, considering the stock tire size. The one you are currently using is too big and obviously affects the acceleration and braking on the first hand.

[deehunk]

Originally Posted by dpuneet

Yes deehunk, rust has emerged out at several places. First I will get it rust free, then denting, patching (wherever required) and lines matching followed by paint job or wrap. But all this after I get desired punch from its engine.

There is enough information available on this forum and other blogs about restoring Contessa, you should be able to get the desired punch if you get the right person. Good luck.

[dpuneet]

Originally Posted by Mr.Boss

Contessa is still a dream machine for many here, including me. Congrats on the beauty. She looks far better than many other contessa I came across. Please do share the interior snaps.


I'm not an expert here. All these changes will improve the performance, but marginally. IMO for the stock looks of the car, free flow exhaust will spoil the classic characteristics of the car.
How does low profile tyres help in improving the engine performance?


I suggest to go for painting as we are unsure about the corrosion / rust in body. Get them treated properly during painting.

PS: I could see a couple of dents, any how you should be getting them corrected & painted if you wish to go for wrap, instead a complete painting seem to be practical.

All the best.

EDIT:
Huuuuge siren inside the hood? Is it a siren for security alarm or the horn itself?

Some interior pics of the Contessa I am sharing here, please suggest what can be done. What I dont want is to change the retro look of the dashboard, apart from that suggestions are welcome.

Originally Posted by deehunk

There is enough information available on this forum and other blogs about restoring Contessa, you should be able to get the desired punch if you get the right person. Good luck.

Thanks deehunk, I am still waiting for that right person and stuck in between weber 32/36 DGEV or 38/38 DGES carburetors and dont have any idea what else is required to install them on Contessa.

[KkVaidya]

Originally Posted by dpuneet

Some interior pics of the Contessa I am sharing here, please suggest what can be done. What I dont want is to change the retro look of the dashboard, apart from that suggestions are welcome.

Your interior is in good shape. Way to go - do not change anything. You have modern cars available off the shelf for a modern look
Was the armrest standard fitting in your original sealt at rear? And where are the headrests? Looks bland without them.

[dpuneet]

Originally Posted by KkVaidya

Your interior is in good shape. Way to go - do not change anything. You have modern cars available off the shelf for a modern look
Was the armrest standard fitting in your original sealt at rear? And where are the headrests? Looks bland without them.

Yes KkVaidya, I am not planning to change a single thing in interior but refurbishing.
The rear armrest is standard fitting in my original seat and headrests I removed as I like it this way

[vinay kamath]

A Contessa Classic used in a movie is being auctioned for charitable purposes.

"Kirik Party car to be auctioned to fund education of sex workers' kids"

Jagadish Angadi

Bengaluru, dhns: Encouraged by the success of their movie, Kirik Party, the producers have decided to auction a vintage car used in the film to fund education of children of sex workers.

The vintage car plays a significant role in the film. There is a scene in the movie where the car is auctioned to fund schooling of a sex worker's daughter. Extending their reel success to real life, the movie producers have decided to auction the car online, Rakshith Shetty, the film's producer told DH.

"We were planning to auction the car if the movie became a hit,'' Shetty said. The base price of the car is Rs 3 lakh and the value may go up once the auction begins. The money will be given to a charitable organisation working for children of sex workers.

Kirik Party, released on December 29, 2016, is the second highest-grossing film in Kannada industry by touching Rs 60 crore and celebrating 100 days in over 25 theatres across Karnataka. The film, directed by Rishab Shetty, was made at a cost of Rs 4 crore.

The movie has also bagged the 'Popular Entertaining Film' award at the Karnataka State Film Awards 2016, announced recently.

Shetty and his team had a tough time getting the car for the movie. "We wanted the past and present generations to connect with a car. We decided to use a Contessa car which was a symbol of reputation in India a few deacdes ago. None of the car owners was ready to sell their car," Shetty recalled.

The team finally got in touch with a person in Bengaluru and bought his Contessa car for Rs 1.5 lakh.

The producers spent Rs 3 lakh on the car to remove its top and make it look like a vintage one.

[honeybee]

Originally Posted by vinay kamath

...
The vintage car plays a significant role in the film. There is a scene in the movie where the car is auctioned to fund schooling of a sex worker's daughter.
...

The team finally got in touch with a person in Bengaluru and bought his Contessa car for Rs 1.5 lakh.

The producers spent Rs 3 lakh on the car to remove its top and make it look like a vintage one.

What a significant part it played! And now it gets to reprise the reel role in real life!

I wonder why Contessa wasn't Vintage enough for the producers.

[pranavGTI]

Originally Posted by shekaran

the best interiors i have seen in a contessa

Looks like the cars have been maintained with utmost care. Especially the white contessa with beige leather seats gets a soft place with me. Kudos to all these Contessa owners who have been maintaining their cars' interiors extremely well.

[satish_tns]

Hello folks. This is Satish from Chennai and we have our 1988 model Contessa classic 1.8 GL in my hometown Trichy, Tamil Nadu. The car had been stationary for more than 10 years now. My brother and myself wanted to restore it but now we are considering to give it off. We need idea on how to give it off. It has done just around 25k to 30k km. Last week we checked and the engine oil is still there in the engine. We need idea on whether to Dismantle and sell the original spares or sell the vehicle in as is condition or scrap it to weight. All mechanical parts are somewhat in ok condition. Chrome bumpers, all glasses and engine are in good condition. Please advise and share some details of workshop or mechanic who we can check with.

[UB_007]

Originally Posted by satish_tns

Hello folks. This is Satish from Chennai and we have our 1988 model Contessa classic 1.8 GL in my hometown Trichy, Tamil Nadu. The car had been stationary for more than 10 years now. My brother and myself wanted to restore it but now we are considering to give it off. We need idea on how to give it off. It has done just around 25k to 30k km. Last week we checked and the engine oil is still there in the engine. We need idea on whether to Dismantle and sell the original spares or sell the vehicle in as is condition or scrap it to weight. All mechanical parts are somewhat in ok condition. Chrome bumpers, all glasses and engine are in good condition. Please advise and share some details of workshop or mechanic who we can check with.

It is sad that you want to dispose it off. By your description it looks like with a quick repair job the car will be in original condition. Am I right?
I would suggest you spend some penny and get good rate for your car. There are many who are interested in contessa. I expect you could easily bargain 1.5 to 2.0Lakhs for running condition vehicle.

Selling at scrap is such a disrespect to this classic beauty and should be your last resort..
If you still decide to sell it as scrap then I may be willing to buy some parts from you for my Conti ( carburetor, window mechanism etc)

-UB

[satish_tns]

Originally Posted by UB_007

It is sad that you want to dispose it off. By your description it looks like with a quick repair job the car will be in original condition. Am I right?
I would suggest you spend some penny and get good rate for your car. There are many who are interested in contessa. I expect you could easily bargain 1.5 to 2.0Lakhs for running condition vehicle.

Selling at scrap is such a disrespect to this classic beauty and should be your last resort..
If you still decide to sell it as scrap then I may be willing to buy some parts from you for my Conti ( carburetor, window mechanism etc)

-UB

Not realy a quick repair job. It need tinkering on the inside of body (inside the engine compartment and so on) and wiring checked and done complely. It was parked in a closed car parking for all these years and the condition was much better. 2 years back it was moved to open parking with but still covered with a sheet and because of that, the seats got worn out. It was in excellent condition till it was in the closed parking. Engine needs to be cleaned up fully along with full electical line restoration along with full body painting. Suspensions and tyres needs to be replaced along with a new battery ofcourse. Not sure of the condition of the other running parts as it has to be opened in order to be checked. When we checked roughly with a local mechanic who usually does these type of restoration, he said it will take more than a lakh to get it running and that too only if we can get the spares. The outer body, entire broze tinted glasses (front, back and sides) are still perfect. OE headlights and tailigts are intact.

I am afraid to take up the restoration process because if I start, I would like to finish it no matter what. But I am not sure if I can get it restored fully due to very thin availability of spares. I am not in a position to open the restoration project without approximately knowing the restoration budget and slight financial constrains too.

That's the reason we would like to give the spares to the real contessa lovers and make other contessas to get a life. My real intension is to restore it but considering many things, we concluded that it may not be a right choise for us to do. Please call me or whatsapp me on +91 9710421185 if you would like to get anything from our contessa.

[R-Six]

Originally Posted by satish_tns

scrap it to weight

Please don't do this to such a classic car! All it would need would be some TLC and she would be back to her glory.

If you really do not have time or budget to get her back to shape, just put a word in The Giveaway Thread. I'm sure that you will find a lot of interested BHPians ready to take her and give her a life that she deserves.

[KkVaidya]

Since I changed the OE tyres (175/80 R13) to the nearest available size of 185/70 R13, the steering had been nervous going above 60kmph. I was wondering all this time till it struck me that changing the tyre size made the wheel diameter smaller so not only the GC was reduced, the caster angle changed to negative. After going through all technical pages available over internet, i came to this conclusion that need to set the caster positive to achieve straight line stability. I could not find the caster angle for Contessa anywhere but one of the sources confimred it between 2 to 3 degrees.
Regular wheel alignment shops are all hogwash as they set only Toe and tell you all rubbish that caster/camber are not adjustable and blah blah just because it is a 4-5 hour job (i set it on my Thar at the dealer so i know).

After going through the parts catalog i found they mention a Caster adjust nut on the lower arm (i have highlighted the part #34). Does anyone have any idea that is it really adjustable by this Nut or i have to add shims?

[foby.sebastian]

Period interior and nice gear knob.