[Lakshman1645]

I have a 1995 Contessa Classic run about 60000km. I had changed the engine head 7 months ago owing to head gasket leak which ruined the original head. Ever since, there's been an irregular knock/jerk from the engine when it idles. This never happens while driving or at RPM's above the idling RPM. Does anyone here know the probable cause of this problem? It isn't a real headache right now but I'm worried it could get worse.

[Renjit]

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[mycarhasablower]

@lakshman: Get the ignition timing and dwell angle checked. If you changed the distributor as well since its attached to the head, that may require adjustment.Also i hope the valve gaps/clearances(tappet alignment) were set. There is unlikely to be any other reason since the problems started with head replacement and nothing else was changed

[mycarhasablower]

Hey guys, on 20th june 2010 i became the prowd owner of a 97 contessa classic petrol and i must add it is the most comfy car i have ever been in even better than my friends bmw 320d. the car does have a power steering and has done about 93000 kms (atleast the meter says so.

The car has a few problems though. Its basically an electrical nightmare. nothing except the horn works correctly. Things do work but not the way they are supposed to.Even the ac doesnt work. on switching it on you cant hear the solenoid in the compressor so i earlier assumed that i needed to change it but since the condenser fan isnt coming on either i think its because of some electrical problem. Also a lot of plastic panels on the dash are broken near the place where they are fastened with screws. and the knobs on the ac vents are also broken. Are dash parts available or do i need to get them from the scrap market. Even if i do find the original dash parts i intend to fabricate the whole dash out of sheet metal and use it in place of the original so that the original can be preserved.

Can anyone provide me the electrical wiring/circuit diagram of the car? i really need to fix the the electrical issues. Also does anyone know of a good fiberglass expert in delhi? Need to get my headlight shroud and rear bumper repaired.

Here are the pics(sory i didnt bother to clean the car before i took the pics since the car does have rust in some places and id rather not wash it. Some patchwork needs to be done on its cover , once done ill clean it and just keep it covered:

[Viraat13]

Fine car you have there! I wonder who helped you with it? :P
I don't think the dash lasting will be much of an issue. You can just find a new one and put it and you're good for many many years. My car had the original dash for 14 years. Could have lasted another 10. No problems there.
The vertical vents don't throw the air all that well. Get the ones in the Ambi put and you'll be able to control the direction of the airflow much better.
As for your rear bumper and front head lamp, again head to zamrudpur. Go to Kalim (Sigh, How many times have I said that to you know?). Ask for Raheez. Cheap and good.
Your interiors don't seem bad to me. A wet vacuum for the seats. New material for covering the floor boards (You know who to ask), new floor mats and a good waxing of the plastics (I can help you with that. Both of us can do it in a day). Throw in a new dash and you'll have great interiors!
I will look for the electrical diagram in the workshop manual and mail it to you if I find it.

Funny how I nearly always end up trying to answer your questions. Be it here or on the FB group.

[Miyer]

Welcome to the club "mycarhasablower"..!!!!!!! Hope to see you with more posts and your journey to the final product that you wanted to make with the car.


Cheers,
M Iyer

[anuj1237]

With people like Miyer on this forum you should not have a tough time finding information on a conti! Be sure of that!!
Miyer! long time...hows the good old blue lady doing?

[RJ555]

Originally Posted by Lakshman1645

I have a 1995 Contessa Classic run about 60000km. I had changed the engine head 7 months ago owing to head gasket leak which ruined the original head. Ever since, there's been an irregular knock/jerk from the engine when it idles. This never happens while driving or at RPM's above the idling RPM. Does anyone here know the probable cause of this problem? It isn't a real headache right now but I'm worried it could get worse.

I have a 93 model conty which has clocked 55k only, i have not experienced major issues with teh engine, well recently experienced some sort of jerk in idling...my mechanic identified some leak in brake booster & fixed it, got teh timer belt, spark plug & tunings done...its perfect.
My mechanic (Xavier) who worked in HM service center is very practical and strong. I recommend him to all my friends owning amby & conty's, they have become regular customers to xavier. He always insists me in maintaining originallity & work towards it. He is more an expert in contessa's and ambassador especially petrol. He is one of a strong reason for me in retaining my cars originallity. If you're really interested i shall introduce him, you shall feel the difference.

[agspins]

@mycarhasablower congrats for your purchase

BTW here is something i tried in paint sometime back, on pics posted by Badboyscad.

[Sudhindra]

Hey anmol, nice conty you have got there. best of luck

[Motorholic]

Hey guys, on 20th june 2010 i became the prowd owner of a 97 contessa classic petrol and i must add it is the most comfy car i have ever been in even better than my friends bmw 320d.

Burn those Beamers!!

@agspins: I've seen a Conti in Chennai that looks almost exactly like what you've made, except that the alloys were not shiny but matte-finished. They had fatter tires and probably a bit of offset too. White coloured car, subtle and awesome. I've been increasingly attracted to stock contis offlate .

@Shekaran: The read Vauxhall in post number 39 is Victor-ious . Those wheels are what do it for me, asbolutely killer. Are they available in India?

@Badboyscad: Your stock contessa is probably the one I like the most here. And while everybody is on the topic of rims, I actually like those stock steel rims on this car a lot. I'd change the colour of the car and get rid of the plastic bumpers.

@mycarhasablower:

Even if i do find the original dash parts i intend to fabricate the whole dash out of sheet metal and use it in place of the original so that the original can be preserved.

I'd have done the same but probably not for preservation (makes sense though) but for a more classic looking car! It beats being surrounded by swathes of Hindustan Motor-grade plastic!!

[mycarhasablower]

@viraat: i Know man, i owe it all to you. Had been looking for a conti for a year and found nothing. i dont intend to change to amby vents simply because i want to keep the car original. Its not going to be a daily use car anyway.But i do inrtend to get a good dash. Infact ill go and check out the faridabad conti as soon as possible and as long as the guy doesnt ask for an arm and leg for it, ill take off as many useable parts of it as i can. Complete dash with center console steering, door handles, trim, guages etc. etc. ill probably taker like 5000 along(that should be enough for all that.

After the break failure the other day i put in new fluid and bled the breaks.they work now but its still pulling to one side. Ill check the wheelbase on either side for the possibility of a bent arm and if thats ok will open up the assembly myself to see if there is a problem with the clip that sudhindra mentioned(told you i was a DIY kinda guy) if things dont work out still then kalim is the man. Infact ill go to him only, whenever i need to go to a mech since you are so sure about him. My mechanic anyways is now bedridden :( so was on the lookout for a skilled honest guy)

@Miyer: Thanks man. Its very comforting to know that i am not venturing into the rough sea's of conty ownership without able guidance at hand.have been trying to get sudhindra to start a conti club in your city. He told me you shall be organising the thing soon. so do it quickly cant wait to see pics from your first conti meet. Would love to see these beauties live on forever.

Will be counting on you for guidance from time to time.

@anuj:yeah and ill be needing that help since i will work on my car myself as far as possible.

@agspins:thanks

@sudhi:thanks man.I found another guy on facebook whos keen on the idea of the delhi conti club, you must have noticed. lets hope the delhi club happens.

@motorholic: haha.id prefer my conti to those nazi sleds anyday. It has far more sex appeal when restored properly. And beamers anyway have become very common here, there is on in the next house , one in the house in front and a merc c class in the house next to the house in front of mine. Contessa ownership guarantees exclusivity.

I agree with you on the stock rims. alloys are for japanese pocket rockets.
and though the plastics on the conti are pure junk, when in good condition the interior looks exquisite and Mahesh's conti is a good example of that.


Ok so now an update:
Have procured the original owners manual , workshop manual and parts list in pdf.
Have taken the rear bumper off to electrolytically remove the rust from the mounts , paint them and straighten them.Once i get my welding equipment and angle grinder, new ones will be fabricated.
The driver side door handle was broken, its been taken off and have to install a new one(have to cut out the rubber lining behind the handle since it isnt available)
Cleaned out the inside of the door the pads of which were removed in order to prevent rusting due to collection of water.also water chanels of all doors ere opened.

The electrical system is a mess. the ac doesnt workbesides a lot of peculiar problems.Replacing all the tail light bulbs (just put wd 40 today to get them out in the first place,will clean them with sand paper and rubbing compound for good contact)
this is being done in order to find out how messed up the wiring is(have procured the wiring diagram).

Once the insurance and transfer of ownership is done the dashboard will be removed for correction of the wiring.

I wanted to repair the fibre bumpers on the car , but unlike america 3m doesnt sell a fibreglass repair kit here in india.
i need to know where i can get the glassfibre fabric and the resin and epoxy.

@miyer: after the basic stuff is done and everything is in working order , ill begin the resto of the car and ill have to tackle issues like rust. for which ill have to pull off panels of thecar to patch them.
For this i need to know where every joint is and need the body's schematics.
does something like the schematics of the fiat 1100 (given below) exist for the conti?

[mycarhasablower]

Hey mahesh, today in college while just examinig the lower suspension arm ball joint for the 800 at the automobile dept. lab i realised that the rubber on the ball joint is not really a bush as i previosly belived but a boot like the axle and steering arm which holds grease and prevents dirt from getting in.

the ones on my 800 are torn and the ones on the upper arm ball joints on both sides of my conti are also torn.

I was told that the ball joints of the contessa are its achilles heels and they have to be replaced almost yearly on a daily use car. from my experience , if a person keeps his eyes open for the boot condition and replaces them as soon as they tear , there is no reason for the ball joints to wear out with all that clean lubricant available to reduce wear.

so if the boot is available in the market id just replace it as soon as it tore.

what is your opinion, would it help?


ohh and i found the chassis schematics in the parts list of the contessa so thats taken care of.

[Miyer]

Hi Anmol,
Right…!!! It’s the boot that prevents dust, water and muck from entering the pre-lubricated sealed joint. If you see the Maruthi 800’s joint, the rubber if of a far better quality since the front suspension relies completely on this single lower arm and balance rod. The upper end is directly bolted to the strut and wola, that’s the layout.

In the conti things get a bit more complicated. It’s a double wishbone layout with joints on either ends of the kingpin. The front stub axle oscillates between the upper and lower joints causing twice the amount of flexing.

Also the rubber parts itself are old (storage and older latex based rubber) and prone to cracking and dryness over a period of time. The newer rubber boots are nitro based polymers and offer improved stability from oil/grease erosion and wear & tear.

A simple regime to maintain rubber parts in classic/old cars:

• Never spray used mineral oil/diesel under chassis after a water wash as the wash guys insist. Spraying any mineral oil/diesel will erode all the rubber parts over a period of time.

• Use Girling Oil or brake fluid on all rubber parts for lubrication and to moisturise the parts periodically for a smooth and long operating life.

The joints are generally factory lubricated and sealed. I my knowledge the boot is not available separately and the entire joint has to be replaced once the boot wears off.

The joint and boot would have been tested for number of oscillations it can take with the pre-greasing and render useless once the boot gives way.

It is better to replace the entire joint once the boot is broken or shows any distress. In some cases the boot is (my case) still in good condition but the ball would have worn off and shows up on wheel alignment which then has to be replaced.

Cheers,
M Iyer

[manikjeet]

I totally agree that contessa look great with rims