[Drkannant]

Originally Posted by Voyager

Would you really want to cut and change the windscreen metal frames ? in my opinion do try to repair them if possible , as i am afraid changing them may result in incorrect sizes and water seepage etc . Also do you have a new set of rubber beedings ?? i heard that a place in coimbatore may still have them , i too need a set and will get in touch with you on the details .

As regards to the headlight do you see any earlier welds over the mudguard ? Maybe i can send you an exact card paper template of the ring from my car and you could use that as reference and later on some rings in MS can be fabricated .Also i have a friend who has one original mudguard and i could request him to send out measurements /pictures .

Thanks

prashanth
traditionz@vsnl.net /9886001007

Hi Prashanth,

Thanks for your input, will discuss with the tinker if he can repair the windscreen without cutting it.

Yes, i do have a pair of new windscreen rubber beading Prashanth and recently i procured for one of our fellow bhp member a pair of front and rear windscreen rubber beading from here in coimbatore. I will find out if he has another pair of it.

Please, i will be very grateful if you could send me the card cutting of the headlight measurement and also the details of it from your friend.

Will call you some time tomorrow on your cell with the details. Thanks for the help.

[Drkannant]

Originally Posted by Drkannant

Hi Prashanth,

Thanks for your input, will discuss with the tinker if he can repair the windscreen without cutting it.

Yes, i do have a pair of new windscreen rubber beading Prashanth and recently i procured for one of our fellow bhp member a pair of front and rear windscreen rubber beading from here in coimbatore. I will find out if he has another pair of it.

Please, i will be very grateful if you could send me the card cutting of the headlight measurement and also the details of it from your friend.

Will call you some time tomorrow on your cell with the details. Thanks for the help.

Hi Fiatians,

It has been some time since I posted something about the work in progress of my beauty. Don't know what to name her, how about " DADDY COOL" as the whole idea of restoration is in remembrance of my father. I'm open for suggestions guys

Ok to start with I want to post few pictures of the engine and the engine sump for Mr Behram, as he wanted me to post them for his expert guidance and then will upload pictures of the WIP.

The car is right now undergoing tinkering work and I am happy the way it is progressing and also satisfied with the tinker's work. He is an old timer and a keralite who is into tinkering for decades and I think one who knows the job. Again this is my opinion who is new to this world of restoration, so I want you all to tell me if he is doing the job right.

The places where the body needed metal sheets to be replaced, it has been replaced for example in the engine bay the chassis cross bar that comes below the radiator, the bottom of the the left front & back doors, the part where the rear bumper is fixed etc. Other small areas that required closures are done by welding, On the dash board the amp meter and on the switch panel an extra hole that was present is blanked.

Jobs that is yet to be corrected are the headlights, the side indicator holes, the battery holder to be changed on to the right side, the rusting areas seen on both the windscreens. My biggest nightmare is correcting the headlights frame to the original size.

I should thank Mr. Prashanth for the great help he did by lending me a headlight ring so that i could correct my headlight frame to the original size. My heart felt thanks to him. Thank you so much Prashanth.

I am also trying to get the headlight rings fabricated in aluminium here in Coimbatore, hope it comes out well. I will post a picture of the fabricated ring for all of you to see and opine.

On my parts procurement scene, I managed to get a rear view mirror and a boot lock, both in pretty good shape.

Now have a look at the pictures and give me your valuable suggestions.

Thank you.

[Drkannant]

Originally Posted by Drkannant

Hi Fiatians,

It has been some time since I posted something about the work in progress of my beauty. Don't know what to name her, how about " DADDY COOL" as the whole idea of restoration is in remembrance of my father. I'm open for suggestions guys

Ok to start with I want to post few pictures of the engine and the engine sump for Mr Behram, as he wanted me to post them for his expert guidance and then will upload pictures of the WIP.

The car is right now undergoing tinkering work and I am happy the way it is progressing and also satisfied with the tinker's work. He is an old timer and a keralite who is into tinkering for decades and I think one who knows the job. Again this is my opinion who is new to this world of restoration, so I want you all to tell me if he is doing the job right.

The places where the body needed metal sheets to be replaced, it has been replaced for example in the engine bay the chassis cross bar that comes below the radiator, the bottom of the the left front & back doors, the part where the rear bumper is fixed etc. Other small areas that required closures are done by welding, On the dash board the amp meter and on the switch panel an extra hole that was present is blanked.

Jobs that is yet to be corrected are the headlights, the side indicator holes, the battery holder to be changed on to the right side, the rusting areas seen on both the windscreens. My biggest nightmare is correcting the headlights frame to the original size.

I should thank Mr. Prashanth for the great help he did by lending me a headlight ring so that i could correct my headlight frame to the original size. My heart felt thanks to him. Thank you so much Prashanth.

I am also trying to get the headlight rings fabricated in aluminium here in Coimbatore, hope it comes out well. I will post a picture of the fabricated ring for all of you to see and opine.

On my parts procurement scene, I managed to get a rear view mirror and a boot lock, both in pretty good shape.

Now have a look at the pictures and give me your valuable suggestions.

Thank you.

Here are the pictures of WIP.

At the end is a picture of the air inlet box, which i think is not opened for more than 5 decades. Hoping to make it fully functional if i can find the parts.

please advice if any changes has to be done. Thank you.

[DHABHAR.BEHRAM]

Dear Drkannant - thanks for posting the engine pictures as I wanted them. Your engine cylinder block is of 1955 so it does not have the boss with a long hole drilled in it for mounting the dynamo. Crankshaft pulley and water pump pulley are changed to Padmini type because your car originally had a thicker fan belt with adjustment on the water pump pulley. The present alternator is fitted by fabricating and fitting a sheet metal bracket off the block stud which is not the correct thing to do but your technician does not have any other choice, so please tell the technician to ensure reliability of this system to the extent possible. If it breaks, the alternator will fall off. S1 bracket will never fit. On other comments, crankcase ventilation pipe is missing. It is fitted between the oil filter and the distributor. Please see if you can find one in the used car market and fit it. There are two bent hoses connecting to the tappet covers at the top and side. Please fit them too. The straight rubber pipe fitted on the side cover connector is not correct, please throw it out. Please remove the sub-frame from the car and clean / paint it properly. I hope the radiator mounting brackets on the front cross member are rewelded in correct position, please recheck otherwise radiator will not fit properly. Center distance is 240mm if I remember correctly but please recheck on the radiator. Please refer page 3 of my 1960 fiat BMC8903 thread for radiator mounting details, you will have to use Santro mountings. On body tinkering, the complete sheet metal must be cleaned and all undesirable holes must be blocked. It is a redious job but it must be done.

Best regards,

Behram Dhabhar

[Drkannant]

Originally Posted by DHABHAR.BEHRAM

Dear Drkannant - thanks for posting the engine pictures as I wanted them. Your engine cylinder block is of 1955 so it does not have the boss with a long hole drilled in it for mounting the dynamo. Crankshaft pulley and water pump pulley are changed to Padmini type because your car originally had a thicker fan belt with adjustment on the water pump pulley. The present alternator is fitted by fabricating and fitting a sheet metal bracket off the block stud which is not the correct thing to do but your technician does not have any other choice, so please tell the technician to ensure reliability of this system to the extent possible. If it breaks, the alternator will fall off. S1 bracket will never fit. On other comments, crankcase ventilation pipe is missing. It is fitted between the oil filter and the distributor. Please see if you can find one in the used car market and fit it. There are two bent hoses connecting to the tappet covers at the top and side. Please fit them too. The straight rubber pipe fitted on the side cover connector is not correct, please throw it out. Please remove the sub-frame from the car and clean / paint it properly. I hope the radiator mounting brackets on the front cross member are rewelded in correct position, please recheck otherwise radiator will not fit properly. Center distance is 240mm if I remember correctly but please recheck on the radiator. Please refer page 3 of my 1960 fiat BMC8903 thread for radiator mounting details, you will have to use Santro mountings. On body tinkering, the complete sheet metal must be cleaned and all undesirable holes must be blocked. It is a redious job but it must be done.

Best regards,

Behram Dhabhar

Hi Mr. Behram sir, Thank you so much for your valuable feedback, i will get back to my mechanic with your inputs and ask him to do the all that you wanted to be done.

Regarding the sub frame, can you please point it out by an arrow which is that you are talking about, I'm sorry i still don't get you Is that the sub frame which is arrow marked in the picture uploaded ?

I'll do check out the radiator mounting details in your thread and will do the same. Sure, will ask the tinker to clean the the whole sheet metal.

Thank you sir. please keep a watch on me !

[DHABHAR.BEHRAM]

Dear Drkannant - yes, that is the sub-frame. It is held on the body by 22 bolts of size M10*1.25. You must remove it off the car and clean / inspect / paint it completely before reassembling. There are shims between the extreme rear end of the sub-frame and the body sheet metal to take care of the tolerances in Z (vertical) direction, you need to put these back properly to take care of NVH issue (noise vibration harshness), but please remove it only after all the welding work on the car is completed (now that you have started it), otherwise without subframe support, the body shell will warp during rework. You must support the body shell properly during this time. Also, please remove every single mechanical part out of the body shell when you restore the car, please remove the steering gear, the steering tie rods, the suspension etc out of the car.

Of course I'll keep a watch on your car's progress, after all its my hobby too! .

Best regards,

Behram Dhabhar

[Drkannant]

Originally Posted by DHABHAR.BEHRAM

Dear Drkannant - yes, that is the sub-frame. It is held on the body by 22 bolts of size M10*1.25. You must remove it off the car and clean / inspect / paint it completely before reassembling. There are shims between the extreme rear end of the sub-frame and the body sheet metal to take care of the tolerances in Z (vertical) direction, you need to put these back properly to take care of NVH issue (noise vibration harshness), but please remove it only after all the welding work on the car is completed (now that you have started it), otherwise without subframe support, the body shell will warp during rework. You must support the body shell properly during this time. Also, please remove every single mechanical part out of the body shell when you restore the car, please remove the steering gear, the steering tie rods, the suspension etc out of the car.

Of course I'll keep a watch on your car's progress, after all its my hobby too! .

Best regards,

Behram Dhabhar

Thanks Mr. Behram, will do want you want.

Actually the the wheel braking and suspension is completely replaced and done up, you still want me to remove it ? I needed them, the steering and brakes when I toed the car to the tinkering place.

Thats lot of technicality you are talking about, I doubt my aged mechanic will understand all that u are asking me to do. Anyway will ask him to remove the steering column and the gear rod and later the car off the sub frame. Fingers crossed !

[Drkannant]

Originally Posted by Drkannant

Thanks Mr. Behram, will do want you want.

Actually the the wheel braking and suspension is completely replaced and done up, you still want me to remove it ? I needed them, the steering and brakes when I toed the car to the tinkering place.

Thats lot of technicality you are talking about, I doubt my aged mechanic will understand all that u are asking me to do. Anyway will ask him to remove the steering column and the gear rod and later the car off the sub frame. Fingers crossed !

Dear Behram, I had been to the workshop this morning and asked the mechanic and tinker to remove the chassis and clean up the sub frame. They said if the sub frame is badly damaged we can fit a new sub frame which are available here in Coimbatore. It should cost you around Rs 3000. Can I get the new sub frame and change it or should i just clean the old existing one.

changing to new sub frame will save me lot of time and also the trouble of toeing the car from the tinkers place to the mechanic's garage and then back to the tinker and painter place.

Please let me know what i should do, Thank you.

[DHABHAR.BEHRAM]

Originally Posted by Drkannant

Dear Behram, I had been to the workshop this morning and asked the mechanic and tinker to remove the chassis and clean up the sub frame. They said if the sub frame is badly damaged we can fit a new sub frame which are available here in Coimbatore. It should cost you around Rs 3000. Can I get the new sub frame and change it or should i just clean the old existing one. Changing to new sub frame will save me lot of time and also the trouble of toeing the car from the tinkers place to the mechanic's garage and then back to the tinker and painter place. Please let me know what i should do, Thank you.

Dear Drkannant - original sub-frame will not be available for love of money, after a lot of difficulty I had found one in Mumbai in 2008. It was very costly, but I had to buy it as the car's original sub-frame had huge holes in it! It is now fitted in my 1967 classic fiat MRF6466. If sub-frame is available in Coimbatore, 99% chance is that it will be a local make which is not advisable to use as cross reference dimensions are not correct as per the workshop manual, I had checked all this, I know. In any case, it is necessary to remove the sub-frame so you can see its condition and then decide whether to clean, paint and refit it or you need to replace it. Tow the car to the garage and tell the guy to do it. Please do this the hard way and the correct way.

Best regards,

Behram Dhabhar

[Drkannant]

Originally Posted by DHABHAR.BEHRAM

Dear Drkannant - original sub-frame will not be available for love of money, after a lot of difficulty I had found one in Mumbai in 2008. It was very costly, but I had to buy it as the car's original sub-frame had huge holes in it! It is now fitted in my 1967 classic fiat MRF6466. If sub-frame is available in Coimbatore, 99% chance is that it will be a local make which is not advisable to use as cross reference dimensions are not correct as per the workshop manual, I had checked all this, I know. In any case, it is necessary to remove the sub-frame so you can see its condition and then decide whether to clean, paint and refit it or you need to replace it. Tow the car to the garage and tell the guy to do it. Please do this the hard way and the correct way.

Best regards,

Behram Dhabhar

Dear Mr. Behram, will surely remove the sub frame and will do it as you say. I will post the pictures for your reference, but as you said I will be able to do it only after all the tinkering work on the body is over.

The new sub frames that i mentioned we get here are not original ones, they are the fabricated ones, will also post a picture if i get to see them.

Thank you so much Behram sir.

[Drkannant]

Originally Posted by Drkannant

Dear Mr. Behram, will surely remove the sub frame and will do it as you say. I will post the pictures for your reference, but as you said I will be able to do it only after all the tinkering work on the body is over.

The new sub frames that i mentioned we get here are not original ones, they are the fabricated ones, will also post a picture if i get to see them.

Thank you so much Behram sir.

Hi Everybody

Found some parts for my car in the last 2 days, but I'm not very sure if it belongs to the 1955 fiat. Need some advice and clarification from all you guys about these parts.

1. Hand grabs -- this I found in my dads trunk. I know it is not the original stuff but is it OK to use it?

2. Head light doom & reflector -- this I was told by the scrapyard guy that it belongs to the 1955 model. If he is correct then I need your suggestions about how to set it right, which bulb can be fixed, how to get the reflector coated and which glass can be fixed on to these head lights.

As i had mentioned earlier in the thread, I am getting the rings fabricated here in Coimbatore. It should be ready by next week.

please help me out with the head light restoration guys. Awaiting for all your suggestions.

[manishalive]

Dear Dr kannan, hand grab rails are nice and these were the ones locally available, tough not original.

As for the headlight, the two side open conical cover is the correct one, on the smalle side will sit a glass that will be light source for engine bay. The last picture with bakelite connector also seems original.

The best person to tell you on lights would be Amol (the mole), his car has original on them.

[farhan_kidwai]

Originally Posted by Drkannant

2. Head light doom & reflector -- this I was told by the scrapyard guy that it belongs to the 1955 model. If he is correct then I need your suggestions about how to set it right, which bulb can be fixed, how to get the reflector coated and which glass can be fixed on to these head lights.

The enclosed digram should give you a fair idea on how to put the light assembly together

[Drkannant]

Originally Posted by farhan_kidwai

The enclosed digram should give you a fair idea on how to put the light assembly together

@ Farhan: Thanks a ton Farhan for the page from the manual. Is will be a great help. But am not sure if i would be able to source the entire set of the head light assembly. As of now i have the head light doom, the reflector, the glasses - a pair of Jawa head light glasses ( courtesy - Mr. Prashanth ) and the rings, which are on the process of fabrication. The reflector is in pretty bad shape so thinking of trying to mix & match reflectors of other vehicles Jawa, samurai, force India & Eicher cantor that suit The millecento doom. will let you know the results.

Did meet Prashanth yesterday here in Coimbatore, spent couple of hours with him, the beauty in this is that though we are meeting for the first time i never felt that i was meeting a stranger, always felt like that of catching up with a old friend after a long time. Amazing isn't it ? All thanks & credit to our FIAT

[manishalive]

Originally Posted by Drkannant

@ Farhan: Thanks a ton Farhan for the page from the manual. Is will be a great help. But am not sure if i would be able to source the entire set of the head light assembly. As of now i have the head light doom, the reflector, the glasses - a pair of Jawa head light glasses ( courtesy - Mr. Prashanth ) and the rings, which are on the process of fabrication. The reflector is in pretty bad shape so thinking of trying to mix & match reflectors of other vehicles Jawa, samurai, force India & Eicher cantor that suit The millecento doom. will let you know the results.

Dear Dr. Kannan,

I am seeing your pictures of headlight on a bigger screen only now. You have got a rare find. Do you have only one brown bulb holder or two?? If you have two of them, then you nothing like it.

I think that the headlight reflector can be recoated, many have done that. Now for the head light glass. I got mine (an inch bigger than your car size) from Indrojit (original carello glass). May be you can contact him and who knows he can be of help. The back side glass could be an issue to find but then for that you could use any glass that fits. Here is a picture of headlight from Amol's thread. This will give you more clarity on how the assembly looks like.