[Altocumulus]

Absolutely brilliant and very nostalgic. I learnt my driving and my first car was a 1962 Super Select. Used it in college and a lot of people in 'Marutis and Hyundais' used to laugh at me. But I didn't care, because I just loved her. It was also our daily drive and only car for quite a few years. Also it was my dad's first, first hand car. Was with us for 40 years !! Too bad we had to sell her for financial constraints.I miss her so much. But I will get another one for sure someday.

[Bulldogji]

Hi H14,
Apologies for being the odd one out, pointing out problem areas in your latest purchase. Incorrect wheel caps can be changed, BUT, what is worrying is the shoddy paint work. If you critically observe the car, you will notice the under carriage will have rust, obvious from the lower edge of the panel under the dicky. If you see the rear exposed frame of the front seat, the horn button chrome surround, the engine bay etc, you will conclude that this is a car which has been painted without much preparation in terms of anti rust treatment. lots of corrosion is apparent, the engine compartment has been oversprayed, corrosion areas already visible. Please critically see the car and rectify before it becomes a nightmare. I have seen many buyers of newly painted old cars tearing their hair out coping with corrosion problems within a year of purchase. When they go back to the garage they are told, well this is an old car so you have to be prepared to deal with rust issues.

Lovely car nonetheless and happy motoring.

[RGK]

Wonderful restoration. Hope the mechanical condition is fine , how about the odometer and other gauges.

Happy and Safe motoring.

[Nimish anthony]

Absolutely drool stuff. I wonder how i missed this thread. Great selection too. Just update your garage picture too and add the latest acquisition.

[h14]

Thx everyone!

@Bulldogji, those will be taken care off soon. Thx for the concern

Took her to Coonoor last weekend and she climbed without a fuss. Below picture clicked by JayD. All 3 taking a well deserved break in Coonoor

[h14]

Been little over a year since the blue lady came home.

She was in the garage for fluid changes along with change of radiator hoses.

Also changed was the exhaust. It was a custom made exhaust right from header to end can. Made very similar to the OE exhaust.

We also changed the distributor. The car was running with the original magnetti marelli distributor but often had problems with car switching off and mostly not starting at all. I was able to source a Lucas and so swapped them. Keeping the original MM safe at home.

Now she runs fluently and smoother than ever

[h14]

For past few months the Select has been throwing up some starting troubles. Initially suspected the battery to be the culprit and was also suspecting the alternator and took to electrician who confirmed its the starter motor that's faulty yet again. Busy schedules at work and also less time at cbe during holidays meant I couldn't attend to her. She was parked quietly. There was also the gearbox oil leak increasing.

Finally on Monday, Dec 21, 2015 got her out to the electrician. It wasn't cranking and hence had to push start. The starter motor and alternator were both serviced. Quite few internal parts such as brush, bearings etc were all replaced. Also the indicator flasher was replaced. Old battery though fading in life was recharged and deemed good for some more time.

The car now starts at half a crank unlike the earlier long crank.

Total damage Rs.1700. Very happy with the work done by electrician Balan at Patel road in Ramnagar who was referred to me by a friend.

Next in line is to fix the oil leak. Suspicion is on the oil seal in the gear sector on the box. Will have to see!

[h14]

So after the trip to (Mysore (Summer Drive: 7 Fiat Millecentos visit Mysore)), it was time to get the niggles sorted.

First on the list were the tyres. The MRF TwinTread whitewalls had aged badly and developed numerous cracks on the sidewalls. They were no longer safe. As always, there was no stock of 5.20-14 anywhere and like last year (when I reached to MRF for my Super Select) I did the same again. Sent a request for 4 tyres to MRF on the website and in under 48hrs I get a call.

It was the same Mr.Amarnath who was once again very helpful. He said that none down south had stock and they were kind enough to ship me 4 tyres from a shop in Kolkatta. The tyres arrived at LJJ coimbatore in about a week and I had picked it up from there.

It was the same 2016 batch that I had got last year for the SS. Believe MRF hasn't made any more after that. No complaints though and I was very happy to get a set of nylons!

All this while the car was with the mech in Coimbatore. Got the brakes cleaned and serviced. The radiator was cleaned as well. Also got gauges fitted for fuel, temperature and ampere. I had been delaying this since I did not want to add on extras to the dash. But it was during the Mysore drive that I badly missed the fuel & temp gauge. But then, I was very particular on not messing with the dash and instead got them installed inside the glove box.

I do miss out on storage space now, but then, I can live with this rather than having the meters elsewhere on the dash.

Normal view with the glovebox closed



With glove box flipped open



Next up, got the tyres installed at Hindustan.



The insides of the wheel were scrubbed and cleaned meticulously





The unfortunate incident

While the car was with the mech in Coimbatore there were incessent rains everyday. Due to this the mech had used a car cover. One reason was to avoid bird droppings in his place and the other being the rain. But he missed to remove the covers after the rain and it resulted in water marks and some fading. This was completely unexpected and mech was also feeling extremely bad for his mistake. Couldn't do much and had to plan on getting the boot, bonnet and the roof painted.

So, post install of the tyres, I decided to drive to Naveen's place near Walyar for the paint work. The plan was to get an overcoat done. It is the same place where my super select is getting a complete strip down painting job. We decided to get the select done first by pausing work on the super select.

Enroute Walayar





The fittings were removed in no time and it was all set to get the paint job done after some masking





Sharing space with my SS

[Jeroen]

Lovely little car. Love that dashboard.

Good job you replaced those tires. Really liked the look of the whitewalls though. Really suited this car. I imagine they must be difficult if not impossible to get. Theere are a few companies in Europe that specialise in classic tires. But probably expensive to get them all the way to India.

Jeroen

[h14]

Next day when the tinker and painter had a close look, they found some spots which started rusted. So what started as an overcoat plan, turned out to become a patchwork-painting episode. I gave them the goahead as it was better to get the patches done before they spread!

So works started in full force!









Still clueless on how this spanner got in? Was it an easter egg by FIAT?



We couldn't stop wondering when we found another one on the other side! Now started to wonder if any of the previous tinkers had put it in as some superstition



































All set now and ready for painting!

[h14]

First up the roof! The masking begins for getting the roof painted





Painted in no time! Was worried if the shade might change, but they matched it to perfection!



A sunbath before starting on the body



Now, time for the roof to get masked while the body can get its due





The engine bay too was masked





The body was completed and the fittings were now being bolted.



Out in the sun



Finally, was able to grab a set of oem tail lamp lens



The tail lamp mounted



The bumpers polished and set to glitter!



Now the boot inners got some black!



Followed by the hood



Then the boot



The seats where cleaned and mounted





The wheels were off for painting now



In parallel the wheel archs and drums got their coats!







Some minor parts on the steering column got black as well



After the paint



The tail pipe had to be replaced



New pipe with the silencer paint



The wheels were ready now



The glove box insides got a brush touch up



The IRVM got black as well! Was contemplating body color as in DrKannan's mille, but decided to go with black



The naked wires got some plumbing

[h14]

All done now and one could feel the happyness on the car's face!



She was flaunting her new shoes. Looks even better with the dual tone paint.



Whitewalls would only take it further to the next level!



Picked her up and I had a huge grin on my face while driving back to Coimbatore



Back home and she was flaunting her new paint to the compass & linea



While the amby was all eyes the s10 was seen turning its back. Maybe he's feels the blue is no match to the canary yellow



She is now back to her original and favorite parking spot!



Now all she needs is a nice photoshoot drive! Hoping for that to happy very soon!

[h14]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

Lovely little car. Love that dashboard.

Good job you replaced those tires. Really liked the look of the whitewalls though. Really suited this car. I imagine they must be difficult if not impossible to get. Theere are a few companies in Europe that specialise in classic tires. But probably expensive to get them all the way to India.

Jeroen

Thanks Jeroen! Importing tyres is not even in my dreams yet
Planning to try inserts and see how they cope up. Let's see!

[V.Narayan]

She is looking like a princess. If ever you decide to sell it please give me a shout. Serious. I love the car and its colour combination. Do you drive it around a little to keep the machinery in good order.

[h14]

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

She is looking like a princess. If ever you decide to sell it please give me a shout. Serious. I love the car and its colour combination. Do you drive it around a little to keep the machinery in good order.

Thanks Narayan! I sincerly hope to keep her for life
I do drive her frequently. She has done two trips to Ooty, few drives to Walayar and the latest being Mysore visit which I had shared here (Summer Drive: 7 Fiat Millecentos visit Mysore)