[autocrat]

Originally Posted by skunk

This is amazing!

Dear Skunk, Great to have you on board! What is also amazing is there is someone half-way round the globe who is keeping track of what happened here in the automobile world decades ago!

Thanks a lot for your post and looking forward to more!

Goutham

[karlosdeville]

Originally Posted by skunk

This is amazing! As a lifelong fan of the Standard Gazel, I am very happy to see that a few people are interesting in salvaging them. Also, never having been to India, this thread is the nearest I have ever gotten to a Gazel, so thanks.

That's the main reason I share threads like these - we get to network with enthusiasts that normally we may not have met. And learn so much! The downside is that when more and more people start to like and collect these cars, prices go up

Originally Posted by skunk

As for ground clearance, Quattroruote states 16cm (Tutti Automobile del Mondo, 1977).

Thanks. Any other trivia you can dig out will be most appreciated.

Originally Posted by skunk

I grew up reading about the cars of the world mostly in old German Automobil Katalogs, and the constant inclusion of Standard in the India section always baffled me after also having read the included production statistics. Here are Standard's automobile production numbers for 1982 and 1983:

Isn't it amazing? Now to find that one car they built that year...

Actually for a number of years we see production figures in 1 or 2 digits, before the 2000 was introduced.

Originally Posted by skunk

As for the ride height, I agree with about it "settling down with wear", and perhaps the installation of glass and other bits will add some weight and lower it accordingly?

I'm not so sure the glasses will make a noticeable difference, I'm more hopeful that with some running it will settle down. This is exactly what happened with the Fiat we just completed.

Originally Posted by skunk

Lastly, Karlos, it is a rare thing anywhere in the world to find a classic car enthusiast with such a delicate touch, and such a delightful taste in which cars to save - I am glad you exist (along with others on this board, none named and none forgotten) and can help protect some of India's automotive patrimony. Perhaps there is a Standard 2000 out there waiting for you too?

Thank you for the kind words. A Standard 2000 I would love to have, as well as a 20. I hope they will find me soon enough.

29th December 2015

An update after a while. New running board covers were built, the originals being completely rusted out.







Most of the tinwork is completed. Next step is blasting the body, still exploring options. I have no experience in the matter - can anyone suggest some good reading?

[skunk]

Well, thanks for all the nice words - but the update is even better.

[manishalive]

Blasting at the same guy where chassis components were blasted would be a consideration. Using old, used blunt fine sand with a low pressure 40- 50 psig and blasted at 30-45 deg is what I have read to be good. We may need to talk to the guy to be very slow. I talked to Marepsand (sorry if that is a wrong spell) once, he did mentioned of warping of pannels. You may want to speak to him, he worked on Amir's rolls.

[karlosdeville]

29th January 2016

A major update - the Gazel body was blasted. Details of the process and medium I leave to bulletboy who was there for the whole duration.

We could confirm that the car had never been welded in the past, this was the first time that any tinwork was undertaken. It was also established that Standard Motors of course didn't have the best of quality control looking at lead in many panels.

















On another note this also meant bye bye to all the original paint :( though a portion on the dash has been retained for posterity.

The good news is that after a bit of excavation the original regn plate was uncovered - originally MEO 5973. I am thrilled to find this information, since it doesn't exist in any RTO. I don't suppose I can have it officially reinstated :(

[thebulletboy]

Originally Posted by karlosdeville

Details of the process and medium I leave to bulletboy who was there for the whole duration.

We used water vapour based abrasive grit blasting.
This is milder than dry sandblasting since the surface of the metal is cooled down immediately with the blast of water. Hence the metal does not warp due to frictional heat.

The water is mixed with a rust inhibitor to prevent any oxidisation of the metal for a few hours. Immediate cleaning and primering is nonetheless recommended.

The other thing that we needed to ensure was that the angle of attack is kept within reasonable limits so that there are no dents due to the high pressure.

We realised that the mildness of the media can be either a boon or a bane, depending on the surface being blasted. Even a car like the Gazel with zero paste needed multiple rounds of blasting to get the desired finish.

On another car, that had a fair bit of filler, the number of repetitions, and hence the usage of media went up significantly.

For cars which have filler / paste we need to further experiment with different grades of media, or mixed rough and soft media.

[condor]

Karlos, are parts like windshield / glass still available ?
or is it cannibalised stuff ?

[KartikeyaL]

Originally Posted by thebulletboy

We used water vapour based abrasive grit blasting.
This is milder than dry sandblasting since the surface of the metal is cooled down immediately with the blast of water. Hence the metal does not warp due to frictional heat.

Do you have a video of the blasting process to share .

[Stanher]

Originally Posted by karlosdeville

29th January 2016

A major update - the Gazel body was blasted.
It was also established that Standard Motors of course didn't have the best of quality control looking at lead in many panels.

Which, I was told by a local tinker, also made the Gazel's body heavier!

[karlosdeville]

Originally Posted by condor

Karlos, are parts like windshield / glass still available ?
or is it cannibalised stuff ?

The front windscreen was missing (had broken in the past), luckily Pankaj has sourced an original one. I'm assuming it is common to the Herald, or else I'll be in for a nasty surprise.

[Stanher]

Originally Posted by karlosdeville

The front windscreen was missing (had broken in the past), luckily Pankaj has sourced an original one. I'm assuming it is common to the Herald, or else I'll be in for a nasty surprise.

Afaik, the front and rear windscreens are common between the two. Only the side glasses differ.

[thebulletboy]

Originally Posted by KartikeyaL

Do you have a video of the blasting process to share .

A couple of videos from the first round of the blasting procedure :

http://youtu.be/50WLwj2kx-0

http://youtu.be/sWSw1xcBCUw

[KartikeyaL]

Originally Posted by thebulletboy

A couple of videos from the first round of the blasting procedure :

Thanks for sharing, I wanted to see how much of dust was being generated , this looks great , where can one source one such machine, and what brand ?

if You can share this info.
regards
Kartik

[thebulletboy]

Originally Posted by KartikeyaL

I wanted to see how much of dust was being generated , this looks great , where can one source one such machine, and what brand ? if You can share this info.

The machine we used was from Graco, an american brand. While results were good, it is rather noisy and quite expensive to purchase. This particular machine is probably perfect if you are running a professional blasting setup with a sound-proofed blast room or for use in wide open spaces with no residential buildings in the vicinity.

There are other brands in the US that make smaller machines, but since dustless blasting is still in it's infancy, I guess everything will be expensive right now.

Lastly I have been told that DKG on the forum is developing a similar product in India that addresses the price concern at least.

I shall email you details as and when I find more information / products.

[KartikeyaL]

Originally Posted by thebulletboy

I shall email you details as and when I find more information / products.

Thank you so much for details