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Old 2nd July 2007, 14:55   #31
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*drool* me want white-walls like these!!!
Btw, I first thought this was your president until I saw the images up close!
I wish it was mine! Sigh...

Its such a coincidence, as this car was registered on the same day that our car was bought, only 1 year later.
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Old 2nd July 2007, 21:03   #32
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The quarter glass first made an appearence in 62 on the super select, and was around till the late 80s i think...while it took me some time to get accustomed to it, I now quite enjoy using it...very useful for a non AC car.

Maxwell had made a few Premier President 1:43 scale models back in the day....anybody got one?!

The Quarter Glass!! Well it appears to most people that the Quarter glass was indeed handy in a non-AC car, but one of our quarter glasses was a bit loose and used to tend to close everytime we used to hit speeds above 70. (The problem at hand could be handled by tightening it) But the real indication that was giving is that it was chanellising more air into the rear windscreen. Beleive me there was a difference in top speed with the quarter glass open and closed (maybe just 2-3 kmph but it still was) and extra air at those speeds was never welcome in the first place. Infact getting rid of those glasses cooled the cabin a lot as it always gave an impression of more airiness. The quarter glass used to be a bit of claustrophobic for me with the exposure to modern cars. It had this huge negative energy.

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Presidents were also the last models to feature thicker guage bodies, and superior gearboxes.
I had a discussion on this with Mr Dhabar as well, according to him there was never a change in the metal gauge thickness. But all folklore and observations pointed to the fact that 1100D's and Presidents had thicker gauges.

One more point of observation was the way the front end (Fender) was joined to the overall body. I find it distinctively different in Fiats that were kept original vs the Fiats that have undergone resporation/ or were newer.
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Old 3rd July 2007, 00:53   #33
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President garaged indoors for the monsoons

Thanx to all you guys for appreciating our Presidents.
Yes....... they are both in the same colour and very original and unique cars.
Just two such cars in mint condition around with two bawa owners (rare to find!) for these beauties. (Hope Karlos agrees?)
I do not have a covered parking, and I normally parked my previously owned classic beauties at my Uncles basement parking in Malabar Hill. My President also is now parked there for one month and I'm longing to get it back as soon as the rains are over. I plan to do a complete overhaul and servicing of the suspension and brakes as they are still in factory fitment original condition and some wear and tear is now apparent. I will appreciate some feedback from my friends here to help me source original/genuine suspension and brake parts in Mumbai as I am beginning to collect requiste spares for the post monsoon President suspension overhaul. The parts in question are: tie rods, spiders, shock abs, and rubber bushings. For the brakes: wheel bearings (if need be) brake shoes, cylinder kits etc. The Engine is in factory mint condition and I promise that in a water shortage crisis, I could manage to take a quick shower from its watery exhaust and get away with it.
Presidents, as far as I know, never came with wide white walls, but they definately looked classy when fitted later during a tyre change. I myself plan to have new Ceat Safety drives wide white walls after the suspension overhaul. And of course, there will be a lot of make overs done to the existent 648 to make it look more and more original. I plan to have the balance rods, tie rods and shock abs powder coated too. And some nuts and bolts to go through galvanised treatment. All this because I like my car to look ultra clean from under chassis which gives me a real kick to see it looking factory mint condition. Yes, I am crazy about these things and at times can go to the extremes where car obsession is concerned. After all I have to...........because I have nicknamed her as "My Rani".
And my wife gets jealous of it.
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Old 3rd July 2007, 10:02   #34
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Sorry for my late entry this thread !

But I must say that your car is simply beautiful......
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Old 3rd July 2007, 11:26   #35
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Thanx Salil for appreciating my "Rani".
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Old 4th July 2007, 23:37   #36
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U mean to say that your President is a 1974 model?
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Old 4th July 2007, 23:43   #37
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Karlosbhai, when are we getting a copy of the Presidents manual. Looking forward eagerly to having it soon.
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Old 5th July 2007, 00:42   #38
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A Fiat is no Fiat without a QUARTER GLASS. Thats the charm every Fiat enthusiast looks into before admiring a Classic Fiat. Especially since most Fiats do not have AC's, its a real boon to have that "CUT GLASS' open to bring in some fresh air and keep u cool. We do not expect high performance figures in Speed or FE in a FIAT anyway, so the marginal difference (if at all!) in those figures hardly matters.
I thought I should express my opinion on this issue but I do as well respect other BHPians views on the same.
Cheers!
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Old 5th July 2007, 20:07   #39
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A Fiat is no Fiat without a QUARTER GLASS. !
Ha Ha Ha, thats a loaded statement, but then a lot of Fiat 103 bodies did not have the front quarter glass. It was only later in the select model that they started making an appearance (on the 1100 model, though many other models had them). So were they not Fiat enough!!

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We do not expect high performance figures in Speed or FE in a FIAT anyway, so the marginal difference (if at all!) in those figures hardly matters.
Cheers!
Some of us do, thats one way in which we try to leverage the beauty of this ancient machine that can still perform alongside modern machines. Sometimes we have to show non-beleivers the FE we get. We despise the image Fiats are getting these days that they are cars that travel slowly on the left side of the road (sometimes on the shoulder) to let others pass. So everything matters (Even the looks).
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Old 5th July 2007, 20:22   #40
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....a lot of Fiat 103 bodies did not have the front quarter glass. It was only later in the select model that they started making an appearance (on the 1100 model, though many other models had them). So were they not Fiat enough!!
Actually, as Karl had earlier said, they started appearing only on the SUPER SELECT (post '62) aka "cut-glass" model (eg. Cyrus' fiat MRY 3112)...I agree they *MIGHT* seem claustrophobic in the "old" fiats (havent been in one with those to say for sure!) but wouldnt really feel so if they are fitted in a Delite/padmini....anyways, to each their own!
And yes, I agree with you on the denigrated image fiats have in recent times among our junta! :(
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Old 6th July 2007, 01:06   #41
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The quarter Glass also hampered the fitment of the door mirrors (well wing mirrors never work)
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Old 6th July 2007, 09:49   #42
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The quarter Glass also hampered the fitment of the door mirrors (well wing mirrors never work)
I have to agree with you there...but the original mirrors were mounted quite smartly on the door, hardly interfereing. Indian cars never got the option.
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Old 6th July 2007, 10:36   #43
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I've seen a couple of President Taxis in the last few days complete with the quarter glass, President moniker, and the round turn indicators !
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Old 6th July 2007, 11:17   #44
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Some of us do, thats one way in which we try to leverage the beauty of this ancient machine that can still perform alongside modern machines. Sometimes we have to show non-beleivers the FE we get. We despise the image Fiats are getting these days that they are cars that travel slowly on the left side of the road (sometimes on the shoulder) to let others pass. So everything matters (Even the looks).
trust me guys! i have seen one Fiat in Cal which doesnt believe in "Crawling" on the left lane / the hard shoulder and instead prefers taking right lane while it moves and the other "slow moving FE conscious modern fast-cars" usually gives way to her.

for going a bit off topic.

i actually never required the ORVM. the wide-view IRVM does the job quite well.

IMO - the quarter glass actually causes inconvenience while taking turns - atleast thats what i feel whenever i drive my grandpa's Padmini (1987). my dad's previous car, Fiat 1100d had the quarter glass. my car didnt come with the quarter glass (1988).
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Old 6th July 2007, 11:59   #45
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I've seen a couple of President Taxis in the last few days complete with the quarter glass, President moniker, and the round turn indicators !

its very sad...those are all very nice original cars picked up mainly from pune, and illegally converted to taxis in bombay...minters go for around 15k...
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