[arun1100]

Originally Posted by SuperSelect

Guys, MRX 6839 will be getting an engine oil change soon.
I'd like to know what is the correct grade and ideal brand to be used for the Fiat 1100.

Behram Sir's recommendations: Copied from Post No.132.

Engine oil is 20W40 or 15W40. HP cruise is one such trade name.

Transmission oil is SAE90EP (minumum GL4) for fiat transmission, SAE80W90 or SAE 75W90 both GL5 (not GL4) for F4W56A transmission (118NE gearbox), rear axle is SAE90EP only (never put 140, it will ruin the gear pair, the oil film on the gears breaks down). Steering gear oil is SAE140.

Capacity of engine oil is 3.5 litres, but please ensure full level on the dipstick with warnm engine.

Transmission and axle oil capacity is specified as that required to overflow slightly from the filler plug. Steering gear oil capacity is 220 cc.

[SuperSelect]

Thanks so much Arun. I'll follow this to the 'T' .

[ilangop]

Hi all,
After a long wait for design suggesstions from our experts, I decided to try it myself. The adaptor I consider is 25 mm thick aluminium block whose drawing I have attached here with.
-Ilango

[manishalive]

Originally Posted by ilangop

Hi all,
After a long wait for design suggesstions from our experts, I decided to try it myself. The adaptor I consider is 25 mm thick aluminium block whose drawing I have attached here with.
-Ilango

Reduce the thickness to 10 mm is what I think. I believe you model is parametric so the thickness can be reduced in a jiffy. Please post the pictures after that again.

[ilangop]

Hi Manish,
The thickness is not a random guess. There will be 6 studs in all, 2 for the Padmini inlet side and 4 for the Mikuni base. Actually one of the studs that go into the Padmini inlet side is located on the ramp, seen clearly in the 2nd picture. The threading over there is only 8 - 10 mm tall. Reducing the thickness of the block to 10mm will make this even smaller and end up like the stud is held only 2 or 3 threads. That is the reason why the block is 25mm thick. BTW plase suggest me if there is an alternative.
Thanks
-Ilango

[DHABHAR.BEHRAM]

Dear Ilangop - NICE NICE I SAY!. Advantage of working "somewhere". Well, keep at it. You know what I mean! Please also read my posts on Mikuni conversion in totality. The throttle shaft's direction of rotation makes all the difference to packaging.

Best regards,

Behram Dhabhar

[manishalive]

Originally Posted by ilangop

Hi Manish,
The thickness is not a random guess. There will be 6 studs in all, 2 for the Padmini inlet side and 4 for the Mikuni base. Actually one of the studs that go into the Padmini inlet side is located on the ramp, seen clearly in the 2nd picture. The threading over there is only 8 - 10 mm tall. Reducing the thickness of the block to 10mm will make this even smaller and end up like the stud is held only 2 or 3 threads. That is the reason why the block is 25mm thick. BTW plase suggest me if there is an alternative.
Thanks
-Ilango

HI Ilango,

I totally missed out on that front. And now you have the reply from the master.

[DHABHAR.BEHRAM]

Dear Ilangop - when you progress the layout, please remember that under full throttle condition, the "butterfly" valve disc must not touch the manifold or its spacer anywhere. I remember that during our initial prototyping, we had overlooked this and we suffered very badly. The angular movement of the disc for both carburettors is 82 degrees. The CD of the Solex mounting studs is 60 mm. The bore for the Solex in the mainfold is 34 mm. The CD for the Mikuni mounting studs is 45*80 mm. (if I am not mistaken, the CD of the mounting studs for the Hitachi which came on the initial 118NEs was 36*63 mm). The length of the studs is important to be able to decide the flange thickness. Please do not use excess length of studs or they will touch the bottom face of the carburettor body and prevent full tightening. All studs are M8*1.25. Nuts are flanged to distribute the load axially. Dimension across flats is 12 mm.

Also, you may look at mounting the carburettor perpendicularly to the car centre line. I have seen such a conversion (was badly done) but this solves the throttle link issue to a certain extent. Obviously the best thing to do is to scout around and procure a Mikuni compatible Padmini intake manifold.

Best regards,

Behram Dhabhar

[kavesh55]

Originally Posted by DHABHAR.BEHRAM

Also, you may look at mounting the carburettor perpendicularly to the car centre line. I have seen such a conversion (was badly done) but this solves the throttle link issue to a certain extent. Obviously the best thing to do is to scout around and procure a Mikuni compatible Padmini intake manifold.

Best regards,

Behram Dhabhar

How will he have it. Only 170 produced, 4 lying with one individual.

Surprised to see you online so late.

[DHABHAR.BEHRAM]

Dear Kavesh - not four, now five. Just bought one off an S1 being broken in Chor Bazaar at an insane price. Got the carburettor also. Also got a brand new, unused camshaft from an oldie type shop in Shivaji Park. Paid a bomb for it too.

Also got one item which will pleasantly surprise everybody. Cyrus will tell you about it shortly.

Best regards,

Behram Dhabhar

[adheesh]

Originally Posted by DHABHAR.BEHRAM

Dear Kavesh - not four, now five. Just bought one off an S1 being broken in Chor Bazaar at an insane price. Got the carburettor also. Also got a brand new, unused camshaft from an oldie type shop in Shivaji Park. Paid a bomb for it too.

Also got one item which will pleasantly surprise everybody. Cyrus will tell you about it shortly.

Best regards,

Behram Dhabhar

So now have the count of 7 manifolds out of 170 !!

[CrackedHead]

Originally Posted by adheesh

A similar scenario was highlighted by Mr. Dhabhar some years ago in his car BLB 1144. I am posting some data from Mr. Dhabhar's post which would be relevant here. The rear end of the mainshaft of the transmission carries a semi-spherical sphere. In order to retain it in place, a small circlip is fitted. The maximum propeller shaft angle with respect to the transmission centre line is around 13 degrees. The bolts then transmit torque. The coupling takes 13 degrees as there are wire ropes inside it designed to take this angle. Over a period of time, the sphere has a tendency to become a little loose and therefore there will be relative angular movement between it and the mainshaft. This causes heat buildup which jams the sphere on the shaft. For some silly and irrational reason, most mechanics tend to remove the sphere altogether. If so, it is a sure disaster because the propeller shaft's whipping at high speed will spoil something and the weakest link is the rubber coupling. Please check that the same has not been done your car. Also use genuine VIR universal joint coupling only. This should most probably solve the problem.

Regards,
Adheesh Parelkar

My problem turned out to be that of a broken rear suspension mount. It was causing the entire driveshaft assembly to be out of alignment.

The differential tube also had to be replaced (the hole that aligns the leaf springs was torn) as a result of the car being driven with a broken suspension mount. I sourced the tube from an S1 that was being scrapped. I also got the front suspension redone while I was at it.

Also, I came across a bunch of old parts in a small town in Punjab - some nice surprises in there. Original spiders and bushes and Rane tie rod ends. Original clutch overhaul kits, pressure plates and clutch plates. Will post pictures soon.

[arun1100]

Fixing Delight's Meter to Premier Padmini.

The Temperature Gauge of Delight Meters is connected to the adapter on the cylinder head through a cable. Whereas in Padmini its wire.

As explained by Mr. Behram Dhabar in Fiat Club Bangalore Thread

The Brass Adapter is supposed to fit into the cylinder head just above the front joint of the inlet and exhaust manifolds. You will have to remove the existing electrically actuated brass adaptor fitted there or you may have to remove the manifold heating pipe type adaptor with its hose, put this adaptor there and use it with the thermocouple type round temperature guage of the 1100 delight.

In case of cars with manifold heating, the electrical brass adaptor is fitted on the inlet manifold. You may use this adaptor there, the threads are the same. However, the guage will undersense the temperature as there is no contact with coolant in the cylinder head. Some caution though, when you remove the existing pipe type adaptor from the cylinder head, be careful as that adaptor is made of steel and very often it results in spoilt threads on the head when you try to remove it.

The size of spanner is 19 mm. Use a tight fitting ring spanner and hope for the best. If it breaks during removal, you will have to remove the cylinder head and take it to a good turner to knock out the remaining portion. So try to remove it but don't force it. If it does not come out, refit the hose and leave it. In order to avoid all such hassles, it is adviseable to make a hole on the vertical side of the top tank of the radiator facing the engine (above the alternator area) and solder this brass connector to it. You just have to ensure that the thermocouple coil is long enough (usually it is). If you decide to do it, you can get such adaptors with same internal threads required (it is a non-standard size, it is M8*1.0 and not M8*1.25) but having smaller external threads. Ask at an oldie type shop, you will get it. It may be from the old Matador or some such vehicle. You can then merrily grind the outer threads off before soldering it so that the hole diameter you make in the radiator is as small as possible. Also, please take the temperature guage and completely insulate its thermocouple by wrapping it up in plastic non adhesive tape (black tape made by Notre, used by any auto electrician and can be bought from any auto parts shop). This will prevent short circuit due to its metallic core coming in contact with any wire. You will have to do this before you fit the temperature guage on the car.

I have done the cylinder head transformation in my left hand drive car MH01YA3238, in my super select MRY3112 and in my 1967 delight MRF6466. I guess I was very lucky, the connectors came out in one piece everytime except in the LHD where it broke with just one thread remaining, so I was able to knock it off with a good pair of 6" Taparia pliers. These are tricky jobs, best done yourself rather than giving it to any garage.

Best regards,

Behram Dhabhar

Brass Adapter which holds the Temperature Gauge cable .



Delight Meters

[Wanderer78]

Thanks for a very informative thread. Guys, I have a 1978 Padmini and want to get it serviced. I am new to Mumbai and am not sure where can I get my car serviced. Can you please point me to a right place ? I also wanted to get a new colour coating on the car.

[kavesh55]

Originally Posted by Wanderer78

Thanks for a very informative thread. Guys, I have a 1978 Padmini and want to get it serviced. I am new to Mumbai and am not sure where can I get my car serviced. Can you please point me to a right place ? I also wanted to get a new colour coating on the car.

Dear Wanderer- Firstly where do you stay ? There is a certain way of servicing Padminis unlike the modern cars, which use more oils less grease. Let me know Im Vela these days. Dont know after a month. Also get your car painted close to where you stay and Please protect your trims. You Wont Get the Quality of Original Trims again. PM me your contact, will take it forward from there.