[FINTAIL]

Originally Posted by sankar009

Isnt this a President?, seen in a workshop in Kerala

Indeed, the grille looks to be from a 1973-74 Premier President.

Maybe the car is a President.

P.S: Got any hi-res pics of the sun shade? And of the car itself?

[Anwesh]

Help! I want a set of Padmini floor mats. Checked at Opera House, Shetty Motors and the usual suspects do not have anything available Can somebody point me in the right direction


Happy Motoring,

[autocrat]

Originally Posted by sankar009

Isnt this a President?, seen in a workshop in Kerala

Car seems to have the President grille and badge, but cant confirm unless we know more. Cosmetic conversions are easily made, given the easy interchangeability.

[ajay99]

Originally Posted by FINTAIL

Indeed, the grille looks to be from a 1973-74 Premier President.

Maybe the car is a President.

P.S: Got any hi-res pics of the sun shade? And of the car itself?

Originally Posted by autocrat

Car seems to have the President grille and badge, but cant confirm unless we know more. Cosmetic conversions are easily made, given the easy interchangeability.

I think I too have seen this car running in trivandrum and it is a 1974 model premier president with a fancy number.

[HimuraKenshin]

Originally Posted by Anwesh

Help! I want a set of Padmini floor mats. Checked at Opera House, Shetty Motors and the usual suspects do not have anything available Can somebody point me in the right direction


Happy Motoring,

Hi I got mine recently from a shop in opera house. It is a very small shop, and can guide you, just PM me with your number. I need to buy another set as well.

[RandomUsername]

Originally Posted by DHABHAR.BEHRAM

1. Set exactly to 60 degrees. Anything above 60 degrees reduces spark plug voltage, you need 25000 volts for a good spark. You can go a couple of degrees lower but not higher.
2. Your comment is correct if there are only 3 marks. Please confirm that your pulley does not have the fourth mark. If it has the fourth mark, then the three marks are 8, 10 and 12 degrees BTDC. You can solve the whole confusion yourself by adopting a common sense approach. Remove the spark plug of cylinder number 1 and physically see the TDC position of the piston. Simple!

Sir, here's an update on the Fiat. Was busy with our other cars but managed to get the following done:
1) Tried to fine-tune the dwell angle. Was able to get it to 59 after a few tries. (could not get 60 exactly)
2) Removed the spark plug and confirmed that the mark on the pulley was actually TDC.
3) Set the timing so that the TDC mark is about 10mm ahead of the timing cover mark.

Next, I am planning to get the tappets re-set. Had gotten this done earlier and I think the mechanic had set them to 0.10mm intake and 0.12mm exhaust with the engine running(cold). This made the engine run smoother but there is still some tappet noise when it warms up.
I want to get them re-set to to 0.2mm intake and 0.25mm exhaust after the engine has warmed up as per the write up on the first page of this thread.

Also, while getting the tappets set earlier I had noticed that some of the pushrods were spinning while while some were not. Is this any cause for concern? as we are planning on taking the Car on a long trip next month.

[DHABHAR.BEHRAM]

Originally Posted by RandomUsername

Here's an update on the Fiat. 1) Tried to fine-tune the dwell angle. Was able to get it to 59 after a few tries. (could not get 60 exactly). 2) Removed the spark plug and confirmed that the mark on the pulley was actually TDC. 3) Set the timing so that the TDC mark is about 10mm ahead of the timing cover mark. 4) I am planning to get the tappets re-set. Had gotten this done earlier and I think the mechanic had set them to 0.10mm intake and 0.12mm exhaust with the engine running(cold). This made the engine run smoother but there is still some tappet noise when it warms up. I want to get them re-set to to 0.2mm intake and 0.25mm exhaust after the engine has warmed up as per the write up on the first page of this thread. 5) While getting the tappets set earlier I had noticed that some of the pushrods were spinning while while some were not. Is this any cause for concern?

Dear RandomUserName - my reply is as follows:

1 - 59 degrees is OK, the specification is 60 +/-2 degrees, I prefer minus because after very minor point heel setting during normal running, it will become 60 degrees. Obviously you will need to check the timing again after around 500 kms or so without disturbing the dwell angle. Adjust again if required, it is a 5 minutes job.
2, 3 and 4 - what you have done is perfectly OK, now you exactly know what the mark means. A little bit of tappet noise is acceptable but the setting must not be tight at all, otherwise power output will drop and heat output will increase as the valve will open early and close late. It is like running the engine with retarded timing. Simple! .
5 - pushrods are supposed to rotate a little to minimize wear. As per the mechanical rigidity of this design, sometimes the pushrods don't rotate much. This was one of the reasons why we redesigned the rocker mechanism and reduced the pushrod length in the S1! Leave them alone if they are not excessively bent, otherwise replace them. In the 118NE's original Japanese NISSAN engine, the pushrods used to rotate very fast all the time. That was the beauty of the Japanese engine!

You can take the car all over the place, if everything is as per the specification, nothing will happen.

Are you a part of the Mumbai Classic Drive group? Is your car MRX registered? Please send me a PM with your contact.

Best regards,

Behram Dhabhar

[RandomUsername]

Originally Posted by DHABHAR.BEHRAM

Dear RandomUserName - my reply is as follows:

1 - 59 degrees is OK, the specification is 60 +/-2 degrees, I prefer minus because after very minor point heel setting during normal running, it will become 60 degrees. Obviously you will need to check the timing again after around 500 kms or so without disturbing the dwell angle. Adjust again if required, it is a 5 minutes job.
2, 3 and 4 - what you have done is perfectly OK, now you exactly know what the mark means. A little bit of tappet noise is acceptable but the setting must not be tight at all, otherwise power output will drop and heat output will increase as the valve will open early and close late. It is like running the engine with retarded timing. Simple! .
5 - pushrods are supposed to rotate a little to minimize wear. As per the mechanical rigidity of this design, sometimes the pushrods don't rotate much. This was one of the reasons why we redesigned the rocker mechanism and reduced the pushrod length in the S1! Leave them alone if they are not excessively bent, otherwise replace them. In the 118NE's original Japanese NISSAN engine, the pushrods used to rotate very fast all the time. That was the beauty of the Japanese engine!

You can take the car all over the place, if everything is as per the specification, nothing will happen.

Are you a part of the Mumbai Classic Drive group? Is your car MRX registered? Please send me a PM with your contact.

Best regards,

Behram Dhabhar

Yes we're in the classic drive group. The car is registered MRX 8141. Have PM'd you my contact details

One more query: after advancing the timing the engine was idling too fast so we reduced the idle speed. After that I noticed that the oil light was sometimes flickering on when idling after the engine has warmed up. This was happening mostly when stopping for a signal, sometimes the engine would stall unless I kept the accelerator pressed slightly.
My first thought was that just that the idle speed was too slow but today I connected my dwell/tach to make sure and it seemed to be OK (bit under 800rpm). Does the carburettor need to be re-tuned after setting the idle speed?

[autocrat]

Originally Posted by RandomUsername

Yes we're in the classic drive group. The car is registered MRX 8141. Have PM'd you my contact details

One more query: after advancing the timing the engine was idling too fast so we reduced the idle speed. After that I noticed that the oil light was sometimes flickering on when idling after the engine has warmed up. This was happening mostly when stopping for a signal, sometimes the engine would stall unless I kept the accelerator pressed slightly.
My first thought was that just that the idle speed was too slow but today I connected my dwell/tach to make sure and it seemed to be OK (bit under 800rpm). Does the carburettor need to be re-tuned after setting the idle speed?

My suspicion is, your car is running lean, Behram sir can confirm

[autocrat]

Originally Posted by RandomUsername

Yes we're in the classic drive group. The car is registered MRX 8141. Have PM'd you my contact details

One more query: after advancing the timing the engine was idling too fast so we reduced the idle speed. After that I noticed that the oil light was sometimes flickering on when idling after the engine has warmed up. This was happening mostly when stopping for a signal, sometimes the engine would stall unless I kept the accelerator pressed slightly.
My first thought was that just that the idle speed was too slow but today I connected my dwell/tach to make sure and it seemed to be OK (bit under 800rpm). Does the carburettor need to be re-tuned after setting the idle speed?

Also, please check the voltage across the battery terminals when the car is idling, it has to be around 13V+. You have to check after raising the engine rpm once, enough to turn off the battery charging warning indicator.

[DHABHAR.BEHRAM]

Originally Posted by RandomUsername

Yes we're in the classic drive group. The car is registered MRX 8141. Have PM'd you my contact details. After advancing the timing the engine was idling too fast so we reduced the idle speed. After that I noticed that the oil light was sometimes flickering on when idling after the engine has warmed up. This was happening mostly when stopping for a signal, sometimes the engine would stall unless I kept the accelerator pressed slightly. My first thought was that just that the idle speed was too slow but today I connected my dwell/tach to make sure and it seemed to be OK (bit under 800rpm). Does the carburettor need to be re-tuned after setting the idle speed?

Dear RandomUsername - I got your PM and I saw MRX8141 photographs on the classic drive thread also, thanks, I hope to meet you soon!

You have said "after advancing the timing" I presume you mean after setting it to 10 degrees BTDC! I presume that all other engine parameters are set properly like valve clearance etc. Yes, the carburettor's volume control screw needs to be adjusted after the timing is set to specification. The "oil light" will come on when oil pressure falls below 0.8kg/cm2. This can be due to various reasons from oil quantity and / or quality not OK to complete engine not OK. As you may be having the engine with the bypass oil filter, the oil pump pressure regulating valve is accessible without dismantling the sump, but first replace the engine oil and filter if you have not done so far. Then I'll guide you on what to do further, step-by-step.

Best regards,

Behram Dhabhar

[autocrat]

Some videos:

1. Short video of car accelerating:

https://youtu.be/jagB4HWxl94

2. Inside the tail pipe:

Wanted to check the insides of the tail pipe. According to Behram Sir, the tail pipe inner tip should be light pink in colour if all parameters are correct. In my engine, the soot has built up over the years and will need 200 km of spirited driving to throw out all the soot. I have done about 50 now. The water coming out of tail pipe initially throws out black water and then clean water comes out. I need to run my car about 150 km more and check.

https://youtu.be/f9Mk4YdyuJQ

Also, the steering play on my car is high, about 4 cm. Balancing and alignment is pending.

Planning a long drive in the car, so replacing all brake cylinders this weekend with new TVS Girling ones. There is a leakage on one cylinder, and the oil level drops 10 mm after 100 kms.

Kindly advise what preparation needs to be done and what precautions need to be taken to ensure a safe and trouble free trip.

[DHABHAR.BEHRAM]

Originally Posted by autocrat

Some videos: car accelerating and inside the tail pipe. The tail pipe inner tip should be light pink in colour if all parameters are correct. I need to run my car about 150 km more and check. Also, the steering play on my car is high, about 4 cm. Balancing and alignment is pending. Planning a long drive in the car. Kindly advise what preparation needs to be done and what precautions need to be taken to ensure a safe and trouble free trip.

Dear Gowtham - acceleration and water throw are OK, now leave the whole thing alone and drive long distance with 97.5 main jet, you will get excellent fuel economy but you will have to use 3rd gear judiciously on inclines. As the 3rd gear ratio is 1.57:1, with 4.3:1 final drive, you should be OK even at GVW.

Adjusting "steering gear backlash (free play)" is a fairly straightforward job. Ensure that the steering gearbox is filled with 220cc of SAE140EP oil. Inflate front tires to 25psi, drive with RH and LH turns for a couple of kilometres to centralize the steering gear, record the position of the steering wheel spokes which gives straight ahead position, park the car with the steering wheel exactly in this location, open the front right door glass, open the bonnet, stand at the right side of the front right door facing the car, keep the thumb and two fingers of your right hand on the castle nut holding the pitman arm, keep the thumb and two fingers of your left hand at the steering spoke to wheel location, one finger at the top of the spoke, one finger at the bottom of the spoke and the thumb on the OD and rock the steering wheel slightly to determine the gear backlash. Acceptance criteria is transitional preload. If adjustment is required to achieve this, loosen the slack adjuster nut which is located coaxially with the pitman arm center line at the bottom of the steering box, rotate the pitman arm adjusting screw clockwise as seen from the bottom to obtain transitional preload. Tighten the slack adjuster nut after holding the screw at this exact location to ensure no change during tightening. Then reinflate the front tires to 27psi, drive with RH and LH turns for a couple of kilometres to determine no undue stickiness. Then use the car.

If you do this properly and the suspension / steering components are lubricated properly (220cc of SAE140EP is extremely important for this), your complete R&H characteristics will improve. ENJOY! .

Best regards,

Behram Dhabhar

[ariesonu]

For NOOB BRAINs like me, this site is a boon:
http://www.howacarworks.com/ignition...he-dwell-angle

Regards-Sonu

[autocrat]

Friends,

Some work carried out yesterday on the car:

1) All wheel brake cylinders were replaced
2) Master brake cylinder leaking fluid heavily and replaced.
3) The spindle on which the pedals are pivoted was worn out giving diagonal motion to the clutch pedal, was replaced.
4) The plate covering the pedal opening was replaced with rubber as I had done earlier.
5) Pinion gear oil seal was damaged and leaking heavily, was replaced.
6) Steering play was adjusted as Behram Sir had described in earlier post.
7) When fitting back the front wheels, fresh grease was used and the stub axle nuts were tightened and the rear wheels were fitted after oiling the splines as advised by Behram Sir.
8) Health of point checked and found to be okay.

Filled up the tank last evening and drove the car some 30 odd kms in city and a spirited 65 kms this morning (office commute). Outer Ring Road was almost empty and I cruised at 70kmph most of the time. The car reached speeds of indicated 90 kmph without much fuss. On ORR I used a GPS speedometer app on my phone. I filled up the tank on return, and for 95km, the consumption is 10 lts.

Considering I did quite a lot of 3rd gear and second gear driving on bad roads, and the fact that I am on 102 jet, I am really happy with the economy of 9.5 kmpl.

Some pics:

Leaky wheel cylinder:


New one on front right wheel:


Spider Assembly:


Screenshots from phone:




The old and new master cylinders:


There are some squeaks and creaks that come from various places in the car. Mechanic says car suspension was serviced 12 years back, and needs a full service.