[RandomUsername]

Originally Posted by DHABHAR.BEHRAM

Dear Randomusername - that's good! Ensure reliability of mechanical aggregates and you should be fine. When are you leaving for Gujarat? I wish I could come! .

Best regards,

Behram Dhabhar

Returned from the Gujarat trip on the 27th. The route was Bombay - Vadodara - Gondal - Kutch - Dungarpur(Rajasthan) - Vadodara - Bombay. Total distance covered was about 1900km. Not our longest classic car trip but first time with the Fiat.

Overall the car ran well. I kept an average speed of about 70 - 75 kmph, sometimes 80. Fuel consumption was around 12kmpl which is a bit lower then expected. (The main jet size is 102)
Also noticed that sometimes fuel is overflowing out from the accelerator pump on the carb. I guess it's time for a carb rebuild.

[rajeev k]

Originally Posted by RandomUsername

.

Which is this van? Please give more pics and details.

[FINTAIL]

Originally Posted by rajeev k

Which is this van? Please give more pics and details.

'Tis a genuine VW Westfalia. 1978 Model Year. Note the wooden ''camper'' interior. The engine, I presume should be the regular VW fare.

Flat 4. Boxer. And air-cooled. 1800 cubic centimeters.

The registration is Bombay, sometime in 2012/13 ish. Should be Bandra or Andheri, I presume.

@RandomUserName had a '74 Microbus also, I think.

EDIT: There's a thread on this car- (http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/post-w...ia-camper.html)

[DHABHAR.BEHRAM]

Originally Posted by autocrat

Sir, Gross Vehicle Weight 21.6 kmpl is phenomenal! I am trying to get hold of an S1 exhaust manifold, but so far in vain. I hope I can find one soon.

Dear Gowtham - yes, S1 exhaust manifold is rarer than hen's teeth nowadays. It is "slightly less rare" than fish's legs, hahaha! I saw one around a fortnight back, the guy was asking for some ridiculous price, I had half a mind to tell him to garland it and do its puja!

The dress level of the test car in which I got 21.6kmpl is: non-AC application S1 engine with 200 psi compression pressure across all cylinders / electric fan with degassing tank / Mikuni carburettor (19mm venturi, remember ) with intake manifold designed to adapt Mikuni to the Padmini engine with central charge heater pot / thermostat with 95 degrees full open temperature instead of 85 degrees / 94 primary and 133 secondary main jets / Maruti Esteem air cleaner without idle compensator for optimized intake airflow / 65B distributor / projecting nose spark plugs with 0.9mm gap / metallic high tension wires / NISSAN clutch with optimized hysteresis / F4W56A NISSAN transmission with floor shift gears filled with 75W90GL5 oil / single piece slip yoke propeller shaft to suit the NISSAN transmission / 3.9:1 axle ratio with optimized contact point friction gear pair especially manufactured on Gleason machine filled with 2 liters 80W90GL5 oil / 65 grams grease in front hubs / 40 grams grease in rear axle bearings / optimized wheel bearing oil seals / axle shaft dead length reduced by 3mm / 155/80R14 tubeless tires obtained from NISSAN for ultra low rolling resistance on 4J*14 wheel rims manufactured with additional bead to adapt tubeless tires / light weight front bucket seats / lightweight floor mats / body shell made out of 0.7mm thick sheet metal (except floor) / jacking supports eliminated / optimized toolkit and 93 octane fuel.

ENJOY! .

Dear Santaji (Randomusername) - you would have had a wonderful experience. Maybe next year I will join in the LHD! This is something that I have been wanting to do for the last two years, but somehow it is not working out.

Best regards,

Behram Dhabhar

[HimuraKenshin]

Originally Posted by DHABHAR.BEHRAM

Dear Gowtham - yes, S1 exhaust manifold is rarer than hen's teeth nowadays. It is "slightly less rare" than fish's legs, hahaha! I saw one around a fortnight back, the guy was asking for some ridiculous price, I had half a mind to tell him to garland it and do its puja!

Hi Behram,
You'll be happy to know that i picked up a used S1 exhaust manifold (withthe double pipe) from Sanjay bhai a few days ago for Rs. 700. THe one on my car had developed a crack at the point where the two pipes meet, and no amount of welding was helping.
The car purrs sweetly now

[autocrat]

Originally Posted by DHABHAR.BEHRAM

Dear Gowtham

F4W56A NISSAN transmission with floor shift gears filled with 75W90GL5 oil / single piece slip yoke propeller shaft to suit the NISSAN transmission / 3.9:1 axle ratio with optimized contact point friction gear pair especially manufactured on Gleason machine filled with 2 liters 80W90GL5 oil /

body shell made out of 0.7mm thick sheet metal (except floor)

ENJOY! .

Dear Sir,

1. Why are different spec oils selected for gear box and differential? After all a differential is also a gearbox with fixed gearing.

2. What was the thickness of body shell on older cars? If we change the thickness of steel sheets, then new dies had to be made?

[autocrat]

One more question:

What are the 3 red dots on the meter representing or signifying? Its there as small red marks on my 1990 PP meter also.



Image source: http://olx.in/item/fiat-1100-origina...tml#59c0029aa9

[DHABHAR.BEHRAM]

Originally Posted by autocrat

What are the 3 red dots on the meter representing or signifying? It's there as small red marks on my 1990 PP meter also.

Dear Gowtham - it is to show the maximum vehicle speed that you are allowed to attain in 1st, 2nd and 3rd gears. This is based on the formula: Road speed in kmph = engine rpm * 2 * 3.1416 * dynamic rolling radius of the tire in meters * 60 whole divided by gear ratio * axle ratio * 1000.

Best regards,

Behram Dhabhar

[DHABHAR.BEHRAM]

Dear all - we Parsis have our main and most sacred fire temple known as "IRANSHAH" in Udwada. It is a very nice and quiet place on the seashore of South Gujarat, 180 kms from Mumbai. Recently, we celebrated the first "IRANSHAH UDWADA UTSAV" there from 25 to 27 December. The chief guest was Mr.Arun Jaitley. Mr.Ratan Tata was the guest of honor. He was felicitated as the "ICON OF SUCCESS"! Dr.Cyrus Poonawalla of the Serum Institute of India sponsored the event. He was also felicitated.

I was invited along with others to display my classic car there. It gives me immense pleasure to share some photographs of my 1964 model super select MRY3112 with you. I took these photographs during the drive and also during the display. Enjoy!

Best regards,

Behram Dhabhar

PS: Dear Karl - I know that this post is OT in this thread. May I request you to help by starting a separate thread on MRY3112?

[narendra.vw]

Recently I had been to my workshop & found something interesting which I like to share.

Good looking Body color & hand made bumper.



Power steering Box mounting. Check the carburetor.




Dash board & Console. Check the hanging pedal set.

[FINTAIL]

Originally Posted by autocrat

One more question:

What are the 3 red dots on the meter representing or signifying? Its there as small red marks on my 1990 PP meter also.

I think the red dots signify the gear- shift into second at 30KMPH, into third at 50 KMPH and so on.

(I know my theory does not make much sense)

On a side note, the '72 FIAT 1100D we have; does not have these red dots on the console.

Originally Posted by DHABHAR.BEHRAM

Dear all - we Parsis have our main and most sacred fire temple known as "IRANSHAH" in Udwada. It is a very nice and quiet place on the seashore of South Gujarat, 1
I was invited along with others to display my classic car there. It gives me immense pleasure to share some photographs of my 1964 model super select MRY3112 with you. I took these photographs during the drive and also during the display. Enjoy!

3112 is looking very, very spic and span!

An observation: I do recall that 3112 had black rims () ; and had CEAT Safety Drives mounted on them.

I now see silver Premier 118NE rims; and whitewalled tires. 13 inch tires for the 118NE are almost impossible to find these days, I believe.

If I may ask, why has this been done?

[DHABHAR.BEHRAM]

Originally Posted by FINTAIL

I do recall that MRY3112 had black rims and had Ceat Safety Drives mounted on them. I now see silver Premier 118NE rims and whitewall tires. 13 inch tires for the 118NE are almost impossible to find these days, I believe. If I may ask, why has this been done?

Dear Fintail - 118NE wheel rim is 4.5J*13. 5.60*13 tire on 4.5J is the specified combination as per the ITTAC manual as also in JIS. 5.20*14 tire on 3.5J wheel rim is the alternate pair, the actual specification is 4J*14 wheel rim. You will also recall that I had same wheel rim and tire combination in my group-A rally prepared Padmini MMY43. By doing this, I have recreated the same driveline configuration of MMY43 in MRY3112, as both cars were / are running 3.9:1 axle ratio. My rally stage 1 piper camshaft of MMY43 is also in MRY3112. From 3200 rpm onwards, the acceleration is completely different, 3rd gear is extremely versatile and effective! .

Best regards,

Behram Dhabhar

[autocrat]

Originally Posted by narendra.vw

Recently I had been to my workshop & found something interesting which I like to share.

Good looking Body color & hand made bumper.
Attachment 1457152
Attachment 1457153

Power steering Box mounting. Check the carburetor.
Attachment 1457155
Attachment 1457156
Attachment 1457157

Dash board & Console. Check the hanging pedal set.
Attachment 1457154

I can see several changes made:

1) Carburettor: It looks like a Weber - not sure please correct me if I am wrong. [EDIT: Wrong - its a Zen Carb ]
2) The placement of carburettor and the distributor indicates that the engine is reversed! I am not sure what necessitated this. The mountings will be changed then as well.
3) As you mentioned there is a power steering pump and some alteration is made to the steering column by adding a universal joint and custom flange for the box mounting.
4) Pedal assembly is the drop type and not plunger type.
5) Fuse box is different.
6) Brake booster seen adjacent to steering box.
7) Floor Shift GB (not sure if its stock)
8) Cooling system with surge tank.
9) Mechanical fan with cut-away blades to prevent fouling - possibly with the power steering pump nut.
10) Custom box under glove box.

Did I miss anything? So many modifications.

The bane of custom jobs is that in case of failure the replacements are never readily available.

[ilangop]

Originally Posted by autocrat

I can see several changes made:

1) Carburettor: It looks like a Weber - not sure please correct me if I am wrong.
2) The placement of carburettor and the distributor indicates that the engine is reversed! I am not sure what necessitated this. The mountings will be changed then as well.
3) As you mentioned there is a power steering pump and some alteration is made to the steering column by adding a universal joint and custom flange for the box mounting.
4) Pedal assembly is the drop type and not plunger type.
5) Fuse box is different.
6) Brake booster seen adjacent to steering box.
7) Floor Shift GB (not sure if its stock)
8) Cooling system with surge tank.
9) Mechanical fan with cut-away blades to prevent fouling - possibly with the power steering pump nut.
10) Custom box under glove box.

Did I miss anything? So many modifications.

The bane of custom jobs is that in case of failure the replacements are never readily available.

The engine bay is housing a 118NE engine and its gearbox. Hope this answers most of the above questions. I think the carburetor is Mikuni not weber.

[DHABHAR.BEHRAM]

Originally Posted by autocrat

I can see several changes made

Dear Gowtham and all - oh come on now, that's the NISSAN engine! . I must mention, that this is a clear example of how not to do things. Basic reliability is not only compromised, it is completely thrown out of the window. See the steering mounting, you just cannot take a plate and fit a steering gear on it. See the center pillar, you just cannot have steering linkages made like this. There is something called "kinematics"! See the booster mounted inside the RH fender area, you can well imagine the brake pedal eccentricity! There are angular body reinforcements inside the instrument panel area which must have been cut and thrown out otherwise how do you connect the brake pedal? What rigidity will the body have at 40kg brake pedal effort in panic braking? In my opinion, this is not a safe vehicle. My sincere request to people is to stay away from such work. Don't spend your hard earned money to spoil your car. There is a possibility that I may get a huge backlash for writing this. Even if that happens, I shall not change my comments. However, finally each car belongs to its owner. He can do whatever he likes!

We had engineered the NISSAN A12 engine in the Padmini bay. These were major changes. We had made one lash-up prototype car also. It never made it to production due to huge performance and reliability issues. The transmission housing top boss fouls the steering linkages. The fuel pump fouls the sub-frame. The complete sump and lubrication system inside the sump needed to be changed to get some semblance of ground clearance. The sump fouled the intermediate cross member. The exhaust system is on the LH side so the fuel tank had to be relocated. The list is endless. This layout was drawn on a huge drawing board in full scale by my very good colleague, who I still meet around 2 to 3 times in a year. I'll tell him to read this, at least we will have a good laugh!

.

Best regards,

Behram Dhabhar