[the mole]

Originally Posted by rmonie

Waiting with bated breath to see the final final pictures.

Though these are not still the final pictures but since the car has already done Bombay- Poona twice i thought it was time to post some fresh updates.

This time the drive to Poona was quite a breeze, I stopped once before climbing the Ghat to check on the water but she was fine and after a half hr rest for the car and the driver we sped onward to Poona.

Enjoy the pics shot in the deccan Gym area in poona.

[the mole]

jobs that remain pending:

• Fiat 1100 decal on dashboard
• 3 nos ivory colour eustecheon surrounds around window winders
• Aluminum patti to hide wires comming into rear view mirror.
• Hubcaps (I have two)
• Aluminum trim on back of front seat around the net.(made but still needs to be fixed)
• Pull Starter
• Acrylic wind deflector panels on the windows (fabricated but will fix when car is in bombay)

[arbind85]

very nice paint job. over all the car looks neat and beautiful. i think the car will look good with original wheel caps.

[john a milne]

Originally Posted by the mole

jobs that remain pending:

• Fiat 1100 decal on dashboard
• 3 nos ivory colour eustecheon surrounds around window winders
• Aluminum patti to hide wires comming into rear view mirror.
• Hubcaps (I have two)
• Aluminum trim on back of front seat around the net.(made but still needs to be fixed)
• Pull Starter
• Acrylic wind deflector panels on the windows (fabricated but will fix when car is in bombay)

Your car looks absolutely fabulous, a restoration of significance!
What sets the Fiats apart from all other cars are the looks, drivability, reliability. serviceability, and affordability. I would love to add one, just like yours, to our stable plus do up a Padmini Custom with a few more ponies under the bonnet as our daily driver space permitting.

How about a nice door or fender mounted rear view mirror?
Sanjay gave me one for our 62 1100 deluxe that he had restored for us, looks appropriate and makes driving so much more secure.

Not sure of the cost, didn't ask but you could email him for more details.
rajivautocentre@yahoo.co.in

To finish off our 1100 we need;

1. Drivers side, keyed door handle.
2. Boot lock.
3. Boot "Fiat 1100" chrome insignia. Sanjay had one made up but not "original".
4. Set of molded rubber floor mats.

Hopefully somne of the members can help us finish off our "Blue Bengali Bullet".

[john a milne]

I noticed that you had painted your wheel rims white.

I had our rims initially painted to match the cream two-tone and after we fitted the white walls, it all just washed out. In checking I was told that the standard rim colour was a metallic grey and had them repainted making a significant improvement.

Question - was there a standard rim colour on your model year?
If Metallic grey like ours I would suggest you consider repainting.

I've also seen a few Fiats that have a small chrome ring that snaps onto the rims. Are they readily available and what cost are they.

[karlosdeville]

Originally Posted by the mole

jobs that remain pending:

Looking good!

Add to the list centre light lens, gear knob, petrol cap rubber.

John,

The 54-57 models had wheels in ivory/cream, 58 onwards they went "wheel silver". While we don't have concrete information to back it up, I'm inclined to believe the wheels would be slightly more yellow than those pictured above.

The beauty rings/wheel trims you mention are very difficult to source now in 14inch size. If you do find a lead, do share with us, Id like a few sets.

[iraghava]

WOW! She looks fabulous Amol, wonderful job there!

[DHABHAR.BEHRAM]

Dear Amol - please look at the fourth picture in thread 166. The horn button is "ulta" on the steering wheel. Maybe the steering wheel is also "ulta"? Please check and correct if required.

The car looks great. Please import wheel caps if you must but please put wheel caps on the car.

Best regards,

Behram Dhabhar

[Cyrus43]

Why is the position of the locking mechanism like that??

[the mole]

Originally Posted by john a milne

Question - was there a standard rim colour on your model year?
If Metallic grey like ours I would suggest you consider repainting.

I've also seen a few Fiats that have a small chrome ring that snaps onto the rims. Are they readily available and what cost are they.

John you have quiet a few fans of your Bengal Bull on the West side of the country, me included. I know atleast two restorations that are working on their cars based on your resto. I can probably help you with the floor mats for your car, I will speak to my upholstery guy and let you know.

As far as the wheel rim colour goes i havent found too many cars that dont have the royal ivory coloured hubcaps atleast upto end of 56, the later elegants tended to have the grey rims you see on the selects etc.

some of the non mettalic cars also had the edge painted in the body colour as and accent to the royal ivory. see the pics below.

Originally Posted by karlosdeville

Add to the list centre light lens, gear knob, petrol cap rubber.

AAhha the list continues.

Originally Posted by DHABHAR.BEHRAM

Dear Amol - please look at the fourth picture in thread 166. The horn button is "ulta" on the steering wheel. Maybe the steering wheel is also "ulta"? Please check and correct if required.

The car looks great. Please import wheel caps if you must but please put wheel caps on the car.

Behram Dhabhar

Dear Beheram, you are so right, I wont pretend that i was aware but you have pointed out something only a seasoned fiat enthusiast would notice. Yes the steering seems to be Ulta, I will add the point to my punch list, i will post a picture of the correct steering position below, for everyones reference. Also two hubcaps are on the way, I may just get a die made and have replicas made, as originals are very very hard to find, I have been quoted a ridiculous 5000 rs a piece fr each in switzerland

Originally Posted by Cyrus43

Why is the position of the locking mechanism like that??

that indicates that the door is open!For you reference I am posting the three position of the door lever operation.

[karlosdeville]

Originally Posted by the mole

As far as the wheel rim colour goes i havent found too many cars that dont have the royal ivory coloured hubcaps atleast upto end of 56, the later elegants tended to have the grey rims you see on the selects etc.

some of the non mettalic cars also had the edge painted in the body colour as and accent to the royal ivory. see the pics below.

For the Indian market all dukkar wheels were single colour ivory/cream. European/US markets did have the 2 tone wheel as illustrated by you.

[the mole]

Originally Posted by karlosdeville

For the Indian market all dukkar wheels were single colour ivory/cream. European/US markets did have the 2 tone wheel as illustrated by you.

There you go issue settled.

Can someone on the forum point us in the direction of some mnufacturer of dome stickers they know who will produce a couple of stickers for the dashboard.

John can Sanjay help? I can give a exact scaled drawing.

[SuperSelect]

Lovely pictures Amol. She's looking beautiful. And having taken a long ride in her, I can vouch for the fact that she looks even better in the flesh !!
Behram, thanks for the tip on the 'Ulta' steering wheel. Just discovered my car's been fitted 'ulta' too. Will get it rectified asap.

[john a milne]

Originally Posted by the mole

There you go issue settled.

Can someone on the forum point us in the direction of some mnufacturer of dome stickers they know who will produce a couple of stickers for the dashboard.

John can Sanjay help? I can give a exact scaled drawing.

I'm returning to Toronto Monday so I am out of the loop for a while,
suggest you email him directly, rajivautocentre@yahoo.co.in.

Hopefully he can help.

Recall a member was considering having dies make to produce the old Fiat aluminum hub caps. Sound like a great idea perhaps this is some thing that Sanjay might undertake. He has done a lot of custom fabrication for his clients. make up a rear boot "Fiat 1100" that was ok, I rushed him a little and it could have been more exact but most would not notice.

The rear view mirrors are great and just the right look.

[wasif]

My dad used to have a similar car in dark blue when i was a kid.

The dash had round gauges and it didn't have the center light though.

The funny thing about the car was the location of its petrol tank. Due to some reason the previous owner had stopped using the original fuel tank.

Instead he had a five litre oil can with the original spout re located to the side mounted in the engine bay. Gas was filled up with the hood up. Quite dangerous but it was always fun to visit a gas station. My dad would pull up to the pump and park with the front wheel parallel to teh pump nozzle.

The pump attendant would always shout move forward as the pipe is not long enough to reach the back!! They would do a double take when the hood was raised to fill gas.

As the fuel flowed with gravity to the carb every morning to ensure that the car starts on the first crank one had to open the hood, take off the cap on the fuel filler, place ones mouth on it and blow in. This would send the gas to the carb !!

Also when he got it there was a glass pipe fitted somewhere on the exhaust. This resulted in the exhaust giving off a whistling sound, very annoying on a long run. Needless to say it didn't stay on the car long.

The car was sold and ended up with one of DKG's uncles and was ultimately written off by one of his cousins friends.