[the mole]

Dear Prithvi

Finally the radio was installed in my car, looks superb i must say. As the speaker cone was damaged i replaced it with a similar Philips speaker. But i am not happy with the sound. Looking for some high end option. I also fixed a discrete antenna without making any holes on the fender. Works great! Now all that remains is to put a suppressor on the dynamo as it is causing interference. Otherwise the experience of driving around Mumbai tuned into the old AIR channels is just out of this world.

DId you check out the BS motoring issue with a picture of my car?

Why no updates??

regards
Amol

[mbz180]

Originally Posted by the mole

Dear Prithvi

Finally the radio was installed in my car, looks superb i must say. As the speaker cone was damaged i replaced it with a similar Philips speaker. But i am not happy with the sound. Looking for some high end option. I also fixed a discrete antenna without making any holes on the fender. Works great! Now all that remains is to put a suppressor on the dynamo as it is causing interference. Otherwise the experience of driving around Mumbai tuned into the old AIR channels is just out of this world.

DId you check out the BS motoring issue with a picture of my car?

Why no updates??

regards
Amol

Hi Amol,

Glad your radio has been fitted and working well. I should have bought the speaker and grill unit as well; I need to get that now from someone on the Ponton forum. Does the blue light on the speaker grill come on with the radio?
Of course I saw your car in BS Motoring. Looked dashing! For the past 3 months, I've been getting a subscribed copy of Auto India and get really excited when I see so many Bhpian's cars featured in the issues. What I can't explain is that I am sure that I haven't subscribed to the mag, so I have to assume that a kind, anonymous benefactor has subscribed on my behalf. If that person is on Bhp, many thanks for doing so, I'm very grateful.

Actually a few things have been going on with my car. Several important bits of rubber seals, stops, grommets etc., all new, have been trickling in and I list them below:

1) Fuel tank float rubber cover

2) A full set of rubber seals for the door sills (running boards). It was complicated ordering them, had to get them from 2 vendors as each side has 6 seals!

3) Petrol door rubber stops, 2 of the same shape and 1 different.

4) Windshield wiper arm rubber bases

5) Left and right exterior mirror rubber bases

6) A set of brake and clutch pedal rubber stops and dust covers

7) Steering column rubber boot

8) Trunk and petrol door lock rubber bases

9) A tiny funnel shaped metal filter which goes inside the rubber vent tube for the petrol tank. The vent tube itself sticks out inside the petrol door cavity

I went over to the workshop 2 weeks back and handed over some of the rubber bits and the running boards were taken out and the seals were fitted on for trial, in case the sills need to be altered for a good fit. The hole in the trunk for the float was a little small in diameter for the cover so this has been corrected. This week the radiator is being sent out to get all the pipes cleaned and checked since it may be a possible cause for the engine overheating.

In the meantime I'm doing some serious research on repairing the sliding bow hardware of the Webasto roof and some more parts to be ordered in phases.

And oh, almost forgot, that package containing a couple of very rare parts from the US has still not arrived after 2 months of dispatch and the seller keeps hassling me for payment, which I refuse to do until I get it. Atleast on Ebay you get a refund after paying against non arrival but I'm not paying till I get it as this was a private sale. However, a Bhp member, Sandesh, has been very helpful and somehow managed to find out that the parcel is lying in Mumbai customs for some reason or the other and will eventually get to me. That gave me some peace of mind atleast

So there's some slow progress taking place, which should start to gain momentum as we go along. Will upload some pics when I can

Regards
Prithvi

[SafeDrive]

Hi,
How is the restoration going? Could you please share some pictures of the progress?

[mbz180]

Originally Posted by SafeDrive

Hi,
How is the restoration going? Could you please share some pictures of the progress?

Hi SafeDrive, sorry for the late reply. I've not visited the workshop for a while now so that's why no updates.

However, a steady stream of trim parts have been arriving from abroad and I'd really like to share the pics but with work being very hectic and the fact that half the parts are in my office and the rest at home, haven't had the chance. I'll try and post some of these parts pics over the weekend.

Also, I'm going to the workshop (it's an hr away from my office) this Saturday if the rain doesn't plays spoilsport and will take some pics and update on the work.

Regards
Prithvi

[mbz180]

Hi guys, haven't posted in a while about my car though I did spend nearly an entire week in the workshop around a month back. But there's not much in the form of pics to show because the work was all about getting the body panels aligned since a lot of the seals have come in. Plus, a lot of holes for screws etc. had been shut off previously where trim parts need to fit so we had to re-drill holes in several places and then try a fitting of some of the trim. Most of it was done and it took a good 5 days to finish.

As I had said earlier, small parts have been trickling in every now and then but they're lying at office and home so I'm putting up some pics of a few parts that I recently picked up which are at home.


A fresh speedometer complete with mechanism I picked up


The rear of the speedo


Misc. new bits:
Top: Gear shift nylon bushes
Middle (L to R): Foglamp bases, steering link boot, brake & clutch pedal rubber stops and dust covers
Bottom: (L to R): Rubber grommets for door lock knobs, trunk and petrol lock gaskets, wiper arm bases, petrol door rubber stops


Petrol vent tube rubber and steel strainer


The strainer fits inside to avoid logging the vent line




Fresh clock that I picked up. Mine doesn't keep good time


New rear view mirror and its glass cover


New headlamp reflectors, fusebox and bulb holders


An NOS bumper guard


The reflector is also NOS, K 1320 made by Ulonite


New Ulonite K 1320 reflectors are nearly impossible to find, I got lucky


Now that's what I call chrome!


Regards
Prithvi

[the mole]

Excellent it appears you are assembling a brand new ponton with a kit of parts. Jokes aside i am dying to see the end product. I am sure its been a financial haemorage in parts till now but the end result ismgoing to be so worth it! Speed up my friend.

[SafeDrive]

These parts look really good. Can't wait to see them on the car.

[car love]

Originally Posted by mbz180

Hi guys, haven't posted in a while about my car though I did spend nearly an entire week in the workshop around a month back. But there's not much in the form of pics to show because the work was all about getting the body panels aligned since a lot of the seals have come in. Plus, a lot of holes for screws etc. had been shut off previously where trim parts need to fit so we had to re-drill holes in several places and then try a fitting of some of the trim. Most of it was done and it took a good 5 days to finish.

As I had said earlier, small parts have been trickling in every now and then but they're lying at office and home so I'm putting up some pics of a few parts that I recently picked up which are at home.

Attachment 1007528
An NOS bumper guard

Attachment 1007531
Now that's what I call chrome!

This could be of use to you:
http://www.sgbumperscar.com/

[mbz180]

Originally Posted by car love

This could be of use to you:
http://www.sgbumperscar.com/

Thanks for the link car love. We've know of this company on our Ponton forum for a while and the members who have bought them say the products are excellent. There's a European company which sources from this company called Harrington. However, I think they only sell the entire set complete, front and rear with guards etc. for roughly $1200 which is the limiting factor

But my car's bumpers are alright, just wanted the bumper guards to be replaced. BTW, it turned out that the bumper guard I bought which is in the pics a few posts earlier was for a 220a and not for the 180/190

So I bought a correct pair this time for my car and quality is equally good. Atleast the reflector from the 220a can be used, they were common to both guards.

Here's a pic of the 2 types of guards, both of which I have. The one on the left is correct for my car.

[SafeDrive]

Hi mbz180, can you post some pictures of the car?

[mbz180]

Originally Posted by SafeDrive

Hi mbz180, can you post some pictures of the car?

Hi SafeDrive, not much to post by way of pics. Both the restorer and I have been tied up with other things. What I will post are some pics of parts that have arrived recently.

Regards

[mbz180]

Here are pics of some new parts bought recently:



4 bonnet rubber dampers and accelerator pedal pad



Exterior door handle gaskets for all 4 doors



Gear knob and exhaust pipe clamp



Assorted rubber bits: 1st row: L to R: Battery cable grommet large, 2 Carb linkage bushes, 2 Speedometer cable grommets, Main wiring harness grommet

2nd row: L to R: Battery cable small grommet, 2 windscreen washer pipe grommets, 1 oil pressure gauge pipe grommet, 1 temp. gauge grommet, 1 bonnet release cable grommet, 1 choke cable grommet, 1 hand-brake cable grommet

3rd row: L to R: Accelerator pedal rod grommet, hand-brake lever rubber stop, 2 trunk lid rubber stops

4th row: L to R: Fuel and brake line rubber holders-7 are require and they run along the length of the undercarriage.



Tail lamp bases which mount onto the body



Assorted bits: Clockwise from centre: Steering column base plate rubber seal, steering rod-boot, cuff & flex disc, radiator mount bolts, 4 rubber mounts for radiator, exhaust pipe damper, fuel filler neck to tank rubber connecting pipe with fabric insert.


Cheers

[kevinephraim]

Have been reading this thread since the day it started. Mbz180, you really are building a new car from parts, aren't you?! Amazing dedication and perseverance!
Waiting to see the finished product.

[Viju]

Hello mbz180, I've been visiting your thread regularly. The slow and steady way in which you are collecting the correct spares shows your patience and vision about the completed product. A restoration like this must not be rushed and I am glad to see that you are doing it the right way.

Anyone visiting your thread must be eager to see the end product, but I am sure the end result would be worth waiting for!

[ariesonu]

Awesome (Owsuuum) Prithvi,
Is the gear knob, a bakelite product?
And those tail lamps again look awesome. What about the lenses?
Are the rubber parts really difficult to source??
and last but not least;
If I ever caught the PONTON bug, I'll squarely blame it on YOU.

Raab rakha.