23rd March 2011, 23:29
| #1 |
| BHPian Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Chennai
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| My Pride - 1946 Chrysler Windsor I purchased this 1946 Chrysler Windsor car in Dec 2008 from a old lady (about 70 years old) after numerous visits. Initially she was not willing to sell the car but wanted me and my brother to only restore it. But surprisingly a few months later she called us and said she was willing to sell the car but for one condition. Once the car was restored she wanted us to take her in the Chrysler to the famous Parthasarathy temple in Triplicane quite close to her house to which we happily agreed. This car was actually was not used and parked in a garage for 35 years. Except for a few parts like the huge front grill, 4 door handles and the bonnet motif all the other parts were intact. So one fine day I called my garage guy to send a mechanic and a recovery truck to move this car to his place. I didn’t realise then that this place would be its home for the next 2 years, anyway more on that later. Once we opened the garage doors we found that there was filth right upto the running boards which had accumulated all these years. But the biggest problem was pushing the car out as 2 tyres were flat and none of the guys there were willing to step inside the garage fearing snakes and other insects. So finally the mechanic stepped in and even disconnected the propeller shaft from the differential . Later the recovery truck (an old TATA 407) struggled to pull it out after several attempts and in the process burning its clutch plate also. Once the car was moved out it was cleaned and one of the rear flat tyres was replaced with a good tyre from the front. Surprisingly all the door locks and keys were still functioning (probably a tribute to the American quality) and we were able to open the boot lock very easily. Inside we found some used filters and a old oil can. First let me apologise for not posting good quality pre restoration pictures including the videos since I had lost the complete folder on my computer . The ones I have posted are from my mobile cam. So here are the pre restoration pics first. I’ll post the restoration details later.              The honey comb radiator.  The treasures I found in the boot    |
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23rd March 2011, 23:35
| #2 |
| BHPian Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Chennai
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| Re: My Pride - 1946 Chrysler Windsor Here are the post restoration pics taken at a rally held in Chennai last month.              |
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23rd March 2011, 23:51
| #3 |
| BANNED Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: NAMMA BENGALURU
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| Re: My Pride - 1946 Chrysler Windsor Quite amazing the way its been Restored  How long did the restoration take, and one last question... " Did the old lady visit her temple in this car of hers......?????" I hope, her wish would have come true...... |
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24th March 2011, 00:42
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| BHPian  Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Kolkata
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24th March 2011, 01:09
| #5 |
| BHPian Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Hyd
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| Re: My Pride - 1946 Chrysler Windsor What a car you have man. Your pride - my envy . Beautifully restored. On the first glance of the post restoration(before I read the text) pics, I thought you have posted a reference image and that was how you want it to look. Post some specs and other details of the car. A little suggestion from me, hunt for white walled tyres, they will dramatically change the look further, or you may want to look at clip on white walls. |
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24th March 2011, 07:49
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24th March 2011, 07:50
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| Distinguished - BHPian   | |
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24th March 2011, 10:01
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24th March 2011, 10:07
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| Distinguished - BHPian  | Re: My Pride - 1946 Chrysler Windsor Quote:
The colour suits the car very well (as did the original blue). May I suggest you paint the wheel tin trims in cream (as original)? You don't need to fit white walls, as these were designed for that purpose. The front bumper guards have come too close together, they should line up with the front lights. Must have been quite a task to fabricate the grille too - while you are at it, get the bonnet base trim made as well. Window rubber trims were present, I assume you couldn't fit them because the locally available rubber will not have the groove needed. If your chap is skilled enough (he obviously appears to be), he can make the headlight rings too, since you have the original sample seen in the first pics. Happy motoring, and do share some pics of the rally too. | |
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24th March 2011, 10:17
| #10 |
| BHPian  | Re: My Pride - 1946 Chrysler Windsor That was a fantastic transformation of the car (should I call it restoration, instead) with professional workmanship.  Paintjob is outstanding with the period shade. Can U tell us if it was Duco or 2K? Just curious. |
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24th March 2011, 11:10
| #11 |
| Senior - BHPian  Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Bangalore
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| Re: My Pride - 1946 Chrysler Windsor Jai, Wonderful restoration, Now we know what a task it would have been to bring her back to glory. I remember one instance of the bumper. The color shade is my favorite as a similar shade is going in my car too. And then we just love the subtle looks of the Interiors and the paint, not too bling bling. Way to go . |
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24th March 2011, 11:15
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| Senior - BHPian  | |
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24th March 2011, 11:33
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| Senior - BHPian  | |
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24th March 2011, 11:38
| #14 |
| Team-BHP Support   Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: MH-12
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24th March 2011, 13:10
| #15 |
| BHPian  Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: BLR[KA]/DPM[TN]
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