[samsag12]

As the thread title rightly indicates i have floated this thread to document the restoration of my 1995 model Premier Padmini S1. The car is stripped off all the trims and interiors by yours truly and handed over to the trusted garage servicing my family's Fiats since 1978. Will update this thread as and when the progress is made. For now i am attaching some interior and exterior shots taken till date.BTW this is the first thorough restoration this car is facing in its lifetime. It did had a few overcoats and engine overhauls though.

I would require help and guidance from our fellow Fiatians in this process and would be glad to hear and follow their comments & suggestions.

[samsag12]

Today i managed to get some rubber parts for the car which include nearly all glass and body frame rubbers. Will update the list soon.


MODS: I would be highly obliged if this thread is kept under the vintage and classic cars in India section, same as the other Fiat restoration threads are placed.

[absoluteyogi]

Awesome thread, I am subscribed!
Special attachment for Padmini, for she being the car that I practically grew up with! Also, Padmini is the one with which I learned driving and got a license using the same car as well! Incidentally, Padmini was the one that I encountered my first major accident as welll, of course, it wasn't car's fault though in anyway. But lots of memories are attached to this piece of automobile. Looking forward to the new look of your Padmini

Cheers,

[IQBAL VEERJI]

Originally Posted by samsag12

As the thread title rightly indicates i have floated this thread to document the restoration of my 1995 model Premier Padmini S1. The car is stripped off all the trims and interiors by yours truly and handed over to the trusted garage servicing my family's Fiats since 1978. Will update this thread as and when the progress is made. For now i am attaching some interior and exterior shots taken till date.BTW this is the first thorough restoration this car is facing in its lifetime. It did had a few overcoats and engine overhauls though.

I would require help and guidance from our fellow Fiatians in this process and would be glad to hear and follow their comments & suggestions.

Boss, true FIATIENS are Mr. Dhabber, Mr. Ravi (SUPER SELECT) who are down to earth persons in helping out .
I have yet to meet Mr. Dhabber in one of the meets in future, Mr. Ravi is a gem of a person.Regards

[YaeJay]

All the very best on the restore samsag12! Those were really the VROOMS back then!

[funkykar]

Great to see your S1 being restored Sagar. Good luck in the entire restoration. I am sure the car will rock when the restoration completes.

[EARTHed]

Originally Posted by funkykar

Great to see your S1 being restored Sagar. Good luck in the entire restoration. I am sure the car will rock when the restoration completes.

I agree with funkykar. All the very best buddy, you have been very inspirational for me to buy 4 FIATs.

[kaushikkrishnan]

Reminds me of my automotive journey which started with the Fiat 1100 1971 model. In the end it was sold as scrap for 12k as the rust bucket became unmanageable

Good to know that the FIAT club makes it a point a keep things alive.

The trip on a Padmini to the mumbai airport was a dream come true for me a couple of months back and brought in all the memories and so does your post

Do keep in mind that the padmini rusts and give it a proper scrub and a modern anti-rust treatment

I am subscribed Mate ! Keep the pictures coming

[DHABHAR.BEHRAM]

Dear Sagar - I got your PM. All the best for the restoration of your Premier Padmini S1. The first step is to work on the corroded floor on the left side. I suggest you replace the running boards as well (portions below the doors). I really wish the car were in Mumbai, my complete restoration setup is available here. Please post engine compartment pictures also. If you want peculiar parts, do PM me, will try and get them here. All the best.

Best regards,

Behram Dhabhar

[samsag12]

Originally Posted by absoluteyogi

Awesome thread, I am subscribed!
Special attachment for Padmini, for she being the car that I practically grew up with! Also, Padmini is the one with which I learned driving and got a license using the same car as well! Incidentally, Padmini was the one that I encountered my first major accident as welll, of course, it wasn't car's fault though in anyway. But lots of memories are attached to this piece of automobile. Looking forward to the new look of your Padmini

Cheers,

Thanks a lot absoluteyogi. There are many on this forum who learned driving on a Fiat/PP. Me to looking forward to the new look.

Originally Posted by IQBAL VEERJI

Boss, true FIATIENS are Mr. Dhabber, Mr. Ravi (SUPER SELECT) who are down to earth persons in helping out .
I have yet to meet Mr. Dhabber in one of the meets in future, Mr. Ravi is a gem of a person.Regards

I am well aware of that Iqbal ji. still thanks a lot for mentioning the names.

Originally Posted by YaeJay

All the very best on the restore samsag12! Those were really the VROOMS back then!

Thanks.

Originally Posted by funkykar

Great to see your S1 being restored Sagar. Good luck in the entire restoration. I am sure the car will rock when the restoration completes.

Thanks a lot Karthik. though a bit late but, hey, it just begun

Originally Posted by EARTHed

I agree with funkykar. All the very best buddy, you have been very inspirational for me to buy 4 FIATs.

Hmm.. good to hear that i inspired atleast someone.

Originally Posted by kaushikkrishnan

Reminds me of my automotive journey which started with the Fiat 1100 1971 model. In the end it was sold as scrap for 12k as the rust bucket became unmanageable

Good to know that the FIAT club makes it a point a keep things alive.

The trip on a Padmini to the mumbai airport was a dream come true for me a couple of months back and brought in all the memories and so does your post

Do keep in mind that the padmini rusts and give it a proper scrub and a modern anti-rust treatment

I am subscribed Mate ! Keep the pictures coming

Nice to hear that. I am well aware of the rust part as my family had quite a few fiats & we have gone through this RUST phase on our each car.

[samsag12]

Originally Posted by DHABHAR.BEHRAM

Dear Sagar - I got your PM. All the best for the restoration of your Premier Padmini S1. The first step is to work on the corroded floor on the left side. I suggest you replace the running boards as well (portions below the doors). I really wish the car were in Mumbai, my complete restoration setup is available here. Please post engine compartment pictures also. If you want peculiar parts, do PM me, will try and get them here. All the best.

Best regards,

Behram Dhabhar

Dhabhar sir, your post in this thread is a honour for me. Will surely let you know my requirement of any peculiar part if i fail to find it here. As significant from the pics car is stripped of all the fittings and glasses.
Regarding the tin work there is lot to be done. To start with, all the floor area will be changed/patched which include the running boards & side boards. All doors will be unmounted and worked upon. 30% sheet from the bottom up will be replaced from both the sides on all 4 doors. After all this is complete the exterior work will commence which includes changing of various corroded portions of the body. Chassis work is also in the line as front lower cross member is totally eaten away. Dicky area will be worked on as few panels are non-existent.
Phew. a lot of work is to be done and 10 days is the time limit set for tinkering. Hope it doesn't gets extended.

Will definitely post the engine bay shots soon.

[manishalive]

Sagar,

Glad that you started your car's restoration. And it's better now cause few years down the line the Body parts will also not be available.

Please analyze extent of damage and thus the amount of work required (in my case it kept on increasing and delayed the project).

Use water, soap, scotch brite, kerosene, sanding disc with power tools, powered wire brush. But Do not use paint remover to remove rust. I will leave the surface acidic and prone to detoriation. Once rust is removed use a phosphoric acid based solvent to seal the rust.

There are a couple of antirust spray available (from 3M and so on). This will be good to spray on the inside of boxed section, like running board. I bought Rustolene 2 liters for the underbody.

[Stanher]

Sagar, good to see your car getting its makeover at last. BTW, yours being an S1, how come it has a steering shift, and not the floor shift that came on the S1? Or was this also an option available on them?

[DHABHAR.BEHRAM]

Dear Sagar - thanksfor your compliments. Feels nice. Do let me know what you want. DO NOT REPLACE COMPLETE FLOOR. ONLY REPLACE CORRODED AREAS. Reason is given below.

Dear Shyam - PPS1 (Premier Padmini was called "PP Car" inside the plant) came in floor mounted as well as column mounted configurations. The floor mounted car had the F4W56A transmission adapted from the 118NE. The column mounted car had the transmission adapted from the NISSAN VANETTE panel van (we had imported a blue van which sat at one sopt for years and got corroded). The vanette transmission had a small rear housing, therefore the propeller shaft of the column mounted car is in two pieces with the center bearing adapted from the 118NE. This is to prevent the propeller shaft approach the whirling speed (Euler's theory of long columns). You can see the center bearing mounting fasteners located on the floor, next to the propeller shaft tunnel. If floor is replaced, this location will be lost and driveline vibrations will start, then no garage will be able to do anything. That's why I don't prefer to buy PPS1 with column mounted gear shift. My LHD is a 1996 model S1 and has the floor shift, we never engineered LHD with column shift. With floor shift, propeller shaft is single piece as the rear housing of the transmission is long enough so no cross member,no center bearing, no problem. Why we did not implement rear housing of floor shift on column shift is a matter of conjecture. That's PAL for you. Has anybody ever listened to a juniormost junior engineer? A big grin smiley is called for here! .

Best regards,

Behram Dhabhar

[kavesh55]

Dear Sagar- Superlike your thread in Facebook language. Im sure Behram, will say, here goes Kavesh again. Please keep your car original as much as possible in terms of OEM parts. I know how I hunted high and low to get VIR rubber bushes, they have stopped making for Padminis, because of cheaper alternatives.
S1 hold a very special place in my heart, I refused to let go my car, inspite of people saying anything. It was only on sound advice and 'decide' by friends did I let go. I have shortlisted two MH01 S1 cars, issue is they refuse to part with.