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Originally Posted by crdi Nice work. Looks as if it was delivered today, straight out of the showroom. Even the alloys have an OE look (except for the extra holes). Please post the interior pictures too. |
Thank you for the compliment. Shall post more pictures, esp interiors soon.
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Originally Posted by Leoshashi Take a bow, Saket bhaiya!! Our "mid-life restomod" would have remained incomplete without this superb report of yours.
I was shocked at the shoddy work which your previous ASC had done, and while we have managed to correct most of that, there are still some areas which I would like to review. |
Thank you Shashi. You have been the pillar on which this restoration job has mostly rested. Agree that some minor imperfections still remain but as stated, we shall address them soon in future.
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Originally Posted by rakesh_r One of the best and subtle restorations, Kudos to your efforts. The Zen was our first car, a golden Beige 1998 carburetted one. The Zen had one of the best gearboxes, smooth and precise. Sharing an old pic of my car. |
Thanks for sharing this amazing picture. Looking at the Zen never tires me!
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Originally Posted by Mr.Boss Zen is one of the favorite car (till date) among many, for it's cute structure, crispy engine, mod friendly nature and more importantly spares availability. I wish I could get one in future.
PS: See if you could get the B-Pillar and window borders blacked out (like the M800) |
Thanks! Will consider doing the same. May be first check with a photo-editor.
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Originally Posted by ariesonu I would suggest that you paint those yummy alloys in black, reason being that they will gel very nicely with black ORVMs, Black mesh in grill & door handles. The car will look sporty & that 16V SMART sticker at back will get a "boost".
Also you must add those side beading on doors. |
Not exactly black, but we were keen on giving it a gun metal finish. But since budget was overshooting than our previous estimates, we pushed it for later.
Regarding the side beadings; it was a part of the plan. But since there was a minor mismatch between the door & fender line on LHS, we decided against it for now as it will get more pronounced after beadings in place.
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Originally Posted by vsathyap I miss the Zen thoroughly, but I sort of make up for the engine since I own a K10 now - but the Zen will always be that - "ZEN"! |
Thanks! K10 is a nice car itself. Take care of it! I have a feeling that it will become a rare breed in coming years.
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Originally Posted by Ashdel I learned my driving in this car. I still cherish those old memories of me driving my dad's ZEN.
ZEN is actually Zero Engine Noise. |
Thanks! Yes, that's what the ZEN stands for; but probably it was in that era. Bigger engines are in fact more silent these days!
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Originally Posted by supremeBaleno The original Zen. Turned heads then and with amazing performance too. And all these years later, it is still such a looker. Great work with the restoration. The car looks completely drool-worthy & as if fresh from the showroom. |
Thank you Sir! I can relate to every word. Cars like Zen carry a timeless design which still can turn heads on road if maintained well. I am witnessing the phenomena everyday now!
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Originally Posted by rmonie Beautiful restoration. I really loved the attention to detail & the fact that you have maintained the originality of the car. |
Thank you very much. The restoration job rotated around the core being maintaining originality and with very subtle mods. I am glad that we stuck to the idea and didn't go overboard anywhere.
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Originally Posted by V.Narayan Saket77, congratulations on a marvelous restoration. The old girl looks as good as new. Co-incidentally the same Zen with the same colour was my late father's last car. I had gifted it to him in 2002 and he drove it for the last 5 odd years of his life. Enjoy the car and the memories. |
Thanks! I am sure it must have struck the same chord with you too.
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Originally Posted by asit.kulkarni93 Wow! That's a brilliant job done on the Zen. I was very close to picking up a 2002 Zen vxi in 2013 but our requirements had changed so had to settle for a tall boy WagonR. |
Yes, a tall boy makes more of practical sense in today's lives. Be it tackling bad roads or interior space. Low slung cars struggle in these areas & are hence going out of tradition.
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Originally Posted by sumitsinha0280 Excellent thread!! Rating it a well deserved 5 star. I can imagine the fun you two had while getting it restored. Everything is very tastefully done. |
Thanks Sumit! Do join us for a test drive anytime.
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Originally Posted by scorpian I own three of them, a carb and two mpfi of which one has clocked over 2.5lakh kilometres...
Iam quite interested to know your feedback regarding liqui-moly oil,is it worth it? i run W50 instead of 40and hence i ask if its worth switching over.Currently i run valvoline and am quite happy with it. |
Wow! 3 of them and one clocked over 2.5L kms! That is amazing to know!
Regarding the engine oil, I am totally in awe of this wonderful lubricant. This has changed the characteristic of the engine a lot making the car much more fund to drive. The engine note at higher RPMs have changed and the car can now easily pull above 100 KMPH, which felt little taxing before. In my opinion, its totally worth the price.
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Originally Posted by W.A.G.7 the Zen was one of "the" cars to have. Nice engine and a fresh new shape. The A/C was the only weak point of the car. I have heard that it used to sap a lot of power and make the car really sluggish. |
Yes, the AC does snap much of the power from the engine. That's probably the only fly in the ointment in the otherwise great driving characteristics of the Zen.
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Originally Posted by fighterace Good job. Engine is brand new, 33k is nothing for the Zen. However, please check LHS upper firewall near cabin air intake. The rust is a result of water seepage from upper firewall (commonly called cowl) due to blockage. Also check door alignment and rubber for water entry. Unless water ingress is addressed, rust is bound to reappear.
Speaking from first hand experience as former Zen owner. |
Thanks for sharing your experience. You are absolutely right. We have changed the door seals on the LHS. Looks all okay now. I shall keep an eye for anything suspicious around the LHS area which may result in rust formation. Only time will tell if we have succeeded in sorting out the root issue.
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Originally Posted by NPV -mostly stock look without anything garish or extravagant accessories, even going in for the old style grille
My uncle had a 1993/94 (hope I got that right) Zen that was from the first generation and it was indeed a lovely car. Thanks again for sharing the details of the restoration. |
Thanks a lot! Yes, I did like the old grill more than the newer one. Looks more meaty to me & at the same time more premium.
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Originally Posted by theMAG What I like best about this restoration is that the originality seems to be retained, with no unnecessary aftermarket modifications! The car looks like it could have rolled off the production line recently- good stuff. |
Thank you so much. That's probably the best compliment a restorer can get - a car straight from assembly line! Thanks for the nice words.
Thank you gentlemen for your nice comments, observations and advice.
Regards,
Saket.