[sierrakamat]

here are a few pics of work in progress on the sierra.
i kind of liked the orange what say bullit shall we go for it ?

[Bullitt]

@ sierrakamat: Thanks for the pics man.

At first sight, that orange does look attractive, being a very sporty shade. Reminds me of the Sumo Grande. Also, looks pretty similar to this (well-known on Team BHP) Sierra:





I'm sure I'll tire of it in a few days. I feel bright sporty colors look best on low-slung sporty cars like the Palio rather than huge SUVs, the Grande being an exception. I saw this ill-maintained Tata Safari in Baner, Pune quite a few times. Guess what the color was... Canary Yellow! What an eyesore it was.

Lets keep the shade original, I can bear to live with everyday for the next 3-5 years. Besides, that's the entry in the RC book, I would like to avoid the unnecessary hassle of getting the new color endorsed by the RTO.

- Bullitt.

[kaustubh_vaze]

WOAH!!! Jaydeep, Dr. Kamat - You are going the whole hog in getting the Sierra done!! Nice work!! When did u guys decide on getting the whole body painted?

[sierrakamat]

now that the whole tin work and the putty job is over and done with should be starting the paint job on sat or sun . why dont you guys drop in on sunday.

[sierrakamat]

ok jaydeep here is the RED HOG after completion of paint will go for upholstery by monday ,sorry about the pic quality were taken in low light in the evening but man does she look awesome in flesh

[mercedised]

@sierrakamat:

Is that Sierra your's? If yes what is the odo reading now? Just asking for the sake of information.

BTW, do you also own Safari TCIC now? (your profile picture). I too own one and interested on debating about some of the regular niggles I get in it.

[sierrakamat]

Originally Posted by mercedised

@sierrakamat:

Is that Sierra your's? If yes what is the odo reading now? Just asking for the sake of information.

BTW, do you also own Safari TCIC now? (your profile picture). I too own one and interested on debating about some of the regular niggles I get in it.

the sierra belongs to a fellow bhpian "bullit" who was interested in doing it up the work is being done with me .
i had the tcic and then a 2.2 dicor both were sold but i am always open to discussions about sierra /safari any time .niggles are part and parcel of the game please feel free to ask anything.

[Bullitt]

@ kaustubh:

We had decided to get the top half painted after covering those leaky channels in the roof, the decision about the bottom half was subject to condition. Looking at the number of scratches, dents and cracks all over the body, it was decided that the entire body should be done up. This way, even the paint looks uniform and no shade difference will be visible.

@ sierrakamat:

My apologies man. I wasn't able to make it yesterday as my son isn't keeping well. Also, I had a slightly upset stomach, so wanted to avoid travelling.

The paint simply looks awesome man! The beast simply gleams; I just love the fourth snap. And this is just the raw paint. Just imagine what he will look like after polishing! Can't wait to see it.

One thing I noticed is that there is a lot of overspray on the tyres. I hope we can get rid of that stuff. I don't want to ride around in a Sierra with "matching tyres" .

I noticed that the alteration for the Victa ORVMs has not been done. Is it to be done later on?

Also, we need to buy and fit a good pair of side-steps. Here's pictures of the ones I am considering:

First preference (well rounded design):




Second preference:



I think we can go for the same silver color on the alloys. Also, what's the plan of action for the center cones? We can get them back into shape, de-chrome them and paint them either black or silver I guess.

Also, we need to think about fabricating those mud-flaps. The stock rubber ones are grossly inadequate, thanks to the increased offset of the tyres.

Now that the longest yard is over, the time has come to look at the little things in great detail. After all, the devil lies in the details. We don't want to miss out on anything while putting the beast together. This will avoid any re-work later on.

As for the upholstery bit, any ideas for the gear shift boot + knob, center console and steering horn pad?

@ mercedised:

As Sierrakamat said, the red Sierra Turbo is mine. It's the one I acquired in October, you will find the discussion about it in this very same thread. Sierrakamat is a long-time Sierra veteran, and he offered to do up the beast for me, which is what the current discussion is all about.

I believe the odometer reads ~77-78K. It's a nice ride, I'm quite happy with it. Easily does 120 kmph on the expressway. Our dear friend kaustubh was delighted to rip it on the expressway on the day we dropped it with Sierrakamat for the refurbishment. Feel free to present your views and opinions on anything I can do to make my ride better. Since the beast is in the garage anyway, I can get it done then and there.

[sierrakamat]

the upholstery work is under progress,as a sample piece the spare rim has been painted awaiting your approval .
both of us know that the overspray on the tyres is going to get cleaned up why bring it up?
the side step is an accesory which you can buy once in mumbai as per your choice.
the orvms require my presence as i dont want any mishaps so will be getting
them once i have an hour to spare with the car.
the windshield glass availability is a big issue keeping my fingers crossed on that.

[condor]

Reg those side steps:

Pref #1: OE from the Safari / Victa GX. Attempts by another member to get these had failed. So try & go to a friendly S.A to get these.

Pref #2: after-market stuff.

[Bullitt]

@ sierrakamat:

The white looks great on the alloy, though the picture doesn't seem to do much justice. I'm sure it looks a lot better in reality. I like it.

Would it be possible to use chrome-plated dome-shaped bolts (Safari Dicor type) for these rims instead of the current set? I believe they will enhance the looks of the rims even more. What might be the cost?

I will leave the fitting of the ORVMs to your discretion.

As discussed, since the availability of laminated windshield is an issue, lets use a toughened glass windshield instead, and apply strong sunfilm to make it shatter-resistant.

@ condor: If that is the Safari OE side-step, I do have access to it, but it costs 5.6K a pair. I don't want to spend that kind of money on side-steps. I think I'll settle for the 2nd option then, I don't think it will cost even half of the first one.

I'm also thinking of getting a pair of "scuff-plates" fitted under the doors. I find the ones on most new-gen cars to be quite appealing. What do you guys think?



This one's from the Tata Manza. Picture courtesy team-bhp.com.

- Bullitt.

[condor]

Reg the scuff plates : can you get something that goes around that edge ? A lot of scraping happens at the edge of the door frame, than the part where the scuff plate is covering the under-lying paint ( as seen in the above pic)

[Bullitt]

@ condor: If I interpret that rightly, the scuff-plate needs to go further outwards and then fold downwards?

I haven't seen any scuff-plates like that factory-fitted on any vehicle. That would probably have to be fabricated. Then again, I'm not quite sure how it would look once the door is closed.

Any ideas?

[sierrakamat]

scruff plates will have to be fabricated as the ones available will have safari etc written on them.
the orvms that you have bought are duplicated cheap ones am not going to even try to fit them hve already asked to exchange them for some other stuff that we need the original ones cost about 1.6k a piece that you have to decide at a later stage.the chrome bolts are available but expensive and prone to rusting in 6 months time i am getting the existing bolts sprayed with the body color they look neat .
cheapest side step is of the std sumo will have to change the aluminium cos the after market ones come with really cheap wafer thin strips that a new born baby can bend.
today the side glasses have been fit
also let me take the opportunity to educate you on the fitting of roof rails which contrary to what you thought have been bolted on to the roof of your wagon r and not stuck on with some indestructible superglue from NASA

[mercedised]

@sierrakamat and bullit:
That car is already looking awesome in the incomplete form. BTW, for the roof rails I think that those roof rails are provided by companies for holding the luggage onto the roof. On my Safari I use the roof rails for this purpose only and I donot see any other reason. So, going by this the roofrails must never be sticked, always bolted ones are safe to be used if one intend to use them for tying the luggage onto the roof.

How about using this theme

http://chandigarh.adwayer.in/photos/L_jydY2mL_16650101