[mayankk]

Losferwords.

I am petty amazed with the toothpaste trick. I tried it once before, but I used a coth, and regular colgate. Nothing happened. Did not try it again till just now.
Difference was I used a rotary polisher I had bought ages ago, and boxed it away cos it was flimsy. Coido or something.
And, I used Colgate visible white. Its that whiteening toothpaste, so I believe its slightly more abrasive.
Washed the headlights with water, put the paste on, and fired up the polisher with the sponge fitting, and ran it till the paste was completely gone. All in, about 10 minutes both lights combined. I can honestly say that with a cloth, it would be equivalent to spending about 30-35 minutes on each light, total, 1-1.25 hours of polishing. That would have been a lot of effort. So basic difference was the mehnat, and the paste.
And, well, see for yourself:








PS:The deformation on the shroud, inside. Thats from the 100w bulb. Been like that since the first time I ran the bulbs. Isnt spreading, so I'll hold on till I can get new headlights.

[mayankk]

Ok, so of late, I have considered selling the tucson or the fiesta off. However, the tooky cant be sold as its more than 10 years old now.
Which made me realise: This girl is 10 YEARS OLD!
And she's not going anywhere.
So She does need some care, I suppose. 10 years is, what, diamond??? Fly , savings, fly!!
Anyhow, here are the issues:
Harsh suspension, 777 level of clatter, going mats.
Heres whats proposed:
New shocks all around, new clutch, Felt Tar, or yoga mat damping, some hoses to be replaced, maybe go back to fabric upholstery, door cards to be retrimmed, steering wheel to be stripped and wrapped if possible.
Based on what is left, wheels, body and cladding to be painted. Cladding in unfinished matt black spray, which can be retouched, wheels in maybe hammertone black, body in silver with metal flakes in contrasting color.

All in, maybe about a 100k, probably less. Worth it, since she aint going anywhere.

I have tasked the mech to start procuring the car specific things which take time. I still dont have the drivers side rear view mirror, and it broke in january!!
In the meantime, I had taken the grille out, cut it up, and made a hash of it, Now I have had to buy a new Hyundai one for 4k.

End of file!

[suryakamal]

Hi Mayank,

Interesting! Couple of points.

Can't sell, because it is > 10 years, due to NCR restrictions?
My Tuscon is also more than 10 years (11, next month). Somewhat pretty much similar to what you mentioned - including the driver's side mirror (I have put a temp hack - a Rs 50 mirror stuck using doubles sided tape).

Have been wondering what to do with this old girl and for how long and what to replace with. No clear answers

Regards...Surya

[mayankk]

Originally Posted by suryakamal

Hi Mayank,

Interesting! Couple of points.

Can't sell, because it is > 10 years, due to NCR restrictions?
My Tuscon is also more than 10 years (11, next month). Somewhat pretty much similar to what you mentioned - including the driver's side mirror (I have put a temp hack - a Rs 50 mirror stuck using doubles sided tape).

Have been wondering what to do with this old girl and for how long and what to replace with. No clear answers

Regards...Surya

Yep, because of NCR restrictions.
Can you send a picture of your temp hack, or just post it here?

As for what to do with her, watch this space.

[Ace F355]

Originally Posted by mayankk

As for what to do with her, watch this space.

Now what have you planned to do with the old girl! I am guessing a full blown make over!

Looking forward to the story...

[suryakamal]

Originally Posted by mayankk

Yep, because of NCR restrictions.
Can you send a picture of your temp hack, or just post it here?

As for what to do with her, watch this space.

Hi,

Sorry.. I couldn't reply earlier. Irony, just couple of days back, the mirror fell off probably due to heat in the parking lot. However, managed to stick it up again. I guess, it is time to get the proper replacement.
Total Cost : Rs 80 (Mirror : 50, Tape : 30). It lasted almost 3 months

Cheers...Surya

[Dry Ice]

Originally Posted by mayankk

Ok, so of late, I have considered selling the tucson or the fiesta off. However, the tooky cant be sold as its more than 10 years old now.

Can't be sold even outside NCR? I mean when the Delhi RTO deregisters it, do they give any kind of NOC for registration transfer? Or one needs to get one before it is deregistered.

Are you planning to get it registered somewhere else, away from NCR?

[mayankk]

Originally Posted by Dry Ice

Can't be sold even outside NCR? I mean when the Delhi RTO deregisters it, do they give any kind of NOC for registration transfer? Or one needs to get one before it is deregistered.

Are you planning to get it registered somewhere else, away from NCR?

Well, since yesterday's news, it can be sold outside ncr. Till yesterday, you could not even get an noc to sell it anywhere in India.
I'm holding off making a decision for now, and enjoy an extremely capable car.

[mayankk]

Well, part one of refurbishing is complete. New clutch, and new shocks all around. I've only driven it now for about 500 metres, but I can tell you this. It's a world of difference. The pedal is as soft as my fiesta, almost. Full service and clean up also done. The clatter is gone, and if this is what it takes, I really don't mind changing the clutch every 15k. That's how annoying it was.
Also, Raj the mechanic has done some jugaad on the right rearview mirror, and I do believe it's a factory mirror. If it's a jugaad, then he should be able to sell it. I'll post pictures tomorrow. Will also know the total damage tomorrow. So far I've only given him 20k.

[mayankk]

Originally Posted by suryakamal

Hi,

Sorry.. I couldn't reply earlier. Irony, just couple of days back, the mirror fell off probably due to heat in the parking lot. However, managed to stick it up again. I guess, it is time to get the proper replacement.
Total Cost : Rs 80 (Mirror : 50, Tape : 30). It lasted almost 3 months

Cheers...Surya

Here you go.

If you look closely, you can see some sort bevelling on the edges.

[mayankk]

So the 22" led light-bar from Ali arrived, and was installed. It is super-bright, and the focus section of the light, in the middle, is pretty focused. I have not had a chance to use it properly yet. It need to be adjusted a bit upwards with the Allen key provided. I will do that and post some pictures.
This, coupled with the 100w bulbs, and the 54w led fogs, its enough for any stretch of unlit road now. One thing that did happen in the short drive from the mechanics. I had the fogs on, and a cabbie was coming from the opposite direction with his full beams on. I flashed high beams, he flashed back, didn't go low. Then I switched these on, pronto low beam!!

[Digital Vampire]

Originally Posted by mayankk

22" led light-bar from Ali arrived, and was installed.

Are you sure you want to block the main lower air-dam/intake? From the pictures, it looks like the light-bar covers 80% of the air dam.

The top-grill of Tucson is not too big and I'm guessing that the lower air-dam is the main source of cool air for the radiator/engine. In fact I believe both air intakes are critical for engine cooling and should not be disturbed. Also the current position of the light-bar make it more susceptible to stone damage.

IMHO, it should be possible to relocate (or even recess) the bar to where the number plate is and move the number plate elsewhere.

[mayankk]

Originally Posted by Digital Vampire

Are you sure you want to block the main lower air-dam/intake? From the p-----SNIP------ocate (or even recess) the bar to where the number plate is and move the number plate elsewhere.

Hmmmm. You might be right. The bar does cover some area, but more like 40%, and it is placed quite forward. The radiator here is the Aircon's, I believe. I'll try it out for a few days. If I notice some perceptible issues, I will probably move it to somewhere higher.

[mayankk]

So the most recent update is a tale of vile and wanton vandalism, perpetrated against a gentle giant, for reasons unknown.
O ghoul, may you be undead when the vultures feast on your body

In other words pissed as Larry.
I came back to where I had parked my car and saw this, and found the broken handle dumped near the front of the car. Luckily, Raj managed to source one in less than a week, and I'm getting it fixed tomorrow.
Meantime, the old girl is off to lansdowne again this weekend.

[ashis89]

Kudos to your patience, your efforts and your dedication with which you maintain your cars. I follow your Tucson and Fiesta thread for regular updates and love the way you maintain and upgrade your cars. While you bother less about their aesthetics, they are 100% mechanically fit (PS: this is a compliment and I hope I got it right. I try to follow the same principle).