[milu2fast]

Johnson you beauty, put me no.1 in your list of envying people. Love the car, love what you did, the white steering wheel is not very practical but hey it is seriously cool with the white wall tyres 😍. I have been a fan of padmini always and yes you did touch on a lot of aspects where the current generation cars can try to incorporate from this legend . And above all you are a mallu 👍

[FINTAIL]

Does the car have keys of Magneti-Marelli make? If not, which brand?

Our Delight had keys of Magneti-Marelli make upto 20 years ago.

Kindly, get rid of the Delight decals, and also the horn ring.

Find a real Delight to put all these onto. I simply believe in ORIGINALITY and also believe, any Padmini, even with decals of a Delight, simply will not have the soul of a Delight.

Delights were a unique breed, see?

That said, a good restoration job. Grey really suits these FIATS.

Cheers!

[ad3952n]

Originally Posted by Johnson D3A

We (my brother and myself) had clear plans about the restoration of the car. A dual color exterior and white/cream interior was the raw plan.

Hi mate, Fantastic efforts combined with superb execution results in a delightful end result just like your car. Top notch finish is there on the car with a good choice of 2-tone color.

Great job done mate.

Thanks

AD

[bejoy]

Congrats on your car. Great transformation job indeed.

Originally Posted by Johnson D3A

It might be the halo effect in the first photograph I saw of her which attracted me or may be the registration number KRF 1224.

Was this car in Bangalore, by any chance? I had seen the 'same' car lying permanently in a house garage near to where i stay. Same off white colour, and the 'same' number. If not, the number is very close, let me take the route again and confirm.

[Johnson D3A]

Originally Posted by bejoy

Congrats on your car. Great transformation job indeed.




Was this car in Bangalore, by any chance? I had seen the 'same' car lying permanently in a house garage near to where i stay. Same off white colour, and the 'same' number. If not, the number is very close, let me take the route again and confirm.

As far as I know this car was not used outside Kerala. I bought her only 1.5 years back. So cannot completely rule out the chances.

Originally Posted by milu2fast

Johnson you beauty, put me no.1 in your list of envying people. Love the car, love what you did, the white steering wheel is not very practical but hey it is seriously cool with the white wall tyres 😍. I have been a fan of padmini always and yes you did touch on a lot of aspects where the current generation cars can try to incorporate from this legend . And above all you are a mallu 👍

Thanks for the good words mate. I bought the car from your home town, Cochin. Near High Court to be precise.

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

Superb rebuild job. I should be joining the club soon with my 72 Fiat.

Are the auto cancels still functioning on the indicator stalks?

Yup sandeep. The auto cancels are still in perfect order.

[ask77]

As far as I recall these car were sold as Fiat 1100 D or Delite till 1973. From 1974 onward
they came as Premiere Presidents and from 1978 onward as Premiere Padmini . The Fiat 1100 D had electricals from italian magnet marelli while the later models had Lucas electricals mainly distributor, dynamo, cut out , starter etc. The 1100 D had round gauges in the instrument cluster while the premiere versions had the later horizontal type of speedometer etc. The Fiat instrument cluster also had metallic flip switch instead of the plastic rocker one's of the Premiere . Never saw an original Fiat or Premiere with a horn ring, that came with Ambassador's together with an integrated turn indicator. All in all a great effort to revive an old classic. I also learned driving on my Father's Premiere President with the steering mounted gear shift and its quirky steering gear box type of steering which had a turning circle greater than Ambassador's .We still have a 1970 Fiat 1100 D preserved by a cousin in the family.

[classact]

Wow the car looks so nice. The steering wheel and the seats looks too cool.

[Johnson D3A]

Originally Posted by ask77

Never saw an original Fiat or Premiere with a horn ring, that came with Ambassador's together with an integrated turn indicator. All in all a great effort to revive an old classic. I also learned driving on my Father's Premiere President with the steering mounted gear shift and its quirky steering gear box type of steering which had a turning circle greater than Ambassador's .We still have a 1970 Fiat 1100 D preserved by a cousin in the family.

This is how the steering was when I bought the car..

[silverado]

Impressive stuff, I haven't seen a FIAT with arm rest in rear seats.Seats work looks to be outstanding.

[Karthik1100]

Talking about DELIGHTed Padmini, look at this! Original Aluminum tail lights too..

[sandeepmohan]

I am in the process of restoring my 72 Fiat 1100D. I would like your advice on fixing seat belts. Are they mandatory by law on a car this old? I am not against fixing them.

My garage gave me the option of the usual manual strap seat belt which will cost <Rs. 800 and the spring load, auto retract one's that will set me back around Rs. 3500. Not very inclined on spending so much if the <800 job does keep the passenger safe.

[FINTAIL]

Originally Posted by ask77

As far as I recall these car were sold as Fiat 1100 D or Delite till 1973. From 1974 onward
they came as Premiere Presidents and from 1978 onward as Premiere Padmini . The Fiat 1100 D had electricals from italian magnet marelli while the later models had Lucas electricals mainly distributor, dynamo, cut out , starter etc. The 1100 D had round gauges in the instrument cluster while the premiere

Actually, the 1100D's were built upto late 1972. Ours is a last of a series one.
(Aug-Sept 72). Registered in 10th November.

In very-very late 1972, the production for the President, commenced, for the 1973 Model-Year.

The Padmini was new in 1974.

Remember the strip type meters of the Selects? Loved em!

Note that all Delights did'nt always have round speedos, in Blue (1964/65) or Black (1966-71).

The 72 Delights had a different speedo, very similar to the Presidents speedo unit. The Deliight had it in black, the President in silver!

Poona seems to have quite a bit of Fiats left! Seen so many Millecentos, Selects, and Delights!

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

I am in the process of restoring my 72 Fiat 1100D. I would like your advice on fixing seat belts. Are they mandatory by law on a car this old? I am not against fixing them.

As such, when the car was designed, seat-belts were not integrated into the system. Better stick to the original design. Ah! The feel of originality........Sniff!

And the law states.....Such belts are mandatory for cars later than 1989. So....!

Anyways, better not buy such cheap 800 INR stuff. Spoils originality, and I doubt it'll save you in a crash.

Best drive these cars in speeds in full control, with brakes and mechanicals in perfect condition. Half the battle against crashes etc is......Won!

Cheerio!

[Karthik1100]

^^FINTAIL: Perfect info of the Delights!

Kindly post some pics of your Delight too!!

Sandeep Mohan: How about pics of your Fiat please. Also post them in FIAT 1100 Club Bangalore's FB page too.

[desdemona]

Excellent sir! Very good, caring work on this classic. I was just the other day castigating my father for not having held on (and on) to my granddad's still new PAL fiat back in the nineties.

He in turn told me of a news report he'd read recently in the Tribune (Chandigarh) about a gang of fiat thieves who stole six or seven in Chandigarh in just a few days. When nabbed, it turned out that they were paid Rs.5000 by a dealer with the idea of melting and breaking the cars down for scrap.

I am afraid the Fiat 1100s, Padminis left in north India are seriously at risk of extinction. Not so in Mumbai, Pune and the South, i am glad to discover!

[sandeepmohan]

Originally Posted by Karthik1100

Sandeep Mohan: How about pics of your Fiat please. Also post them in FIAT 1100 Club Bangalore's FB page too.

The car is at the workshop in Calicut. Not a single picture. My father is following up on all the work. I'll ask my father to take the camera next time.

There is a picture somewhere on the forum, during the days the car was in regular use. Its a B&W of a black 1100D.

The car was not a complete wreck. It was in driving condition. It needed some patch work to be done, upholstery, chrome plating and a general mechanical and electrical checkup.