[ku69rd]

Lovely thread you started Karthik. Have lot of memories with the van. One of our friends had this which we used to drive to Goa via Western ghats once. Remove the rear seats n roll out a bed and you can accommodate more people. Very cheap to run n we had a great trip.

Hopefully one of these days post the lockdown will meet you. This shade was very popular back in those days.

Congratulations on picking up yet another beauty.

[scorpian]

I too am owner of 1987 chocolate brown van and it still runs like a dream.
The points I managed to get of Toyota from dubai and they work much better then the regular ones that you get.
All the best with your van.

[Kosfactor]

Hope to see a preservation detail on this, perhaps change the worn out bits and some polishing work , nice color. I wonder how new cars would look in that shade.

Mk1 Maruti van was the best, I have experienced the first few models to arrive down south in Kerala (many years later ofcourse) but having driven the Mk1 and older versions what I felt was that Mk1 was designed to be a family vehicle , the later models were more commercial in nature. The build and refinement were much better in Mk1.

My uncle had a white one and it was one of the vehicles I started driving after learning to drive, it was a 7 seater crossover in its day. When most of the roads were single lane, it did just fine , could do decent speeds with comfort.

We once dusted off a MK1 that was parked for years in my friend's garage, his father and me cleaned up the carb and off we went for a while, it was good fun. It was having an issue with the coil when hot, we poured some water to cool it down and came back home. This car had in its days travelled from Kozhikode to Vizag and back.

There is a chocolate brown Mk1 near my home in Jayanagar, was still running the last time I saw it.

[CARDEEP]

Congratulations for the new oldie. Can't go wrong with a trusty Maruti in India.

I recall driving the Omni once. My uncle had 3 of them - one with high roof, 2 latter variants with 5-7 seater capacities. I drove the 5 seater one & it was a fun drive on Delhi Chandigarh highway... Till I had to apply emergency brakes. Nothing happened that day, but it definitely made me learn handling high center of gravity (coupled with shorter wheelbase) cars better.

[AKSarkar1]

Wow! This thread definitely brought back some memories. Congratulations on getting your hands on this gem! The Bayer Blue colour is also something unique, I don't recall seeing newer versions of the Omni in that shade.

The sliding doors and the kidnapping stereotype is definitely still alive and well mainly due to our Bollywood movies. In fact, the typical "opening" sound of these sliding doors are a trigger for me, I always get more cautious when I hear something like that. I remember I used to start running whenever I saw a tinted Omni as a kid!

What really surprises me though is the fact that even after all these years the car is still going strong and is actually usable! Not too many modern cars can do the same after 30+ years.

[GTO]

What an incredible story, and what an incredible report . Both you guys are like saviors of iconic cars & 2-wheelers from the 60s - 80s. Some questions please.

1. Where do you & your friends park all of these beauties you buy?

2. Do your families also enjoy them?

3. Which car is your favourite from the long list of acquisitions?

4. Do you also own modern cars, or not interested at all?

5. How do you take the time out to maintain them?

Thanks for beautifying our homepage . In these brutal Covid lockdown times, this is something that can make one smile:

[Maky]

Thank you very much for sharing this!.. brought back some nostalgic memories. It was the first car I remember as our own, although there were ambassadors and padmini's before this in the family.
Ours was a green one and we just called it Maruti Van. For many years I thought that was its name... later learned of Omni. I still remember the day my dad decided to sell it as we were getting the Maruti Esteem, which was a much better car but I just didn't and cried when I realised it was going away : )

[kraken]

I'm really happy to see this thread. More so because I was one of few lucky ones to get hold of one of the last examples of the Omni before it was discontinued.

I love the car even more because early in 1991, when our business was in it's nascent stage, we got an almost new (six month old) NRI owned pre-loved Omni with a lot of accessories. I was in love with it. Barring the never ending brake woes (apparently only one guy in the district knew how to set the brakes properly) it was a dream. A lot of long drives and lot of hauling stuff, I loved to jump behind the seats and sit in the boot (if it can be called that) with the goods.

And here's me in 2021 still in love and still wanting to sit in the boot

[ash22]

Just WOW!
Thank you so much for sharing this here. Indeed a great acquisition.
Credits to the first owner who pampered the Omni like a baby.

In 1997, My father was looking out for a car purchase and we zeroed Omni. Since my father was in real estate business, He narrowed down Omni to be used as a personal use with seats and remove the seats to transport the civil materials.
But mom was totally against the plan being Omni being a Van like and not comfortable with the boxy design. We ended up buying Zen in 1997. This Zen was later replaced by Alto in 2007.

Still Omni is a great choice in down south India which acts as a people mover in low budget. We can get some well maintained examples less than 2 lakhs.

- Mod potential? Why not.. Look few examples below from Kerala.








- Why not a world tour with Mk1 Omni..

[thechinmay]

Brilliant thread! Brings back memories of our 86 Omni that we acquired sometime in the early 90's and sold off in 2007-08.
This, along with the 800, has really defined the fabric of middle class India for a good 15 years and so many people have such fond memories with both these cars.

[Emvi]

Congratulations! You have bought yourself a rather neatly maintained MULTI PURPOSE VEHICLE. Yes, it's an MPV if you ask me.

Omni is so popular in my region that many have replaced their Mahindra "jeeps" with Omni(s). Hauling a load of 1 tonne in an Omni is quite a regular sight here. Omni is probably not as fuel efficient as other Maruti cars, but its practicality and workhorse nature are the standout features.

Happy Motoring

[kannan666]

Wow, awesome thread on how you bought the old but pristine Omni and got her road ready ! Nice pictures of other old Omni's too here too. I have a 2007 model which has been used extensively on the highways at the time and has been all over south India including a few trips to Goa. Never once did I have any issues with it, it was a true workhorse. Not been running much since the past five years though and have been driving it in and around the block and neighbourhood to keep it in running condition. Still love to drive it although frontal safety is a big issue and is a big deterrent to take it out on the highways again which today are vastly improved and speeds are much higher.

[SnS_12]

Its always a joy to read ownership threads like these and especially one with a history which is passed on to someone who is just as passionate if not more than the previous owner.

In my younger days I always demanded to be in the front be it on a two wheeler or a car and I vividly remember being seated in the front of the tourist Omini van taking us up the Matheran ghat. It was a thrilling experience with that fantastic view and being tossed around at every bend as the driver was literally putting pedal to the metal.

With some taxi operators in Mumbai still using a Omini I have had the opportunity to travel in one in recent times as well, but not a comfortable experience with the front being crammed up for my height and the toasty engine below your seat. The rear comfort in these taxis is even worst as the seat is unnecessarily low in some of them and you need to hold on all the time as the drivers have a habit of braking hard and throwing you towards the front.

The Maruti cars from the 80's were pleasing to look at and would put a big smile on your face but looking at the exceptional quality of spares and even the pricing they are available at today puts a even bigger smile on your face.

[AZT]

I've driven the newer Omni some and there is a different charm to that back straight upright driving posture with no power steering. No AC meant windows down and arm resting on gap baller style

I remember thinking this is how those big tempo truck drivers must be sitting.

[TorqMaster]

Very nicely maintained. Makes an incredible beater car in the modern day for the city run.

If you don’t mind can fellow bhpians hep with the following-

1. Is it possible to fit automatic sliding doors in this van or on the eeco like the minivans of US?
2. Did this have aircon for the back as well
Regards
TorqMaster