[BurningHeart]

Great t'log.

5 stars for up keeping this very cute car. She is beautiful, especially in the very last photograph. I wish the school girls, were framed out.

[dhanushmenon]

Well compiled article DWF.
Though you forgot to replace the card on your camera, you still did justice to the photographer within you.
Good job done.

Not to mention, the peculiar trip one would have in today's age.
FIAT guys if they see you, are definitely gonna give you a commendation for maintaining that beauty so meticulously

[sandeepmohan]

I doubt if your Fiat would have seen smoother roads in all of 18 years.

The entire state of Kerala is saturated. There is not a single section on any Kerala highway where it appears deserted.

Is that a dark navy blue Fiat?

Yeah those toll booth numbers are super annoying and so are those slow moving trucks. One moves at 10kmph and the other at 11kmph.

Do you have a expansion tank for the engine cooling system?

I should be joining you soon in my 1972 Fiat. It is undergoing a partial rebuild in Calicut. A lot of patchworks needs to be done, Door / Glass channels need fixing, getting a full re paint, new Upholstry, electro plating bumpers, headlight rim, etc and an electrical wiring check up. I had to replace something called the Flywheel ring. Else, the engine is mint. The thought did cross my mind on getting the paint job and electro plating done in Bangalore as there are better facilities, equipment here but I have doubts if they can put everything else back in order. My father is helping me with all the work as there is next to no time for me to keep rushing to Calicut and back. The good thing is my father located the mechanic who used to work on the car during the days my grandfather was around. This mechanic knows the car well so I am hopeful of a good job. Geeta Automobiles in Calicut seems well stocked on parts too. I can use some guidance.

Will you be re registering the car here?

[DudeWithaFiat]

Originally Posted by BurningHeart

Great t'log.

5 stars for up keeping this very cute car. She is beautiful, especially in the very last photograph. I wish the school girls, were framed out.

Thanks BurningHeart. The school girls were a deliberate inclusion since I thought they add some story to the picture.

Originally Posted by dhanushmenon

Well compiled article DWF.
Though you forgot to replace the card on your camera, you still did justice to the photographer within you.
Good job done.

Not to mention, the peculiar trip one would have in today's age.
FIAT guys if they see you, are definitely gonna give you a commendation for maintaining that beauty so meticulously

Thanks Dhanush, once again, you are making me feel guilty since the car looks a lot cleaner in the pics than in real.

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

I doubt if your Fiat would have seen smoother roads in all of 18 years.

The entire state of Kerala is saturated. There is not a single section on any Kerala highway where it appears deserted.

Is that a dark navy blue Fiat?

You are right. And yes, thats Navy Blue.

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

Do you have a expansion tank for the engine cooling system?

I should be joining you soon in my 1972 Fiat. It is undergoing a partial rebuild in Calicut. A lot of patchworks needs to be done, Door / Glass channels need fixing, getting a full re paint, new Upholstry, electro plating bumpers, headlight rim, etc and an electrical wiring check up. I had to replace something called the Flywheel ring. Else, the engine is mint. The thought did cross my mind on getting the paint job and electro plating done in Bangalore as there are better facilities, equipment here but I have doubts if they can put everything else back in order. My father is helping me with all the work as there is next to no time for me to keep rushing to Calicut and back. The good thing is my father located the mechanic who used to work on the car during the days my grandfather was around. This mechanic knows the car well so I am hopeful of a good job. Geeta Automobiles in Calicut seems well stocked on parts too. I can use some guidance.

Pardon my ignorance, but all the cars come with an expansion tank, dont' they? Is it the small tank in which fill the coolant?

All the best with your restoration. Would be great if you can open a restoration thread with many pics.

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

Will you be re registering the car here?

No, I won't be re-registering the car here since I will most probably go back to Kerala in an year or so.

[sandeepmohan]

Originally Posted by DudeWithaFiat

Is it the small tank in which fill the coolant?Pardon my ignorance, but all the cars come with an expansion tank, dont' they? Is it the small tank in which fill the coolant? Would be great if you can open a restoration thread with many pics.

Yes.

All cars sold today come with an expansion tank or coolant reservoir as some call it.

The expansion tank was not a factory part on my 1972 Fiat. It was fixed several years down the line. My grand father had this fixed at the garage to take care of over heating problems. I still have memories of him popping the hood to show me the modification. This was something new for those days.

As I am not present in Calicut, rebuild pictures are nil. My father is monitoring the progress of the work. Keeps going to Calicut from Cochin.

[RSUDARSANAN]

DWF: Your TL touched a nostalgic chord and cant help but go down memory lane. Hope you don't mind.

Those days, there was a long waiting list and people were ready to shell out hefty premium for immediate delivery. Luckily for us a friend was cancelling his booking and we gleefully took over his allotment.

The car pictured is a Feb 1973 Premier President. Looking rather weary after the yeoman service rendered to us.

It was bought for Rs. 25000/- and 13 years and 1,13,000 kms later, sold, yes, believe it or not, for Rs. 32,000/-, thanks to Dad's reputation for being a stickler for timely repairs and maintenance, enhanced new car cost and wait time. He would take the day off and be with the mechanic through the entire process.

In May-June 1973, Dad took six weeks off, Mum and I had our respective school and college vacations and off we embarked on an epic journey covering a little over 10,000 kms. Truly, it was our josh machine.
Roles: Dad - maintenance & finance, Mum - catering, self - sole driver

We started our marathon trip from Burnpur (near Asansol, 200 kms west of Kolkata) where Dad was posted at Indian Iron and Steel Co (IISCO).
The route was Burnpur - Mumbai - Goa - Bangalore - Tuticorin - Kanyakumari - Kannur - Bangalore - Chennai - Burnpur, sight seeing and visiting friends and relatives. Service interval was 3000 kms and it was religiously carried out at the nearest PAL dealer enroute. This was supplemented by periodic carburettor, spark plugs and distributor points cleaning and timing checks.

In 1974, an Uncle fell seriously ill and courtesy the rail strike we hit the road again and did Burnpur - Bangalore - Chennai - Burnpur.

Thereafter, several long trips were made annually from Burnpur:

a. covering entire Rajasthan - entering at Sawai Madhopur -Bharatpur -Agra - Delhi - Jaipur - Bikaner - Jaisalmer -Jodhpur - Udaipur - Mt Abu -exiting from Chittorgargh
b. Madhya Pradesh via Khajuraho, Panna and Jabalpur
c. Darjeeling and Kathmandu
d. Orissa - Puri and Konarak
e. In 1980, a trimmed down version of the marathon was repeated for the induction of newest addition to the family - my wife.
Parents drove Burnpur - Bangalore with a driver. I took over and did Bangalore-Goa-Mumbai-Nagpur-Burnpur.

apart from innumerable short excursions.

Dad took meticulous care of her and she reciprocated by never letting us down or stranded enroute.

Those were the pre "Golden Quadrilateral" era of two lane NHs.

Concluding my reminiscences with a picture of it's successsor, a Oct 1986 Premier Padmini @ nearly Rs. 90,000/-.

PS: Thereafter, post two PP 137Ds, two M Zens, my garage now consists of a 2003 M Zen, 2005 Ford Fiesta and 2010 BMW 320d (my last hurrah )

[funkykar]

Wonderful!!!

You are Paddu looks very very classy! I am not at all surprised that you did the drive without a hiccup.

Excellent pics there! Pavan Kadam himself does hell of restorations. He will know any classic very well. Don't look any further than Pavan for any works/services for your Paddu

[Powersteer]

This is such a refreshing travelogue, very well narrated, but most of all hats off to you for keeping the beauty in such shape. Padmini's were fine cars, that actually loved to run frequently and loved long drives. Didn't your ride feel much more eager, much more rejuvenated after reaching bangalore? I am sure she did not want the journey to end.

[silverado]

What a lovely car! and superb pics, the school girl pics does tell a story, look at the way they are drooling.

The bonnet scoops make for a very lovely view and with such a car you are always in relaxed mood to drive , making the journey much more memorable.

I really love that colour dude!

I had dared to go for a 1400kms journey in a not so much cared about padmini, it was a roller coaster ride, but we made it home.

Would look forward to much more rides like these, keep it up buddy.

[ashphil]

Beautiful car you have there Dudewithafiat!
It's not very often that one sees such a beautiful piece. You must be a stickler for maintenance if your car was in a condition to make this trip. The school girls looking at the car suggests a look of awe at seeing a car whose birthday was far ahead of theirs.
May you have many more wonderful years of service from this little beauty.
Regards,
Ashok

[justin.das]

Originally Posted by DudeWithaFiat

With a trunkful of luggage and 4 adults, our 86,000km/18 years old Padmini took the whole 564 km drive with a smile.

First and foremost hats off to you for your narration of this beautiful travelogue i really loved it. Hats off to you for your belief in a old timer like your padmini especially when you are travelling with your family .When i expressed my desire to travel long distance in an old timer the people who are close to me strongly objected saying these old timers are good for only weekend drives not for proper touring .I really envy you for what you did .you lived one of my dream and for me its still a dream . Old automobiles offered one thing which the modern one's are not able to offer. For me it was the mechanical feel .In my opinion modern automobiles have traded pure mechanical feel for refinement .The Interaction between man and the machine is not transparent any more but when we drive these old timers its touches all the right places which only a old timer can.Kudos for your trip .Cheers

[MorePower]

Blast from the past! The elegant Padmini, the slight sepia tinged pictures, the thermos flask on the bonnet all but reminded me of the good old days.

For the Padmini, life surely has come a full circle. From being the cynosure of all eyes in the 70's when 'she' was launched, to being sidelined in the 80s - 90s and now getting lustful glances all over again.

Kudos to you and family for having faith in the old timer. And welcome to Bangalore!

[DudeWithaFiat]

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

Yes.

All cars sold today come with an expansion tank or coolant reservoir as some call it.

The expansion tank was not a factory part on my 1972 Fiat. .

Mine is a variant called S1 that came with a few differences from the previous models (like the expansion tank, electronic fuel pump and a thermostat operated fan rather than the one that used to run of the engine). But I think the quality of the dashboard console plastics, knobs, the ash-tray, steering-wheel et all was much superior in older models.

Originally Posted by RSUDARSANAN

Attachment 1191692

DWF: Your TL touched a nostalgic chord and cant help but go down memory lane. Hope you don't mind.

Beautiful!! I hope my car will be as lucky as yours to run such distances.

Originally Posted by funkykar

Wonderful!!!

You are Paddu looks very very classy! I am not at all surprised that you did the drive without a hiccup.

Excellent pics there! Pavan Kadam himself does hell of restorations. He will know any classic very well. Don't look any further than Pavan for any works/services for your Paddu

Thanks funkykar. Of course, Pavan Kadam it is!. Spoke to him yesterday on phone. Hopefully, I will be meeting him next week at the Bugstop.

Originally Posted by silverado

What a lovely car! and superb pics, the school girl pics does tell a story, look at the way they are drooling.

The bonnet scoops make for a very lovely view and with such a car you are always in relaxed mood to drive , making the journey much more memorable.

I really love that colour dude!

I had dared to go for a 1400kms journey in a not so much cared about padmini, it was a roller coaster ride, but we made it home.

Would look forward to much more rides like these, keep it up buddy.

Hey, thanks. To tell you the truth, I had gone over your thread a few times couple of weeks back while I was planning my roadtrip. Thanks for the inspiration. .

Originally Posted by justin.das

First and foremost hats off to you for your narration of this beautiful travelogue i really loved it. Hats off to you for your belief in a old timer like your padmini especially when you are travelling with your family .When i expressed my desire to travel long distance in an old timer the people who are close to me strongly objected saying these old timers are good for only weekend drives not for proper touring .I really envy you for what you did .you lived one of my dream and for me its still a dream . Old automobiles offered one thing which the modern one's are not able to offer. For me it was the mechanical feel .In my opinion modern automobiles have traded pure mechanical feel for refinement .The Interaction between man and the machine is not transparent any more but when we drive these old timers its touches all the right places which only a old timer can.Kudos for your trip .Cheers

Thanks my friend. You are right. Let us plan something when the Padmini is back.

Originally Posted by MorePower

Blast from the past! The elegant Padmini, the slight sepia tinged pictures, the thermos flask on the bonnet all but reminded me of the good old days.

For the Padmini, life surely has come a full circle. From being the cynosure of all eyes in the 70's when 'she' was launched, to being sidelined in the 80s - 90s and now getting lustful glances all over again.

Kudos to you and family for having faith in the old timer. And welcome to Bangalore!

Quite true. Thanks for the lovely comment.

[sandeepmohan]

Originally Posted by DudeWithaFiat

Mine is a variant called S1 that came with a few differences from the previous models

Wow....I missed reading that. The S1 is quiet a different breed compared to what I have. The engine had some work done on it by the AVL chaps in Austria. A close relative had a white S1 in Calicut. I did find the engine more responsive and free revving. The sounds totally different too, in a good way.

Yeah; a lot of the switch gear, meter console moved over to plastic units which did not have the same quality of the older models.

[RamRoc]

The Classic Nostalgia plunges in after reading your travelogue. Great to see that the beauty is still maintained and runs with pride on the road.

Feel pity for some of these classics like padmini, contessa lying under layer of dust and heaps of scrap in some garages.