[Soccerfan]

good work guys. some real rock climbing u did

[Mehul1100]

Some of the wonderful pictures in the history of Fiat1100, never seen before in such a back ground.

[Fiat&Me]

Congrates Karthik X 2, Arun and Sujith,
Superb Outing and very good quality pictures. It is unbelivable to see somewhere that FIAT can go to such place. I think you could put logo on your dickey as" Premier Padmini- Adventure"
Incidently today only I spotted 1st silver color FIAT Palio Adventure ( just like safari model) on the way to office. But the fellow was driving so fast otherwise i was planning to click.
Keep going!!!!!! but safely for both for team & of course our beauties FIATs

[KA18]

Wonderful adventure with the Fiat.

When did you guys come to Chikmagalur? I do not see a date being mentioned.
I recall seeing the RALLIART sticker on a Fiat's rear glass a couple of days back. Not sure if it was you guys. But no way I could have missed the 'Got Bhp?' sticker.

Originally Posted by funkykar

I intend to offroad to Hebbe Falls in Kemmangundi some time. In that route, only jeeps/SUV's can make it.

Man, if at all you pull this through, my respect for the Fiat and you will multiply thousand times.

Believe me when I tell this friends, I have been to Hebbe Falls many times. I myself have helped pull out lot of wannabe off-roaders out of trouble which include non 4x4 jeeps and even motorbikes, especially in the monsoons.

In my opinion only a 4x4 can make it through because in some places, there actually isn't any roads, only rocks and boulders.

[funkykar]

^^ We were there for the weekend(19th and 20th June). Where did you spot a FIAT with RALLI ART? If you did spot us, wow!!!

We first went to a friends place in Chinniga, near Jannapura circle and then to a few coffee estates and a few streams and suddenly found some place where we could get the FIATs tires off the road.

We would have tried to go to Hebbe with the FIATs. We just did not want to take any chances as we were actually not prepared for it. I know how difficult, if not virtually impossible to make it up to the falls in a FIAT. Been there several times by Jeep and by trek. Hope we (FCB) do the necessary preparations and attempt to offroad in a FIAT some day.

Where in Chikmagalur do you stay?

[KA18]

Originally Posted by funkykar

^^ We were there for the weekend(19th and 20th June). Where did you spot a FIAT with RALLI ART? If you did spot us, wow!!!

Yes! As I mentioned, I think I saw it on Saturday the 19th. A friend mentioned Fiat and we went through the FCB thread to ogle on the Fiats and later went out for a drive near Planter's court, I happened to glance at the RalliArt Sticker on the rear Glass on the car that just passed by and pointed it out to my friend, "look, there's a Fiat".
It was in the afternoon, I think.

I remember it as I commented how the car's originality had been marred by the sticker. (No offence, nothing personal here!)

I am not sure if it was you. Don't know if I missed the 'got bhp?' sticker.

Originally Posted by funkykar

We would have tried to go to Hebbe with the FIATs. We just did not want to take any chances as we were actually not prepared for it. I know how difficult, if not virtually impossible to make it up to the falls in a FIAT. Been there several times by Jeep and by trek. Hope we (FCB) do the necessary preparations and attempt to offroad in a FIAT some day.

My advice is not to try this on a Fiat unless you don't love her anymore!
But was just wondering if was possible on a stock Fiat S1 without modifications?

Originally Posted by funkykar

Where in Chikmagalur do you stay?

I stay in Chikmagalur City (Actually big town, not city) itself. My house is in M.G.Road. Are you from around here?

[funkykar]

By the way, during our drive, wwe hit a top speed of 140KMPH+. This was the first time we did that speed. Since pictures and videos of speeding are not encouraged, we refrain from posting them. We definitely had the seat belts on and we did at a stretch where we considered safe.

KA18: I dont know any planters court around. I am from Bangalore and frequent a lot to Chikmanglur. I know the Planters Club and Manjarabad club in Sakleshpur. We had been there to a near by hotel to have our favorite Akki Rotti. If you have spotted the Fiat around this place, its definitely FCB. To an extent, I agree on your view on Ralli Art sticker. Its not permanent. I just wanted it to be sporty for a while. May be after a few months, it will go.

OFF TOPIC: By the way, I remember seeing an immaculate condition 1997 S1 Cherry Red with Nissan transmission in Chikmanglur town around couple of years ago. Have you seen it anytime before? Does it still exist?

[KA18]

If not you, must be another car with Ralli Art Sticker then! Strange coincidence!

Originally Posted by funkykar

KA18: By the way, I remember seeing an immaculate condition 1997 S1 Cherry Red with Nissan transmission in Chikmanglur town around couple of years ago. Have you seen it anytime before? Does it still exist?

Don't recall seeing any Cherry Red S1 of late. I'll be on the lookout and will surely PM you if I come across one.

[PAVAN KADAM]

Karthik , i feel you are going overboard here.

Your S1 is one of the Best cars i have seen so far, Why on earth would you want to spoil it.

Just because we have the previlege of Premier Land and some more money lying in your pocket.

Dont do that to such a nice car.

[funkykar]

^^ What we did over weekend was very calculated and we ensured there wouldnt be any damage at all to the S1.

For future off roading, may be I will try and stay away. In no way I will risk my S1 getting into trouble

[DHABHAR.BEHRAM]

Dear all - I am delighted to read this thread and see the pictures. FIAT's off roading capability is extremely good. During the "good old days", the maximum number of cars in all rallys, including the Himalayan Rally were Fiats. Please go through my posts in the Himalayan Rally thread in the Indian Motorsports section. I have mentioned each year's encounter separately. I distinctly remember everything as if it happened yesterday.

I would like to share one very special incident. I was car no 14 in the 1983 MASA rally. I was about to overtake car no 13 between Khodala and Devgaon near Trimbakeshwar in Nasik district when I saw a high tension wire lying on the road and a dog electrocuted by it lying next to it. It was too late to brake so I just went over it. I do not know whether the rubber of my tyres (non-metallic) saved me, but I am alive. I won the fourth overall prize and first in group N in that rally. The guy in car no 13 was terrified at the finish line (poor fellow). The terrain was exactly as in your photographs. You are now relaxing and enjoying the terrain, I was competing. I wish those days would come back.

The handing of the car in off road posture is extremely good and you revel in the advantage of having rear wheel drive. There are only two things to be careful about. The rear stabilizer bar and shock absorber mouning cross member has an uncanny knack of giving way from its welding on the body, so be careful. It is very difficult to weld it back. In Mumbai taxi areas, there used to be a thriving trade of welding this thing back. I still see it being done sometimes in dirty garages in Mumbai. Also,don't hit the chassis cross member to the ground (the one which carries the brake bundy tubes), if hit, it will touch the bell housing and cause vibration problems.

I am attaching a photograph of my left hand drive car being driven off road before I bought it. I got this photograph from the person who sold the car to me.

Best regards,

Behram Dhabhar

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by PAVAN KADAM

Your S1 is one of the Best cars i have seen so far, Why on earth would you want to spoil it.

Just because we have the previlege of Premier Land and some more money lying in your pocket.

Who are you? And what did you do to the guy who took the rare restored VW Beetle offroading?

Originally Posted by funkykar

I dont know any planters court around. I am from Bangalore and frequent a lot to Chikmanglur. I know the Planters Club and Manjarabad club in Sakleshpur.

The planter's court is very popular among transit passengers to Chikmagalur, how did you miss it all this time? Great food too.

Planters Court, Chikmagalur

[Karthik1100]

Originally Posted by DHABHAR.BEHRAM

Dear all - I am delighted to read this thread and see the pictures. FIAT's off roading capability is extremely good. During the "good old days", the maximum number of cars in all rallys, including the Himalayan Rally were Fiats. Please go through my posts in the Himalayan Rally thread in the Indian Motorsports section. I have mentioned each year's encounter separately. I distinctly remember everything as if it happened yesterday.

I would like to share one very special incident. I was car no 14 in the 1983 MASA rally. I was about to overtake car no 13 between Khodala and Devgaon near Trimbakeshwar in Nasik district when I saw a high tension wire lying on the road and a dog electrocuted by it lying next to it. It was too late to brake so I just went over it. I do not know whether the rubber of my tyres (non-metallic) saved me, but I am alive. I won the fourth overall prize and first in group N in that rally. The guy in car no 13 was terrified at the finish line (poor fellow). The terrain was exactly as in your photographs. You are now relaxing and enjoying the terrain, I was competing. I wish those days would come back.

The handing of the car in off road posture is extremely good and you revel in the advantage of having rear wheel drive. There are only two things to be careful about. The rear stabilizer bar and shock absorber mouning cross member has an uncanny knack of giving way from its welding on the body, so be careful. It is very difficult to weld it back. In Mumbai taxi areas, there used to be a thriving trade of welding this thing back. I still see it being done sometimes in dirty garages in Mumbai. Also,don't hit the chassis cross member to the ground (the one which carries the brake bundy tubes), if hit, it will touch the bell housing and cause vibration problems.

I am attaching a photograph of my left hand drive car being driven off road before I bought it. I got this photograph from the person who sold the car to me.

Best regards,

Behram Dhabhar

Thanks behram sir for your encouragement and support. we will take care of these things when we go for off-roading next time. BTW Please post the pics of your car doing off road.

[PAVAN KADAM]

Originally Posted by Samurai

Who are you? And what did you do to the guy who took the rare restored VW Beetle offroading?

The planter's court is very popular among transit passengers to Chikmagalur, how did you miss it all this time? Great food too.

Planters Court, Chikmagalur

Sir we are talking about German Build quality v/s the Fiat.

I took it out on off-roading since i am keen on designing the BAJA Buggy which is derived out of the same platform.

Fiats never had any off-roader built, and moreover, i remember Karthik (Funkykar) spending a fortune on the car just a few days ago at the service centre. Why on earth would he want to spoil it again.

[funkykar]

Behram sir: Its a great pleasure having you on this thread. This is a puny experience for us as compared to what you had put up with Fiats in yesterdecades. If this caused such a big high to us, we cant even imaging how you would have felt. Thank you for the valuable suggestion on the rear suspension. We will keep that in mind in the coming future.

We will definitely consult you for many things like future off roading and rallying. Karthik MB is very keen in participating in one of the rallys next year.

Your post did not have any pictures attached. Please do post the pictures of your off roading experience.

@Samurai: We generally dont go to any hotel/restaurant in Chikmanglur. My friend who stays there doesnt let me. He ensures us a full tummy before stepping out of their house. Exceptions are the Planters club and Manzarabad club in Sakleshpur which is under another friends jurisdiction. The other friend ensures he treats us very well at these places when we go to Sakleshpur. These guys are a limit when it comes to hospitality. They put is a situation where we have abide. They dont even let us spend a penny.