[manishalive]

Friends,

Thanks a lot for the information. I now remember that indeed we had discussed this earlier. The trio of Fiats (dukkars), the trio of beetele, the white jeep and the twosome custom royals all look awesome.

Interested in seening the engine bay for the dukkars .

[the mole]

Originally Posted by manishalive

Friends,

Thanks a lot for the information. I now remember that indeed we had discussed this earlier. The trio of Fiats (dukkars), the trio of beetele, the white jeep and the twosome custom royals all look awesome.

Interested in seening the engine bay for the dukkars .

I dont think the fiats opened their bonnets. Sorry buddy. Btw there was only only one custom royal harit's. The other car that looks like it is a kingsway special model.

[Prabal]

Originally Posted by the mole

Yes the rally season is finally open! And what a breath of fresh air it was to meet the entire gang! Hopefully more bombay pune meets will follow.

I was booked on a flight on Saturday. Thought I'll join in the party with the gang again. But, Mr. Murphy had his sadistic pleasure! But one of these days, soon, you'll see the ever-hungry fella from Delhi at one of the rallies, maybe a Fiat drive...

Originally Posted by the mole

Kudos to harit and his dodge which set a very rainy early morning in mumbai ablaze as she headed for pune, quite a sight on the mumbai pune expressway. Without lights and wipers too, speaks volumes for harits driving skills.

Speaks volumes about the two passengers' courage, and determination as well!!

Thanks for sharing the pics, Karl!

[harit]

Originally Posted by karlosdeville

........get the Beetle up and about, and thankfully she behaved herself (came out after a year. Thanks to Rony for the polish). ..................
TBHP was represented in good force, with Harit's 'barnfind' Dodge coming from Bombay, and others without car. Pictures will follow shortly.

I did not have Rony's services available to me

Originally Posted by karlosdeville

.........This 49/50 Dodge was a new entrant. ...............Harit's Custom Royal came down in the morning from Bombay, and left back soon after the event. Harit, next time I'm bringing a bucket of water to clean your car at the rally

This 1949/50 Dodge looks very similar to the car Rehaan's grandfather had, his was blue.
If you had told me. I would have arranged for both the bucket and the water from the Hotel itself.

Originally Posted by wasif

...Is Harit entering the Dodge in the preservation class at Cartier ...........

Car was entered as a participant in post-war classics or whatever the class is called, not preservation. No reply yet, but she is being done now.

Originally Posted by harit

I took part in the Pune event looking for some fun and a good time, .........Photos, comment will follow.Cheers harit

Originally Posted by Pavit

Hi,harit. What colour are you thinking for your dodge? Pavit.

Same colour combination, its the original combo.

Originally Posted by Prabal

I was booked on a flight on Saturday. ...... Murphy .........Speaks volumes about the two passengers' courage, and determination as well!!...........

What did Murphy do? Don't quote them without permission.
One passenger slept in the rear during the entire drive. Maybe confidence is the word you were looking for.

It may sound a bit amazing, but after the event and seeing these posts, lots of people asked me why did we not inform, they would have joined us for the drive. Well, to answer that, the difficulty lay in the fact that till the very last day, we were actually planning to go a day earlier and stay there, at least 3 cars together. Two dropped out, we still went together but then left early morning on the day of the event, all decided the previous evening. Next time a similar event is on, please mention if anyone wants to join, we have no issues being all inclusive enthusiasts. It also brings forth that more events are required where people can freely participate and mingle, there is a dearth of activities which is slowly being filled in.

Another fact I realised during that drive was that physical fitness is required during concentrated driving. I rarely drive automatics, and then rocketing down the Expressway in this leviathan required full concetration. In the end I cramped up all over, arms, legs, back, and whatever.

The event itself was also well visited, even VCCCI was represented by their very able secretary. The curator also visited, casting gazes at possible entrants for the forthcoming grand event. In fact these gents passed by us on the expressway, it would not have been a bad idea to have extended greetings on the way. Many collectors from Pune were present, I am sure that some Pune socialites came too.

Hope Pune will have some more events in the months to come, we will enjoy that very much.

Two pictures taken by Kasli, gassing up and cleaning the glasses, on the way, and some more picutres taken from the event on my camera.

Cheers harit

[Prabal]

I forgot to mention in the last post, Jackie Shroff's off-white Fiat Elegant is beautiful. Who restored her?

Originally Posted by harit

What did Murphy do? Don't quote them without permission.

Sorry, I didn't get that - missed the humour in there, if there was any. Well, and I was alluding to Murphy's Law, 'If something can go wrong, it will,' and I had to cancel my plans...get?

Originally Posted by harit

One passenger slept in the rear during the entire drive. Maybe confidence is the word you were looking for.

Nope, I wasn't looking for that word. I got the ones I used, and happy with them too

However, I recollect now that Amol and Kasli they were in a separate car, and you had a friend of yours with you. Hence my tongue-in-cheek quip was keeping them in mind, in response to Amol's praise, thinking they were with you!

Originally Posted by harit

Hope Pune will have some more events in the months to come, we will enjoy that very much.

I think Poona folks brought the fun back with the FCCCI drives. I had a great time with them once, hence the desire to meet up, chat up and eat up again! Besides of course, the search for every opportunity to be back in my favourite city!

[the mole]

A candid picture from my end of the green "monster" and it's "Master"

[KPS]

Originally Posted by harit

Another fact I realized during that drive was that physical fitness is required during concentrated driving. I rarely drive automatics, and then rocketing down the Expressway in this leviathan required full concentration. In the end I cramped up all over, arms, legs, back, and whatever.
Cheers harit

Dear Harit,

One can empathize on this task. The torque of the engine must have been exhilarating to drive. The size of the car, the slow moving lorry traffic, the traffic hazards etc needs full concentration. People would appreciate your task more when they see the gear system in your car. The button type gear needs some getting used to and needs concentration to too. As Jay Leno once said "If you can type you can drive" Can you please post a picture of the gear system so that people can understand.

Three cheers to you Harit for this drive

KPS

[wasif]

As far is the Custom Royal is concerned the colors are superb and since theye are the priginal scheme its worth maintaining it. I would suggest a new set of white wall tires once the car is freshened up will make it look so much better.

Sorry to hear you got all cramped up from teh drive, you should do this more often so you dont get cramps again.

[the mole]

Originally Posted by Prabal

I forgot to mention in the last post, Jackie Shroff's off-white Fiat Elegant is beautiful. Who restored her?

The car is maintained by his close friend and Pune restorer Prakash Kunthe.

[anjan_c2007]

Originally Posted by Shreeram

Here are pics of what i believe is Harits Car, taken at a Rally long back, no date confirmation.

Attachment 990966

Attachment 990967

Originally Posted by thebulletboy

Judging by the Hyundai Accent in the background which sports a 2001 regn (MH01CA9XXX) and a black number plate (pre July 2002), I'd say 2001 - 2002. Perhaps Harit can confirm.

The car seems to have been washed for the older rally
Lovely car, dust notwithstanding!

I could'nt help but have a hearty laugh by seeing our friend bulletboy trying to date the Dodge Custom picture with the Hyundai Accent seen in the background.
But that's the most accurate way to arrive at any such conclusion.
In fact, paleontologists date rocks in the field and the non-index fossils found therein in rock beds, using the "fossil assemblage" principle. Index fossils are those having a wide areal spread, better preservation and a short life span (read the Hyundai Accent). Whereas, non- index fossils (read the Dodge Custom here) have a much longer life span and cannot be precisely dated in rock beds, due to such obvious reasons. So assemblages and index fossils are taken into account by paleontologists, to arrive at any conclusion. The laboratory processes follow the field findings.
Back to the topic, Haritji's car was superbly maintained then.

[Indraneel Bhat]

Hello Karlos,

Great pics and great report!!

This used to be one of the most memorable events of the Pune Festival. However, I do have a question. Was there an exhibition after the rally? A small write-up about the cars and their history displayed in front of the cars would really go a long way in helping enthusiasts like myself learning more about these beauties.

Rgds,
Indraneel

[harit]

Originally Posted by Prabal

Sorry, I didn't get that - missed the humour in there, if there was any. Well, and I was alluding to Murphy's Law, 'If something can go wrong, it will,' and I had to cancel my plans...get?

Nope, I wasn't looking for that word. I got the ones I used, and happy with them too

However, I recollect now that Amol and Kasli they were in a separate car, and you had a friend of yours with you. Hence my tongue-in-cheek quip was keeping them in mind, in response to Amol's praise, thinking they were with you!.................

I was refering to the Murphy / Barfi episode, see the cutting below I forgot about the original Murphy, maybe sue him too.

My passengers did have determination and courage too. And all this is tongue-in-cheek only

Attached is the cover of the Tulip chart, well publicised for the Pune public to know where to stand if they wanted to see cars go by.
And, now that VCCCI is holding an event in Pune after many years of draught Pune will be rocking. See how a well run event spurs the competition to compete.

Cheers harit

[Prabal]

Originally Posted by the mole

The car is maintained by his close friend and Pune restorer Prakash Kunthe.

Thanks, Amol! Where is he located? Will look him up next time I'm in Poona - the name, Kunthe, rings a bell, but unable to put a finger on it at the moment.

[karlosdeville]

Some more pictures of the event sent to me by President who was riding in a friend's Dodge Kingsway.

[the mole]

Originally Posted by karlosdeville

Some more pictures of the event sent to me by President who was riding in a friend's Dodge Kingsway.

The beetle looks great! now you have little over a month to get her ready for her biggest challenge yet mumbai -mahableshwar- mumbai :-)