[BeemerBug_06]

Finally !
The most awaited day on the calendar for the members of the Classic Maruti Enthusiasts group arrived yesterday. Those of you who know about the Classic Maruti Enthusiasts group would know that it was formed last year in April by a group of car enthusiasts from Mumbai. Last year was a big year for the group not only because it was formed but also because last year saw the inaugural Classic Maruti Day event !
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/vinta...ti-models.html (Classic Maruti Day, 2018 - A meet & drive with early Maruti models)
Put Simply, Classic Maruti Day is the day on which we enthusiasts meet, drive and celebrate our good old Maruti Suzuki cars such as 800s, Zens, Van/Omnis, 1000s, Esteems and Gypsies which have been serving us tirelessly all their life !

Now coming to the main part. Yesterday, which was the 8th of December, 2019 was collectively selected as the day to celebrate this year's Classic Maruti Day . Seeing the success of last year's event had many enthusiasts and owners get their oldies up and running for the big day.

There were a few things that made this year's Classic Maruti Day special :-

• An overwhelming number of registrations, approximately 50+ cars

• We had every version of the Maruti Zen join us this year, except for the Zen Classic and Zen Diesel

• This year's event saw twinning being taken to a whole new level !

• We had two very original Maruti Vans join us as opposed to last year, where there was only one van

• We had an ss80 of every colour that was originally available join us, except for Maruti Green which was anyway a rare shade as it came towards the end of the ss80s life.

• A few cars drove down to join us from places outside of Mumbai such as Nasik and Lonavala, such is the love for these old Maruti cars

• Our drive route was through picturesque locations in South Mumbai such as Horniman Circle and Malabar Hill

• Last but not the least, while our cars relaxed in their respective parking spots after the drive, we enthusiasts went to Plenty at Horniman Circle for a delicious and sumptuous breakfast. A special thanks to Chinmay Bafna and Maruti Suzuki Fortpoint Arena for having organised the breakfast!

Fasten your seatbelts to go on a nostalgia trip yet again and do feast your eyes to the pics that shall follow

[BeemerBug_06]

Now for the report of yesterday's happenings.
Well personally I was very excited for the event, considering that I now own a Maruti Zen, my beloved 1513 , which was also present at the event last year although it did not belong to me then. Anyways, the anticipation and excitement for the big day was so great that I spent much of my time downstairs in the compound the week before , cleaning up 1513 and getting it ready, a few pics of which I've put up on my thread https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-...ld-school.html (My 1995 Maruti Zen : Time to go old school!).

Now about yesterday. The day started on a rather early note for most of us who live far off from South Mumbai as our assembly time at the venue- Horniman Circle at Fort was 7.30 am. I was up by 5.30 and went downstairs by 6 to dust 1513 one final time before it was time to leave. Since I don't have my license yet, a good friend volunteered to drive 1513 for the day. By 6.30 we left for the venue.






A few quick pics of 1513, all polished and ready for the event, just before we left for the venue.

Since it was early on a Sunday morning, we barely encountered any traffic at all and reached Horniman Circle at about 7.10 am. Some of the participants had already arrived!






Vinaykumar Chumble's pristine Powder Blue 1985 Maruti Van had driven down from Nasik for the event this year too! It is amazing to know that the van has been with the same family since new and has covered more than 7 lakh km with a minor restoration which was done in 1999! Being a 1985 model, it has majority of Japanese parts.


A well preserved 1995 Maruti 800 , belonging to a friend.




Ah! That colour, those racing seats, that jerry can at the back and a super loud exhaust! Surely, one will identify this Gypsy as nothing but a rally car !




This is no ordinary Maruti 800 with Golden wheels! It is probably the MADDEST and LOUDEST Maruti 800 in Mumbai, fondly called as #ProjectGrandpa in the Mumbai Car enthusiast's circle


This 1984 Maruti 800 ss80, supposedly a first lot car was one of the first cars present at the venue


The Skodas and Toyotas stand at attention as the pioneer passes by.

Very soon, the rest of the participants began arriving and the sound of engines cranking to life and first gear whines filled the atmosphere



A single owner 1994 Maruti 800 ACTG(AC-Tinted Glasses, which was a replacement for the more well known DX/Deluxe moniker for a brief period of time) joined us and Boy O Boy were its wheels beautiful !


The lineup by 7.20 am


#ProjectDinky arrived! You may remember #ProjectDinky as the white ss80 that was displayed at the showroom for last year's Classic Maruti Day.


A white 1994 Maruti 800 and a very original 1985 ss80 which is still wearing original paint and has all the Japanese parts intact


A 2005 Maruti E-ZEN (Zen with an Esteem engine, bet its a hoot to drive!)


A lovely Red 2004 Zen, fondly called as Lightening McQueen by the owner


1513 enjoyed the company of its various family members


Precisely what you need when you're in the mood for some serious off-roading


Noel's clean 2002 5 speed 800 with a nice exhaust note !

[BeemerBug_06]

Very soon an hour had passed and it was 8 am. However, the cars did not stop pouring in and oh man the buzz at Horniman Circle yesterday morning was just something else !


A rather tired looking 1986 Maruti 800, belonging to a friend, still wears original paint and came out to play yesterday too. Although, it is a 1986 car, it has a slightly newer number since it is probably re-registered. Doesn't that Racing Blue colour look absolutely lovely ! This car shows that there is beauty in not having a pristine old car




Note that the steering says 'MARUTI' since the car is one that was produced between 1986-87. Post the indigenization of the 800 in early 1988, the steering said मारुति


The beautiful New Zealand Brown ss80 duo, remember I said twinning was taken to a whole new level


A clean Carbureted Esteem


Probably the most reliable trio ever




The two Tiger Zens as they are called colloquially were soon joined by their cool 2 door sibling, a Zen Carbon!


Colourful cars!


It was great to see 2 Racing Blue Maruti 800s at this year's show, it is an absolutely stunning shade!


Bet many of us here grew up watching Initial D, doesn't this 800 ring a bell!

[BeemerBug_06]

Considering that the number of cars was increasing and we were running out of parking space, we decided to shift the cars to the parking space a little down the road.










This 1988 Maruti 800 Deluxe with a working AC! was recently purchased by a friend from a family who had it since new. The shade of this car was referred to as Biscuit Colour back in the day and it was a very popular colour of choice for 800s and Omnis .




Vijay Potphode's restomoded Orange ss80 and recently restored Red ss80 drove down for the event from Lonavala


What could possibly be sexier than a Black Zen Carbon with smoked lights and black tints! This Carbon was recently acquired by a friend who drove it to Mumbai all the way from Punjab!


Vinaykumar's Powder Blue Van had a companion this year! This Powder Blue High Roof van drove down from Lonavala. It belonged to the owner's grandfather was recently re-acquired after a long hiatus.












The cars and their respective owners totally enjoyed each other's company


Powder Blue Triplets !


the_mole's immaculate Maruti 1000, probably the only 1000 in the group unfortunately couldn't make it this time around since he was travelling. Nonetheless, there's always a next time for such things

[BeemerBug_06]

Finally by 8.30 am, post the driver's briefing it was time to roll. Our drive route was a short one, stationed in and around South Mumbai. It was Horniman Circle -Nariman Point- Marine Drive- Chowpatty- Walkeshwar -Hanging Gardens- Kemp's Corner- Chowpatty- Churchgate- Horniman Circle and eventually Plenty for us car owners and drivers !




And so it began! Lead car for the day was the 1984 Maruti 800. Observe the convoy behind it !


Looks like something out of an 80s-90s Bollywood Movie lol!


The Mighty CME convoy, can you count the number of cars ?


Such a simple yet inviting dashboard and interior, makes you want to not leave the car !

After about 10 minutes of driving, we came to our first stop at Nariman Point, opposite Bachelor's to ensure the convoy came together again and grab a few pics.




Zenful image!




'Separated by age, colour and models. United by the Brand!'







Once the convoy had regrouped, we set off towards Walkeshwar. I jumped into the 1988 Maruti 800 Deluxe and discovered that the ss80 had more space than the SB308 !

[BeemerBug_06]

The drive through Walkeshwar and Malabar Hill was surely the highlight of the event for me and for many others too!


An interior most of us grew up seeing and can identify even in our sleep. Since this car is a Deluxe, don't miss the tiny AC switch, Clarion Radio and Quartz Clock!


A stop over at picturesque Malabar Hill




Now that's what parking at Malabar Hill probably looked like in the 80s


When is the last time you saw 8 ss80s parked together in a line!












For those of you who are still curious, the Maruti 800 SB308 had the Slatted Grill from 1986-1995 , which was replaced by the Honeycomb Mesh grill in 1995 seen on the car behind and stayed till 1997.














This pretty Volkswagen Beetle joined us as a spectator at Malabar Hill. It was quite nice to have it drive alongside, considering that the Beetle created a similar impact in Europe to the one the ss80 created in India.




A very period correct sticker on the roof of the van, who remembers Konica Minolta? The famous camera film supplier company!


On the way back !

[BeemerBug_06]

The drive back to Horniman Circle was just as pleasant and pleasurable as the drive from there. More so now, since everyone was in the mood for food !






This one arrived a little late. But if you want the definition of madness on wheels, this car would be it. It is not just a 2 door Zen painted purple. It is a BZEN(Zen with a Baleno Engine and man it is a crazy crazy car! )






Look what we bumped into !














As our cars chilled out after the drive, we headed to Plenty Cafe for breakfast. Again thanks to Chinmay for having the breakfast so well organised. At every corner of Plenty Cafe you could hear something car-related being spoken about yesterday!
Also, Plenty Cafe is a place I'd surely recommend for a good Sunday breakfast and brunch. The food is great, also the best part is that you pay 500/- and eat as much as you want of the items listed on the menu ! Isn't that a cool thing for the foodies! The service is also very good and efficient and the atmosphere in the place is very chilled out!

[BeemerBug_06]

What an amazing Sunday it had been ! But since all good things come to an end, Classic Maruti Day 2019 too had to come to an end. By about 11 am, everyone began to set off to their respective destinations and took back tonnes of memories with them! I thoroughly enjoyed myself and as a member of the CME group I'd like to thank everyone who attended and of course a Big Thank You to our admins who made everything possible!


Until Next Time!

Here's the link to the video covering yesterday's event!

https://youtu.be/RFx3hOlmg5s

Hope you enjoyed this thread, you may now unfasten your seatbelts .
Signing off,
BeemerBug_06

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[boniver]

Lovely photos, Nikhil! It's very rare for youngsters today to cherish old things (cars in this case) and be so attached to them. We even had a thread here discussing the same. Love your dedication towards taking so many lovely pictures and compiling a nice report. If I was in your place I probably would've been so mesmerized by the cars that I wouldn't have done my job
The Zen and Esteem have been my favourite cars growing up, and it felt lovely to see them after quite some time. Hope this event continues for years to come, and that I might some day be able to finally turn up in an Esteem to witness things live! Big thanks to the organisers too, for arranging such a treat for everyone.

[ds.raikkonen]

What a stroll down memory lane! We owned all M800 variants starting from the Mk. 1. I was actually brought home in one post my birth back in '85

[Nazaar25]

It was truly a feast for the eyes!
I have always heard stories of my dad's Zen, Esteem, 1000 from him and that itself created a place for these classics in my heart!
Missed this year's CMD but next time definitely I'll be there (maybe with my own classic )

[ash22]

Oh Boy!! Just awesomeness !!
It is pure bliss to see the line-up. Missing my '97 Zen. Fell like, Selling my Zen was a bad decision.
Is there any meet-up like this happening in Chennai any time sooner? Or Is there any authentic Maruti Enthusiasts Group based of Chennai, So that we can initiate the meetup here.

[shankar.balan]

Very nice coverage indeed. Thank you for sharing the pictures.
I loved that old Zen Carbon 2 door, the various old shape early Maruti 800’s - especially the chocolate brown ones and of course that impeccable M1000 and those Gypsys.
Great to see so many well kept classic Marutis still in fine fettle and being indulged in daily use!

[chaudh2s]

The Maruti Van with a high roof used to be called 'Anda Van' here (regions north of Delhi) back then in 80's. Presumably because of its looks, resembling an egg.