[Stanher]

Originally Posted by JayD

Real saad that this car has come to be torn apart. it seems the qwner was quite proud of his 'ARMY' atatus! Wonder why he let the car to be broken down!

Well maybe (God forbid) he is no more & had no one (interested) to look after the car after him...?

Or (I hope it isnt!) something to do with the status of the regn.?

Anyways, as Karl mentioned, gogi, speedy & scooby (& anyone else!) am expecting to hear from y'all by tomorrow!

[Stanher]

Here are more pics. of the fiat select....the rustiest part up the rear mudguard I've circled in the pic. of the left side..





By & large I guess this car is restorable?

[Stanher]

Oh, and yeah, forgot to add- Ive been told of a chocolate brown 1969 mk2 Herald (ie. with the "cat eye" type headlamps/bonnet) up for sale here.....totally roadworthy, got valid papers, just needs a battery.

Asking price @40k....can be negotiated of course.....the mech. who told me of this car refused to show it to me yet though, saying that he'd take me to see it only if I were ready to buy it on the spot & came with cash in hand! How unreasonable!

[V-16]

Originally Posted by Stanher

'59-60 Austin Cambridge A55 Mk2
Anyone seriously interested in salvaging this car please contact me asap.....
.....Anyways, as Karl mentioned, gogi, speedy & scooby (& anyone else!) am expecting to hear from y'all by tomorrow!

I have a friend who owns a Cambridge and may be interested in it as a parts car provided the car is available at scap value. Otherwise I do know he would be interested in the meters, the pattis, steering wheel and the rear and front lamps. Please do let me know of the price so I can talk to him

Originally Posted by karlosdeville

This car looks way too complete and solid to scrap. It would be a shame! Gogiji, Speedyji, scoobyji you listening?

Karlji, why dont you go restore a fiatji or something, ji?? Maybe a Standardji!

[Mpower]

Guys, can any one of you experts tell me how much it would cost to do a full restoration on either the black or the green fiat that Stanher has posted about.

[Stanher]

Originally Posted by V-16

I have a friend who owns a Cambridge and may be interested in it as a parts car provided the car is available at scap value. Otherwise I do know he would be interested in the meters, the pattis, steering wheel and the rear and front lamps. Please do let me know of the price so I can talk to him

Glad to hear from you gogi....hmm...pity if this car turned out to be a parts car though!
Anyways, I doubt if the whole car can be bought at scrap value, 'cause the guy would obviously sell it at a profit....
Uh, by price do you mean the price of the car or the above parts?

[vintagepoint5]

Stanher, I appreciate your efforts in finding cars like above mentioned and sharing with the team and helping others. If possible, can you please look for me any Austin, Hindustan-48 (Morris-10 M series). If find please let me knows. thanks

[V-16]

Originally Posted by Stanher

Glad to hear from you gogi....hmm...pity if this car turned out to be a parts car though!
Anyways, I doubt if the whole car can be bought at scrap value, 'cause the guy would obviously sell it at a profit....
Uh, by price do you mean the price of the car or the above parts?

Shyam, I meant the whole car and if it turned out to be scrapped by any chance then the parts. Im trying to convince him into buying the whole thing as a resto project but the price will be a biggg factor in that. Please PM me the price. Thanks.

[Stanher]

Gogi, 'have rpelied to your pm....and fiat gurus, 'need your input on the green select....is this car worth picking up (after negotiating of course) & is it restorable enough? What about the supposed damage on the centre-pillar (ie., does it surely look like it was ever damaged there?)

[V-16]

Originally Posted by Stanher

Gogi, 'have rpelied to your pm....and fiat gurus, 'need your input on the green select....is this car worth picking up (after negotiating of course) & is it restorable enough? What about the supposed damage on the centre-pillar (ie., does it surely look like it was ever damaged there?)

Got your PM Shyam. The car looks to be in fine condition save the little bit of rust especially on the rear mudguard but still is definitely restorable. I would have picked it up for the Number alone, unfortunately the cost of bringing the car to Mumbai and re renewing registration, etc, would be formidable enough for me to get a car here and much cheaper. If you could get him down by 10-12k and if the car could be got for around 15k its worth it. Regarding the damage to the centre pillar...where I cant see any damage. The door not fitting properly could be due to a damaged hinge or rust in that area which can not be seen until the door is ajar. Superficially i cant see ant damage. I wonder what that weld mark is below the C pillar though!!
Shyam, if the car is running then the restoration is not going to be difficult at all. You would need a tin and paint job and an upholstery job. Even if an engine job is needed, its a fiat yaar..how much can it cost.
At the rate these cars are being scrapped, soon there will be a dearth of the selects..mark my words the day is not to far.

[Stanher]

Originally Posted by V-16

I would have picked it up for the Number alone, unfortunately the cost of bringing the car to Mumbai and re renewing registration, etc, would be formidable enough for me to get a car here and much cheaper. If you could get him down by 10-12k and if the car could be got for around 15k its worth it.

Yup I'm sure you now understand why I too am interested in picking it up! Very attractive number isnt it? Numero Uno!
No chance of getting it as less as 15k though I'm afraid...as I said we already did make an offer of 14k & he refused...but I'm ok with it if he comes down to 20 also...my mech. wasnt able to come with me today & I too was a bit busy so planning to go down tomorrow....dekhte hain...

Regarding the damage to the centre pillar...where I cant see any damage. The door not fitting properly could be due to a damaged hinge or rust in that area which can not be seen until the door is ajar. Superficially i cant see ant damage. I wonder what that weld mark is below the C pillar though!!

Yeah thats waht I too told my mech. The top hinge on the driver's door looks loose hence prob. the door looks sagging downwards a bit.......pointed out the same thing on my current select also....

Uh, that doesnt seem to be a weld mark, its more a stain by water dripping (slowly) onto the car and flowing down thru the roof gutters down the A & C-pillars....I recall our Gazel too had a similar stain on the C-pillar when she was laid up for a long time at our old house...

At the rate these cars are being scrapped, soon there will be a dearth of the selects..mark my words the day is not to far.

I'm having the same experience with Heralds/Standards...! Pity I wasnt old enough to rescue as many of them when they were scrapped as regularly as fiats are now...& they went dirt cheap! Back then my only thought was to get a pass mark in Maths, so you could guess how old- or rather young- I was then!

[Stanher]

Hey guys, went back to the place today. There is some news that may sound good as well as bad- the green select has been sold to someone else who paid 23k for it (plus an extra 1.5k for the RC!)....I'm not sure if the new owner would be as particular bout preserving the car for its posterity as people like us are......I'm sure he bought it mainly because of the unique number! But anyways, good for him....& the car....atleast it got saved from breaking!

The cambridge is still there & turns out the car wasnt locked unlike what I thought........so managed to take pics. of the interior, boot & engine bay (Gogi, thanks for helping out on phone bout how to open the bonnet!)....

Incidentally, I thought '59 Austin Cambridges had wood-veneered dash panels? Or maybe this had been stripped & painted over...



'found this lying on the floor under the dash....could this have been a speaker for the radio?



'not sure if this is the original upholstery though...



Following Gogi's instructions, I found the push-knob for opening the bonnet after a long (& frantic!) search, under the dash on the steering side....



And after a little effort, got the bonnet open....still has the original(?) Smiths heater intact....although may not have been needed as often here!
The air-filter & brake & clutch m.cylinders remind me of the ones on Standard 10s...




Uh-oh, having trouble uploading more images all of a sudden!
'will try later......these are all for now...

[Stanher]

Rest of the pics....



The horns look similar to Bosch/Jalwa ones, only slightly smaller...

[the mole]

if no one will save it i will.but like i said,i dont want another british car. this is too similar to my rover,even the horns are the same.but i'll wait and watch.

[V-16]

Originally Posted by Stanher

The cambridge is still there & turns out the car wasnt locked unlike what I thought........so managed to take pics. of the interior, boot & engine bay (Gogi, thanks for helping out on phone bout how to open the bonnet!)....

Incidentally, I thought '59 Austin Cambridges had wood-veneered dash panels? Or maybe this had been stripped & painted over...




...

Anytime Shyam..You are welcome.

Heres is a pic of what an a55 MK-II should look like. Identical except for the carb and filter which might have been the previous owner's mods.







Note the dash, the a55 did not come with a veneer dash. Leather was an an option though IMHO i dont think the A55-II came with fabric upholstery ever. It did come with rexine. Even notice the absence of the horn ring,





Furthermore, the handbrake lever was placed between the driver's seat and the door sill like our very own ambassadors. The simple instrument display had no veneered dash as you can see. The car came with a split-bench front seat arrangement. Most cars came with a floor shift gear lever, a steering-column change being optional and only a few such cars were built, so this makes this car a rare one and also the one to be restored...Amol??!!