[BeemerBug_06]

COMING TOGETHER AGAIN

The car spent about 3 days at the booth. Everything was carefully masked and painted. Once done, it was towed back to Rajesh's workshop where the fitting work began immediately.


The bonnet and doors were painted at the workshop, hence they are still in primer here.


























All set !!

[BeemerBug_06]

A couple of days later, I sent a truck load of the remaining parts over to the workshop as the time for the final fitting had come !

[BeemerBug_06]

THE FINAL COUNTDOWN

5 months had passed since the car went in for work. The result was something that both Chetan and I eagerly awaited. It was also a bit of anxious situation for us as there was a slight fear that things may not end up working out in the end and that would not be good at all !

Touchwood, everything worked out and how !

Rajesh told me to visit the workshop two days after the parts had been sent. The day was Friday. I finished off with work and took a train down to Santa Cruz and boy o boy was I amazed by what I saw !


On the road to completion !

I decided to be present at the garage while the car was being put together to ensure that no parts are lost or no critical bits are left out. Several chais later, this is what we packed up for the day.


The restored original rims went on the car that evening








The engine bay now looked chakachak


The AC-Blower and electrical components were fitted in









End of day's play. I decided to go there the following day as we were to continue the assembly work so that the car would be ready by Monday.

[BeemerBug_06]

The following day was spent in getting the car's electrical bits working again. Plenty of the wiring was worn out and had to be redone. Post that, the car was started for the first time in 5 months. It did take a couple of tries for it to crank up to life again, but when it did, literally everyone present at the workshop had a beaming smile on their faces.

Once the carburettor was set (temporarily) to avoid the car from stalling, the AC gas was topped up and test. The AC was actually pretty amazing for a car with a tiny 3 cylinder motor. Do note that this car isn't a factory DX (Deluxe) model, so it did not have an AC originally. The first owner had fitted a SuperKing AC for it and true to its name, after a little service, it did do a super job of keeping the car cool inside. Thankfully the radiator, fan and alternator I have installed for the car belong to the newer MPFI iteration of the 800. The main reason to do this was so that the cooling is more efficient on the whole and so that the AC doesn't end up putting too much stress on the engine causing it to overheat or stall.

[BeemerBug_06]

Some more images from later that night

[BeemerBug_06]

D-DAY

I went to pick up the car on Monday after work and as I walked towards the workshop I could not even begin to think what awaited me. And there it was ! An absolute hunk of junk that could have very well ended up in a scrapyard, looking all brand spanking new again. It was unbelievable how far the car had come !


Finishing touches in progress including one final coat of polish


CRISP


























Not all heroes wear capes - That there is Rajesh bhai and his talented and hardworking team who worked tirelessly over the course of 5 months and helped get the car to the shape that it is in now. Their quality of work and dedication towards the project is nothing less than commendable


Yours truly

After a quick chai, I decided to leave. The car rose to life immediately, but it wasn't running too well and there was a misfire. No stress I thought. I temporarily kept the idle a bit on the higher side and drove it out. Nothing that Ravi bhai can't sort.

Driving the car out was a different feeling altogether. Although, it was not 100% complete , I felt a sense of victory and achievement. Similar to how someone would have felt when they drove out a Maruti 800 from the showroom back in the day.
Unbeknownst to me, the car got a handful of stares on the way back and several drivers stopped beside me to strike up a chat. Two of them happened to be elderly gentlemen who said that the car made them feel nostalgic as they owned a similar one back in the day. THIS is what I love about old cars. Despite them being simple and fun, it is the stories and memories that people have of them and around them which is truly heartwarming and makes me love these cars even more. I know the one we have restored is a treasure trove of memories for sure.


First fuel up !






The interior still in need of some work as seen












I'd like for the viewers to scroll back to page 1 and see how the car was when the exact same pictures were taken during the pre-restoration days.

So that does it ! Mission Impossible was finally made possible. The work done was fabulous and I have no words for it !
Hurrah !!

Although, the restoration is still not fully complete as I still need to get the car running correctly and do wheel alignment after which I will address a few bits such as reupholstering the seats and adding more original bits pieces around the interior and add some more period correct add-ons. I would say more than half our battle is won. The car will be handed over by the end of the month, ONLY after it is fully complete because we wish to make it look as though it has rolled out of the factory. We are currently hence in the very final stage and plan to finish it off beautifully without letting the finishing fatigue get to us. I shall share the progress here.

But for now, this is the journey of bringing back a little Maruti 800 back to life. This restoration was not easy or very cheap at all. It was rather challenging in parts and we were worried if we'd eventually be able to pull it off or not, but touchwood, it all ended up in our favour and there is nothing else to owe it to but our enthusiasm and passion and of course that of everyone who was involved in the process.

This restoration means a lot to me on a personal level too as it is the first full fledged restoration job I have ever done for someone and what better car to kickstart it than a Maruti 800 !

I Shall keep this thread going, but for now it's goodbye from me.
Singing off,
Beemerbug_06.

[Aditya]

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

[cefiljoseph]

Superb restoration thread Nikhil! Truly impressed with your attention to detail especially in things like getting the original blank keys. Way to go

[Civic_doc]

a great amount of dedication and conviction put in resurrecting the legendary Maruti 800. Great work . also upload images of delivery of the car to UNCLE

[patwardhan]

Fantastic job Nikhil. I would love to see the car myself as I live nearby. Is it possible?

[Jeroen]

Great job, thanks for sharing. Lovely little car.
It must be very rewarding to be driving it around in mint conditions after all those months of restoration work.

Enjoy,

Jeroen

[Blackyghost]

Life's worth living for moments like this. I am sure that uncle's reaction would be priceless! Kudos to you, sir.

[rajeshsundaram]

Fantastic restoration. Brings back the memory of our old M800. Congratulations to you and the those involved in the restoration. 👍

[Nanolover]

Fantastic restoration and admire your perseverance. Yes , your story about the ac reminds me of my sb308 from 1990. Originally non ac ( Cairo dust color) we converted it to ac with the same combination. Sanden SD 507 compressor and super King blower. There used to be a round temprature adjustment known also as part of the kit and it was useful in managing the cold, as the ac is super powerful and almost twice as powerful as the weedy one in the 800 DX.

Only minus is it puts more of a load on the engine and it overheats in no time, which we discovered to ourselves. The only solution was to upgrade to the 800 DX radiator and cooling fan and this solved the issues.

Had to sell it off when the santro was launched as we were among the first in my city to put money on this car. It was the nice metallic green and black bumpers model. I used to love that green but Hyundai stopped it within one or two years.

[anilp]

Congrats and thanks a lot for sharing this wonderful journey. That little classic is fortunate to receive so much love from you guys. Looking forward to the moment when you hand over the completed car to your uncle.