[harit]

Originally Posted by Shrivardhan

Hi All, The Chevy Pictured Has Gone Through Extensive Restoration. The Car Was In A Sad State When We Bought It.it Was Owned By A Up Zamindaar Who Had Thrown The Car To The Open Atmosphere In The Backyards Of His Dilapidated Kind Of Castle. This Car Had Alot Of Missing Parts And The Body Was Apsolutely Rotten. But To Our Good Luck, Dad Has A Huge Stock Of Spares Where We Could Find Whatever Was Missing. There Was No Sign Of Apholstry. So The Springs, Seat Frame , Everything Had To Be Fabricated As Per Original. Extensive Bodywork Has Been Done And The Pictures Shown Are 3 Months After Paint Finish. The Engine Is Just Been Overhauled, And Now Working On The Gearbox. Rest Of The Mechanicals, Diff,steering Box,etc, Have Been Completed. The Steering You See In The Pics Are Temporary,we Have The Original One. Yes, The Wiring Has Been Converted To 12 Volts Including The Self And Dynamo, For Assistance In Regular Use. The Wiring Is Not Over Yet, Because Of Which Open Wire Is Visible.once Complete, Everything Would Be Concealed.i Would Post The Pics Once The Car Is Complete.please Note That We Take As Much Care In Finishing The Engine Area As The Exterior. The Car Is Far From Complete Right Now And Theres Loads To Be Done.one More Information- We Restore Cars For Ourselves As A Hobby And Are Well Known For Our Finish. There Are Many Restorations Ive Come Across Which Are Worth Puking At, But Needless To Say A Few Are Remarkable. The Kind Of Attention To Detail Put Onto Our Cars Whether It Be A Rr Or A Bsa Is Equaly Intense.for Those Who Have Doubts On Our Restoration,all The Best And Have A Nice Day. For Those Who Like Appreciating Good Things, You Are Wellcome To Come Along And See The Collection And Meetup, As I Am A Die Hard Encourager Of The Hobby. Feel Free To Contact Me On 09830830000 Post 23rd Of March, As I Would Be In India Since Then For Three Weeks.i Welcome Constructive Advice From All You Petrolheads.. Cheerz!


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I would like to add that the first very well restored vintage car I saw in India was a Cadillac Sedan of around 1930, probably a 7 seater, then black and now white. This car is now in a collection in Delhi.
The gentleman who brought it to Mumbai explained that they came from Kolkotta, and he was a relative of Mr. Kanoria. He had added that just some time before they had taken part in a Rally in Delhi. He showed pictures of the Delhi event and others, including a 1930'3 Merc Landaulet. I still have a photograph of the car at that time.

Now maybe I can give a suggestion. This pertains to the wiring. I recently got a car of the 1930's rewired. The wiring was original, but insulation was poor, insulation material was cloth. Somewhere there were short circuits, battery constantly running down, in short a headache. So I purchased our regular wiring, PVC or whatever insulated and brightly coloured. I got a cloth cover woven over the PVC insulation. Then some varnish was applied. The wiring looks very period and authntic. Next time I go to the car I will take pics. One problem is that though wiring can be hiddem, at some point it has to come out and will be seen. Vintage engine bays with brightly coloured wires do not look appropriate.

Cheers
Harit

[Shrivardhan]

Hi Harit, thanks for your views. As for the 1930 Cadi, that was owned and restored by Dad. It was driven by road from Kolkata to Delhi for the rally by him, after restoration. After the rally, our relative wanted to keep it for him, and as you know in the 1980's these cars were rare but not like they are today. Yes indeed the resto was very good as ive seen in pictures. Cheerz!

[wasif]

Thanks Harith.

Point well made. This is precisely what i am saying.

Sometimes it is impossible to go with old period wiring etc but the way forward is to use moderin wiring covered with a cloth / fabric cover in the search for an aunthentic look.

Now in todays times it makes sense to some people to re wire their cars to 12V. Well this is the owners perogative but I would try to hide this by using the original cut outs / regulator shells and if possible hide the 12 volt coil in a 6 volt coil housing. All in the interest of preserving authenticity.

I understand that the Chevy is under restoration and not completed but this doesn't lend credibility for the use of the extensive modern electrical equipment attached to the cowl. This will remain on the car even after it is complete as with the copper coloured coil.

I am not trying to upset the restorer but just pointing out he obvious. I understand the car was in a mess when aquired so when all that effort has been put in to source original parts from the restorers stock then even things like the wiring should be done as close to the original as possible.

It is clearly evident that the restorer in question has great capabilities but the standards seen to differ from car to car.

[DKG]

You should see the wiring harnesses one can order from the US. Fabulous stuff complete with connectors. We just did for a 52 Chevy being restored.

[wasif]

Ideally for a restoratuion to qualify as great, importing the complete wiring harness from the respective club suppliers would be the way to go.

Today in the US you can get parts for almost every vintage & classic car ever made

[rajiv ghosh rac]

All the cars in the kanoria stable are magnificent brands, and they are restored to perfection, unbeleivable amount of work is put in by shashi kanoria and srivardhan kanoria [very close family friends]. i have had the pleasure to drive most of these cars.
pictures dont do justice, whenever whoever is in cal must go and see the kanoria cars. its a treat. there is so much to learn from there. trust me, shashy kanoria is just a genius.
cheers rajiv

[Shrivardhan]

Hi Friends, These pictures are of a 1931 Bentley. The complete interiors were restored, or rather created by us, for the owner who is a good friend. Starting from the dashboard, and the wooden chips all round, all the wood had decayed. So the base was created out of Burma teak, and Burrled wood vineer was inlayed afterwhich. The seat springs, foam and leather were replaced and brought to shape. The seats as well as the hood was made of Stanley leather. The complete doorpad was designed by me on paper before the actual job done, as there was no original pattern available, as the car had gone through a number of restorations. The step beads on the floor board were fabricated out of SS. We even fabricated original Coventry type side lamps as per original (can see Dad working on it). The sedanca deville portion of the hood mechanism was completely faulty, so had to be created afresh. Same was with the arm rest on the rear seats. The carpet which was used was top of the line woolen. The snaps provided are the befores and afters. Cheerz!

[harit]

Originally Posted by Shrivardhan

Hi Friends, These pictures are of a 1931 Bentley. The complete interiors were restored, or rather created by us, for the owner who is a good friend. Starting from the dashboard, and the wooden chips all round, all the wood had decayed. So the base was created out of Burma teak, and Burrled wood vineer was inlayed afterwhich. The seat springs, foam and leather were replaced and brought to shape. The seats as well as the hood was made of Stanley leather. The complete doorpad was designed by me on paper before the actual job done, as there was no original pattern available, as the car had gone through a number of restorations. The step beads on the floor board were fabricated out of SS. We even fabricated original Coventry type side lamps as per original (can see Dad working on it). The sedanca deville portion of the hood mechanism was completely faulty, so had to be created afresh. Same was with the arm rest on the rear seats. The carpet which was used was top of the line woolen. The snaps provided are the befores and afters. Cheerz!

Hi Shrivardhan,

Unfortunately there is no complete pic of the Bentley. Can you confirm if this car was at the Cartier event? I think it was there, but want to confirm. Because the Bentley at the event was superb!

[Shrivardhan]

Yes sir this car was in the Cartier event, and its primarily for this event that we accepted the request as we do not restore cars other than ours. Cheerz!

[Shrivardhan]

Hi Friends, These pics are of the 1919 Andre Citroen which is a part of our collection. This was restored by us last year, and as you can see the car was in shambles, and each and every part was disintegrated for restoration. A huge amount of fabrication was involved as well. The wood used for the framing was 'burma teak.' All Nickel parts were made out of brass. Historically this model was the first to cross the Sahara Desert. The gearbox in these cars are comparable to that of RR as Andre Citroen, the founder of this Company, was a gearbox manufacturer for the Defence industry before venturing into automobiles. During that era, the gearshifts on cars were commonly towards the right (RHD cars). Andre Citroen was the one of the firsts to introduce centre shift gear, to the automobile industry. These cars were made in Paris, so were very flamboyant as regards to style. This particular car won the 'Conquors De Elegance' trophy for the most elegant looking car in the Kolkata rally, this year. 'Attention to detail' is what can be said for this restoration. Cheerz!

[Shrivardhan]

Hi Friends, Im sorry the snaps did'nt update on the first shot. A few good snaps are big and do are not uploading. For the time being please enjoy these snaps of the Andre Citroen. Cheerz!

[Prabal]

Originally Posted by Shrivardhan

Hi Friends, These pics are of the 1919 Andre Citroen which is a part of our collection.

Originally Posted by Shrivardhan

For the time being please enjoy these snaps of the Andre Citroen. Cheerz!

Lovely cars there, Shrivardhan. I'd heard of Citroens, but never knew there was something called an Andre Citroen as well; must be really rare. I envy you living amongst all these beauties.

[Shrivardhan]

Yes this car is very rare and is restored like a 'Franklinmints model car'. Cheerz!

[DKG]

Truly commendable restoration. Congrats to you and your dad. Thanks for sharing the pictures

[TractionAvant]

Originally Posted by Shrivardhan

Hi Friends, These pictures are of a 1931 Bentley.

Thanks for the pictures Srivardhan, it is always interesting to see before, after & work-in-progress pictures . I must say you do some excellent work.
1931 would make this either an 8 or a 4 litre. It clearly is not an 8 and I thought there were'nt any 4 litres in India ????

Originally Posted by Prabal

Lovely cars there, Shrivardhan. I'd heard of Citroens, but never knew there was something called an Andre Citroen as well; must be really rare. I envy you living amongst all these beauties.

Andre Citroen was the founder of Citroen. I dont think the cars were ever called 'Andre Citroen' (could be wrong here). Perhaps cars made before the Michelin takeover are called thus?

Kind regards

Aditya