[anjan_c2007]

Originally Posted by Sanidhya mukund

We finally got it transferred to our native place in BR at the time of the previous renewal. NOC was obtained from Assam without any issues. Had the car not been transferred to Assam previously, it would have become impossible to get an NOC from the HR26 RTO. 0039 was the number it had on AS plates.

That was an excellent and timely googly that had to be delivered due to the totally concocted and skewed thinking on the part of the judiciary and the government. Such a thinking process soon manifests itself with eccentric and cranky decisions that severely affect the common man.

We all know and have discussed who all are behind influencing such very skewed and eccentric decisions.

Congratulations for saving the Ikon, whose population is already dwindling. The Josh Machine needs to live.

[StarryFurry]

Originally Posted by Sanidhya mukund

Yes, it is 100% road legal all over India, except for the place I live.

So, why don't you keep the car in your native place? Any one of your family members or friends can drive the car once in a while. I feel that it will be better for the car too.

[Sanidhya mukund]

Originally Posted by StarryFurry

So, why don't you keep the car in your native place? Any one of your family members or friends can drive the car once in a while. I feel that it will be better for the car too.

I don’t have family members living in my native place. I already have 2 cars (1995 Esteem and 1993 Tata Estate) that were rotting away at my ancestral haveli for the last 10 years. The Esteem was brought back on the road after a lot of effort. The Tata Estate is still undergoing an extensive restoration. The Ikon would also have ended up with a similar fate had it been sent there.

Actually the 2 elderly drivers that looked after the cars there passed away, which is what led to those two cars’ deterioration. Here in Delhi, I am able to personally look after the Ikon.

[StarryFurry]

Originally Posted by Sanidhya mukund

I don’t have family members living in my native place. I already have 2 cars (1995 Esteem and 1993 Tata Estate) that were rotting away at my ancestral haveli for the last 10 years. The Esteem was brought back on the road after a lot of effort. The Tata Estate is still undergoing an extensive restoration. The Ikon would also have ended up with a similar fate had it been sent there.

Actually the 2 elderly drivers that looked after the cars there passed away, which is what led to those two cars’ deterioration. Here in Delhi, I am able to personally look after the Ikon.

Oh! Then it is better that you keep the Ikon with you. As rightly said by you, the car will be under your constant supervision. Also, congratulations for owning the Esteem and Estate. I remember reading about your Estate on Team-Bhp itself. Your Estate is from the time when only the super rich could afford buying and maintaining these cars. At that time, Maruti 800 was a status symbol among many families of Bihar.

[DR Manabendra S]

Happy birthday to your ford Ikon, sanidhya mukund. Glad to know that inspite of the fact, that you won't be able to drive the car in your city, you are continuously maintaining it. I guess that's why you have decided to restore the Estate, and had also restored the Esteem. Since I can't wish many more happy miles to the Ikon, I guess I can wish your Ikon many more happy years. Once again kudos to your decision of maintaining the car, and not selling it.
P.S. There is no update on the estate thread. How is the restoration going? Are you being able to source the parts ?

[Sanidhya mukund]

Originally Posted by DR Manabendra S

Happy birthday to your ford Ikon, sanidhya mukund. Glad to know that inspite of the fact, that you won't be able to drive the car in your city, you are continuously maintaining it. I guess that's why you have decided to restore the Estate, and had also restored the Esteem. Since I can't wish many more happy miles to the Ikon, I guess I can wish your Ikon many more happy years. Once again kudos to your decision of maintaining the car, and not selling it.
P.S. There is no update on the estate thread. How is the restoration going? Are you being able to source the parts ?

Thank you so much for the wishes! Tata Estate is on track. Engine Block and head have been refinished and the crank has also been polished. Pistons, piston rings, Gudgeon pins, head gasket and all the components of the head like valves, guides etc. are being changed. Part availability is not an issue because the same engine is also found in the old model Tata Sumo.

As far as Estate specific parts are concerned, BHPian Condor has been kind enough to share two contacts with me who seem to stock all body parts of the Estate, so that is a huge relief.

Actually the only reason why I haven’t updated that thread in a long time is that it has been raining cats and dogs for the past few weeks! Rain has slowed down the progress with respect to the body work tremendously. I will definitely update that thread once something significant gets done.

[Sanidhya mukund]

23rd year update and how I nearly got scammed:

So the Ikon turned 23 on the 13th of September, 2023, but I couldn’t post then as I was out of the country. First order of business upon my return last week was to fire up the Ikon and take it for a short spin round the block.

Connected the battery and the car fired right up. Drove it for about a kilometer in my residential lane and parked it back. Things were working well, barring a few electronic gremlins. However, things started going south as soon as I went away to connect the hose pipe to give it a wash. I was shocked to see a pool of coolant under the near-side front wheel:



Panicked, I opened the bonnet to find a leak emanating from the point where the Intake Manifold is bolted onto the engine block. (Screenshot from the internet to show the area clearly.) apologies for the grubby engine bay. Picture was taken just before a wash:







I sent a video of the leak to D-BHPian Vigsom, and he was of the view that it could either be the Manifold itself that is leaking, or, it could be the Manifold gasket. Armed with some preliminary information thanks to him, I rang up a mechanic from Palika Bhawan (a place known for car repairs in Delhi), and within a few hours, the mechanic was at my doorstep, ready with his tools to take apart the vehicle. (With the NGT order in place, everything has to be done at home) After some disassembly, he was able to pull the manifold out:







He told me that there indeed was a leak in the manifold and that he will look for a replacement at the usual junkyards in Delhi, as it is impossible to find a brand new replacement. I gave him the go ahead for this, and off he went. Meanwhile, I had a talk with D-BHPian Vigsom and came to the conclusion that repair could also be a viable option, since the leak was not too big. The viability and availability of a second hand manifold was also doubtful, given the fact that most Ikons, especially 1.3 Endura models have been off the road for quite a while now.

I called my mechanic up and discussed this with him too, however;

1. The mechanic vehemently discouraged repairing the manifold and further added that it will almost certainly leak again.

2. He claimed to have found a used replacement at a shop in Mayapuri for ₹ 6000. However, the scrap seller would only give us a replacement if the one coming off the car is given to him.

This did raise red flags, but since I was desperate to have my car up and running again, I told him to go ahead. The next day, he came to my house with a “shiny new” manifold, claimed to have been sourced from a car that was scrapped just a few days ago and fitted it in about half an hour. The car was back to its non-leaky state, and I was happy. However, while I was going through the video of the leak that I had sent to Vigsom sir, something caught my eye. The “replaced manifold” and the one that was on my car had the exact same scuff marks! I immediately realised that rather than replacing the manifold, he had simply repaired it and was trying to pass it off as a different one:






Confronted the mechanic then and there, who vehemently denied any wrongdoing. Realising that he wouldn’t admit, I sought some help from some rather assertive individuals, who were able to make him admit it in a jiffy! However, he claimed that it was the parts dealer that scammed him and that it was him who was the victim.

Anyway, instead of paying him ₹ 6000 for a “replacement”, I paid him ₹ 1600 for repair and labour.

I also had the oil, oil filter and air filter replaced and the coolant topped up. Also had the throttle body cleaned and the car is now smooth as ever. All of it done in my driveway:




While the amount I could have potentially lost was not very high, it pains me to see how casually do these chaps go about ripping people off. It’s somebody’s hard earned money, and they have no right to be doing this. Had I not noticed those two pre-existing scuff marks on the manifold, I would have happily paid him his ₹ 6000 plus labour. Needless to say, he’s not getting any more business from me.

[Sanidhya mukund]

Fixing a misfire by replacing the ignition coil:


A very annoying intermittent misfire had been bothering me for quite a while now. I hadn’t resolved it because it was occasional and the fact that the car does not get used at all. However, for the past couple of weeks, it was getting worse. From being intermittent, it seemed to have become permanent. It would not allow me to accelerate beyond 40 Km/h and whenever the car would be revved while in motion, it would sound like gunshots!

Showed it to a couple of mechanics who concluded that the engine is dead. However, I was not convinced with this diagnosis.

Got in touch with BHPian Viraat13. His trusted mechanic had a detailed look at it and concluded that it was actually the ignition coil that had failed. While it was good news that the problem was minor, the ignition coil for a long discontinued car from a defunct manufacturer wasn’t going to be an easy find.

However, some research on Boodmo told me that the ignition coil for the 4 cylinder 1.5 Ecosport is the exact same part! Immediately placed an order on Boodmo and had my mechanic replace the part at home. While we were at it, also replaced the HT-leads. The car is back to its former self, firing on all cylinders!


The old coil being removed:



The defective part:



New original Ford part from Boodmo:





The Ikon and its garage mates on a smoggy Diwali evening. No firecrackers this time. Thankfully, no misfiring either!


A video showing the misfire. Notice that no current was being received by the 4th cylinder. The video also shows how after the new coil was fitted, all cylinders started receiving current as expected:

https://youtu.be/ys0mp4wGLOU?feature=shared

[FiFo_]

Sanidhya , just reading your post, it is lovely. I have a Ford Fiesta 1.6S which just completed 15 yrs this year. Soon I will join your list of vintage but legendary car list

[svsantosh]

Originally Posted by Sanidhya mukund

Fixing a misfire by replacing the ignition coil:[/ATTACH]

While at it (or since you finished it) get new Plugs, and plug wires also. If possible change the fuel filter, and service the injectors, and give her a italian tune job too :-)

[Sanidhya mukund]

Originally Posted by svsantosh

While at it (or since you finished it) get new Plugs, and plug wires also. If possible change the fuel filter, and service the injectors, and give her a italian tune job too :-)

Thanks for the reply!

The plugs are quite new, I think less than a year old. The plug wires/HT-leads were changed along with the ignition coil. Will change the fuel filter when the car goes in for exhaust replacement in January.

Italian tune job - Wish the NGT and other environmental regulations here in Delhi-NCR allowed me to do it.

[sagarpadaki]

Originally Posted by Sanidhya mukund

Thanks for the reply!

The plugs are quite new, I think less than a year old. The plug wires/HT-leads were changed along with the ignition coil. Will change the fuel filter when the car goes in for exhaust replacement in January.

Italian tune job - Wish the NGT and other environmental regulations here in Delhi-NCR allowed me to do it.

See if you can tow your vehicle to outside the NGT boundary and the engine loose .

[Sanidhya mukund]

Originally Posted by svsantosh

While at it (or since you finished it) get new Plugs, and plug wires also. If possible change the fuel filter, and service the injectors, and give her a italian tune job too :-)

Got the injectors serviced.

The mechanic came to my home, pulled the injector rail out and took it to the machine for servicing. I must say, it has had a pretty significant impact on performance:

[Sanidhya mukund]

Exhaust system replacement:

For quite a while now, I had been intending to have the exhaust replaced. The car had been sounding rather throaty due to various holes across the length of the pipe. Multiple welds and patches had already been put in place, so it was no longer feasible to repair the current exhaust. The final nail in the coffin was when one fine day, the dholki in the back simply fell on the road!





My mechanic was informed and the car was towed to his place. I successfully found the middle and rear sections on Boodmo and ordered the same. The front half was fabricated afresh at his shop. The car came back with a shiny new exhaust. The sound has also changed significantly. It is much, much quieter now.









I had also been noticing that the rear LHS tyre was frequently loosing air. Had it sent to the local tyre shop, where the valve was found to have cracked due to age. Replaced that as well.





Having fixed the issues, there was only one thing left: a good wash!



The newest car with the oldest car: the two ‘i’s of my garage:

[Redex]

It is good practice to change the tyre valve, and balance the wheel, every time a tyre is replaced. Just like the tyre, rubber valve stems start to deteriorate after about 5 or 6 years, even if the vehicle is not used. The condition of valve stems is often overlooked. Failure can be catastrophic. In our workshop the valve stems gets replaced every time a wheel comes in for work, be it just balancing, puncture repair of fitting a new tyre. Regardless of how "old" the existing valve stems may be.
Regards Neil