[Guderian]

Originally Posted by AlphaKilo

@Guderian sir,

Heil General. Yes Germany is fine. Post is safe and secure sir. Nice to see the Admiral take on the seas, one question(as usual), its under rains so any issues of the hull reacting to oxidization, underbody? Any kheech kheech sounds? how are you managing to keep the lubricants in place with knee high waters? Is the cruiser is put under special maintenance schedules?

HG to AK - Come in AK.
No issues with oxidisation as the hull is pretty thickly coated with anti rust (Wurths). No K-K sounds as of now.
As far as the lubes are concerned Admiral would get a dose of grease at the lube points of the two prop shafts (f'd and rear) during the 10K service as per schedule.
The only schedule after such runs is a good wash. Underbody too. But not really pressure wash as it didn't do any major OTRing. After major OTRing it would definitely need pressure washing to get rid of the sand and clay.

Yesterday crawled underneath to check. No evidence of sand or clay on or around the vitals.

[F150]

Originally Posted by Guderian

Yesterday crawled underneath to check. No evidence of sand or clay on or around the vitals.

General,
Could you clarify who crawled underneath?

[ACM]

Guderian

Riding with you in a T-Fort during heavy rains is I guess the best way to reduce BP levels. I loved the experience, and the music (soft and light).

The T-Fort is indeed a tank, and yes having every thing manual gives a very secure feeling. I agree, but am now used to the auto lights, auto wipers which work perfectly in the Aria (don't need to touch the wiper and lights stalk at all except to add addtional lighting or rear wiper) and horribly in the Laura (wrong timing and intensity - requiring to keep fiddling with the wiper stalk) so when things are perfect and systems indeed work there is nothing like it.

I hope I get a chance to have a reverse situation trip with you soon as my navigator in the Aria.

It is always hard for a hard core driver to sit in the passenger seat. But if one has to do it, then being your navigator is the best option.

[Guderian]

Originally Posted by F150

General,
Could you clarify who crawled underneath?

Huh ?!!
Looked around, there wasn't anybody else - it was me !

[Guderian]

Originally Posted by ACM

Guderian

1. Riding with you in a T-Fort during heavy rains is I guess the best way to reduce BP levels. I loved the experience, and the music (soft and light).


2. I hope I get a chance to have a reverse situation trip with you soon as my navigator in the Aria.

1. It is always hard for a hard core driver to sit in the passenger seat. But if one has to do it, then being your navigator is the best option.

Hi ACM,
Believe me when I tell you the pleasure was entirely mine.

1. You, sir, are very lavish with your words of appreciation.
I am posting it to the LoH, who is very sure with her around in the Admiral, it is the otherway around ! High BP, other better options available to travel around etc.
Thank you very much indeed.

2. Let's do so sometime soon. Also we could also take Aria and Admiral for a comparision to a nearby spot.

As mentioned I certainly wasn't sure whether I'd make it to the meet alone. And boy, am I glad I didn't do so !
It was truly a delightful drive, thanks to very capable navigation and sparkling conversation that we had...catch up soon.

[AlphaKilo]

Heil General AK to HG reporting sir,
I am actually eagerly looking forward for the comparison between the Admiral's cruiser and the Aircraft carrier(which is my personal special next to the Mighty Elephant Safari(my all time love) - only reason its a Tata!). Especially, since my user ID carries a very legendary TBhpian's name, to give due respect, I follow his ways, i.e. the comparison would be even sweeter if there is OTR done on both and especially with Gen. Guderian's photo reconnisance.

[Guderian]

A Chiaroscuro of Memories of the Weekend.....2 ! June 12, 2011.

After a number of grey black snaps of the weather it is time to cheer this place up with some bright snaps. And that too from the drill of regular Sunday cleaning.

Yes, made it for the cleaning drill despite a late night/early morning turn in.
Tyre pressure topped, good wash of Admiral's underbelly, all checks etc followed.

Crawled under to check the vital parts for clay and sand penetration. Didn't spot any - by my eyes. Admiral would need a good dose of new grease in the next service to remove any contaminants, if any, taken in by the water during the water fording, into the propeller shafts. As of now everything looks fine.

Was a little woozy - so left the engine alone. Next week would see the engine bay cleaning and blow cleaning of the air filter.

And some shots from the Admiral's bridge - peering into the cabin. Focussing on the plastics and then some.

Instructions left at quite a few places. The driver's side sun visor has these:





The passenger side visor has a vanity mirror. Always an assumption that a lady would travel there ?


Men don't need mirrors right ? Who shaves in a vehicle really !

The neat power outlet. There is one on the last row as well:


The cigarette lighter. Not sure why they've created that louvered slot below that, to the right. For air circulation ?



The cigarette lighter - adds to the retro effect. Do modern cars still have this contraption ? Reminds me of my dad's old Fiat. This was an essential feature of cars in the days gone by I thought...



I suppose sooner or later the Gov't will ask the vehicle manufacturers to put gory pictures of ill effects of smoking here as well - like on cigarette packs !

The parking sensor and rear AC switches. TFort has 2 ACs one each for the front and rear. Provision for an additional switch as well. A switch for additional fog lights would do fine.


The drop down roof holder keeps my 20 year old vintage Aviator very secure indeed. Very convenient.


The dashboard mounted Sun sensor:


To my mind the quality of plastics on the TFort is truly good.

No introductions required here - the inseperable twins:




Normally, in any new vehicle of mine I rip out the plastic covers, every little bit of it, on the very first day itself. I let this bit remain on the front seats' slider control lever. Just to retain the new vehicle feel.
Specially so as the new vehicle smell is slowly vanishing.


And finally fixed a new sticker on the bumper.
Very purposeful looking bumper eh ?



And now, all bright and ready for the week ahead.

[amitwlele]

Originally Posted by Guderian

2. Let's do so sometime soon. Also we could also take Aria and Admiral for a comparision to a nearby spot.

Admiral and Aria (the 2 A's or should i say Aces) together would be a great sight. You know my number General in case you guy's plan something out.

The cigarette lighter in Admiral was a surprise and surely a retro effect. Vista does not have it. Not sure about other modern cars.

Edit: Forgot to add that the new T-BHP sticker is looking great.

[Akshay1234]

That little vent next to the cig lighter is part of the climate control, most probably the interior temperature sensor.

[dkaile]

Originally Posted by Guderian

Not sure why they've created that louvered slot below that, to the right. For air circulation ?

That slot keeps the sound beeper (headlight on etc.) inside, I presume, as it does on My Corolla. Do try to hear in that slot when the beeper is on to confirm.

Now these plastics and materials are so similar to my 2004 Corolla that I wonder will I actually be getting an upgrade after paying an extra 10 Lacs? This is one of the downsides of the Fortuner, that its parts are so similar to the Corolla/Innova. Anyways now my Fortuner is booked (Shifted booking from Faridabad Dealer to Haldwani Dealer and saved a further 1 lac on road tax) and I hope they launch the upgrade within the next 3 months... optimistic hope...

What purpose does the dashboard mounted sun sensor serve?

[mdsaab]

Some delightful snaps, and by looks of it some delightful weather too.
Though i am a bit shaken from the monsoon this season, trying hard to move on.
Glad to hear the wiper were doing a decent job.

@dot that was hilarious. i was just about to ask for my mithai box. and had to backspace on my BB.

some good news too, Chicca is back home and refreshed.

here is one snap clicked on the day of delivery, especially for @Guderian.


for the rest, you can visit the Civic rear ended thread.

Drive Safe!

[Furebo]

Admiral looks in great shape, the Sunday maintainance does show its worth.

Originally Posted by Guderian

Let's do so sometime soon. Also we could also take Aria and Admiral for a comparision to a nearby spot.

Hey general! This reminded me: Did you and zappex meet? If yes; Can we have some pics?

Originally Posted by amitwlele

Admiral and Aria (the 2 A's or should i say Aces) together would be a great sight. You know my number General in case you guy's plan something out.

Count me in too!

[Guderian]

Originally Posted by AlphaKilo

Heil General AK to HG reporting sir,
I am actually eagerly looking forward for the comparison between the Admiral's cruiser and the Aircraft carrier(which is my personal special next to the Mighty Elephant Safari(my all time love) - only reason its a Tata!). Especially, since my user ID carries a very legendary TBhpian's name, to give due respect, I follow his ways, i.e. the comparison would be even sweeter if there is OTR done on both and especially with Gen. Guderian's photo reconnisance.

HG to AK - Come in AK.
Shall certainly try and do that in terms of a general comparision. But not sure whether a OTR comparision can be carried out. We'll need to examine the possibility of that duly.
Out.

Originally Posted by amitwlele

Admiral and Aria (the 2 A's or should i say Aces) together would be a great sight. You know my number General in case you guy's plan something out.

The cigarette lighter in Admiral was a surprise and surely a retro effect. Vista does not have it. Not sure about other modern cars.

Edit: Forgot to add that the new T-BHP sticker is looking great.

Hi Amit, Certainly shall let you know about the A&A meet.
And thanks for the comments.

Originally Posted by akshay1234

That little vent next to the cig lighter is part of the climate control, most probably the interior temperature sensor.

Hi Akshay, I think you are right, as I strained to check whether it was a louvre for the warning beeps. It wasn't. Likely to be the interior temperature sensor.
And there was a cockup in the orientation of the snap which I realised today. It should have looked like this:

So the vent is above and not besides the lighter. Sorry about that.

Originally Posted by dkaile

Hi dkaile,
That slot keeps the sound beeper (headlight on etc.) inside, I presume, as it does on My Corolla. Do try to hear in that slot when the beeper is on to confirm.

Tried to hear the beeps - that wasn't it. It is the internal temp sensor in all possibility.


Now these plastics and materials are so similar to my 2004 Corolla that I wonder will I actually be getting an upgrade after paying an extra 10 Lacs?
This is one of the downsides of the Fortuner, that its parts are so similar to the Corolla/Innova.

Believe me when I tell you that I am happy to have this quality for the simple reason that with every succesive generation of production from all manufacturers - the quality, at least in India, is deteriorating. Thanks to cost control, price pressures etc. It wont be long before the manufacturers of vehicles too resort to the menu card approach where you pick and choose everything in your car - dash/plastics/seats/engines etc etc and then they add up and tell you the price !
And to this end if Toyota gives me an old design but of superior quality from the previous generation or from a common parts bin - I am more than happy. Just for the quality.
Further the extra 10 L that one is forking out is really for the 3.0 L engine (though an overbored Innova 2.5 L), extra metal plates, 4WD system and trans cases etc and not really for itsy bitsy plastics ! And yes, Gov't taxes of course. And as any Materials Management MBA (Manager By Accident !) will tell you, common parts bin/s is one way of reducing costs. Separate parts bins would mean higher costs thanks to design R&D as well as manufacturing costs. Then there wouldn't be a TFort only TPrado or whatever. We wanted a 'sasta aur tikaoo' SUV, comparitively, and that is what we have got. Yes 24L by no yardstick is 'sasta' (ask me, ask me !) but look at what everyone else in the market is offering for the same features and size. No one is even near I think !

Nope, I don't want to start a TFort Vs Rest of the World debate. I did try out every other piece of metal on wheels, before plonking down my pretty penny on TFort y'see, over a period of 1 year.
Anyways now my Fortuner is booked (Shifted booking from Faridabad Dealer to Haldwani Dealer and saved a further 1 lac on road tax) and I hope they launch the upgrade within the next 3 months... optimistic hope...

That's quite a bit of saving ! Well done.
Sorry to be a party pooper here but appears that there are no upgrades in the near future.
A little bird working in Toyota-KML, Bangalore mentioned to me that they were to have launched the TFort A/T this year by Oct or before, in India, but the tsunami blew those sheets away ! And now it is planned for July 2012 or so.
But I wouldn't be excited by a A/T 4X4. Love the manual Admiral for reasons discussed earlier in this thread !

What purpose does the dashboard mounted sun sensor serve?
That is to measure the external temperature.

Originally Posted by mdsaab

1.Some delightful snaps, and by looks of it some delightful weather too.

Glad to hear the wiper were doing a decent job.

2. some good news too, Chicca is back home and refreshed.

3. here is one snap clicked on the day of delivery, especially for @Guderian.

4. for the rest, you can visit the Civic rear ended thread.

Hi mdsaab,
1. Thank you sir. But there is only that much you can bear the dark grey skies in snaps. But great weather for driving.
But it also brings in its wake long, long traffic jams - be it city roads or highways. Nothing like bright, crackling sunny days with low temperatures.

2. Congratulations !

3. Thanks again. Not going to ask you any Q's, though you have me all riled up.

4. I did ! Great to have gone through it.

Originally Posted by Furebo

1. Admiral looks in great shape, the Sunday maintainance does show its worth.



2. Hey general! This reminded me: Did you and zappex meet? If yes; Can we have some pics?



3. Count me in too!

Hi Furebo,
1. Thanks.

2. No - that Dawn Patrol with Zappex hasn't been conducted yet. Hoping to do it before the end of the month. Will coordinate with Zap and the other interested folks.

3. Sure.

[dkaile]

Originally Posted by Guderian

And to this end if Toyota gives me an old design but of superior quality from the previous generation or from a common parts bin - I am more than happy. Just for the quality.

To this end, I fully agree. The quality of the Toyota's is so good that my 2002 Qualis and 2004 Corolla still look new inside out (ahem.. my good maintenance, I suppose) and from the looks of it are ready to weather another decade on this fit and finish.

[Guderian]

Originally Posted by dkaile

To this end, I fully agree. The quality of the Toyota's is so good that my 2002 Qualis and 2004 Corolla still look new inside out (ahem.. my good maintenance, I suppose) and from the looks of it are ready to weather another decade on this fit and finish.

Hi dkaile,
That surely is a sworn testament for the quality of Toyota parts !

A few Q's for you :
1. Do you use anything specific to keep the interior plastics in your Qualis/Corolla looking fresh ? And may I dare add - ready for the next decade ?!!
2. What is the final cost of the T-Fort that you have booked ? (Iknow you have mentioned the costs earlier - but wanted to have a look with the fresh booking with another dealer.)
3. What accessories are you getting and its cost/s ?

Thanks in advance.