[Bsimhan]

Originally Posted by Thebugdoc

This is my first post on teambhp since being a member so please excuse if i err on any part
A lot more has happened after this and will be updating the same in the days to come

Congrats Doc. Reminds me of my father's fiat that he had in the early 60s. Good luck with this gem of a car.

[Govardhansupra]

You are lucky to find a pristine car like this, Doc.

Originally Posted by Thebugdoc

[b]
With the mechanical bits almost sorted i decided to do complete body work and make her perfect on every front .For that she would travel to a dealership called autostarke owned by the famous Nippon group also the service centre for chevrolet ,kia . There state of the art facilities ,courteous staff made me check her in there and complete my build !

If you are referring to the Autostarké in Thrissur, that's very close to where I live at.
So, am I allowed to make a visit and have a good look at her?

[AutoB]

WOW... this brings back memories.

Growing up in Bombay we had a 1956 model - it was also called dukkar (pig) fiat, possibly because of the size/shape

The engine and transmission were simple ... easy to work with, and of course with multiple issues.

Our car was BML 5722 ... have some fond memories!!

Thanks

[7heaven]

Congratulations on your Great acquisition! would love to see the restoration progress.

You have left us in suspense over which color you will end up choosing. Do keep posting the pictures. Love the fiat's drive ability and simple mechanics.

[Thebugdoc]

Originally Posted by Bsimhan

Congrats Doc. Reminds me of my father's fiat that he had in the early 60s. Good luck with this gem of a car.

Thank you ! Yes those old Fiat’s were lovely
This being a 1955 makes it close to 70years of existence and still drives so well

Originally Posted by Govardhansupra

You are lucky to find a pristine car like this, Doc.



If you are referring to the Autostarké in Thrissur, that's very close to where I live at.
So, am I allowed to make a visit and have a good look at her?

Thank you for your kind words
This is being restored at autostarke Cochin though not Thrissur .Still please come down to the dealership anytime and check her out

Originally Posted by AutoB

WOW... this brings back memories.

Growing up in Bombay we had a 1956 model - it was also called dukkar (pig) fiat, possibly because of the size/shape

The engine and transmission were simple ... easy to work with, and of course with multiple issues.

Our car was BML 5722 ... have some fond memories!!

Thanks

Thanks
Yes these are very lovable cars and easy to work on if you sort out the rusting issues .although I feel the material quality used on the pre 70 Fiat’s are superior and last longer !

Originally Posted by 7heaven

Congratulations on your Great acquisition! would love to see the restoration progress.

You have left us in suspense over which color you will end up choosing. Do keep posting the pictures. Love the fiat's drive ability and simple mechanics.

Thank you ��
To be frank even Iam confused on what color to choose .
I had applied for a birth certificate with FCA heritage, hopefully will receive a reply soon with the factory shade.

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[AZT]

Originally Posted by AutoB

it was also called dukkar (pig) fiat, possibly because of the size/shape

Definitely remember this name being used Dukkar fiat and Dinky Maruti are the funniest pet names ever.

[Thebugdoc]

Sorry for the late update to the thread.

By then I had decided to keep her black for few years and got a basic wax (graphene wax) done at Waxhouse, Ccochin and she looked amazing.
You guys are going to murder me when u read the rest of the story .









Found original Mille metal fan.



So I drove her around for few days but I really wanted to get her paint color changed!

I checked into AUTOSTARKE ( owned by Nippon Group ) authorised dealers for Toyota, Kia, Lexus, Chevy, was amazed by the sprawling infrastructure and equipment levels and checked her in.



Drove her in at around midnight, the arrangements were perfectly made for me as the security guards were ready for me.
Parked her into one of there interactive bays meant for Chevy cars and I went back.



Next day at around 11am I got a call from there service advisor that the car has been inspected and found some issues with detailed pictures on my WhatsApp. I felt like i had given one of my newer cars to the dealership for service .









The floor board and the under-body had some rust, some minor oil leaks here and there which was expected on a 70 year old car.
I decided against the traditional cutting gas welding patching as those are really temporary fixes and I needed a permanent solution.

I bought ready made 16 guage (Japan metal is the local term) machine pressed sheets with lines already in them for floor (generic). It's basically plug and play and was already galvanised during manufacture it should last very long indeed as well. The entire floor area upto to the boot will be changed by this one sheet! Since those lines are machine pressed it prevents the metal from loosing its strength during manual adding of lines suring tinkering.

The floor sheets.



My goal was clear as i intended to keep this one forever so decided to do a full pin to pin restoration in the highest possible standards available especially since Autostarke had such infrastructure as well.

Now the stripping began, every single nut and bolt on this car had to be restored to original factory condition, so we decided to remove the engine gearbox, differentials, all suspension components, axles, frame and leave the car on just its shell.







The subframe and suspension arms and other components removed.





I realised the best way to do a clean and future proof job is to do blasting (sandblasting/copper slag) only then the deep rust will be exposed and problem areas could be detected as manual sanding has its limitations in identifying the depth of rust.

After sandblasting.

The real clean metal exposed and perfect working space for any tinker .





As it was fully sandblasted and now its bare surface is very vulnerable to the high humidity and could catch surface rust quickly so I had to act quickly to preserve the metal while it undergoes tinkering works.

Owatrol dealer in India, lijeet was kind enough to send me in OWATROL rust inhibiting oil coating within few minutes and we coated it on top of bare metal. This oil works by seeping into the pores of metal and acting as a sealer on the meat preventing rust formation and rust popping out which was perfect for my build.

After OWATROL cowing.







This was done in their painting booth and left there to dry for 3 days.

Pictures after 3 days. Perfectly coated and protected.











So these are the latest updates and work is progressing well, will post updates as the work moves onto the next stage!



Note from Support: Post fixed. Please run a spell-check on your posts before posting.

[KartikeyaL]

Originally Posted by Thebugdoc

I bought ready made 16 guage (Japan metal is the local term) machine pressed sheets with lines already in them for floor (generic). It's basically plug and play and was already galvanised during manufacture it should last very long indeed as well.

I understand the logic behind this sheet, however it is very desirable to keep everything as original as possible, I know your intent to keep this forever, and your concern about rust in the future, but have a re-think, originality matters, as you also know

[Thebugdoc]

Originally Posted by KartikeyaL

I understand the logic behind this sheet, however it is very desirable to keep everything as original as possible, I know your intent to keep this forever, and your concern about rust in the future, but have a re-think, originality matters, as you also know

Thank you !
This fact was always on my mind when I ventured into doing the floor build .I shall definitely take your input and try to make changes to get it to be the original design

[51morris]

Originally Posted by Thebugdoc

This is my first post on teambhp since being a member so please excuse if i err on any part

Picking up a millecento was never in my mind as i had just completed a full on restoration of my daily driver 1969 beetle which i own since 2002 . I shall be posting the ownership details and other details as a separate thread as this thread is all about the MILLECENTO!

What a fantastic find - congratulations to you on owning this very original Fiat! She has been well looked after by the previous owner and going by what you have posted in your thread, I can safely say she is now in very good hands! Wish you many many years of pure motoring joy with this Italian stunner.

My first classic car was a Fiat Select (1960), before I moved on to a 1951 Morris Minor Series MM (link:https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/post-...series-mm.html (Restoration of "Vinty" - My 1951 Morris Minor Series MM)). Fiat's have always been close to my heart and yours is one of the finer examples I have come across.

Congratulations once again!

[justin.das]

Originally Posted by Thebugdoc

[b]This is my first post on team-bhp since being a member
Waited for my flatbed trailer and friend Justin das (team-bhp member ) to arrive so that I could change all fluids and belts and get her started up

They arrived in no time and took her to a fiat mechanic in Trivandrum, (Ravi ashaan ) very kind, old mechanic he was initially impressed and equally surprised to not have seen a beautiful mille right next to him in all these years - I must admit I was thrilled!

Welcome to Team-Bhp Doc, it's indeed a great pleasure to help you bring back your millicento to top shape. You are right chief mechanic Ravi Meshiri was very surprised to see such an original millicento picked up from a location that is so close to his garage and he was unaware of its existence even as he is specialized in working on these classic cars for 40+ years in the same city.

[Jeroen]

Thanks for sharing, great thread and a lovely little car. Really like the way you are restoring her. As mentioned originality is always important. However, truth be told, that is also very much in the eye of the beholder. Especially safety should not be compromised. In the end it is always a personal call, to what extend you want to stick to originality. Structural integrity is a big thing of course.

looking forward to see further updates!

Jeroen

[Thebugdoc]

Originally Posted by justin.das

Welcome to Team-Bhp Doc, it's indeed a great pleasure to help you bring back your millicento to top shape. You are right chief mechanic Ravi Meshiri was very surprised to see such an original millicento picked up from a location that is so close to his garage and he was unaware of its existence even as he is specialized in working on these classic cars for 40+ years in the same city.

Thank you bro Wouldn’t have been possible without your help .

Originally Posted by Jeroen

Thanks for sharing, great thread and a lovely little car. Really like the way you are restoring her. As mentioned originality is always important. However, truth be told, that is also very much in the eye of the beholder. Especially safety should not be compromised. In the end it is always a personal call, to what extend you want to stick to originality. Structural integrity is a big thing of course.

looking forward to see further updates!

Jeroen

Thank you for your nice words
Yes restoring to an original specification in today’s era is hard due to non availability of original spares and hoarding by the ones who has turned this into a business so I am trying really hard to tread through this fine line of originality and functionality
Hopefully it will all be good

[Thebugdoc]

Originally Posted by 51morris

What a fantastic find - congratulations to you on owning this very original Fiat! She has been well looked after by the previous owner and going by what you have posted in your thread, I can safely say she is now in very good hands! Wish you many many years of pure motoring joy with this Italian stunner.

My first classic car was a Fiat Select (1960), before I moved on to a 1951 Morris Minor Series MM (link:https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/post-...series-mm.html (Restoration of "Vinty" - My 1951 Morris Minor Series MM)). Fiat's have always been close to my heart and yours is one of the finer examples I have come across.

Congratulations once again!

Thank you 🙏
Even I had a Fiat 1960 about 7years back but sold it off as I went abroad ,had always loved driving the fiats and wanted to get another one and keep her till eternity hence the bolt by bolt restoration

[Thebugdoc]

UPDATES

Sorry for the long delay in posting updates.

Fast forward 5.5 months and here they are

The body parts stripping began

Attachment 2244671













The 1955 Millecento engine

the original punching showing FIAT 103.000 , the engine number has been marked out for privacy purposes
It was found to be running the original block with an original 5 port manifold








While the body stripping was going on i got a call from OWATROL INDIA that the paint strippers are ready and they are ready to show a demo on my car







The test of the product came out brilliantly so i placed the order for the set required for my car .


While that was going on i was busy sourcing original bits for my car ,it had to stand out so i got mostly NOS parts from italy


Got an excellent working condition Magneti Marelli horn unit

http://youtu.be/G75lg7QsVuQ

The holy grail Original NOS Carello headlight units with back reflector











Aluminium wheel caps







original roof handles, milky white interior lights,dash knobs,Guintino park lights















NOS Airfilter unit another super rare part







Found an original hot air box that comes under the dashboard ,lucky to find the one that came on import models with the radiator , also found the duct intake with the electric fan

http://youtu.be/5QSl7FO1X9U

front and back windshield aluminium inserts and fresh rubbers





Original period YELLOW horn button