[BeemerBug_06]

I recently got hold of this 1990 Premier Padmini Deluxe BE for a friend of mine. Here is a little write-up about my experience of living with it so far.

I picked the car up on the 2nd of February from the owner's residence. My friend told me that it was a single-owner car and that the actual owner who is a navy officer was busy overseas, so his neighbor would hand over the car to me. At first look, I was somewhat disappointed. The car looked dull, neglected , and unkempt. It was parked under a tree with a thick blanket of dust covering it. The neighbor was an eccentric old man who was dancing around telling me that the car hasn't run in over two months and that he had his doubts whether it would start. A tad bit annoyed by then, I connected the battery and asked the old man to crank it. It sounded alright but didn't start. No fuel was coming to the carburetor. While the old man suggested I come back another day, I decided to use the age old technique of risking myself and siphoning out some petrol through the main pipe
And with the next crank, she rose to life!


Since I often assist my mechanic when free, I've had my experiences of driving all sorts of problematic cars - cars with no brakes, stalling cars, overheating cars etc. and this experience was no different. In fact, it seemed to be a combination of all the problems and a test of my patience and skill.

As I pulled out of the neighborhood. The car began acting funny. All of a sudden it started jerking and then perpetually stalling every 5 seconds. It seemed as though only one brake cylinder at the front RHS wheel was working because it would violently pull to the right everytime I braked. The carpets and matting were missing so that ensured the car turned into a sauna on wheels. However, I made sure to keep going and finally revved my way home. That was not exactly the best old car drive I have had!


Filling up at my neighborhood petrol pump on the delivery day because god knows how much fuel it had. The gauge wasn't working.


The disgusting grill

Besides the mechanical gremlins. The car had had a very poor quality overcoat done to it along with which NOT ONE of the electricals was working. Everything was just put in place, but nothing was connected. I drove it the first night without any lights!


My lord, I hated the cheaply painted black wheels and b pillars


Sent off to the mechanic's the following day itself




The oil-based air cleaner




Servicing the brakes and installing new cylinders. Turned out all were jammed and that the car was stopping only due to one cylinder




The oil was in pathetic shape, the tappets were all messed up and the car had a terrible misfire as Cylinder number 3 had no spark. The original Solex carburetor too was in a bad state and the slow jet was clogged. No wonder she was stalling again and again.

This was fixed later in the day as I luckily managed to source new plugs and plug wires for it in record time!


Finally managed to get one of the lights working




A quick night test run

[BeemerBug_06]

A few days later there was a substantial amount of progress on 9199.
I managed to source the correct bulbs, brake light switch, reverse switch etc for it and dropped it off at my electrician's. The work took a good two days to complete.




Let there be Light !




The temperature gauge wasn't working as the cable from behind had been cut off. Same for the speedo. As for the fuel gauge, the tank unit needed to be replaced. Had them started !



A question to the experts - Is this the original meter for a 1990 model or does it belong to an older car? A lot of bits on this car seem to be swapped from other Padminis, hence the confusion.

Post sorting out the electricals. I drove it to the tyre shop to get some new footwear on. The car was running on cross-ply tyres from 1995 which were gone beyond use and driving on them was anything but safe. Since, this is a car that is going to be in regular use, I decided to go for MRF ZTX radial tyres. The radial tyres do make the steering feel a bit heavy, but improve the overall ride quality, braking and handling of the car.








Note the raised rear suspension which was a common practice


With that out of the way, the next task at hand was to get the car some heatlon for the flooring and a carpet set with matting. Else the interior would turn into a furnace. I kid you not, I could see steam wafting into the cabin at night while driving without the matting.













Given the poor condition of the car, the condition of the flooring was a pleasant surprise. I would like the experts to again identify which bits around the interior are original to this car and which have been pulled out of other cars.

[BeemerBug_06]

For the next couple of weeks, I used the car daily and with each drive, I could feel an improvement in the way she drove. The experts hence continuously reiterate that the best way to maintain a Fiat is to keep it running and use it regularly. I also had the tank removed and cleaned during the process.


Thanks to a friend in Bangalore, I managed to source the original PAL grill

Also, a quick trip to the painter's ensured she'd look all clean and fresh once again

Just look at how a simple touch-up transformed her !











How she would have looked back in 1990

[BeemerBug_06]

Here is a follow-up post on the White Padmini.
In continuation to the previous post, I began using the car almost daily and noticed a significant improvement in it over the days especially considering how horrid it was the day I took delivery. Some miscellaneous pics :






During one of the many night drives to Worli Sea Face. I did get a set of wheel caps with the car but they don't seem original as they are plastochrome make and keep falling off whenever put on. So I feel it's best to drive without them lol













With vishy_76's recently acquired Premier President, 9199 was in fact the car that prompted him to get a Fiat of his own

One day while driving, a very strong petrol odor filled the cabin. Of course, a little bit of petrol smell is normal in these older cars. However, this was rather strong, I stopped the car with the assumption that the petrol pipe would have a leak somewhere. To my surprise, it was a leak from the fuel pump diaphragm, it seemed to have been cracked. So without further ado, I got a new one from a local shop. It wasn't the original make unfortunately but one made by a company called PTM. While I'd much preferred to put the original, in times like this, it's best to get what's available and move on.

Besides that, I realised that the radiator had a crack at the bottom and was leaking water out. Visited a reputed radiator specialist who suggested that it was best to replace it. Hence, I put a bigger radiator from an AC padmini for better cooling. Sadly don't have a picture.


Out with the old


In with the new !

Once this was done, the car drove fine for a few days and then all of a sudden began misbehaving. The jerking was back, paired with sporadic idling and the carburetor would occasionally flood causing the car to stall. That meant the one and only Ravi, who meticulously maintains my Zen and other cars and has spent his lifetime repairing fiats and the likes needed to be called in.

One look at the car and he said it is running like crap and needed a carburetor service and tune-up urgently. I abided by what he said and got a repair kit as soon as I could. The repair kits these days aren't of the best quality, but again had to make do with it.




No wonder this car had begun misbehaving. The innards of the carburetor had enough dust mixed with corrosion inside to build a building. We then went ahead with the procedure of taking it apart, then cleaning everything including the jets and other components, leaving them soaked in brake oil overnight, and assembling it together the following evening.

In the process, we also cleaned up the tappet cover from the inside as it had tonnes of soot and gunk stuck to it. Along with adding a new tappet cover gasket. Clear indications that this car had been neglected and not cared for.




After long-drawn scrubbing with diesel


Finally, it is all back together

Once everything was back together, Ravi did a quick adjustment for the carburetor and set the tappets. On starting the car, it sounded like a different car altogether. Gone were all the occasional vibrations and sputtering and it revved much smoother too! He told me to take it for a small spin and come back, post which he would further fine-tune the carb and tappets.

Post the fine-tuning, the car was almost inaudible on idle. It had now become a proper hoot to drive. It would start in half a crank as it should, pick up easily in second gear from a standstill, and whatnot. The only annoying thing left was the leaky exhaust. Mind you, it did sound cool at times, but I had to get it resolved. Ravi too assured, that post changing the exhaust, the car would become much much smoother.

The following day, I visited Automech to see if the existing exhaust could be salvaged. One look at it and they said it was gone beyond repair and a new exhaust was in order. Thankfully, there was not much rush at their workshop that day, so I got the job done then itself.










The gone case exhaust. A shoddy welding job had been done to it at some point.

Post the exhaust change, I cannot express how amazing the car felt. It almost felt like a new car. Ok maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration. But I'm sure many of you would understand what I mean. The difference between how the car was when I took it out of its uncared and neglected state to how it drives now is more than the difference of night and day.

This semi-restoration hasn't been the easiest. Parts have been costlier than expected and not all that easy to get. But it has definitely been one of the most fun and enriching projects I have taken up and I have learnt so much from it. BIG WIN

The car NOW drives (and stops:P) like an absolute dream. I can confidently say that it can be driven anywhere and come back without any hassles. Onto the cosmetics and bodywork now!

[justin.das]

Originally Posted by BeemerBug_06

Here is a follow-up post on the White Padmini.

Attachment 2442026

Attachment 2442027
After long-drawn scrubbing with diesel

That valve cover is of the S1 model, 1990 Models came with plain valve covers.
S1 came with M32 Bisca carb and yours is running M32BIC.S1 had a distributor with vacuum advance.

[funkykar]

@BeemerBug_06, lovely reading about your car and the semi-restoration. You have really transformed her into a good runner. Congratulations!

What are your posts doing here on PP Technical information thread? Your posts together deserve to be a separate ownership thread. Just report one of your posts, mention the post numbers, and ask mods to make it a new thread.

[BeemerBug_06]

Originally Posted by justin.das

That valve cover is of the S1 model, 1990 Models came with plain valve covers.
S1 came with M32 Bisca carb and yours is running M32BIC.S1 had a distributor with vacuum advance.

Wow, I had not the slightest clue about this. As I've mentioned a lot of parts on this car aren't original to it and have been pulled out of other cars by someone who meddled with it either during the overcoat or during the owner's absence as he's a Navy officer who's away on the ship most of the times. Interesting to know about the S1 Tappet cover, my mechanic Ravi too did mention the same So, is the carb original or that has been changed too ?
Sadly, I have no idea about the actual history of the car. Hope I can meet the original owner someday.

Originally Posted by funkykar

@BeemerBug_06, lovely reading about your car and the semi-restoration. You have really transformed her into a good runner. Congratulations!

What are your posts doing here on PP Technical information thread? Your posts together deserve to be a separate ownership thread. Just report one of your posts, mention the post numbers, and ask mods to make it a new thread.

Thanks Funky, yeah that's a good idea, I'll do it right away

[justin.das]

Originally Posted by BeemerBug_06

Interesting to know about the S1 Tappet cover, my mechanic Ravi too did mention the same So, is the carb original, or that has been changed too?

Carb is not original to S1 but it's original to a 1990s Padmini so first we need to identify which engine it is S1 or Padmini Deluxe! Can you share a couple of pics of your intake /exhaust manifold and exhaust pipe? is your exhaust manifold 4 * 2 or 4 * 1 ?.

[Aditya]

Restoring a 1990 Premier Padmini Deluxe BE - Posts moved to a new thread.

[CEF_Beasts]

Got an opportunity to finally meet (long-time pending) Vishy76 and his recently acquired Premier President on Monday.

I must say you guys are really doing a great job finding these cars and restoring them! Wish I could do the same. The amount of knowledge Vishy76 has on the Premier left me spellbound, and the background story was very enthralling to listen to as well. He did tell me how the 9199 inspired him to get one of his own.

He took me on a drive to SoBo in his President, and it was the most entertaining drive I have been in, sitting as a passenger, in a long time! The breeze blowing in our faces on the BWSL was something else as well, in the world where we just drive with the AC on in other cars. Everyone and I mean everyone turns back not once but twice to look at the car!

He was asked at many traffic lights how old the car was, and one young couple were walking by as Vishy76 was turning the car around at Churchgate, the man said wish I could get one of these some day to his girl! Definitely grabs more attention than even super-cars do.

Leaving just one photo of Vishy76’s Premier President that I clicked that night, waiting for him to post a thread on his car :

[RGK]

Greetings on your successful recovery. You are without a doubt one of those people who must exercise patience in order to finish it. As there have been so many Fiats in Mumbai over the years, I believe there are more spare parts available there than elsewhere.

[Ketan_R15]

Excellent!

I am not sure, but I think I saw you and the car yesterday evening, at Bhagat Lane, Matunga - near Magnum auto. Very interesting thread this is.

[BeemerBug_06]

Originally Posted by CEF_Beasts

Got an opportunity to finally meet (long-time pending) Vishy76 and his recently acquired Premier President on Monday.

I must say you guys are really doing a great job finding these cars and restoring them! Wish I could do the same.

Thanks CEF ! Do meet up again sometime soon, we shall go for a spin in 9199. The President and 9199 may be the same car essentially, but both are strikingly different. Would be happy to spend an evening repeating the same drive route in 9199

Originally Posted by RGK

Greetings on your successful recovery. You are without a doubt one of those people who must exercise patience in order to finish it. As there have been so many Fiats in Mumbai over the years, I believe there are more spare parts available there than elsewhere.

You're absolutely right about the patience part. Although the thread may make it look like I had the restoration work done in a matter of days, it has been a long drawn out process which has spanned over two months and I can confidently say we are almost halfway there. With regard to parts, NO, they aren't as easy to come by as you think. Yes, it's true that Mumbai had a lot of these cars due to Kaali-Peelis running around till a few years back, but finding good quality original parts is now not easy anymore. Plus they are not exactly cheap anymore either. Anyway, every car has it's UPs and DOWNs.

Originally Posted by Ketan_R15

Excellent!

I am not sure, but I think I saw you and the car yesterday evening, at Bhagat Lane, Matunga - near Magnum auto. Very interesting thread this is.

Hey !!
That was indeed me. I do live in the vicinity and all my go-to auto shops are around there too. Next time, come say hello

[Jeroen]

Fantastic! Great to see this lovely little car fully restored to its former glory!

Hats off to you Sir!

Jeroen

[vigsom]

Originally Posted by BeemerBug_06

identify which bits around the interior are original to this car and which have been pulled out of other cars.

Man, your thread rekindled ol' memories yet again. The corrosive deposits in the carb barrel (in my case there was gunk on the carb top too), setting the tappets, etc. were all stuff that I've done myself, of course under guidance of my guru who was better known as Chacha.

Originally Posted by vigsom

- 1990 Premier Padmini “tip top condition” – was tastefully done up in Mughlai velvet. But the engine was weak.
- 1990 Premier Padmini with the manager – engine was fantastic but there was too much corrosion on the body. AC wasn’t working.

There were three Padminis there

• 1990 non AC
• 1993 AC with a simple console, factory seats plus AC
• 1993 AC with the LED cum clock console, wiper and headlight stalks like the Maruti, velvet seats, additional lights plus AC

Quoting from my earlier thread, it looks like 9199 was manufactured just before the lighting stalks made it into the Padmini, or maybe the car was a late 1989 or a very early 1990 manufactured unit. I say this because I remember (from 1998) when I'd gone to see three examples at a Textile House in Surat,

1. one of the three, a 1990 had conventional stalks, the conventional meter. However, don't remember if the ignition switch was below the console
2. A 1993 model (regn. no. 2641) also had a conventional meter
3. Of the several Padminis I saw, I've also seen the funky meter (clock, LEDs, etc.) on two 1990 examples, a 1992, and my own 1993 one too. This console sported a single coupler at the rear so I believe the one on 9199 was stock.

Lighting and Wiper Control Stalks plus the ignition switch below the console are visible here


The funky console


Plus, 9199 sports a stock rear seat with stock lining while the driver seat has been re-lined