Thread Starter
#61
Re: Is Maruti 1000 Good Car For Commercial Restoration Project?
The sad update:
Finished my regular office work & reached home at 4.15am & had a big glass of coffee & waited eagerly for the sun to rise. Sharp 7.10am I reached his home & greeted the owner with a big smile. My friends younger brother who currently uses the car got the car out of the narrow street & then I took the car for a 2Km spin & noticed the below things
Positives:
1. No rattling
2. No power steering issues
3. Car starts with a single crank
4. Tyres are ok for another few thousand kms (Michelin)
5. Clutch is normal
6. No vibrations, no belt noise etc
7. No major concerns about rusting
8. Drive shaft - no issues
-ves:
1. Engine oil is everywhere on the engine block
2. 5th gear is hard to engage
3. Although no rusting, there is lot of mud in the car
4. Interiors are in pathetic condition (seats are okay, its the floor)
5. The floor carpet is kind of torn in a few areas & mud has entered the gap between the carpet & the floor
6. All wipers in bad shape
7. Water leaking through rear door (right) rubber gasket
8. Front right HL & Rear Left tail lamp is colourless & needs replacement
9. Indicator stalk has some issues
10 Horn pad needs excessive force to honk
11 wires all over in engine bay
12. the steel mesh sort of thing on the exhaust pipe is hanging too low from car (rubs everywhere hump) & leaks exhaust gases from there
13. Sportier exhaust note thanks to rusted holes in the muffler
& the list goes on & on...
The shocking fact is that the car runs beautifully as if nothing is wrong with the car! The tappet cover gasket is leaking oil on all sides (including the area where spark plugs are there).
There are multiple sources of oil leak (on gear box side too). Timing belt cover (black plastic) is also very lose. I realised that this car needs restoration & not temporary repairs! I told the owner that the car badly needs the head cover gasket & tappet cover gasket replaced, apart from intensive interior cleaning & paint job. I cannot take up this task with the kind of setup I have at present, this car is not at all my cup of tea (for now). Moreover I cant replace the engine oil & send it back knowing that all of that oil will pour drop by drop to the road in the next few hundred kms.
I could not digest to see the car in such a state & shared a few thoughts about what a Fiat is all about & told him if he is interested to sell it (whenever) I should be informed first.
They hardly use the car my prediction was right (less than 200kms per month). His willingness to spend on the car is also low (lower than my guess). I told him not to do any minor/temp servicing, just get hold of the oil leak & the rest can follow. My advice lasted over an hour, key points I said to him were
1. 3M interior care - even they will sweat it like hell before completing this one. (2000/-)
2. Fiat Service centre - gasket replace + general service + wipers change + sorting & fixing wires in engine bay + Full AC service etc (8000/-)
Finally came back home at crawling speeds with the highest degree of disappointment in my face & heart.
The sad update:
Finished my regular office work & reached home at 4.15am & had a big glass of coffee & waited eagerly for the sun to rise. Sharp 7.10am I reached his home & greeted the owner with a big smile. My friends younger brother who currently uses the car got the car out of the narrow street & then I took the car for a 2Km spin & noticed the below things
Positives:
1. No rattling
2. No power steering issues
3. Car starts with a single crank
4. Tyres are ok for another few thousand kms (Michelin)
5. Clutch is normal
6. No vibrations, no belt noise etc
7. No major concerns about rusting
8. Drive shaft - no issues
-ves:
1. Engine oil is everywhere on the engine block
2. 5th gear is hard to engage
3. Although no rusting, there is lot of mud in the car
4. Interiors are in pathetic condition (seats are okay, its the floor)
5. The floor carpet is kind of torn in a few areas & mud has entered the gap between the carpet & the floor
6. All wipers in bad shape
7. Water leaking through rear door (right) rubber gasket
8. Front right HL & Rear Left tail lamp is colourless & needs replacement
9. Indicator stalk has some issues
10 Horn pad needs excessive force to honk
11 wires all over in engine bay
12. the steel mesh sort of thing on the exhaust pipe is hanging too low from car (rubs everywhere hump) & leaks exhaust gases from there
13. Sportier exhaust note thanks to rusted holes in the muffler
& the list goes on & on...
The shocking fact is that the car runs beautifully as if nothing is wrong with the car! The tappet cover gasket is leaking oil on all sides (including the area where spark plugs are there).
There are multiple sources of oil leak (on gear box side too). Timing belt cover (black plastic) is also very lose. I realised that this car needs restoration & not temporary repairs! I told the owner that the car badly needs the head cover gasket & tappet cover gasket replaced, apart from intensive interior cleaning & paint job. I cannot take up this task with the kind of setup I have at present, this car is not at all my cup of tea (for now). Moreover I cant replace the engine oil & send it back knowing that all of that oil will pour drop by drop to the road in the next few hundred kms.
I could not digest to see the car in such a state & shared a few thoughts about what a Fiat is all about & told him if he is interested to sell it (whenever) I should be informed first.
They hardly use the car my prediction was right (less than 200kms per month). His willingness to spend on the car is also low (lower than my guess). I told him not to do any minor/temp servicing, just get hold of the oil leak & the rest can follow. My advice lasted over an hour, key points I said to him were
1. 3M interior care - even they will sweat it like hell before completing this one. (2000/-)
2. Fiat Service centre - gasket replace + general service + wipers change + sorting & fixing wires in engine bay + Full AC service etc (8000/-)
Finally came back home at crawling speeds with the highest degree of disappointment in my face & heart.
Last edited:
![[;)]](https://www.theautomotiveindia.com/forums/images/smilies/Wink.gif "Wink [;)]")
![[:D]](https://www.theautomotiveindia.com/forums/images/smilies/Big%20Smile.gif "Big Smile [:D]")