Introduction
Bought this car in April, 2023 from its first owner who had it for close to 50 years. I don't regard this as a full blown resto yet. I have been trying to work on the car myself as much as possible.
She's essentially a Fiat 1100D 103H with very minor cosmetic differences to the international spec car and a few changes to the fuel and ignition system. The 1100D was manufactured by Fiat in India from 1965 to 1972 as a CKD under the same name. However, in 1972, due to licensing issues, a company named "The Premier Automobiles Limited" started making these and named them the "President".
This too didn't last too long since some Indian bureacrat took offense to the "President" name and thus in 1975, the car was renamed as the "Padmini". Phew!
The 1100D was manufactured from 1965 to 2000 by Premier. That's a 35 year long market run, thanks to the fact that the government made it very difficult for other international manufacturers to enter India. The 1100D and the Morris Oxford (called the Ambassador in India) pretty much ruled the roads undettered for this period. The car was massively popular especially in the financial capital of Bombay for its ruggedness, simplicity and it's load hauling ability. It became a hit among taxi drivers to the point that upto 60,000 of these were plying on the roads at one point in the city!
My car sports the same 1100cc engine as it's international sibling, however, it gets a Solex 32PBIC carburettor (I am currently running a BIC) in the interest of fuel economy instead of a Weber. The distributor was originally a Magneti Marelli unit, however, those had pathetic reliability and parts were hard to source even back in the day. So a TVS Lucas 23D4 takes its place.
The gearbox is the exact same as the international spec car. A 4 speed gearbox with synchros for the 2nd, 3rd and 4th gears. The driveline is composed of a single piece prop shaft with the handbrake mechanism integrated into the rear drums (I believe some 1100s had it on the prop shaft itself).
She's essentially a Fiat 1100D 103H with very minor cosmetic differences to the international spec car and a few changes to the fuel and ignition system. The 1100D was manufactured by Fiat in India from 1965 to 1972 as a CKD under the same name. However, in 1972, due to licensing issues, a company named "The Premier Automobiles Limited" started making these and named them the "President".
This too didn't last too long since some Indian bureacrat took offense to the "President" name and thus in 1975, the car was renamed as the "Padmini". Phew!
The 1100D was manufactured from 1965 to 2000 by Premier. That's a 35 year long market run, thanks to the fact that the government made it very difficult for other international manufacturers to enter India. The 1100D and the Morris Oxford (called the Ambassador in India) pretty much ruled the roads undettered for this period. The car was massively popular especially in the financial capital of Bombay for its ruggedness, simplicity and it's load hauling ability. It became a hit among taxi drivers to the point that upto 60,000 of these were plying on the roads at one point in the city!
My car sports the same 1100cc engine as it's international sibling, however, it gets a Solex 32PBIC carburettor (I am currently running a BIC) in the interest of fuel economy instead of a Weber. The distributor was originally a Magneti Marelli unit, however, those had pathetic reliability and parts were hard to source even back in the day. So a TVS Lucas 23D4 takes its place.
The gearbox is the exact same as the international spec car. A 4 speed gearbox with synchros for the 2nd, 3rd and 4th gears. The driveline is composed of a single piece prop shaft with the handbrake mechanism integrated into the rear drums (I believe some 1100s had it on the prop shaft itself).
