BHPian Vishnu Shaji recently shared this with other enthusiasts: It’s been a while since my last update here. The accident, which at the time felt like a sudden full stop in what had been a joyful ownership journey. But cars, like stories, deserve second acts. So, here’s the long-overdue continuation of this thread, with all the work, fixes, and TLC that’s gone into getting my Alto back on its feet… or should I say, on its wheels. I’d been meaning to restore the Alto to its former glory for a while. This incident, although stressful at the time, felt like the perfect moment to get everything sorted in one go. I went ahead and replaced the front bumper and right fender that were damaged in the accident, and followed it up with a full respray in the same shade. This was the first bumper bought, forgot it was the facelift one, and replaced this with the right part. Part Number: 71711M79G00-5PK Part Number: 57611M79G00 Test fit to align the panels! Next, it was time to strip out the interiors. I wasn’t sure what shape things were in, so I figured it’s best to strip it down and clean everything – just in case there was any rust lurking inside. Stripping was the easiest part, I must say! The moment I saw this, I knew I had made the right call This was the damage to the frame – nothing major or alarming. Considering the force with which the scooter hit, I’d say it absorbed the impact surprisingly well At Colour Lounge, Thiruvallam. Kannan Bhai and Vishnu are my go-to people when it comes to bodywork and painting. They just do a phenomenal job. Body work in progress! A fair amount of putty went into even out the damaged areas, but most of it was later sanded back to ensure a smooth, clean surface for the paint to sit on. More work than I expected! Rather than pulling out the engine to paint the bay, we chose to mask off the area carefully and get the job done with the engine in place. One less thing to worry about! Finally, it all started coming together – and the bling was back! We decided to stick with the factory shade, Coral Beige. It’s a colour I’ve always loved, and from what I’ve read on a few forums, it was exclusive to the 1.1 Some serious weight reduction! In the meantime, I went on a bit of a shopping spree! Picked up new headlights, taillights, ORVMs, interior panels, seat belt buckles, all the rubber beadings, and even a fresh floor mat – grabbed them while they were still available. The plastic lock sets for the panels were still available, so I bought them all brand new, in various sizes and quantities as required Finally, the car was starting to look glorious again! I picked up a set of used 13″ wheels and had them resprayed in the meantime. They looked good, but felt quite heavy, so I began exploring other options. While hunting for alternatives, I came across an ad for a set of unused wheels. I liked the design right away and got in touch with the seller. The catch? The wheels were in Calicut, about 500-600 km from me. After learning that they had never been mounted on a car and had been sitting in storage since the shop went out of business, I called up a few friends. They were kind enough to personally check the wheels for me. As luck would have it, one friend was travelling from Kozhikode to Kollam in the following days, and everything fell into place – he brought them along until Kollam. Since Kollam is just about an hour’s drive from my place, I made the trip and picked them up myself. Got a set of Bridgestone MY-02 in 165/60/13 A friend’s Figo stepped in as the transporter! Made a quick run to the alignment shop to get everything dialled in for the new tyres and alloys. You might also notice the rear wiper arm has been upgraded to Celerio’s for a cleaner, more modern look. Took it for a quick highway run to make sure everything was working perfectly. Back in all her glory! Check out BHPian comments for more insights an information.
