Hindustan Motors Contessa was once a popular sedan in the Indian market, considered a status symbol by many families. It was based on the Vauxhall VX Series sedan and is often considered a vintage car in India. Due to its long bonnet and boxy design, people even refer to it as a muscle car, but it is nothing more than a premium sedan. However, the major reason people think of it as a muscle car is simply because of its boxy styling. Even today, many people have a Contessa sedan in their garage, and while most of them have modified it, there are still some owners who have maintained the car in its stock condition.
A video has been shared by RetroClassicsindia on their YouTube channel, showing a rusty old HM Contessa that has been neatly restored to its original condition. In the video, we see the rusty old Contessa sedan being brought to the workshop, looking like someone had started working on the car and then abandoned it midway. The car had aftermarket alloy wheels and finished bodywork, but it was completely stripped down, and the dashboard and seats were covered in dust and rust.
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Once the car was brought to the workshop, the team worked extensively to bring it back to its glory. The video does not show the restoration process. As mentioned above, the original paint was completely stripped, and the metal panels on the car had some surface rust. The team would have ideally started working from there, removing all the rust both outside and inside. After removing the rust, they would have applied a coat of putty or primer on the car to protect the metal panels. Once this was done, they would have applied a thin coat of putty on the panels to achieve the character lines. Excess putty would have been removed using a sander, and once the desired finish is achieved, the whole car is cleaned and then sent for painting.
The car is neatly painted, and then a gloss finish is achieved by a detailing process. The finish of the paint done on this sedan looks good. It is not the best; however, it is better than many that we have seen online. The car is painted in a shade of blue, which looks elegant on the car. The interior of the car was also revamped and restored as part of the project. The dashboard was restored, and the AC vents on this car are different from the stock; they look similar to the ones seen on AMGs. The dashboard design looks the same as before, painted in black, and the steering wheel is stock too.
The door pads, door handles, and seats were all restored. The seats were wrapped in brown-colored leatherette material, giving it a retro premium look. The car does not have any modern infotainment system in it, indicating that the owner wanted to restore it to its original condition. According to the video, the engine on this Contessa is a 2.2-liter turbo diesel unit, but the power and torque specifications of this engine are not known.
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The post Rusty old Hindustan Contessa neatly restored to look brand new [Video] first appeared on Cartoq.
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