78 Year-old Indian Grandpa Drives His 70 Year-Old Fiat To Khardungla – World’s Highest Motorable Road [Video]

Driving to the mountains in a modern, technologically advanced car is extremely easy for anyone. Many have driven their cars to the highest motorable passes in the world, Umling La and Khardung La, in the past. Several factors, including good roads, work in favor of these cars. It may be an easy job for modern cars, but that is not the case for vintage or classic cars. They often face issues due to their age. Here we have a video of a 78-year-old grandpa from India, who drove his 70-year-old Fiat 500C to Khardung La.

The videos have been shared by Dayakaran Vlogs on their YouTube channel. In this video, we see the vlogger talk to Mr. Amarjeet Singh Sodhi, the owner of the 70+ year-old Fiat 500C vintage car.

Amarjeet Singh Sodhi himself is 78 years old. In the video, the vlogger asks Mr. Sodhi about the idea and experience of driving to one of the highest motorable passes in the world.

Khardung La was once the highest motorable road in the world, but that title now belongs to Umling La. Mr. Sodhi drove the car from Chandigarh to Khardung La and back to Chandigarh.

It took him 15 days to complete the whole trip. Talking about the video, Mr. Sodhi says that the Fiat 500C was his first car, which he had bought from a doctor in Delhi.

He has owned the car for decades, and as it is over 50 years old, it is classified as a vintage car. Before embarking on the trip, he had the vehicle inspected by his mechanic.

The carburetor and other parts were tuned to ensure they wouldn’t create issues during the trip. The tyres on this car are not tubeless. He has had Yokohama tyres on the car for almost 15 years, and they are still in good condition.

Surprisingly, Mr. Sodhi didn’t even get a puncture during his trip. Since he himself works on his cars, this gave him an advantage. He knows his car inside out and only calls for a mechanic when major work is required. He drove the car to the hills, managing to reach Khardung La within five days.

On his way, many people approached him for photographs, as you don’t see such cars on the road every day. The small 500-cc engine in the Fiat was reliable and never caused a problem during the trip. The engine didn’t overheat even once, and he never faced any issues, even at higher altitudes.

He traveled in the Fiat 500C, while his family, including his son and wife, traveled in a Honda CR-V. This is not the first time he has taken his cars on such mountain road trips. Before driving to Khardung La, he drove his Fiat to five other hill stations. He also drove the car to Rajasthan as part of a vintage car rally.

He also shares several other stories and memories about the car, including the time when he bargained with the previous owner of the car before buying it.