Armadillo - A Hard Top for the Mahindra Thar

[GTO]

High Points as received from the company:

- Exterior has a matte black smudge resistant finish.

- Fitted with two layers of sound and vibration dampening lining, with grey as the standard color. Both interior and exterior colors can be customized if the customer so wishes.

- The fiberglass is treated with a special UV blocking chemical before paint, to ensure no cracks or wear from the sun.

- Two options of fitting; one at their factory, or you can have it shipped to you. All components and hardware are fitted and pre-assembled before shipping. Fitting tools are supplied.

- Except for 2 holes at the rear of the jeep and 4 sets of holes for the latches, no other drilling is required. The existing mounting points of the standard soft top are used to fit the hard top.

- Two Models : Traditional 1 piece or a 2 piece top. The one-piece covers the B-pillar. The two-piece leaves the B-pillar exposed with a front half that is removable using 4 latches.

- The rear is held on by 10 bolts which are also removable.

- The 1 piece will cost Rs. 65,000 and the 2 piece is for Rs. 85,000.

- Contact information:
Manas @ +9900246668 / manas@rakshasindustries.com
Abhishek @ +9538973501 / abhishek@rakshasindustries.com

Related Threads

- Thar Review (Mahindra Thar : Test Drive & Review)

- Hard-Top Design (Thar Hardtop Design)

[rajeev k]

From front and sides looks quite good, but rear doesn't gel well with the Thar. Perhaps the shape of the rear glass is the look spoiler and the glass if mounted upside down would have turned it into a beauty. From the sides the rear hatch inclination is well angled but from rear something is amiss. I know looks are subjective. But still.

[scopriobharath]

Is the glass removale / tiltable or is it a 2 piece rear door like in a Skoda superb ?

I mean can we open the rear glass and door to get our from the rear or do we need to use the front door to do so ?

[Durango Dude]

Looks pretty crude and the interior's look cruder and with all the sharp jagged edges and naked hinges. Wonder who buy's these contraptions, probably "knight's in shining armour": to prevent getting scratched by the sharp edges. For a 9L one has come to expect a certain level of refinement. OK, OK I heard it: it's 4X4, short wheel base, go anywhere, which is going to spend most of the time on "T(h)armac"; agreed it's a 'niche' product, there's no rule saying the niche product needn't be a little refined. It will surely make the Bolero proud. Interior's remind me of the Sipani D-1, last 'crude' car I have owned.

[scopriobharath]

I also feel that the prices are pretty much on the higher side. 85,000 is approximately 15% of the vehicle cost. We must test the quality of the same. Is it leak proof and as stated, if we park in sun for months together, is it really crack resistant ?

Any reviews from someone who has used it would be helpful

[SPIKE ARRESTOR]

Originally Posted by GTO

- Two Models : Traditional 1 piece or a 2 piece top. The one-piece sits flat on the chassis and covers the B-pillar.

I think the part in bold has been wrongly stated (by mistake), if true, please correct in the original post.

Manas, please convey my regards to Abhishek. Having seen what you guys went through, I salute your efforts. Hope it meets your expectations. BTW, how much does the HT weigh (single and double all inclusive)? You can either tell me the vehicle kerb weight, I will find out the rest.

Spike

[manasm]

Originally Posted by scopriobharath

Is the glass removale / tiltable or is it a 2 piece rear door like in a Skoda superb ?

I mean can we open the rear glass and door to get our from the rear or do we need to use the front door to do so ?

The rear door is openable...and can be used for egress/ingress.

Spike - nice to hear from you!

Thanks a bunch for your support, advice and help during the whole process.

The sits flat on the chassis - sorry! this was my mistake as it was supposed to be for the 2 piece and not the 1 piece.

Regards,
Manas

Originally Posted by SPIKE ARRESTOR

I think the part in bold has been wrongly stated (by mistake), if true, please correct in the original post.

Manas, please convey my regards to Abhishek. Having seen what you guys went through, I salute your efforts. Hope it meets your expectations. BTW, how much does the HT weigh (single and double all inclusive)? You can either tell me the vehicle kerb weight, I will find out the rest.

Spike

I agree the top is a little crude - but not as bad as you think. The crudeness also due to the crudeness of the Thar interiors - lots of metal around.

There are no sharp edges on the interior of the top except for the locking mechanism which is covered with a pad.

Can you quickly hightlight which naked hinges and sharp edges you see on the pictures?

Will help us fix/improve on our work.

Thanks,
Manas

Originally Posted by Durango Dude

Looks pretty crude and the interior's look cruder and with all the sharp jagged edges and naked hinges. Wonder who buy's these contraptions, probably "knight's in shining armour": to prevent getting scratched by the sharp edges. For a 9L one has come to expect a certain level of refinement. OK, OK I heard it: it's 4X4, short wheel base, go anywhere, which is going to spend most of the time on "T(h)armac"; agreed it's a 'niche' product, there's no rule saying the niche product needn't be a little refined. It will surely make the Bolero proud. Interior's remind me of the Sipani D-1, last 'crude' car I have owned.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by SPIKE ARRESTOR

I think the part in bold has been wrongly stated (by mistake), if true, please correct in the original post.

Thanks, correction has been made.

I do agree that the pricing is expensive and, personally, I'd just stick with the soft-top. If properly insulated, and as I have found out, an air-conditioner can be very effective even in a soft-top Jeep. Of course, the security is higher with a hard-top.

Manas, there appear to be many rough edges with some parts looking very crude. I hope you use this feedback to improve the overall fit & finish.

[figo_mba]

I think the looks are blunted somewhat with the hardtop. I think the soft top was better. To this I would like to add that if there were alloy wheel then the looks would have changed.
In the rear side the glass is spoiling the looks and certainly having alloy wheels for spare tyre is going to spruce up the looks.
The stuff is also on a bit costlier side too.
Hey it might look good on a white Thar.

[DirtyDan]

Would you sell just the front piece to people? I might like to fab a steel rear top with a heavy duty cargo rack on top for long distance trekking but I like the front piece.

[MileCruncher]

Good looking HT for the THAR.

As already stated, there seems to be some rough edges. BTW how much load can the roof hold?

Cheers

[vnambiar]

Glad too see the effort fructify to good looking product. We have seen your product evolve and perhaps appreciate it more. Keep up.

I suggest you paint the thar interiors, since scars of working on hard top are visible and makes it look crude. Wish pricing was better to have appealed wider audience.

[manasm]

@Dirtydan - yes...I can send you just the front. PM me for details.

@Milecruncher - the roof can hold about 60 to 70kgs. It is reinforced.

@Vnambiar - already given for repaint. Will be picking it up tomorrow. Am going for the Bangalore OTR in Jan so will probably get scratched up again.

Regards,
Manas

[FerozKhan]

Looks good, pioneering effort is always the most difficult, looks like this design will evolve further in the hands of the makers and others across the country who will emulate it

[magrathean]

Has anyone tried taking off the factory fitted soft-top and re-installing it back?
Taking a cursory look at what one needs to remove the soft-top, I unscrewed
the 6 nuts just above the front seats.
But then, I didn't realise that the soft-top is hooked onto the frame above the
doors on either side, using fragile rivets. And putting these back on seems a herculean task! (See picture)

Any experience taking the soft-top and putting it back on will be good to know.

Thanks