My Older Jeeps

[anjan_c2007]

I can recollect that I had a Mahindra CJ500D diesel Jeep , with the MD2350 International engine.It was very crude for a diesel, the crudest ever. The engine NVH levels were the highest ever for any Indian automobile (sorry the Jawa/Yezdi 250 competes with the CJ500D). But the jeep was very, very dependable. Parts were available anywhere , even in the rural areas and any mechanic would repair it well.
This vehicle is unique and is made to run without any battery support.It had a Lucas dynamo (alternator used to be fitted in the CJ 3B/ CJ 4A's) for recharging the battery.Now whenever my battery conked off, the jeep could be either jump started or pushed for the start.Being in a rural area, it could be a few days before I could go to get a new battery.On chilly mornings the start would be a tedious process as the heater would'nt function.Petrol jeeps (CJ 3B and CJ 4A) when push started take hardly any effort much like petrol cars.
And believe me , the CJ 500D would run for hundreds of kms without any battery. It just does'nt need one to aid the diesel ignition process.The horn, indicators,lights and the heater did not work.So just like many modern bikes, where the battery backs up the self , indicators and horn (the headlights are magneto powered) the CJ 500D would run tirelessly.Even the Royal Enfield Bullet engine cannot run minus a battery as the DC current aids the ignition process. The CJ 500D's engine noise was so prominent that seldom any horn was needed.Night driving would have to be avoided.
The 540DP that replaced the CJ500D had a rotary fuel pump for the 2112cc Peugeot 540DP engine and this fuel pump needed the battery. So no liberties could be taken on the new jeep.There is nothing to beat the CJ 500D for rural duties in India.Its a MULE and needs very little care if at all.
Got pictures of two old ones. The three pictures below are of the steel grey 1980 (CJ 4A petrol) model and the fourth one the light smoke grey 540DP is a 1999 model.Note the ugly black and red stickers put by me on that 1980 jeep.I am yet to get the CJ 500D pictures whose body is the same as the CJ 4A petrol but for the heater within, the protrusion of the engine within the front passenger compartment reducing the leg space for the front passenger seated at the centre.
I have driven this CJ 4a @ 110 kmph at full throttle. It had a Solex carburetter and the 2.5 L Hurricane petrol engine. The spare parts were not very widely available as compared to the diesels.


My pet Alsatian dog (female) Sony (1982-1996) who is no more, alongside.
The picture below of a later date, shows that the jeep is serviced and polished. I had also fitted side indicators on the bonnet and had got the wiring job done, connecting it to the front and rear indicators.The chrome has been given monsoon protection

[anjan_c2007]

MODS I feel the 4X4 off roading section will be more suitable for this thread and hence may please be shifted there.

[susan3004]

The size of the jeep is equal to the MAJOR?
Did the engine require heating or is it the XDP engine which required it?

[anjan_c2007]

Originally Posted by susan3004

The size of the jeep is equal to the MAJOR?
Did the engine require heating or is it the XDP engine which required it?

Yes susan the Major essentially has the same CJ 4A/CJ500D bodyshell.The MDI 2350 (Mahindra Diesel International) engine needed lots of battery aided heating to start up during cold winter mornings.As you may know this engine was from the International tractor (now made by M&M) which they planted into the CJ4A bodyshell with minimal modifications to put a best-seller viz. the CJ 500D, in the market by 1975-76, after the 1973 oil shock, when the petrol prices had nearly risen by 75 to 80 %.
The 2112 cc, 540DP Peugeot engine too needs the heater for cold starts.

[Alfa_Kilo]

Originally Posted by susan3004

The size of the jeep is equal to the MAJOR?
Did the engine require heating or is it the XDP engine which required it?

The CJ500D need preheating as the MD2350 was an IDI engine. The CJ500DI with MD2500 did not need a heater.

[anjan_c2007]

the Solex carburettors had a brass screw with a cylindrical brass mesh petrol filter on its lower front side. In rural areas quality of the fuel being what it is, often the carb's slow jet or this filter used to get clogged with dirt and block petrol supply. The slow jet blockage used to create idling problems. Even the fuel pumps would get heated in summer and would create problems. many components used their VETO power on these old petrol jeeps, CJ4A and the CJ 3B. The CJ 500D and later the MM540DP and now my Bolero were/ are largely free from such niggling problems.