[S@~+#0$#]

Lovely Jeep Gaurav. Mods have been very thoughtfully executed. Well Done !!! Most importantly, it is being driven the way it should be.

Originally Posted by DirtyDan

Its even got Yosemite Sam "Back Off" mudflaps. Now that's class!

Was about to say the same thing. Classy Mudflaps .
I have seen these on a fully modified Gypsy long time ago and always wanted a pair of these (for keeps until I buy a Jeep or SUV). Thanks DirtyDan, now that I know what it is called, will order a pair from the US.

[GTO]

This is the thread that I was waiting for! Your Jeep is amongst the best 340's in India.....a really serious offroader. I like your spirit in modifying her and consistently making her better and better. The attention to detail is commendable. As they say, a Jeep only evolves with time, in the hands of an enthusiastic owner.

Thanks for the detailed pictures & writeup, Gaurav. This, I tell you, is only the beginning.

Mahindra wanted to gift a very special Jeep to a senior executive of theirs, who was on the verge of retirement. I believe they toyed around with the idea of plonking a Scorpio engine in a Classic but backed out. You know what they finally did? Work started on a bare MM540 chassis which was altered, strengthed and shorted to the Classic's wheelbase. They then plonked the Scorpio engine on it, and later the Classic's body!!! Anyways, coming back to your Jeep:

1. How do you find the offroad performance? Say...compared to your MM550?

2. Can you abuse her as much as a stock layout? Is the stress on the chassis and drivetrain from the 2.6 anything to worry about?

3. What is the output of your modified 2.6?

4. How is the overall reliability? How many days in the shop per year? I presume you have sorted the beast out, going by your offroading pictures in the middle of nowhere!

Originally Posted by RedMM340

Yes, the brake pedals are old fashioned through the flood type. Did not install a booster. You just have to stomp on the brakes HARD.

Your next modification has to be Mahindra OEM disc brakes. We could try sourcing the Classic braking kit for you....take my word on it, they are fantastic (effectiveness, stability etc.)! In fact, braking ability is the one redeeming factor of the Classic when doing 80+ kph (vague steering and suspension be damned).

For the semi-float rears, get in touch with Arka.

[PAVAN KADAM]

Thats a Beast of a Jeep man.

Great job you've done, That thing can tow a fully grown african elephant.

How many levers inside the cabin. couldnt get what they were meant for.

Good to see such raw powered jeep.

Keep it going man.

[deadguy25]

Awesome!! The look itself says "BACK-OFF" !!
Good job mate.

[RedMM340]

Originally Posted by GTO

This is the thread that I was waiting for! Your Jeep is amongst the best 340's in India.....a really serious offroader. I like your spirit in modifying her and consistently making her better and better. The attention to detail is commendable. As they say, a Jeep only evolves with time, in the hands of an enthusiastic owner.

Thanks for the detailed pictures & writeup, Gaurav. This, I tell you, is only the beginning.

Mahindra wanted to gift a very special Jeep to a senior executive of theirs, who was on the verge of retirement. I believe they toyed around with the idea of plonking a Scorpio engine in a Classic but backed out. You know what they finally did? Work started on a bare MM540 chassis which was altered, strengthed and shorted to the Classic's wheelbase. They then plonked the Scorpio engine on it, and later the Classic's body!!! Anyways, coming back to your Jeep:

1. How do you find the offroad performance? Say...compared to your MM550?

2. Can you abuse her as much as a stock layout? Is the stress on the chassis and drivetrain from the 2.6 anything to worry about?

3. What is the output of your modified 2.6?

4. How is the overall reliability? How many days in the shop per year? I presume you have sorted the beast out, going by your offroading pictures in the middle of nowhere!



Your next modification has to be Mahindra OEM disc brakes. We could try sourcing the Classic braking kit for you....take my word on it, they are fantastic (effectiveness, stability etc.)! In fact, braking ability is the one redeeming factor of the Classic when doing 80+ kph (vague steering and suspension be damned).

For the semi-float rears, get in touch with Arka.

Hi GTO,

Glad to hear that M&M did some thing similar with the 540 + Scorpio motor. I know a good number of the folks at M&M, but never heard of this vehicle.

1. Off road performance of the short wheel base 340 is definitely better than the 550. Having the short wheelbase makes the rig much more easier to turn in tight corners. Not having doors is great because you just lean out to look where your wheels are placed when negotiating technical terrain. Plus my 340 has an Auburn LSD which makes a huge difference.

2. How much abuse can it take? Well let me put it this way: In July '07 we went on a recce prior to the Himalayan Rally. We drove from Delhi to Simla-Spiti Valley-Kaza-Rotang-Leh-Kargil-Dras-Srinagar-Jammu-Delhi in 7 days with no issues. I'd say that the reliablity is pretty good. The stock 4 speed gear box is a very heavy duty unit.

3. Reliability of this rig is a bit difficult to gauge. I spends 90% of its time on jackstands with work done on it. This jeep is not really a daily driver. It is more of a continuously evolving testbed for performance applications.

4. M&M OEM disc brakes: Did this mod about 10 years back or so. It did improve the brakes a good deal. Not sure if you saw it in one of my posts, but I have upgraded the front brakes to another level beyond the M&M OEM discs. I am currently running 12 inch dia. vented discs with big calipers from Chevy 1/2 ton trucks. These brakes give a huge improvement over the stock discs. It is pretty clear visible in one of the pics of the jeep chassis.

5. Arka is a great resource for any and all jeep tech info. He gave me the idea for rear full float. Did the install, but I seems to keep leaking oil and I am not sure how to fix this.

Regards,

[Alfa_Kilo]

@Red

Did you install the track rods for better high speed handling? how much of a difference do they make?

You could also add snow chains to your kit, they help in mud when the tyres become slick.

[Jayabusa]

Wow! What a Jeep! What a Jeep!

[RedMM340]

Originally Posted by Alfa_Kilo

@Red

Did you install the track rods for better high speed handling? how much of a difference do they make?

You could also add snow chains to your kit, they help in mud when the tyres become slick.

Track bars & sway bars give great handling and almost no body roll. Makes a huge difference. This jeep can out-handle my U.S. spec. TJ any day!

Don't agree with you idea of snow chains for mud. I have not had a problem in mud with my BFG Mud Terrains.

Regards,

[ashthedivx]

Phew... In which delhi corner this fantastic jeep is hidden ?? Fantastic Off-roader !!!

Congrats on owning the same. Why not take out some time and drop in to Delhi Meet happening @ 23 May !!

[Jaggu]

Woaaaaaah!! Thats an awesome machine you built there!

Really interesting read also, will go through the whole thread again, after work

[DHABHAR.BEHRAM]

Hello Samurai - I hope you find a good vehicle for your use. CJ340 is the original nomenclature of this car. CJ changed to CL after the Chrysler agreement ended (sometime in 1994). MM is the Armada type bonnet vehicle (the one that the Indian army uses at present. CL essentially is the original style bonnet.

Best regards,

Behram Dhabhar

[GTO]

3. Reliability of this rig is a bit difficult to gauge. I spends 90% of its time on jackstands with work done on it. This jeep is not really a daily driver. It is more of a continuously evolving testbed for performance applications.

When did you start this project? When will it be entirely completed?

Hello Samurai - I hope you find a good vehicle for your use.

He did already . Thread coming up soon!

[bigman]

Originally Posted by RedMM340

Hi GTO,

Glad to hear that M&M did some thing similar with the 540 + Scorpio motor. I know a good number of the folks at M&M, but never heard of this vehicle.

Last I heard it was for Mr Durrant (Alan ??)

[IronWolf]

Originally Posted by GTO

When did you start this project? When will it be entirely completed?



He did already . Thread coming up soon!

I dont think by the looks of it there is any end date to this project,

Like Red said.. this is a constantly evolving vehicle and kudos to red for that kind of passion.

Last Bangalore meet I met Samurai for the first time and asked him about second hand MM550s however he seemed not too interested in the topic.

Thread coming up eh? humm!

[RedMM340]

Hey GTO,

You had asked me about the power output of this motor. I really do not know for a fact since it has not been tested on a dyno. My seat of the pants guess is that it is at least 150 hp. Torque is in the range of 300 + ft lb.

These estimates are of course with the use of nitrous. Oh yeah, I dropped a +50hp dry nitrous system in earlier this year and forgot to add to the list of modifications on my original post. I know you guys probably think I am joking so attached are some pics to show the nitrous injection into the intake manifold and the N2O tank in back of the vehicle. The N2O tank is the anonymous black color gas cylinder next to the subwoofer box. There is a system arming switch on the dash and a microswitch that triggers under full throttle.

Sometimes I think this project will never end.