[nitin_80]

Originally Posted by manasm

After two road trips to Chennai and Pondi, here is the situation:

1. There is a problem with icing of the AC compressor - lots of water dripped down and due to the thoughtful positioning of the music system, it all dripped onto and shorted the player. Will need to buy a new one methinks!
2. No squeaks or rattles from the top, but some air and noise coming into the cabin - mostly it is from the place where the gears are on the floor - since the rubber covers refuse to stay in place. Need to find a way to make sure the rubber gear lever covers stay down and in place. The air and noise also come in from the rear side windows as they have not been fitted properly. Need to fix that as well
3. Everything is falling off the outside - all Thar badging around the vehicle is falling off - no idea why this is - my Thar now says "Th r" on one side with no "CRDe" on the other and only says "4x " - the second "4" has fallen along the wayside somewhere. You would think M&M as a company would ensure good glue used to stick on their branding/badging
4. The is also lots of rust all over the place - will be getting all those parts fixed/replaced during the 1st service
5. Am looking at getting the 3M underbody coating as well as the bedliner. Also might change the rear leafs to carbon fibre as have been told it improves the ride quality drastically
6. The vehicle is now in the shop to get the fittings done for the 2 piece hard top with changes in the rake (less drastic rake) - hope to have it complete by Diwali when I will be off again to Ooty - with the top off and in the hills - should be fun!

Thats it for now...will update more as it comes!

Ciao

I saw a few thars with square rubber shrouds for the gears with 4 nuts at the corners to hold it in place. That should be air tight I guess.
The badging around my vehicle too becoming loose, so touched up the sides and corners with some fevi quick. Hope that holds well for now.

[Trueintrepid]

@manasm

How much would this hard top assembly cost if I were to decide to have one on my Thar? And where in Bangalore did you get the AC installed? I am originally from Bangalore, so will know if you mention any names.

On second thoughts, I think your HT design is kind of growing on me now!

Many thanks!

[manasm]

We are still figuring things out unfortunately - nothing comes fast...or easy!

Will post pics of the new HT design (2 piece) next week. Once that is done, we should be ready to take orders. All details about the top will come in a new thread once the top is complete.

The A/C is from We Cool - there are a few of us here in Bangalore who have got it done by them. You can call Murali @ 9845070810 - they have done a good job and have been very helpful when I have needed it.

[SPIKE ARRESTOR]

Originally Posted by manasm

Thanks - anyone know what the correct spec is for the Thar - as released by M&M? Will get the "technician" to set it right for me!

Regards,
Manas

Manas, it is 280mm +- 5 mm, difference between both sides must not exceed 8 mm, with 1 complete revolution of the torsion bar cross bolt the ride height changes between 4-6 mm, I have done quite a bit of research on this, anything else?

Originally Posted by manasm

Spike - was good to meet again in Chennai and I would like to thank you for the good feedback - will be making the changes/corrections as suggested by you to make it a better product.

Ok.

Originally Posted by manasm

There is a problem with icing of the AC compressor - lots of water dripped down and due to the thoughtful positioning of the music system, it all dripped onto and shorted the player.

More details on the leak, might be something that I was fearing! You have my no. right, without any hesitations call me anytime if you need help.

Spike

[nitin_80]

Hi @manasm, have you made any changes to the rear seats as yet?. You had mentioned that you plan to fix the innova type double folding seats. If you have could you post some snaps please.

[manasm]

@Spikey - thanks for the details...will look into changing it
@Nitin_80 - have the parts, but not installed...working on the top and console first.

I have a few pics of the 2nd hard top - work in progress pics only...yet to be finished and painted.

It is a 2 part - the front is held on by 4 latches similar to what you see on the sides of Delsey suitcases. Flip them open and the top comes off.
The rear is currently designed to be held with 6 sets of bolts, but we are working on making them latches as well.

I know the vehicle has been abused and is in bad shape cos of the paint/fibreglass/chips etc.. once the top design is complete and i will not need to experiment on it anymore, I will be taking the vehicle to get all parts (including seats) removed and washed thoroughly and re-painted. Anyone know of a reputable place to do this in Bangalore. Don't mind paying a bit more as long as the guys are able to get my baby back in shape! It really sucks it had to look like this, but no other option when you are working outdoors in the rain on it!

Expect a carrier to be complete by the end of Nov as well...will have self contained retractable straps built in to avoid having to use ropes etc.

That's it for now - will post more pics next week, once the top is fully complete and we have installed it on our first customer.

Ciao,
Manas

[SPIKE ARRESTOR]

Manas, the side glass does not look in sync / proportionate to the side profile, please do something for this.

Spike

[4x4addict]

Hi Manas

The rear has come out very well. The big glass is much better than the smaller glass you had on the previous top.

But as spike pointed out the side glass is not matching. I suggest a qualis third row sliding glass. That has a slope at the rear portion and will fit inline with slope in the rear. But it maybe too late for that given that you have already made the mould.

Overall it is a very good top.

[manasm]

@Spike and 4x4Addict - thanks! Its taken a lot to come this far.

And you are absolutely correct - since we have the mold done, will be very difficult to change anything now. Once the top is complete with paint, the window won't look so out of place. It also has a really dark tint which looks funny!

We will make sure the window levels are on point before we finish it out.

Thanks for the feedback. Would appreciate anything else you guys can tell me about what I have not looked at and what is wrong etc..

Thanks,
Manas

[vj_k2001]

Hi Manas,

My attempt on the hardtop with an existing roplas top.I am horrible at adobe

I have alo attached the original image and the ROPLAS top looks almost identical to what you have made.

Regards,

Vijay

[carrot_eater]

Originally Posted by DHABHAR.BEHRAM

75000 for the AC? What is so great in this AC? Almost everything is carryover. Think guys, think!

Best regards,

Behram Dhabhar

Dear Mr.Dhabhar - Can you please elaborate here - which direction you want us to think - is it that we could purchase the items individually - if only I had all the part numbers - the excel sheet you had mentioned never made it to the forum..

My queries with the dealers have yielded no results..which leaves people going for the non-SOP version and that tribe is increasing...

[DHABHAR.BEHRAM]

Dear Carrot Eater - I will once again request you to read post 1 on page 1 of the Thar AC thread in the 4*4 technical section of this forum. Essentially, everything is of Scorpio and Bolero except the condenser and its related parts like intercooler hoses, which change as the intercooler position moves forwards and downwards. An intelligent effort on the part of a passionate technician will result in the whole thing getting done in about 10000 rupees. AC parts get recycled very regularly, but nobody will tell you this because there is huge profit to be made. I cannot share the excel file as I no longer have that information with me. It belonged to the company.

As far as AC performance "WITHOUT ECU INTERVENTION" is concerned, even that is now proved by you guys running so many vehicles and reporting that "all izz well". . What more can I say? ENJOY!

Best regards,

Behram Dhabhar

[4x4addict]

@carrot_eater:

You can go to the same person who has installed Manas's and Rajith's ac. i really don't think it is worth spending 70K on a dealer install.

You should try to order only the following from the factory kit and not the whole kit:

1) Condensor
2) Two condensor Fans
3) Compressor mounting bracket from Bolero storm VLX
4) Longer inter cooler hoses to move the intercooler forward and down to make space for condensor & twin fan.

Everything else can be provided by the AC mechanic.

If I had a choice between factory install and install outside, I would pick factory install, but 70K for a dealer installed AC is way, way too much and i would go to a good independent ac mechanic.

[manasm]

More pics for you guys...this time after surfacer is done. Needs paint and interior.

Paint should be done by Thursday. Interiors by the following weekend.

Cheers,
Manas

[vnambiar]

AWESome, good to see this almost done. Must say, satisfying tom watch the HT develop, grows on you. Invite once paint done