Rebuilding a Gypsy King - From Long Distance!

xtremedeep · 5th June 2012, 01:16

Stuck in a blizzard + A long distance phone call + A Unfulfilled Promise made to myself years ago + A super duper guy + Lots of advise from friends + Team BHP = A custom (if I may call that) ex-Army Gypsy. Well this does not happen every day, well in my case it did.

This Phase, I personally call "The Waiting"

Rewind to 2010, I am stuck with a project in US and to top it all Gods of snow has been real generous, we have 10 inch of snow outside, and double disaster whammy strikes.. I run out of liquids of fermented kind, not to be tolerated at any cost!!. A few phone calls and my dear old friend offers all kinds of good fermented stuff at his disposal, with a catch. I will have to drive 8 miles uphill to his place from mine, bringing this point up is fruitless as my friend keeps saying "Its a A8 ra.. you bugger!!.. just come". Okay.. out I go.. and it was such a mess with 10 inches of snow and uphill on a 2WD, managed to reach his place after 2 hours, all the time cursing myself for the stupidity. We make ourselves comfortable with some he he he energy stuff, and the discussion veers to the need of 4x4 vehicles, and back to our child hood passion .. Gypsy!!. The usual curses "You should not have sold it da" and not some pleasant adjectives comparing my IQ to that of a snail and other animals. Finally, I say.. I will get one again! when ra?.. you are getting mushy mushy.. look at you driving a sedan, next you will be on a Prius. Now, when I think back.. I think the Prius thing actually made me pick up the phone and call my cousin in India. He says.. you sure?.. I am like.. Yeah.. 100%.. He is like.. okay. I will start looking, very rare this days. No one with a good one wants to sell it, and to top it up.. I say.. remember I promised when I sold the old one to get one again, he is finally convinced. It is 2 AM EST, and we start calling everyone we knew for a used Gypsy King.. by 5 AM, we finally realized the futility of it. This stage actually lasted till April 2011 (Yes, We searched for more than a year, all across India), all the time either "Saar you missed it by an hour" or "Saar very good vehicle. Diesel saar, good mileage" or "Gypsy is not available for civilians". During this phase, one particular thread among many inspired me a lot, acknowledgement and appreciation is due "Thank You Amarveer (Amar82), You Red King thread inspired me a lot". Now, the decision is taken.. we will rebuild a Gypsy King. We went thru the hoops of trying to get one from MSRTC auctions, best contact my Dad.. Used to deal with MSRTC, and the advise I got was stay away from auctions, not your piece of cake. What next

" Did you guys notice, once the itch to own a Gypsy starts it keeps growing, never fading away?". Luckily Team BHP came as a savior, AbheekG "Thank You, for your help, advise & insight.. very much appreciated", he sent me a Rally Specs MPFI details and the other option was to get it built by certain someone in NCR, whom he has heard about. Its March end 2011, and I finally managed to get hold of "that someone" who has done similar projects, in my budget and under

, and the initial mail exchanges are promising. We setup the first call, the first thing I noticed was this was the first person, who was actually providing me all the details even without a single penny being paid or even discussed. I got out of my call and called my friend and said "either this guy is super or I am going to be jacked real bad". His words and logic were golden "Go for it da.. You should trust people, see I trust you with preparing the snacks, while you trust me with the mixing".. can't beat that logic... The next call is scheduled, 2 minutes into the call and I am convinced, Aman from Auto Attitudes, it is .. bring up the topic of $$, and I got the strangest response "You take your time, money is not a problem, let's begin the planning". I decided otherwise, told him "Let me put the money, where my mouth is. You must be getting a lot of calls from people."A short delay (Blame the banks) and $$$ is transferred, got a acknowledgment note, and next thing that happens is a mail, informing me the King has been bought, a week later. By then we had decided to plonk in a 1.3 MPFI on a King (I am not disclosing the initial configuration, as it changed so many times). Finally owner of a Gypsy again.. Happy & Excited !!.

To be continued...

abheekg · 5th June 2012, 06:40

I am happy that I could be of help over the last few years dada. Congratulations on finally getting relieved from your work in the US and coming back to India; and on getting your hands finally on your Gypsy.

Now let the story unfold and lets have all the details.

And finally having built this superb vehicle, I hope you enjoy to the core all the extreme drives some of which I hope to do with you soon.

Dr. A Ghosh

Anil Vincent · 6th June 2012, 10:46

Congrats for the Gypsy, all the best with the rebuild, what kind of mods you have in mind, any how the decission is well taken to leave the project with a very capable hands.

Awaiting to see another creation from Aman.

amrisharm · 6th June 2012, 11:04

As we all know, just in this forum alone there are hundreds of Gypsy "Dreamers" including myself. But not all of us have the determination to go ahead with our dreams. So seeing you taking this step towards your dream of Gypsy ownership will hopefully serve as a motivation for us to pursue ours as well. Good on you and looking forward to more pics.

KSM-Vtec · 6th June 2012, 11:49

Congrats bro!! looking forward to your build, all the best!!

xtremedeep · 4th July 2012, 16:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by abheekg

I am happy that I could be of help over the last few years dada. Congratulations on finally getting relieved from your work in the US and coming back to India; and on getting your hands finally on your Gypsy.

Now let the story unfold and lets have all the details.

And finally having built this superb vehicle, I hope you enjoy to the core all the extreme drives some of which I hope to do with you soon.

Dr. A Ghosh

Thanks Buddy.. I would not have made it till here, without among many others your express help. The Gyp is still in Noida, however my work takes me every alternate week to Noida, so enjoying it there.. while I run it in. Lets plan for something. Sent you my India contact number.

xtremedeep · 4th July 2012, 16:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anil Vincent

Congrats for the Gypsy, all the best with the rebuild, what kind of mods you have in mind, any how the decission is well taken to leave the project with a very capable hands.

Awaiting to see another creation from Aman.

Thanks Anil!!. You are bang on the target, Aman is very passionate about the vehicles he prepares, and there is a bit of him on every vehicle. The mods are all done, and the vehicle is on the roads. As mentioned earlier, we started with a plan of building a stock Gyp with a MPFI engine, however the end product is fully rally prepped (minus the safety belts) vehicles with rally kamani's, extra fuel tank, differential strengthening, roll cage, headers, porting & polishing and dual shock setup.. We put in a Baleno engine with SGP.

xtremedeep · 4th July 2012, 16:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by amrisharm

As we all know, just in this forum alone there are hundreds of Gypsy "Dreamers" including myself. But not all of us have the determination to go ahead with our dreams. So seeing you taking this step towards your dream of Gypsy ownership will hopefully serve as a motivation for us to pursue ours as well. Good on you and looking forward to more pics.

Thank You.. my dreams were fueled by others in this forum as well. So lets keep the spirit high

xtremedeep · 11th August 2012, 22:50

Apologies friends.. Work as usual..

The Second Phase.

This is the phase, where my budget took a real hard beating, because of the changes I chose to incorporate, Aman is one of those guys who lays out the options before you and provides you his expert opinion.. never pushy. The initial plan was to get a 1.3 MPFI plonked in, so the Gyp we brought did not come with a motor in it. The transformation or what I call break the bank phase began over a discussion on Power Steering, which took us to motors and after some soul searching I decided to go for a Baleno motor.. The first surprise was, when I called up Aman to discuss the motor I had gone thru numerous threads and had formed a idea Baleno motors are very hard to source in India.. so with lot of apprehension the call was made, and the response I got was "How many do you need" .. trust me guys.. now that I have been to Aman's workshop quite a number of times.. you will be surprised with the stock he has.. including as of last month couple of fully rebuilt Baleno motors. The changes occurred over a period of time.. however the final configuration was like below

Baleno Motor
SGP Setup
Tiger Kamani's
Rally Cabin with Roll Cage
AC (Spanden & Super King Combo)
Recaro Knockouts

The work began in full swing.. at this phase.. pictures below

xtremedeep · 11th August 2012, 23:06

By Late November 2011, The Gyp was ready for road test.. and I was still stuck with work and could not come to India. However Aman did the road test for me, and the response was pretty good. The Gyp practically sat on the workshop while I finished up my winding up activities.. and finally in May 2012.. I was back in India.

We finally met, Aman.. myself and the Gyp.. in June 2012.. I was on a business trip to NCR and has heavens would have it my workplace appeared to be a few minutes drive from Aman's workshop..

I have done around 1200 Kms.. and the Gyp is trouble free... Had a overheating issue as the AC fan was blocking.. and having it moved.. Hopefully this time around, that problem too will be gone.

roshan_cruise · 24th September 2012, 13:44

What's the update on the King!!!!
It's been a month,bro

An update ka toh haq bantha hain (with pics)

wanderernomad · 10th March 2013, 15:29

Hey any updates? I am looking to restore a 98 Carb Gypsy and can you share Aman's contact details please.

mustysekhon · 10th March 2013, 21:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by wanderernomad

Hey any updates? I am looking to restore a 98 Carb Gypsy and can you share Aman's contact details please.

It's "Auto Attitudes" in Noida. His team BHP handle is 'amanpreet'

Phone 098 10 860777
Email amanpreetahluwalia@hotmail.com
Website http://www.autoattitudes.in

xtremedeep · 28th March 2013, 02:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by roshan_cruise

What's the update on the King!!!!
It's been a month,bro

An update ka toh haq bantha hain (with pics)

Sorry Buddy.. I was hopelessly busy.. and ignored not only the thread but the Gyp as well.

xtremedeep · 28th March 2013, 02:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by wanderernomad

Hey any updates? I am looking to restore a 98 Carb Gypsy and can you share Aman's contact details please.

I see.. you already have Aman's coordinates. One more thing to add, if you are expecting Professional Grade work and bang for the buck.. Aman is your guy, He does not do jugaars. I can personally vouch for that. Geez.. he has more Gyp spares than a Maruti Workshop any day.

5th June 2012, 01:16	#1
xtremedeep BHPian Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: NJ & Pune Posts: 51 Thanked: 15 Times	Rebuilding a Gypsy King - From Long Distance! Stuck in a blizzard + A long distance phone call + A Unfulfilled Promise made to myself years ago + A super duper guy + Lots of advise from friends + Team BHP = A custom (if I may call that) ex-Army Gypsy. Well this does not happen every day, well in my case it did. This Phase, I personally call "The Waiting" Rewind to 2010, I am stuck with a project in US and to top it all Gods of snow has been real generous, we have 10 inch of snow outside, and double disaster whammy strikes.. I run out of liquids of fermented kind, not to be tolerated at any cost!!. A few phone calls and my dear old friend offers all kinds of good fermented stuff at his disposal, with a catch. I will have to drive 8 miles uphill to his place from mine, bringing this point up is fruitless as my friend keeps saying "Its a A8 ra.. you bugger!!.. just come". Okay.. out I go.. and it was such a mess with 10 inches of snow and uphill on a 2WD, managed to reach his place after 2 hours, all the time cursing myself for the stupidity. We make ourselves comfortable with some he he he energy stuff, and the discussion veers to the need of 4x4 vehicles, and back to our child hood passion .. Gypsy!!. The usual curses "You should not have sold it da" and not some pleasant adjectives comparing my IQ to that of a snail and other animals. Finally, I say.. I will get one again! when ra?.. you are getting mushy mushy.. look at you driving a sedan, next you will be on a Prius. Now, when I think back.. I think the Prius thing actually made me pick up the phone and call my cousin in India. He says.. you sure?.. I am like.. Yeah.. 100%.. He is like.. okay. I will start looking, very rare this days. No one with a good one wants to sell it, and to top it up.. I say.. remember I promised when I sold the old one to get one again, he is finally convinced. It is 2 AM EST, and we start calling everyone we knew for a used Gypsy King.. by 5 AM, we finally realized the futility of it. This stage actually lasted till April 2011 (Yes, We searched for more than a year, all across India), all the time either "Saar you missed it by an hour" or "Saar very good vehicle. Diesel saar, good mileage" or "Gypsy is not available for civilians". During this phase, one particular thread among many inspired me a lot, acknowledgement and appreciation is due "Thank You Amarveer (Amar82), You Red King thread inspired me a lot". Now, the decision is taken.. we will rebuild a Gypsy King. We went thru the hoops of trying to get one from MSRTC auctions, best contact my Dad.. Used to deal with MSRTC, and the advise I got was stay away from auctions, not your piece of cake. What next " Did you guys notice, once the itch to own a Gypsy starts it keeps growing, never fading away?". Luckily Team BHP came as a savior, AbheekG "Thank You, for your help, advise & insight.. very much appreciated", he sent me a Rally Specs MPFI details and the other option was to get it built by certain someone in NCR, whom he has heard about. Its March end 2011, and I finally managed to get hold of "that someone" who has done similar projects, in my budget and under , and the initial mail exchanges are promising. We setup the first call, the first thing I noticed was this was the first person, who was actually providing me all the details even without a single penny being paid or even discussed. I got out of my call and called my friend and said "either this guy is super or I am going to be jacked real bad". His words and logic were golden "Go for it da.. You should trust people, see I trust you with preparing the snacks, while you trust me with the mixing".. can't beat that logic... The next call is scheduled, 2 minutes into the call and I am convinced, Aman from Auto Attitudes, it is .. bring up the topic of $$, and I got the strangest response "You take your time, money is not a problem, let's begin the planning". I decided otherwise, told him "Let me put the money, where my mouth is. You must be getting a lot of calls from people."A short delay (Blame the banks) and $$$ is transferred, got a acknowledgment note, and next thing that happens is a mail, informing me the King has been bought, a week later. By then we had decided to plonk in a 1.3 MPFI on a King (I am not disclosing the initial configuration, as it changed so many times). Finally owner of a Gypsy again.. Happy & Excited !!. To be continued... Attached Thumbnails
	(2) Thanks

5th June 2012, 06:40	#2
abheekg BHPian Join Date: May 2008 Location: Nagpur Posts: 690 Thanked: 187 Times	re: Rebuilding a Gypsy King - From Long Distance! I am happy that I could be of help over the last few years dada. Congratulations on finally getting relieved from your work in the US and coming back to India; and on getting your hands finally on your Gypsy. Now let the story unfold and lets have all the details. And finally having built this superb vehicle, I hope you enjoy to the core all the extreme drives some of which I hope to do with you soon. Dr. A Ghosh
	() Thanks

6th June 2012, 10:46	#3
Anil Vincent BHPian Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Dubai & Alleppey Posts: 169 Thanked: 714 Times	re: Rebuilding a Gypsy King - From Long Distance! Congrats for the Gypsy, all the best with the rebuild, what kind of mods you have in mind, any how the decission is well taken to leave the project with a very capable hands. Awaiting to see another creation from Aman.
	() Thanks

6th June 2012, 11:04	#4
amrisharm BHPian Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: siliguri/Darj Posts: 516 Thanked: 329 Times	re: Rebuilding a Gypsy King - From Long Distance! As we all know, just in this forum alone there are hundreds of Gypsy "Dreamers" including myself. But not all of us have the determination to go ahead with our dreams. So seeing you taking this step towards your dream of Gypsy ownership will hopefully serve as a motivation for us to pursue ours as well. Good on you and looking forward to more pics.
	() Thanks

6th June 2012, 11:49	#5
KSM-Vtec Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: MH-02-India-Bombay-Bandra Posts: 1,562 Thanked: 446 Times View My Garage	re: Rebuilding a Gypsy King - From Long Distance! Congrats bro!! looking forward to your build, all the best!!
	() Thanks

11th August 2012, 22:50	#9
xtremedeep BHPian Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: NJ & Pune Posts: 51 Thanked: 15 Times	Re: Rebuilding a Gypsy King - From Long Distance! Apologies friends.. Work as usual.. The Second Phase. This is the phase, where my budget took a real hard beating, because of the changes I chose to incorporate, Aman is one of those guys who lays out the options before you and provides you his expert opinion.. never pushy. The initial plan was to get a 1.3 MPFI plonked in, so the Gyp we brought did not come with a motor in it. The transformation or what I call break the bank phase began over a discussion on Power Steering, which took us to motors and after some soul searching I decided to go for a Baleno motor.. The first surprise was, when I called up Aman to discuss the motor I had gone thru numerous threads and had formed a idea Baleno motors are very hard to source in India.. so with lot of apprehension the call was made, and the response I got was "How many do you need" .. trust me guys.. now that I have been to Aman's workshop quite a number of times.. you will be surprised with the stock he has.. including as of last month couple of fully rebuilt Baleno motors. The changes occurred over a period of time.. however the final configuration was like below Baleno Motor SGP Setup Tiger Kamani's Rally Cabin with Roll Cage AC (Spanden & Super King Combo) Recaro Knockouts The work began in full swing.. at this phase.. pictures below Attached Thumbnails
	(1) Thanks

11th August 2012, 23:06	#10
xtremedeep BHPian Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: NJ & Pune Posts: 51 Thanked: 15 Times	Re: Rebuilding a Gypsy King - From Long Distance! By Late November 2011, The Gyp was ready for road test.. and I was still stuck with work and could not come to India. However Aman did the road test for me, and the response was pretty good. The Gyp practically sat on the workshop while I finished up my winding up activities.. and finally in May 2012.. I was back in India. We finally met, Aman.. myself and the Gyp.. in June 2012.. I was on a business trip to NCR and has heavens would have it my workplace appeared to be a few minutes drive from Aman's workshop.. I have done around 1200 Kms.. and the Gyp is trouble free... Had a overheating issue as the AC fan was blocking.. and having it moved.. Hopefully this time around, that problem too will be gone.
	() Thanks

24th September 2012, 13:44	#11
roshan_cruise BHPian Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Dubai (Thane) Posts: 53 Thanked: 33 Times	Re: Rebuilding a Gypsy King - From Long Distance! What's the update on the King!!!! It's been a month,bro An update ka toh haq bantha hain (with pics)
	() Thanks

10th March 2013, 15:29	#12
wanderernomad Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Chandigarh Posts: 2,534 Thanked: 1,276 Times View My Garage	Re: Rebuilding a Gypsy King - From Long Distance! Hey any updates? I am looking to restore a 98 Carb Gypsy and can you share Aman's contact details please.
	() Thanks