[jmvivek]

some more pics on the current state of build

[jmvivek]

Originally Posted by svsantosh

dont even have them on a offroading jeep. (IIRC the SA Thar dude doesnt have it on his IFS too, risky but helps in OTRs)



I did a 2 Inch body lift to accomodate 31" Army tyres. Mind you (vivek) its only a tub/body lift on chassis, not related to G.C at all. I did this to save a fender job (even the rear wheel arch was coming in the way, and I didnt want to end up cutting all 4 fenders!!)

PS - Since you have a MRCBT type steering, a body lift is possible - not much on a old type steering box chassis/tub combo.

Santhosh, How did you do that body lift. Was it using the armada type rubber beds or someother way. What lift do you get with the armada type rubber beds.

Is it ideal to take this type of pseudo lift above 1 inches ? Now that you have experience wit a 2 incher on this setup, can you tell me any difference on the feel while offroad/onroad related to the same.

[svsantosh]

Originally Posted by jmvivek

Santhosh, How did you do that body lift. Was it using the armada type rubber beds or someother way. What lift do you get with the armada type rubber beds.

Is it ideal to take this type of pseudo lift above 1 inches ? Now that you have experience wit a 2 incher on this setup, can you tell me any difference on the feel while offroad/onroad related to the same.

I assume you have not visited my thread.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/4x4-ve...and-4wd-8.html

See page.8 for detailed info on body lift. Remember, a NGCS body bed is very different from a non-ngcs and you cannot just stack one over the other for double height. I burnt my fingers trying to do a fiber bush lift and then learnt the OE NGCS bushes slot into one another thru the chassis and that setup cant be altered.

I have gained around 1.5Inches after my body lift, enough to save my AG fenders with 31" Army tyres under articulation.

With the current setup, the excess roll is visible and can felt when inside the AG. Nothing to be alarmed of but one can tell the diff for sure!!

Since 1.5 itself feels like a jelly bean car, I wouldnt advise a 2 or 2+ inch lift.

[jmvivek]

Originally Posted by svsantosh

I assume you have not visited my thread.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/4x4-ve...and-4wd-8.html

See page.8 for detailed info on body lift. Remember, a NGCS body bed is very different from a non-ngcs and you cannot just stack one over the other for double height.

I have gained around 1.5Inches after my body lift, enough to save my AG fenders with 31" Army tyres under articulation..

Thanks Santhosh once again . With old age , bit of memory loss too, otherwise have browsed through your thread , umpteen times. HAve seen your posts.

My worry was around what you have cleared here. Will stick to the current setup for body beds, will check on Arka's post somewhere on Armada type body bed packing under the 540 . Will have to check on this though.

Some mercy from rains and maybe I should have my vehice painted soon. Its been through the bleaching, facials and full body packing for some time now. Its just couple of sunny days and I guess will have the painting completed. Started doing suryanamaskaram offlate.

Regards .

[prabhuav]

Vivek,

If you wanna go hardcore, run a 2inch square tube all along the body where it mounts to the chassis.. it will give you the height, makes the body way more rigid, and gives you some place to bolt your roll cages and rock sliders on to

Vijay

[jmvivek]

Originally Posted by prabhuav

Vivek,

If you wanna go hardcore, run a 2inch square tube all along the body where it mounts to the chassis.. it will give you the height, makes the body way more rigid, and gives you some place to bolt your roll cages and rock sliders on to

Vijay

Thanks Prabhu, will explore on that. Do you have any links on to such builds anywhere. Will do a net search on this anyways.


Thanks and Regards

I checked on the net , nothing much on that regard. But thinking over what you mentioned does make sense as I have seen some 2 inch lifts done on old MM540 converted to load carrier pickups with perkins engine. Some have used metal, while the older generations have used teakwood blocks for the body lift.

Should it be 2 inch square tube all along the chassis on top side, including the crossmembers. My chassis looks like the one provided below. This is a picture from the initial par tof the build on my 89'er.

One more thing Prabhu, When I do this 2 inch tubing, will I have any advantage in changing to the new longer/wider spring set that you see on the rear of Thar/Bolero. will it have any advantage on my 89'er old setup and is this advisable.

Sorry to bother you with one too many questions regarding the same.

Thank and Regards

[prabhuav]

What I did gets welded to the body.. Does not change anything in the chassis at all..

[jmvivek]

Rain God has gone crazy. My jeep has been in the waiting for the first coat of paints since the last 15 days or so at my friends place in Idukki. Was about to get the painting started sometime last to last week when the showers started. Yep, the painting is happening on a makeshift shed near to my friends' home at Ramakkalmedu.

The initial blue shade decided which was dark with a tinge of violet like the one we see in 2012 jeep wrangler Freedom edition was not available at Pala(the major stockist for DuPont around that part of the state. So finally decided to go with the VW vento dark blue shade. The painting being done is temporary to make it look road worthy as I have to do proper off-road reliability test on the new suspension/axles as well as the body work along with the articulation part, where I have no idea as to what will be the final setup. Need a proper off-road setup without tipping over on the mods.

Also as a second stage plan for an Engine/gearbox swap after I finish the BAOTR2014 and only after BAOTR2014. Yes BAOTR2014, last time I came in with my bro's jeep, this time I hope i will have my 89'er 540 in one piece to make it to the event. Planning for a NGT530 with BW manual TC as seen in some threads to make sure that the stock rear Bolero diffs align to the the TC without a tube swap which I did in my current setup.

Will be in Idukki early next week to see my vehicle out for final mechanical touches/electrical and also joinin for the R&T offroad event either as a participant or a cheerleader.

attached please find the color that I expect as the outcome on my jeep. Fingers crossed for a positive outcome with the weatherGOD is on a rampage around that part of Kerala.


The one on the jeep freedom edition is the actual blue planned as the final outcome on the second stage. Provided all mechanicals and current body work has been thoroughly tested out.

[sreejeshmp]

Do the final painting after BAOTR . I did a repaint after BAOTR13. Bangalore OTR is best to test the vehicle's performance, I tested My front LSD in 12 & NGCS in 13 , All the best .

[jmvivek]

Finally, the temp painting will be completed today, after the long wait for the rains to close out. Thanks to my good friend Satheesh to monitor the progress in the last 6 months on the whole, while I have been busy with my consultancy stuff.

Missed so many OTRs and outings this year because of the same , and now with electrical sorted out by the weekend, hope to take my 89'er out up on the hills for a proper test on the new mechanical/suspension underneath - the OKBJ,rear FFRA and the MRCBT and also the alternator setup.

Also need to see how well/bad the the custom fuel tank works on extreme side slopes especially on the driver side. Need to also understand the weight distribution front/rear and on both sides with the new body styling and rock sliders/rear body armor put in and also with the larger fuel tank at the center.

I heard from my friend that my BOSCH 90ah battery that served me well in the last 70000kms/3years is down and needs replacement.

I am ok with the overall build, and forget minor glitches/misses here and there, I just want to get back behind the wheel on my 89'er and just take it to the hills next week. Will report in on the new setup once tested.

The front grill silver-blue seems to have come out ok. The rock-slider and rear body armor silver-blue looks a tad bit too bright. Anyways this needs to change once the jeep is brought back to Bangalore. Maybe get powder coating done on those area.

Just a bt confused on what color I have to go in for the wheels. Silver-blue is out as it feels too loud, maybe black or the body color itself should keep it smooth. Lets see.

[jmvivek]

This long wait for my 89'er to comeout of the phase1build, I guess did instigate my literary skills from hibernation to addon to mixed emotions.

so wrote something like this before setting off from Bangalore to take possession of my 89'er and see it to completion.

Callling of the hills and my Jeep...Idukki, Wayanad....Kerala...Here I come to get my Jeep rolling

My heart feels better when wheeling on the trails,
My heart feels better when climbing up the hills.
My heart feels better when crawling on the rocks,
My heart skips a beat when I reach the top.

With the adrenaline rush when driving on the mud,
Nothing feels better when you’re dirty and stuck.
Nothing feels better when we offroadies are together,
And nothing feels better than being an off-roader.

-Vivek Jayan, inspired by one Jenkins Smith


Was planning to bring it back along to Bangalore , but , the pooja/Dussehra holidays coupled with EID has delayed this.

EID MUBARAK TO ALL MY FRIENDS

Finished electricals and all other fixtures. The jeep canopy work will be completed towards dayend today.And then the jeep goes back for a final coat of paint after a proper body/underbody wash.

Mechanical tested with a short 5 kms ride on the ghats as well as a moderate 4-wheel drive session. Seems to be fine.

Since the finishing stage of body work was done in my absence with active support from my manager, minor imperfection/glitches have cropped up here and there. Overall I am ok with the phase1 outcome and I can live with those glitches.

Re-fitted two Premier Padmini old style large bucket seats have been fitted at the front. This is perfect for my 6ft height and my heavy built. The best part is the good back and thigh support.

Fixed the passenger side longer jeep seats at the rear, with an option to fold down flat. Haven't seen this to completion when I left this at the workshop last week. Mechanic mentioned that this is completed.

Fuel tank under passenger/drive seats have been fixed and mechanic confirms that this is functioning ok. I am still doubtful over this setup.. will test out on the longer run and will redesign the setup, if required as per my initial plan.


I have asked my guys to bring the jeep to Bangalore before the coming weekend to be ready for Bangalore one day OTR event. Fingers crossed, otherwise my gypsy is on standby.

[pints12]

Sir thank you for your valuable inputs I have installed a MM petrol engine to my Willy's cj3b retaining the original 4x4 gear box and i am still holding on to the original petrol engine as suggested by Mt Sabareesh i would like to overhaul and retain this for future use kindly let me know where i can get this done either in Pune or Mumbai sir eagerly waiting your presence at the garage in Pune the jeep as you know is being restored at Mr Suleman Arab garage one more question sir can I retain the old leaf spring (Pata) mechanic says it has lost its tension and will not work effectively the ones he has suggested is from another Willis original he says cost around Rs 12000/- this I think is a wrong analysis its my personal opinion .The MM petrol engine cost worked out to Rs 20000/- without exchange
Thanks sir for going through my details looking forward to see you and Mr Shubhendra

Thanks once again
God bless

[jmvivek]

Finally my 89'er is out on the hills. My younger brother came down from his pilgrimage trip and took my 89'er up 3600ft and was happy with the performance. Will have this in Bangalore by 2nd week of Jan to be ready for the Bangalore OTR.

Some hits and misses overall. But I am quite happy with the overall build , some of this in my absence and with the help of my friend. Phase 1 is over and here we come Bangalore OTR , smoky on my tail.

[jmvivek]

have this 'kar,kar,kar,kar sound while your clutch pedals are depressed. Is this due to the following reasons stock KMT90

1)pressure plate on the flywheel which is bolted to the engine
2)clutch disc

is it that the clutch is not fully disengaged, wherein, the clutch disc is still sandwiched lightly to the flywheel!!

please listen closely to +00:10sec onwards

[Shubhendra]

Originally Posted by pints12

Kindly let me know where i can get this done either in Pune or Mumbai.
can I retain the old leaf spring (Pata) mechanic says it has lost its tension and will not work effectively the ones he has suggested is from another Willis original he says cost around Rs 12000/- this I think is a wrong analysis its my personal opinion .
Thanks sir for going through my details looking forward to see you and Mr Shubhendra

Thanks once again
God bless

Dear Mr. Pints,
Just retain your old engine for sometime, i will share details of mechanic who can repair this or may be i can repair this engine for you (free of cost)
dont fall into trap of that guy, if he is saying that leaf springs of your jeep have lost tension then what is the case with another Willys ? isn't that Willys is 40 yrs old and how many lac kms driven. Just ask him to get all those leaf springs recambered. In Poona, leaf springs guy charge 300-400 rs per set excluding parts (just for your information, so that you dont end up paying thousands of rupees for this work)

Shubhendra