[raihan]

Antihero, that was an excellent read. Truly amazing dedication to maintaing your gypsy.
Looking forward to reading more about your adventures soon.
Rated 5 stars.

[antihero]

Back after a week long trekking expedition in the lower himalayan hills. Dalhousie-Khajjiar-Chamba. The gypsy was used to
1. Lug trekking gear to and fro the base station (Jot).
2. Sleeping accommodation for a week approximately.

The gypsy at its usual parking place, early cold morning

Total to and fro, under 200 kilometres, over poor roads. No problems encountered despite the not so good battery, which I have been putting off replacing. I had to relearn a new cold starting routine though. Get in, ignition on, pump the accelerator pedal 4-5 times, choke on, thumb the starter. Repeat if required. After riding and driving fuel injected motorcycles and cars for a while this does need a little bit of getting used to.

Meanwhile, The gypsy does make a very comfy sleeping pad for me (5'7") after I have taken off the back seats. A therm-a-rest and a down sleeping bag over some good ol' rubber mats have sufficed for now. The side and rear windows enable a fair bit of sky gazing backed by vocals from a bluetooth speakers.

The gypsy hand painted with an LED headlamp on a starry night.

The minimum temperatures were just below freezing for most nights and I cannot wait for some white stuff to hit Himachal. Snow will either make or break the Gypsy purchase for me.

[sudev]

What grade of engine oil you use? With your operating condition I recommend that try and 5w-30 or better during winters. Another caution would be over pumping fuel using accelerator presses. That also causes longer starts. I'd suggest always try and park the night before in position where you are facing a down slope and can do gear start as last option. De-clutching also reduces load on starter in wintry conditions.

[antihero]

Originally Posted by sudev

What grade of engine oil you use? With your operating condition I recommend that try and 5w-30 or better during winters. Another caution would be over pumping fuel using accelerator presses. That also causes longer starts. I'd suggest always try and park the night before in position where you are facing a down slope and can do gear start as last option. De-clutching also reduces load on starter in wintry conditions.

Excellent tips @sudev. Much appreciated!
I can vouch for de-clutching and parking on slopes has become almost second nature now.

I was oblivious to the oils grade and noticed that I have 20W40 grade MGP Shell Helix in the engine right now. The next service is due soon and I will go in for a lighter 10W30 oil. Any mineral oil recommendation for 10W30 grade?

This is what I found in the Gypsy's owner manual. I hope it helps others as well.

[antihero]

Update - It took me two weeks of sourcing and DIY to finish what I refer to as the DB Lights. In honour of DHABHAR.BEHRAM, who pointed me to this illuminating (pardon the pun) post.

I am still to source one TVS-Lucas reflector, right now its running on one Lumax reflector and one TVS reflector. TVS reflectors are really-really hard to come by.

On a positive note I believe I have a 20-30% increase in intensity and throw, with the same wattage bulbs. Although, I am on the lookout to borrow a lux-meter to quantify these improvements.

I had been planning to get a pair of driving lights, but the are not needed anymore. P.S. I have been driving through the recent snow in Himachal with no essential headlamps an they feel adequate.

However what I do need is a set of Winter Tyres, Can anyone point me on where these can be sourced and what options do I have for 215/75R15 ?

[sudev]

I am afraid proper snow / ice tyres are rarity in India. These are ones that come with studs built in. Problem is that they wear out or get damaged when driven on non-snow/ice surface. So chains may be better bet for those real deep snow drifts.
Check with Himalayan Motorsport Simla. They make chains for all participants in the Raid-de-Himalaya

[FourWheelDrift]

@antihero : you are indeed lucky and blessed to have Gypsy gurus assisting you, and automotive stalwarts like Sudev and Behram commenting on this thread with their amazing inputs.

Have rated your thread five stars. Will be following closely.

Please keep the trek experiences and photos coming.

Cheers,

FourWheelDrift

[antihero]

The cold wave has hit Himachal and the 410 has been on the receiving end. I have been scoping winter treks and the 410 has been trudging over trails with a foot of snow and ice near Mandi (H.P.) . So far the 410 has shrugged off the white stuff with calm disdain. The low ratio gearbox is seeing a lot of action.


only time i could be bothered to photograph the Gypsy


end of the road, start point for a winter trek


this was a jeep-able road


so was this...jeep-able. yeah right!

Originally Posted by sudev

What grade of engine oil you use? With your operating condition I recommend that try and 5w-30 or better during winters.

MG410W winter preparation -

1. 5W-30 Mobil Super
2. 10mm Yoga mat insulation on floor. covered with thermarest sleeping pads (I sleep in the Gypsy)
3. Belkin 220V cigarette lighter transformer for charging camera batteries (Camera batteries give in much quickly in the cold)
4. Homemade Ice Scraper for cleaning windshield
5. Shovel (never have had to use it as of now)
6. Antifreeze mixed with water in windshield wiper water reservoir
7. Air Filter nozzle set to -15 to 15 degrees

Originally Posted by sudev

I am afraid proper snow / ice tyres are rarity in India. These are ones that come with studs built in. Problem is that they wear out or get damaged when driven on non-snow/ice surface. So chains may be better bet for those real deep snow drifts.
Check with Himalayan Motorsport Simla. They make chains for all participants in the Raid-de-Himalaya

Thank you Sudev. Studded carbide tyres would have been asking for too much. I would have been a happy puppy with good old cold weather tyres. Alas, as it turns out - Not available anywhere in J&K or Himachal. Its a strong twist of fate that in most of North Europe not running cold weather tyres is a traffic offence. In the Himalayas where we need them the most (a fall over a mountainside beckons), there is no sign of them.

Anyway the snow chains have been ordered via amazon, courtesy an interesting thread on team-BHP.

Originally Posted by FourWheelDrift

@antihero : you are indeed lucky and blessed to have Gypsy gurus assisting you, and automotive stalwarts like Sudev and Behram commenting on this thread with their amazing inputs.
Have rated your thread five stars. Will be following closely.
Please keep the trek experiences and photos coming.

Here is a link to some cold weather treks made near Dalhousie. Note: these were pre snow treks. More on winter, high altitude treks to come. Was a Gypsy really required to make these treks? Not really.
But it does make life so much easier a) knowing you have spares and a base camp nearby should you require them b) getting as close as possible to the starting point for a trek. However the most important aspect is that you can leave your wet shoes and socks to dry over and change into a fresh pair of shoes and socks for trek 2

Some snow/ice modus operandi real real life lessons learnt over the past month.

1. Step down to 4L / 3rd gear when you encounter deep snow and step down if required, while feathering the throttle.
2. If you are ham footed you will have some heart stopping moments as the rear steps out and does a fishtail. Disconcerting over a narrow trail where a fall down the gorge is measured in hundreds of metres.
3. Spinning the wheels doesn't help in deep drifts. Stop reverse / forward rocking motion will get you out of most situations.
4. The toughest trails are where the 410 has had to break a trail in the virgin snow/ice (no existing tyre marks). Be very wary of unbroken trails, they may be unbroken for a reason. Step out, stomp the path and ascertain terrain before proceeding further.
5. Need to perform a 180 degree turn in a tight situation over ice? Have someone push the 410 just aft of the rear wheel in the opposite direction of the turn and spin the wheels. Let go the accelerator 30 degrees before completing the turn. The 410 will spin on its axis and end up facing the other direction. Its much better than a forward / reverse dance, the chances are that you will never get it done over ice.

[sudev]

Interesting observation and tip at #5. Get chains soonest and then share the total experience.

[antihero]

I have been following up on a few threads but have not found an answer to a pertinent question.

Is an aftermarket tachometer fitting feasible on a carbureted 1996 MG410W? If so, could someone provide me with a link to the appropriate tacho with fitting instructions?

thank you.

[Rudra Sen]

Originally Posted by antihero

Is an aftermarket tachometer fitting feasible on a carbureted 1996 MG410W? If so, could someone provide me with a link to the appropriate tacho with fitting instructions?

http://www.pricol.com/?products=top-dash-tachometers

Also please check - http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/modifi...meters-11.html

[sudev]

Most after market tacho's will fit virtually all cars. The mounting is on dashboard and they take connection from emitter/coil for giving you the rpm's

[antihero]

The gypsy has been performing flawlessly so far. Just over 5k kilometres and first service since I bought it.
The timing belt and the timing belt tensioner were replaced as they had started sounding a bit ragged as part of routine preventive maintenance.

Part breakup.
Timing Belt MGP = 870 Rs
Timing belt tensioner MGP = 250 Rs
Rubber parts MGP = 100 Rs
Labour MASS = 1100 Rs



Other changes.
1. A trunk welded inside, serving as a lockable closet for photo gear.
2. A new front windshield, custom hardtop needed a custom windshield
3. A custom vehicle carrier, for spare wheel (welded nut for holding the wheel in place) and a solar panel.

The current wheel placed at the rear door has been a source of noise and vibrations over poor roads and no roads. Therefore, the plan is to relocate the spare wheel over the roof. It turns out to be a cost effective solution.

[caged_nomad]

Hi Antihero. Could you please share some photographs of the spare wheel carrier? I have had to keep the spare wheel inside the gypsy as the hinges on my car are unable to take the weight of the tire.

[antihero]

Originally Posted by caged_nomad

Hi Antihero. Could you please share some photographs of the spare wheel carrier? I have had to keep the spare wheel inside the gypsy as the hinges on my car are unable to take the weight of the tire.

I faced the same problem. The rear door tends to rattle and the hinges tend to come loose after a few thousand kilometres over poor roads. Exessive noise and rattles...

The taxi like carrier that you see on the roof in the photograph above has a Gypsy rear door wheel mount welded to it. This means that I can carry 2 spare wheels on the roof. One held down by the gypsy rear door wheel mount. The other held down by a leaf spring U bolt. The leaf spring U bolt is much more versatile, because I can move the wheel to the front or rear of the roof carrier.

I will post photographs when I am back in Jammu. Cheers!