[drsamuelk]

We had been talking about our jeep project on teambhp for sometime and decided to finally post it with pictures. Sorry for the delay its not our busy schedules but pure laziness.

My friend Rahul got a CJ 500 from another friend, it was a 87 CJ 500 4WD and everything working except the brakes were temperamental. The paint was a not close to an army shade of green and a dent in the front grill meant it needed some tinkering. In all the jeep needed someone to love and care for.



( the inset pic is a friend Praveen from whom we got the jeep)

[drsamuelk]

We decided to do a restoration without changing too much, keep the B275 international engine. We have not seen many fans of the B275 on this forum because the 38 bhp puts off a lot of youngsters. We decided to work around this engine and make it for everyday use + off road. The B275 though old is based on an American work horse that has fed millions of Indians in the form of tractors, seen 2 wars in India and had been the backbone of the Indian army for decades where nothing else was accessible.
So began an exciting pass time that was fraught with anxiety and eagerness.
We first fixed a dual oil chamber with reservoir for the brakes.
The engine, gearbox and transfer case was serviced. We changed all four leaf springs and shocks. Next came the tinkering work, it was the longest and most harrowing part of the project. I would say if you have the option get a new tub. We realized all to late that a new body would've cost us the same. The tub bottom was cut and shifted anteriorly, the last 10 inches of the tub wall was chopped on both sides. The last 10 inches of the chassis was chopped, though the Jeep looks short, the rear wheel arch didn't match up after the 17 inch NDMS tyres. We had it marked twice and cut once down to the last centimeter but it beats us how this could've happened.

[drsamuelk]

The wheelbase was never altered and so was the inter-distance between the tub wheel arches, this should'nt have caused an obvious mismatch between the tyre and real wheel arch. Somehow the rear part of the vehicle appears slightly higher than the front.

[drsamuelk]

Next came a turbo charger and we decided not to push our luck and stuck to a low boost with a KKK04 turbo, flanges were customized by our mechanic Mr.Mani and the fittings were not just perfect but a thing of beauty. It is always a pleasure to see a nice lathe machined part. Unfortunately we didn't photograph those.
It is rare that one finds a mechanic who matches our wave length. Mr.Mani has been an expert of the B275 and has worked with passion throughout the project.
The lubricating oil for the turbo was taken via a Y piece at oil pressure gauge tubing beginning and drained back to the oil pan via a tubing.
A plenum with a volume of a little over 2.5 litres was added at the intake and an intercooler mounted vertically, in front of the radiator because of tubing length issues. A few things had to be moved around for space, namely air filter and battery. The air filter was mounted externally on the right front fender with a small spout for a cold air intake. We were not planning on a tall snorkel because we simply didn't intend to ford in deep water and cosmetically this air filter looks cool.
A pressure equalizing tubing from valve cover to oil pan was added and made open to atmosphere. This equalizes the pressure in the valve chamber and the bottom of the engine. These are standard procedures while turbocharging, I hope not to bore anyone but this is to help someone who intends to turbo his engine in the future.

[drsamuelk]

The steering wheel was replaced from Massey Ferguson tractor one, it is larger in diameter and is of the milling type (not the keyed one); surprisingly it fit perfectly. The differential pumpkins are pressure equalized to atmosphere to allow water fording. The front wheels got a pair of free wheeling hubs.
The body tub was scraped down to bare metal by Rahul, this was something he took a lot of pride in, much to the dismay of his neighbours over 4 long months. As you can see in the pictures much of this work was done outside his house. Vellore is known for its extreme hot summers, unpredictable rains in the winter months and not to forget the mosquitoes. He lost count of the amount of different grades of sand paper and rustoleum cans bought. Soon he was the most valuable customer of the local hardware store. We then saw a post on TBHP and found out all too late that sand blasting facility was available in Kanchipuram. This could've saved out project a good 6 months, we are not in a hurry. The fun in a project is the pleasure of doing it and not rushing. Meticulous work always pays, don't be in hurry to get on the road. Rahul completed the putty and scraping work over the next few weeksand finally gave it to a painter. We chose the color shade "Khaki moss".

Finally the electrical work, we decided not to shy from macho bling and designed our own instrument console. The jeep usually has a rustic look because of the few gauges and a flat bland dash. We decided to throw in a whole lot of gauges. So if there was a problem we would get to it before “Houston” did. We added 3 temperature gauges in the oil pan, radiator and intake plenum.
We added lots of lights and switches, lots of electrical cut outs, a boost gauge, button start. The fun part is the button start, it got a modern feel when you lean over and press a button to start the engine.

[drsamuelk]

[drsamuelk]

The ride is definitely refined, the handling is better, the steering is neat and less strenuous, the throttle response is good. The turbo kicks in pretty early with the distinct whine. We have kept the same 3 speed GB the vehicle reaches a cool 80-90 kmph. Offroad characteristics haven't changed much. The ride on the whole is rewarding and does turn heads. Thats our friend Praveen with Rahul's Rott Yoshi in a place called Karigiri, Vellore. It is close to VIT engineering college, Vellore. It's a perfect place to go off the road and of course there is the Palar river bed too which is popular for the Palar offroad challenge.

[drsamuelk]

Praveen owned a MM540 later but likes coming back to the open CJ







Inset is a pic of Rahul and me with the Massey steering. That's Rahul in the operating room. A lot people don't take us seriously given our background but thats not what we're after. We know our stuff and owe it those who freely share online







I'm writing this on behalf of Rahul since it was our last project together. It started as two enthusiastic senior anesthesia doctors opening up an enfield engine in 2006 and never looked back. Thanks to a whole lot of stuff online and lessons learnt from other projects on Tbhp, we en massed a lot of technical knowledge in a short time. Rahul continues to work in Vellore as a senior anesthetist. Rahul was the backbone of this project, especially when it comes to turbocharging, calculating pressures, tolerances and the nitty gritty of engine mods and I'm found of design, asthetics and electricals. He continues to own and ride this Jeep.
I quit Vellore and worked my way to the Middle East. Me and Rahul are in touch online on other projects but this jeep will be special.
There are millions of cars in the Middle East but a mans ride is a mans ride, some things never depreciate even in the Middle East like a 20 year old Jeep or a 30 year old Nissan Patrol. After all men will be men and across continents and will have similar likings.
There is nothing like sipping a hot tea in a shack back home, in the evenings and talking over a jeep, somethings that money will never buy.

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the 4x4 Section. Thanks for sharing!

[wanderernomad]

Nice to see another beautiful jeep. I have a 84 cj 500 but with the peugeot xdp4.9 engine. The restoration thread is there on the forum. Yours seems to be a mwb 81" wheel base. The cockpit sure looks like from a vintage aircraft and not a jeep .
Could you please write a bit more on the present reliablity of the turbo setup and the costs involved?

[drsamuelk]

Thanks WND, it is a mwb jeep. Rahul sourced an used turbo, had it opened and refurbished. Its a KKK04 used in a Scorpio. The turbo + refurbishing cost him 4k, the plumbing was made by him. He sourced the tubings locally and had them bent and cut to size. The intercooler is a used one from Hyundai for Rs 600. Two connector flanges for Rs 200 each. Oil supply Y piece and tubing, oil return tubing and connector welded to pan. pressure equalizing connectors and tubing from valve cover to engine bottom. The total turbocharging work must've been around 6 k.
Reliability, hmm... the jeep has done 1000 km till now, we hope it lasts. Since the B275 is an iron head like the MDI, it should take punishment.
Correct me if I'm wrong, aren't the xdp series with aluminium head? Well if it is, then I would worry. You should look up xdp forums from Europe, it was a popular car engine in the eighties.

[drsamuelk]

Another mod Rahul reminded me to add was when the mech opened the transfer case, Rahul changed the ball and spring (in the hi/low stick) to a new one and added 2 shims till it became tight to shift.
He then dared to remove the interlock pin between the two shafts, this allowed the transfer case to engage in 2 WD - low mode. This helps the Jeep to scale steep gradients in 2WD low mode with the 3 gears functional.

[FINTAIL]

Originally Posted by drsamuelk

Correct me if I'm wrong, aren't the xdp series with aluminium head? Well if it is, then I would worry. You should look up xdp forums from Europe, it was a popular car engine in the eighties.

Yes, indeed.

The XDP 4.something was a Peugeot engine. Very very reliable.

Of course, the aluminium head had a tendency to warp; but that is manageable- if you drive sanely.

[drsamuelk]

The above image is the interlocking pin between the two sticks of the transfer case, removing this enabled us to get 2WD low.

[drsamuelk]

Fintail and WND, the B275 and the MDI engines are iron heads and withstand the positive pressure from the turbo. We have run our jeep for just 1000 km so far but if anything blows, we'll put it up in the forum with pictures.
I don't know if anyone has turbocharged the naturally aspirated XDP engines sold in India. It is one thing to do it and another to make it last. Wiki mentions there were XD3T (turbocharged) and XD3TE (turbocharged with IC) sold in Europe. I honestly don't know if these had the same aluminum head.
Now with the Law against diesels above 2 litre in Delhi, I'm afraid we are going to see Jeeps with smaller displacement engines with a turbo.