[gautam109]

She looks absolutely stunning in white with the black top and black grill at front. I see the spare tyre mount at the back - a mounted tyre will surely add lot of character.

Just a thought - how cool would whitewall tires look?!

[Driving_Nomad]

Originally Posted by BZ25

Congratulations sir, on restoring Athena. She, despite her ever-advancing years has preserved her beauty and your brilliant restoration highlights that. Hope you have a wonderful time with this true-blue Jeep!

Thanks BZ25!

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

That is a top notch rebuild job.

Even though your Jeep was standing in a yard, for god knows how many years, those radiator rubber hoses look like they are new.

Disc brakes are stock or is that an upgrade?

The radiator and intake hoses might have been replaced a year or two before the auction. But I am lucky that they weren't scavenged before the auction

Disc brakes in the front are a standard. Not sure from when they got added onto MM550 but most NGCSs I have seen had disc brakes as standard.

The Jeep was loaded in a covered truck from Pune. The Odo reading when I paid advance for the Jeep was 43971. One of my friends picked it up from the yard in Pune and towed it to his house where a Mech came and checked if it was in a starting condition (which the dealer had said, it was). My friend drove it around for about 10km and the truck guy drove it to the outskirts (add another 15km) of Pune where it was loaded to the truck. The reading when I took delivery was 43997, IIRC. By the time the restoration finished it was 44045. Then my mech test drove it for around 200km.

Originally Posted by Tgo

Wow! Such a lovely write-up. Congratulations on becoming a jeep rebuild expert. Which armed force would this white Jeep be used for, any idea?

This was with the southern command Indian Army's Southern command in Pune. How do I know? The logo (or am not sure what it's called) painted on the rear left corner on my Jeep is the Southern Command's.

Originally Posted by Kosfactor

Salute to those who restore a classic, any classic and especially Jeeps! It looks like the right side fender / Indicator lamp is a bit misaligned (sagging), maybe it's the camera angle but worth checking with a straight pipe of some sort. A CJ bumper should be available with Prestige automobiles JC road, should enhance the looks and it's very strong.

Nice catch! It was the indicator. the nuts had gotten loose and it was drooping. Applied thread-locker and fixed it.

Originally Posted by gautam109

She looks absolutely stunning in white with the black top and black grill at front. I see the spare tyre mount at the back - a mounted tyre will surely add lot of character.

Just a thought - how cool would whitewall tires look?!

Thanks, Gautam. I didn't want to change the wheels since:
a. My budget didn't allow me to
b. I somehow like this look.
Luckily, I found an exact match wheel from Gujjari last week and it's being sanded and painted as we speak. One of the Sandgrip tires that came along is a good shape for another 10K km so I would use that on the spare wheel for now.

IMO, whitewall tires would look good on Fiat 1100s, Morris Minor, Oxford and the like. What would look good on the Jeep are OWL tires. The cost difference between a normal and an OWL was simply atrocious and I settled for these.

Does anyone know what the best DIY way to paint the lettering in white would be? I have seen a couple of paint markers on Amazon but am skeptical.

[shashi792]

Wow, that's a nice project. How did the final wiring job go ?. Had you thought about using the current Thar's wiring harness with some modification to suit your requirement ?.

[hangover]

Originally Posted by Driving_Nomad

I was looking

Superb description and a great find of a vehicle.

The up arrow on army vehicles plates means it was purchased with govt. money.
It’s a universal sign called pheon.

Earlier it was used to mark the direction on rocks pointing the way to a water source.

[Driving_Nomad]

Originally Posted by shashi792

Wow, that's a nice project. How did the final wiring job go ?. Had you thought about using the current Thar's wiring harness with some modification to suit your requirement ?.

The wiring is still not a hundred percent. One thing I missed mentioning to the electrician was the fuse box. He conveniently bought a glass-fuse/capsule-fuse type fuse box and has installed it. Changing that to Blade fuse type is on the cards.

I had thought of using the Thar DI's wiring. But that would need modification too.

Originally Posted by hangover

Superb description and a great find of a vehicle.

The up arrow on army vehicles plates means it was purchased with govt. money.
It’s a universal sign called pheon.

Earlier it was used to mark the direction on rocks pointing the way to a water source.

Thanks
I was talking about this:

[yesyeswe]

Excellent work carried out by you and your mechanic and the result is beautiful I am interested in getting a thar someday but now i think that restoring would be a better option as I would be able to customize as per my needs. Can you share the price breakdown so that i can get a general idea of the expenses?

[Driving_Nomad]

Originally Posted by yesyeswe

Excellent work carried out by you and your mechanic and the result is beautiful I am interested in getting a thar someday but now i think that restoring would be a better option as I would be able to customize as per my needs. Can you share the price breakdown so that i can get a general idea of the expenses?

Thank you! If you have the moolah, I would still recommend going for a Thar. You could still customize it to your liking and needs. I got the 550 only because I was also going to buy the Jeep Compass, and I could not let my dream go un-realised!

The cost is very subjective and depends on what you want and what you can live with/without. The restoration costed me about 1.5L excluding the tires, the soft top, aux lights, the switch panel, seats and some other accessories. The cost of restoration would go northwards if you have to rebuild/overhaul the engine/transmission/TC. There's simply no one-size-fits-all.

I feel I actually paid more to the dealer itself. Again, depends entirely on what the right price for a 550 in a given condition should be and it's to each, his own.

There are several Jeep restorers in the north (Delhi/Mayapuri/Moga/Punjab) who claim to give you a an all done-up Jeep starting from 3L. However, I can't comment on the workmanship or on the jugaad on those jeeps as I don't have a first-hand experience. I would recommend going there and checking out for yourself.

[aveoman19]

Originally Posted by Driving_Nomad

Thanks
I was talking about this:
Attachment 1942949

That Sir, is the insignia of the Southern Command of the Indian Army. Lieutenant General Satinder Kumar Saini AVSM,YSM,VSM of the Jat Regiment (of which he is the colonel as well) is the current Commander of the Southern Command.

[Driving_Nomad]

Originally Posted by aveoman19

That Sir, is the insignia of the Southern Command of the Indian Army. Lieutenant General Satinder Kumar Saini AVSM,YSM,VSM of the Jat Regiment (of which he is the colonel as well) is the current Commander of the Southern Command.

Thanks. The term "insignia" wasn't coming to my mind however hard I tried.

[bikertillidie]

Nice restoration.

Which place in Pune/dealer did you pick it up from?

[Driving_Nomad]

Originally Posted by bikertillidie

Nice restoration.

Which place in Pune/dealer did you pick it up from?

It's on the right hand side after the new tunnel on Pune-satara road towards Bengaluru, next to the Ashok Leyland service center.
Please PM me if you want the phone number of the dealer. Am not sure if it's right to put it on a public forum without his permission.

[Jajabor]

Wonderful and detailed restoration project of your 550. I think you have kept the original XD3P engine.

I too am a proud owner of an ex Military MM550 NGCS restored fully with a DI Turbo engine installed.

Uploading two pictures of my 550:

[Sasanka_Sanga]

I can say that this post has been elucidated the most passionate way. Congratulations on your new acquisition. We will be waiting for your off-road experience review and pictures while the jeep is doing its job.

[Driving_Nomad]

Originally Posted by Jajabor

Wonderful and detailed restoration project of your 550.I think you have kept the original Xd3p engine...

I too am a proud owner of an ex Military MM550 NGCS restored fully with a DI Turbo engine installed.

Uploading two pictures of my 550

I like the tune of the XD3P engine although it's not rev-happy. The engine was in a good condition and didn't need an overhaul. Trust me, even the glow-plugs were in a good condition.

I am however looking for an NGT-520/530/530R with a Borg-Warner transfer case so I can get the 5th gear (0.8:1, if I am not wrong) and cruise at decent speeds on a highway without straining the engine. I came across a few GB-TC examples but the prices were sky-high for combos that needed to be overhauled.

That being said, a question to the gurus, can I mate a NGT gearbox with the T-18 transfer case I have? Just thinking if it would reduce the cost.

Originally Posted by Sasanka_Sanga

I can say that this post has been elucidated the most passionate way. Congratulations on your new acquisition. We will be waiting for your off-road experience review and pictures while the jeep is doing its job.

Thank you!

The OTRs these days are at a total different level, and with AT tyres, I am not sure if I can even get through a couple of stages. There are people who like it and I don't intend any disrespect to anyone. It's just that I love the OTRs of yester-years where it was more of learning and application of skill than mere timing and prizes. I am waiting for such an OTR to happen down south and would definitely attend if/when that happens.

[Driving_Nomad]

Jeep gurus,

I have found an NGT 520 Gearbox with Borg Warner TC for a good price. However, am not sure whether it's electric or manual shift?

Can someone help me recognize ?

Further, is my understanding correct that I will be able to cruise comfortably at 90-95 if I mate this with the XD3P?
Any downsides?

I guess I will have to change the axles too, from the right offset to the center diff. Does anyone have an idea of how much that would cost?

Thanks,
Driving nomad