Originally Posted by khan_sultan

Dan,

A new MPFI Gypsy will easily give you 10 KMPL in city and 13+ on highway. I have a MPFI one and have NOT EVER got less than that.

I think that's reasonable for a petrol 1.3L MPFI off-roader that is a true all rounder

If the low end torque of the petrol block is what you are worried about, I have a solution for that also. Just wait for my next set of mods (after testing the locker extensively). I will ensure that my gypsy gets TONS of low end torque -- one that will match/surpass the low end torque of virtually ANY comparable block .


Cheers,

This might sound sacrilegious, but what about using LPG/CNG on the highways and cities, and using petrol for offroading? if that is not practical, I'll stick to diesel MMs

@khansultan- stop teasing us on various threads and tell us what you have planned. new gear ratios?

[khan_sultan]

Originally Posted by rippergeo

This might sound sacrilegious, but what about using LPG/CNG on the highways and cities, and using petrol for offroading? if that is not practical, I'll stick to diesel MMs..

Possible. I know atleast 2 of my Gypsy owning friends who do this. LPG for city and petrol for OTR's (or at times even LPG for moderate conditions)

Was talking to one friend just yesterday and he was mentioning 400Kms + on full LPG tank.

Cheers,

[4x4addict]

Cost on running on LPG prices are comparable to running on diesel. Maybe this is an option assuming you can live with the loss of space due to the lpg tank.

[Steeroid]

Originally Posted by simply_sunny001

This is highway robbery still considering that you are buying a brand new engine for 1.75 L.

You havent seen highway robbery yet - I paid almost exactly that amount and the engine I got was a 2nd hand Contessa petrol engine that sounds worse than a diesel and makes you wonder whether you're sitting on the passenger seat or inside the engine bay. My father, an ex-ship repair contractor, told me he felt nostalgic while sitting in the car - he was reminded of the engine room of the ancient ships that serve the Lakshadweep route.

I can tell you a few things about daylight robbery. And then some more. This estimate seems like a loving gift when compared to what my garage did to me.

DD - if these hyderabad chaps give you a Jeep for a firm price, go for it. Else please ensure that you are around at the time of the rebuild to supervise on a day-to-day basis and keep a close eye on costs and bought out items. Take the advice about the Gypsy very very seriously - hell you may even be able to plonk a MJD/Quadrajet/Multijet 1.3 engine into one and enjoy more torque.

Else you will end up like I did with my infamous Landmaster restoration - I wouldnt want that to happen to my worst enemy (caveat - that doesnt include the garage, who deserve that and more).

[DHABHAR.BEHRAM]

Well said Steeroid - you went through the infamous experience (hell) so you know. See the wanderlust experience of Madbullram of Chennai in this thread - poor fellow, something just touched, pipe came off and there goes 30000 bucks. Sad. Many people want good vehicles and are willing to pay but there is nobody to make them because they DO NOT KNOW (your case). I am insulated from all this nonsense and I have realised that I have the core competence and the unique ability to guide people in totality which others do not have. Maybe I should do something about it. Please do let me know your thoughts by PM. Also give me your contact numbers, I will call you.

By the way, what's happening to BML2302 now?

Best regards,

Behram Dhabhar

[simply_sunny001]

Originally Posted by Steeroid

You havent seen highway robbery yet - I paid almost exactly that amount and the engine I got was a 2nd hand Contessa petrol engine that sounds worse than a diesel and makes you wonder whether you're sitting on the passenger seat or inside the engine bay. My father, an ex-ship repair contractor, told me he felt nostalgic while sitting in the car - he was reminded of the engine room of the ancient ships that serve the Lakshadweep route.

i now understand what Highway Robbery means

Originally Posted by Steeroid

Else you will end up like I did with my infamous Landmaster restoration - I wouldnt want that to happen to my worst enemy (caveat - that doesnt include the garage, who deserve that and more).

In my place people are not at all so much forgiving like you,if such bad things happen,things will surely go worse.

Anyways thanks for the eyeopener

[DirtyDan]

Originally Posted by Steeroid

I can tell you a few things about daylight robbery. And then some more. This estimate seems like a loving gift when compared to what my garage did to me.

There had been a flurry of threads and posts about Punjab sales and restorations of jeeps in the months leading to my visits to Moga. Part of the reason for this thread is to show what kind of trouble you can get yourself into by proceding thus. This having been said, I only talked to 2 shops. There may be a good one there that I did not find. As Samurai said, in the end it still comes down to looking somebody straight in the eye and giving him your trust and your stash of cash. This site and these threads can maybe swing the odds in your favor a little more, hopefully.

Originally Posted by DHABHAR.BEHRAM

Many people want good vehicles and are willing to pay but there is nobody to make them ... I have realised that I have the core competence and the unique ability to guide people...

Behram, if you do not want to go into business full time with your own shop and capital outlay, maybe you could hire out as a project manager type person who would act as a liaison between the customer and a competent shop.

I am waiting for the present heavy monsoon to subside and flooding downstream in the Punjab to abate. In a few days I shall sally forth once again to maybe Chandigarh and/or Ludhiana to look for jeeps and shops.
I actually had a good talk with a MM dealer in Palampur, a small town 35K east of me. The manager wanted the restore business but he was very candid with me. He told me that he had a small shop with no machining capability and that, way up here at the base of the front range, parts are slow coming from the factory. He also told me he would happily give me a line item order estimate which he would adhere to with 10% plus or minus. More to follow when/if it stops raining.

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by rippergeo

This might sound sacrilegious, but what about using LPG/CNG on the highways and cities, and using petrol for offroading?

Does it now? The Gypsy that pulled me out in Muthodi had the exact setup. LPG for highways, petrol for offroading, and still could seat 8 people and luggage.

[DHABHAR.BEHRAM]

Dear Dan - your suggestion I have considered 100 times, and I quote "Behram, if you do not want to go into business full time with your own shop and capital outlay, maybe you could hire out as a project manager type person who would act as a liaison between the customer and a competent shop".

It will be a mitigated disaster. Please refer to my Fiat cars in the vintage and classic car section of this forum. I restored 3 of them and went almost crazy doing it. Please suggest some other alternative.

Best regards,

Behram Dhabhar

[Steeroid]

Originally Posted by simply_sunny001

In my place people are not at all so much forgiving like you,if such bad things happen,things will surely go worse.

I havent forgiven and I do not forget. I'm just currently occupied with various other personal issues that prevent me from doing a good job of fixing the jokers involved.

Trust me, when the time comes they will wish they were elsewhere.

Now lets get back to getting Dan Dirty.

[headers]

Originally Posted by khan_sultan

If the low end torque of the petrol block is what you are worried about, I have a solution for that also. Just wait for my next set of mods (after testing the locker extensively). I will ensure that my gypsy gets TONS of low end torque -- one that will match/surpass the low end torque of virtually ANY comparable block .


Cheers,

WOW-KS, I'm all ears for that !


@DD - Good you scrapped the project, sometimes, it becomes inevitable that we do certain things!

[rangan]

i too am planning on the same setup.
planning on buying a used gypsy and then add-on LPG, use it for highways and city and convert to petrol on OTR's.

wanted to get some first-hand opinions about it from someone who uses this setup.

[sreerajunnithan]

Originally Posted by rangan

i too am planning on the same setup.
planning on buying a used gypsy and then add-on LPG, use it for highways and city and convert to petrol on OTR's.

wanted to get some first-hand opinions about it from someone who uses this setup.

Contact Dwaraka, He uses the same setup.

Thanks
--Sree--

[headers]

I've used this setup sometime ago. Initially it was fine when LPG was 24. Now it does not make sense to me, Current LPG is 35 odd.

Also, as mine was a carburetted gypsy King, I found engine timing to be an issue. Realised that this setup screws the engine in the long run. Hence I do NOT advocate that. I realised the Gypsy is a beautiful vehicle in stock petrol engine form, while LPG spoils it.

Also, with LPG it would not cross 95-100 kph on the highways and it needed to be revved to reach there. Currently, am able to do 120 with ease!

So please dont go the LPG way. It is like

[supremeBaleno]

Originally Posted by DirtyDan

Yeah, I know Gypsy has quality. The only thing that stops me is the petrol motor and its fuel average.

Looks like you have come around to the general Indian thinking - mileage kya hai ?

But then, as khan_sultan mentions below, the FE of a new Gypsy seems pretty reasonable to me. More so, because many comparable sedans out here dish out more or less the same FE. And this is an off-roader.

Originally Posted by khan_sultan

A new MPFI Gypsy will easily give you 10 KMPL in city and 13+ on highway. I think that's reasonable for a petrol 1.3L MPFI off-roader that is a true all rounder

Originally Posted by 4x4addict

They way I look at it, They Gypsy is like a moutain goat and the MM540 is like a wild bison. Both can scale pretty steep mountains, they just do it very differently.

That is a nice way of putting both contenders in perspective.

Originally Posted by headers

Realised that this setup screws the engine in the long run. Hence I do NOT advocate that. I realised the Gypsy is a beautiful vehicle in stock petrol engine form, while LPG spoils it. So please dont go the LPG way.

+1 to that. And this is not just for the Gypsy, but for most (if not all) petrol cars. You might get economy with LPG, but it surely spoils the driving experience. Been there, done that. And never ever going there, even if petrol costs 200 bucks a litre.

There are times I wished I bought a Gypsy instead of the Baleno. And this inspite of almost nil interest in off-roading. The FE might have been 2-3 kms less for city/highway, but it sure would have been nice for Chennai roads - no worrying about autos or pesky bikers. Sigh.