[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by keroo1099

I think the Monroe shocks on Shankar's car are totally worth the money. I felt the ride quality of his Gypsy was better than my 410. The 413 felt more planted at speed, and the ride felt more supple at slow speeds.

His 413 with the K&N has a very nice top end.

So the Spitfire is back in the garage from today.
Spoke to Ranjith of RAC.
Definitely we have a solenoid switch problem in the starter motor.
And that thick rubber hose needs changing.
The three or four prop shaft couplings and the star joint will be dismantled and checked up. No need to change anything until absolutely necessary he said.
The four sets of leaf springs will be dismantled and re cambered as befits a proper Gypsy and the stance will also get corrected from the present 'right wing low' position when the Gypsy is at a stand still.
He said that my steering box is not necessarily problematic. He mentioned that since my Gypsy is heavier with its hardtop, heavier gearbox and even engine, it would never be as pliant a steering as the soft top old Gypsy.
He also stated that those old fully Japanese Gypsys were in many ways superior to the newer Kings which were made for the most part including their ancillary parts, here in India.
So lets wait and see.

[lobojames9]

Lately, I have been following this thread closely. I will soon be an owner of a Gypsy and I am glad that I have some help if I need it in Bangalore. It will be a 2011 Hardtop. It's been a childhood dream and I am excited that it will finally be fulfilled.

Contrary to the wisdom shared on the forum, I have taken a big risk of going ahead with an auctioned Gypsy which will go through a complete restoration. The bigger risk is that it is not being done close to home. While, I know I will receive some brick bats for this, I have some faith in my restorer and I am pretty confident that a good job will be done.

I will start a new thread once work begins and I have enough information and pictures to post. Wish me luck!

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by lobojames9

Lately, I have been following this thread closely. I will soon be an owner of a Gypsy and I am glad that I have some help if I need it in Bangalore. It will be a 2011 Hardtop. It's been a childhood dream and I am excited that it will finally be fulfilled.



Contrary to the wisdom shared on the forum, I have taken a big risk of going ahead with an auctioned Gypsy which will go through a complete restoration. Wish me luck!

Good to hear this. And I wish you good luck.
A 2011 model is going to be in better shape than an older one.
If you need any help let us know. I ve just been through a thorough restoration these last 8-9 months.
If you're in Bangalore I can recommend RAC Garage.
If you like I can PM the details to you.

The Gypsy is a great vehicle.
You will have fun with it!

All the best!

[lobojames9]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

Good to hear this. And I wish you good luck.
A 2011 model is going to be in better shape than an older one.
If you need any help let us know. I ve just been through a thorough restoration these last 8-9 months.
If you're in Bangalore I can recommend RAC Garage.
If you like I can PM the details to you.

The Gypsy is a great vehicle.
You will have fun with it!

All the best!

Thank you Shankar. It's an ex Air India Gypsy. The work has just begun. So I think it will be sometime in the end of September when I will see the vehicle in Bangalore. I will definitely reach out to you then. I have been following your posts and have made a note of RAC Garage. Thank you for the pointer. We should meet when my Gypsy finally arrives. So that I can get some kind of feedback on the quality of restoration. Fingers crossed.

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by lobojames9

Thank you Shankar. It's an ex Air India Gypsy. The work has just begun. So I think it will be sometime in the end of September when I will see the vehicle in Bangalore. I will definitely reach out to you then. I have been following your posts and have made a note of RAC Garage. Thank you for the pointer. We should meet when my Gypsy finally arrives. So that I can get some kind of feedback on the quality of restoration. Fingers crossed.

Its a long road mate - the journey of restoration is fraught with frustrations and requires a lot of patience - no chance for instant gratification here!

But it is an enjoyable journey (albeit heavy on the pocket), but you must always keep the end goal in mind!

[headers]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

@headers: like I said I have changed the sparkers and coils and the MpFI engine and jets etc are all thoroughly clean.
And today it didnt jerk after I had warmed it up a bit.

Am glad it worked for you, finally!!

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by headers

Am glad it worked for you, finally!!

I had given the Gypsy to RAC a few days back directly after going and visiting Keroo.
I took it back this afternoon.

A brand new solenoid switch assembly, connectors and some fresh wiring have been done.
Ranjith also detected that there was a wire or two connected to the throttle body which were loose-ish so these wires also are replaced.

He took a test drive today and pronounced the Gypsy ok. I drove it back from the garage and it seems better than when it went in. I ll take a longer drive in it tomorrow and see.

[shankar.balan]

Im just re posting this here so that anyone who is servicing or restoring a Gypsy has access to this information ref the Oils, grades, quantities etc that are needed for the vehicle.

[shankar.balan]

Drizzly morning. Golf Game Cancelled. 40km drive along outer ring road and various internal places and back. 630am to 745am.
Gypsy feels good indeed.
Idling a bit high. Need to check that aspect.
Plus I think I will re camber the springs a bit to lower the Gypsy stance a little more (1'inch or so) so as to get closer to factory spec.
At this angle of pic one can clearly see how it is sitting right wing low when parked on level ground. Definitely requires a re camber job on its springs.
Its back home now waiting for a splash of clean water and subsequent covering with its tarpaulin.

[shankar.balan]

70 Km drive all around blr today. Gypsy behaved perfectly.
Except once when the self starter went click click and didnt give juice to start. But I switched off and re tried and it started.
This is a weird intermittent issue.
Anyway Im giving the Gypsy in to the workshop for its leaf springs re cambering job and general work and hopefully along with these works I can have this self starter issue also sorted. Worst case I will change the starter motor and ignition assembly totally.

[Arpan16]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

Except once when the self starter went click click and didnt give juice to start. But I switched off and re tried and it started.

Hi Shankar,
I have a 2006 ex army, and have the same issue. On a cold start the engine starts up at one go. But after it has ran for some 30 mins or for 20+ kms and stop for a break, restarting with the engine warm, the self goes click click for a few times and it slowly starts as if waking up from a slumber.
What I observed when this happens is the throttle body is pretty warm, almost as much as the engine head. I do not have a temperature issue as recently I had the radiator cleaned out manually. The indicator stays within the lower half. Did you observe anything like this?

Best regards,
Arpan

[AutoSphere]

Originally Posted by Arpan16

Hi Shankar,
I have a 2006 ex army, and have the same issue. On a cold start the engine starts up at one go. But after it has ran for some 30 mins or for 20+ kms and stop for a break, restarting with the engine warm, the self goes click click for a few times and it slowly starts as if waking up from a slumber.
What I observed when this happens is the throttle body is pretty warm, almost as much as the engine head. I do not have a temperature issue as recently I had the radiator cleaned out manually. The indicator stays within the lower half. Did you observe anything like this?

Best regards,
Arpan

Sometimes the connections of the main cable from the battery to the starter motor are not tightened enough and they don't conduct well when the engine heats up. If I remember, there is also a solenoid attached to the starter motor which could be the cause. Again the solenoid itself may not be the problem, but the connections may be loose/dirty.

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by Arpan16

Hi Shankar,
I have a 2006 ex army, and have the same issue. On a cold start the engine starts up at one go. But after it has ran for some 30 mins or for 20+ kms and stop for a break, restarting with the engine warm, the self goes click click for a few times and it slowly starts as if waking up from a slumber.
What I observed when this happens is the throttle body is pretty warm, almost as much as the engine head. I do not have a temperature issue as recently I had the radiator cleaned out manually. The indicator stays within the lower half. Did you observe anything like this?

Best regards,
Arpan

I had similar problems with my Alto K10. After a lot of frustrating attempt in diagnosis I took it for battery replacement. What the battery person found was that the bolts that tighten the starter cable to the terminal was loose. Cleaned and tightened it - problem solved.

[Arpan16]

Originally Posted by Aroy

What the battery person found was that the bolts that tighten the starter cable to the terminal was loose. Cleaned and tightened it - problem solved.

Hmm, interesting. I have the negative terminal, which does not sit tight. The terminal clamp is cylindrical but the -ve battery lead (Exide-EK040 40AH) is tapered towards the top. I don't tighten the terminal screws, cause I had a habit of disconnecting both the leads from the battery to prevent a electrical leak/battery drain. Will have to replace the negative terminal for a snug fit then.Will definitely give this a shot. Thank you.

Regards,
Arpan

[AutoSphere]

Originally Posted by Arpan16

Hmm, interesting. I have the negative terminal, which does not sit tight. The terminal clamp is cylindrical but the -ve battery lead (Exide-EK040 40AH) is tapered towards the top. I don't tighten the terminal screws, cause I had a habit of disconnecting both the leads from the battery to prevent a electrical leak/battery drain. Will have to replace the negative terminal for a snug fit then.Will definitely give this a shot. Thank you.

Regards,
Arpan

Actually, the connections are the starter end are also likely to be the cause, since that location is more prone to be affected by heat/grime/oil/etc. So it may be useful to check them as well.