[GoSlow]

Hi Somen

Saw you in your jeep flying down Khel Gaon marg on Saturday afternoon. I was with my family in and I pointed out to my wife - "That's somen in his new jeep!!". I was going the opp direction to you.

Good to see you enjoying your vehicle!!

Cheers
Ankit

[Kandisa]

Jasvinder, thanks and indeed this was sheer test of patience for me. Particularly after the initial mechanicals were done and there was no competent denter/painter available it was like a deadlock situation. But i always stuck to the point even if it takes more time, let it be, at the end the result should be the way i want it to be.

Ankit, see thats the beauty of the jeep, you can easily identify the person if you know the jeep. Will let you know when next time i bring it to office, will try to stop by the expressway to show it to you.

Regarding the happenings in between:
- gearbox seal was changed as its been quite some time the jeep remained idle
-a reverse light has been fixed
- bought & fitted a pair of quite decent condition AISIN free wheeling hubs
- slight rectification of the top from the sides has been done
-wheel hubs have been painted
-got a new glove box cover
-new mats to put over the carpet and a housing for the main gear lever
- greasing of the joints

The bull has arrived home and got a divine touch at a nearby mandir. Here are some snaps.























All pics courtesy my better-half. She has been taking the pain to document each and every step the jeep has gone through so far. Also all the pics have been posted as it is, no time to do any PS so far.

The experience with the driving so far:
As i mentioned earlier, clutch is really light, steering is quite easy and the engine is really refined and smooth. After the FWHs were fitted the drive became even smoother and after the greasing it eased up further. Now it really cruises effortlessly. The jeep has been driven for around 500 Kms till now and the F.E. is coming around 11.5 - 12. There is no heating, no leakage or any dripping issues. Actually i didn't have to top up the water in the radiator till now! Its turning out to be a reliable and easy-to-drive jeep, the two conditions which were most important for me. I am getting habituated with people staring at the vehicle while passing by and the best part is that the bikers/autos/cycle wallahs who are the most common nuisance in noida roads, don't dare to cut the path from here and there. Even if someone tries, just a honk and its good enough to check him!

Now here I would like to mention the experience when i took it to Classic Motors for the greasing thing. All the stuffs kept staring at the vehicle with a confused look the moment i stopped there. This old man who handles the servicing comes out after seeing the jeep, asks where i got the jeep done with pleasant smile on his face and starts writing on the job card what i want to get done.
The Man: So the model is 540
Me: No its 440.
The Man: 550?
Me: No 440.
The Man: What model was this?
Me: This was a petrol version of the 540 and came for some limited time.
The Man: Oh, this was a petrol jeep. So now it has diesel.
I can't help but started the jeep and politely told it still has petrol only. The sound ensured him of the type of fuel. More in the vicinity of new boleros, couple of which came there for the servicing, making the typical diesel noise. Finally he wrote the model name as 440 DP...!

Now one of the drivers of this govt bolero comes close to have a detailed look and tells the old guy: "Mahindra is coming out with really good looking new models. This seems to be in the same genre as the scorpio"..!! Now the 1st guy started explaining to this person " No no its pretty old, 86 model. But this has a petrol engine........" Needless to mention, i enjoyed every bit of it.
Yesterday i drove it to my office, at a remote place in Gr. Noida and it was a treat to see people looking inside out of the jeep while it was standing in between the Logans, SX4s, Accents! There were couple of people in the office who initially didn't understand why on earth somebody will buy an old jeep these days. But all of them were pretty convinced yesterday....after all its a JEEP thing, takes some time to understand....

-regards,

[harjeev]

Somuen I cannot help but say this over and over again!!!
You jeep looks killer dude!!!
The last picture at night is the best!!!

I hope that you are planning to keep it the way it is and not add any additional fogs lights etc???


And BTW where did you get those ASIN FWH's??? I want to get a pair for my CJ3B???

[Samurai]

Wow, I am blown away. The quality of work is just awesome.

[mohang_j]

Excellent JEEP. No words to explain.

[NIP]

K I L L E R 440 you have there ! The detailing of the carpets, seats etc is awesome ! Please dont take this beauty to an OTR

[AarEmm]

Soumen,

You have a beauty there. Congrats to you and Mandeep for doing such a perfect restoration.

I have the same question as Harjeev - Where did you get the ASIN free wheeling hubs from?

The position of Reverse light is odd. Any specific reasons for putting it at this place? And why only on one side?

AarEmm

[renegade]

The position of Reverse light is odd. Any specific reasons for putting it at this place? And why only on one side?

AarEmm[/quote]

The position of the reverse light is temporary and will be mounted at right place later when the other fabricated parts will be mounted which are being manufactured.

cheers

mandeep

[Kandisa]

Thanks a lot Harjeev, Samurai, mohang_j,NIP,AarEmm for your appreciation.

AarEmm & Harjeev, we got the hubs from someone in mayapuri whom mandeep knew. But it really took hell of time to get a pair of right hubs as most of those were not in perfect condition. Its better to rather get brand new Lambda FWH's from kashmere Gate, will cost you around 3200 approx a pair. Thats slightly expensive, but will be hassle free.

Originally Posted by NIP

...The detailing of the carpets, seats etc is awesome ! Please dont take this beauty to an OTR

Well incidentally the seats came like this only and it matches the tone of the jeep, so no separate work has been done on the seats! Also carpets have been made in a way that it takes just 5 minutes to take off and put back. So if we intend to get the jeep dirty we can alwyas take it off temporarily. As per OTR is concerned, well this jeep has not been built for an OTR-exclusive vehicle, as i mentioned previously. We will be more interested to hit the mountains and jungles and exploring the nature; just waiting for winter to come. It will be unique experience on the mountains in a petrol jeep with the top off.

Originally Posted by AarEmm

..The position of Reverse light is odd. Any specific reasons for putting it at this place? And why only on one side?

As mandeep has already explained, the position is temporary. Actually we have not attended to the details of the lights at all till now. The position of the backlights also are going to be changed and accordingly the reverse light too. Though personally i feel putting the reverse light at the bottom will make it prone to damage. And to serve the purpose one light is good enough for the time being. Harjeev, there will be some additional lights in the front, but not now. If i would have enough money, i could have straightway put some Lightforce or Hellas in the front! Actually this is the base version of the jeep and some more stuffs will be added on in due course of time.

- regards,

[AarEmm]

Soumen - Thanks for your response on the reverse light. Do post an update after you have the permanent lights in place. I am wondering which reverse lights to use on my jeep and where to place them.
Lightforce will look great on your jeep but agree with you that they are expensive.

AarEmm

[motorpsycho]

Kandisa a very good write up enjoyed reading it a lot.The colour has come awesome. I'm not an offroader,but for some reason I love projects like yours where people go and get the car/bike/JEEP they always wanted to. They always inspire me to go for it.
regards.
Motorpsycho

[4x4 loaded]

Originally Posted by Kandisa

.... Also carpets have been made in a way that it takes just 5 minutes to take off and put back. So if we intend to get the jeep dirty we can alwyas take it off temporarily. As per OTR is concerned, well this jeep has not been built for an OTR-exclusive vehicle, as i mentioned previously. We will be more interested to hit the mountains and jungles and exploring the nature; just waiting for winter to come. It will be unique experience on the mountains in a petrol jeep with the top off.

Fantasticly done Soumen !! How did you place the carpet. Did you just put it like that or is it clipped or hooked?
Saikat

[Kandisa]

Originally Posted by motorpsycho

.....I'm not an offroader,but for some reason I love projects like yours where people go and get the car/bike/JEEP they always wanted to. They always inspire me to go for it....

Thanks a lot,will be really happy if this thread acts as a source of inspiration. There are couple of such inspirational stories here in TBhp itself. And I am not an offroader either, just trying to be a jeeper

Originally Posted by 4x4 loaded

Fantasticly done Soumen !! How did you place the carpet. Did you just put it like that or is it clipped or hooked?
Saikat

Thanks Saikat, yes it is more of simple placement, taking care of the design of the floor and mounts in between.

Originally Posted by AarEmm

Soumen - Thanks for your response on the reverse light. Do post an update after you have the permanent lights in place. I am wondering which reverse lights to use on my jeep and where to place them.
Lightforce will look great on your jeep but agree with you that they are expensive.
AarEmm

Welcome. Will surely update once it is done. And being in cash crunch, other upgradations are priority for me than the light.

[Kandisa]

After driving the jeep on road for a few hundred kilometers, last two weekends me and wifey decided to try out the 4x4 mechanism. So we woke up early in the morning and drove through the surrounding areas of our sector where we can try this out without catching much of attention! Though finally it so happened almost all of the handful of vehicles which were passing by, stopped or slowed down to see what was on..! After all thats not a very familiar site for everyone! The most hilarious was: two guys in Accent stopped and thought some accident has taken place and the vehicle has accidentally climbed this way! Here are a couple of pics to share.




















Finally a snap in the rains




-regards,

[GoSlow]

Somen buddy you need an OTR. Join us for the next one. I missed this weekend OTR as well.