[bigman]

Got some pictures at last. Picture quality is not great but ok. It has a different camoflage pattern to some of the disposals bought by team-bhp members recently.

The engine, gearbox, axles, suspension have all been overhauled by the mechanic and the body and chassis are with a paint shop for rustproofing and spray job etc. It does have 2 doors and the hatch etc but it had been removed when the pictures were taken.

The biggest problem was with the engine. The sump etc was fine and the mechanic said it looked as though it had not done much mileage. However the head appeared to have been replaced with that from another vehicle and caused the most problems. In the end we bought a reconditioned XD3P engine and used the head from that (and the fuel pump) as Mahindra wanted RS22K for a new head whereas the reconditioned engine cost RS12K.

Going to get it sprayed the usual olive green or maybe Jeep Green (the colours look quite similar).

[nitrous]

Congratulations on the jeep.
Please remove pic#1 and #5.

[starter]

Hey Bigman,
Congratulations on your new Jeep. It looks very nice.
Wish you good luck on bringing it back to top shape.
Please keep us all updated with more pictures.
Cheers once again,
Deepak

[bigman]

Originally Posted by nitrous

Congratulations on the jeep.
Please remove pic#1 and #5.

Sorry, can't edit the post now.

Please keep us all updated with more pictures.

I will try to. Hopefully it will be ready by the next Friday.

[fk7]

congrats on the buy,

thats looks like a post 2000 model. Am i right?

FK

[bigman]

FK7,


Thanks.

I was told it was 2000 model but it had no free wheel hubs so might be a 2001 model. I will get my father to check the vehicle plate and take a picture of it.

[Ricky_3007]

Hi Satnam,

Finally you got the pics. All the best for the restoration . Keep updating the thread.

Tarkesh

[pulsar56]

Originally Posted by bigman

I was told it was 2000 model but it had no free wheel hubs so might be a 2001 model. I will get my father to check the vehicle plate and take a picture of it.

2000(or 2001) Model in such a shape? Seems like the previous owner never cared for it!

Congrats on your restoration project buddy.

[bigman]

Originally Posted by pulsar56

2000(or 2001) Model in such a shape? Seems like the previous owner never cared for it!

Congrats on your restoration project buddy.

Its an army disposal, you rarely get a1 condition vehicles being disposed by the army. Its actually not in bad condition its just when pictures were taken a few bits andbobs such as rear hatch and one of the door had been removed for some work.

Thanks Ricky, you had any joy with getting some glowplugs ?

The spray job starts on mine tomorrow.

[harjeev]

Hey Satnam
Its not the best 550's around but definitely not the worst. I have seen much much worse. Believe me as I have been to mayapuri countless times and its always better to buy a jeep as it comes from the army stock yard and pay less rather to buy a jeep which has been tinkered with, spray painted and then pay much more for it.
Atleast you know what you see is what you get and that what you paid for. So don't worry about it.

And its a 2001 model I can judge that from

• No free wheeling hubs
• I can see the markings of the tailgate hinges on the RHD so it should open from the left, whereas in 2000 and before that the tailgate opened from the RHD and hinges were on the LHD
• In 2000 models the instrument cluster on the dash dint have the black display panel, they had small small lights instead.

Th FWH can always be added. They range from 1.5-3k for second hand or brandnew, depends on what you want. There is a shop in kashmiri gate market that was selling brand new lambada hubs for 2.8k, if I remember correctly.

BTW I really like the camoflauge paint on your jeep. If I saw it first, I might have got this done.

Why dont you keep it. I dont think its against the law as I have seen some civillian gypsys in Corbett have similar prints.

Pl do keep updating us with the restoration as and when it progresses.

[bigman]

Thanks for confirming its 2001 model Harjeev.

Picked some FWH's up last week from Delhi when they got the reconditioned engine.

Apparently the current camo. paint job is against the law (according to locals and the mechanic) . I was thinking of going for desert sand or pale stone for the color but have now opted for a variation of dark green. Should be sprayed today.

[bigman]

Harjeev, I got my dad to check the vehicle today and it is a 2001 model so your analysis was spot on.

It is now going to the spray shop tomorrow, I guess they will drag it out for a few days and at the best, we can expect it to be ready middle of next week (if the mechanic and body shop guys pull their finger out).

[harjeev]

Hey satnam
Do you think that you will be able to get work done on the Holi day!!!
I seriously doubt it as mostly all shops, establishments are closed for this holiday and this is celebrated with much fanfare and enthusiasm.

But still your work is progression much faster that my jeep. Keep it up!!!

[bigman]

Harjeev.

I also doubt anything will be done over the next few days but you got to live in hope when they tell you they will be doing prep on tub in the morning. The guy said they still need to earn their roti on Holi so no day off.

The mechanic reckons everything will be ready for Saturday but there is more chance of me building a supersonic replacement for Concorde using a Maruti 800 engine in my garden than that happening.

I asked if they could make the soft-top and redo the seats now.... apparently the chap said they would get dirty if done now...surly if they were done now we could simply take them home and bring them back when the jeep was ready. The seat guy will probably claim he is out of the material next week then 2 days there will be no electric in town (of cause he will also have no generator) and another week will pass.

[desideep]

Sardar jee, congrats aap jee nu,

So there is a another jeep coming in. so what color have you planed bigman.