[digitalrider]

looks beautiful! Are you planning on a soft top or are you leaving it the way it is?

[bigman]

What a transformation. Looks like a nice spray job and detailing in the engine in matching colour.

I remember when you was looking to buy that dodgy rust bucket before you got the army 550. Good job you went for the army jeep instead of the rust bucket. This has come out very nice.

[4x4 loaded]

Thanks a lot guys for the compliments.

Originally Posted by digitalrider

looks beautiful! Are you planning on a soft top or are you leaving it the way it is?

We will be putting a removable soft top. Keeping the jeep all open in Calcutta means layers of dust seettling in everyday.

Originally Posted by bigman

What a transformation. Looks like a nice spray job and detailing in the engine in matching colour.
I remember when you was looking to buy that dodgy rust bucket before you got the army 550. Good job you went for the army jeep instead of the rust bucket. This has come out very nice.

Yes its always a privilege to drive an Army disposal jeep however the previous one was not that bad either had it been done under expert supervision. It looks worse in pics but not once you are infront of it. Uday sir had a look at it and later Brutus also saw it and was impressed with it. It had a well condition DI engine, open knuckle at the front, Scorpio hub and brodened leaf springs. A bling-bling city jeep without 4x4. We were not really serious about a 4x4 that time. The body work would have been done at the same garage so no issues. But the biggest problem would have been the mechanicals which would have been redone by the owner himself who is a scrap dealer. he is not trustworthy and I am sure it would have been a Jugaad vehicle at the end provided we knew nothing about jeeps earlier.

[4x4 loaded]

Dear All,

Its been a long time that our jeep is ready to hit the roads after getting the soft top and the seats done up. Its really unfortunate to say that it has been lying like that in the same garage since October last year. We contacted the broker who does the RTO job for UBS to get the paperworks done. He guaranteed the papers will be done up within 2-3 weeks from Alipore RTO. However this guy turned out to be almost a cheat and eversince he has been asking for more time and given us inumerous dates to give us the paper. Today my friend went to Uday sir's home where that broker asked us to be present. Today he said its not yet complete and promised to get it done by tomorrow. We are hoping for the best. The brand new paint of our jeep is covered up with a thick dust now. For the last few months we were terribly busy to check the matter on our own.Will post the further progress.

Regards..Saikat

[jeepster]

Originally Posted by 4x4 loaded

Its been a long time that our jeep is ready to hit the roads after getting the soft top and the seats done up.

However this guy turned out to be almost a cheat and eversince he has been asking for more time and given us inumerous dates to give us the paper.

Will post the further progress.

best of luck for paper work.
earlier pictures look really good, cant wait to see finished vehicle .
so please post some pictures of 550 along with soft top.

[4x4 loaded]

Originally Posted by jeepster

best of luck for paper work.
earlier pictures look really good, cant wait to see finished vehicle .
so please post some pictures of 550 along with soft top.

Latest Update:

Thanks bro. Atlast we were given a number though we were not yet given the papers. Yet we decided to take out the jeep anyways rather than let it to rot in the bodyshop. Adhiraj (Uday Sir's elder son) and another local jeeper: Ghanshyam are arranging a Recce at a place called Uttarpara. We already went there two weeks back and the place seemed to have a lot of potential for a big recce event to happen. Its the best way to check where the jeep is malfunctioning after sitting idle for such a long time.

Had the jeep washed in the shop and then went to Uday Sir's resi. Its just a couple of KMs from the bodyshop and we did not want to get into any hassles of driving a vehicle in Calcutta without valid papers, so no use of bringing it home right now. Will have the mechanicals checked once again at Udays Sir's workshop by Sadhan'da before and after the recce and then will complete the seat and soft top work.

The last time I could visit the shop was in November last year. That time I moved the jeep to a foot back and forth. There was no space to move it where it was kept.

Finally the drive:

1. We knew the jeep will surely come up with issues due to the long time non usage.The engine cranked at one go but could not engage any of the gear. Clutch was not working, obviously due to nonusage for a long time. The shopowner said he used to crank the engine occassionaly to keep the battery and the engine alive but he never engaged the gear. My fault- I should have understood that it was not his botheration and must have specifically instructed him to do so-wish I was not busy within this period. After trying out for 5-10 mins and a lots of cursing on my luck it finally worked.


2. Frankly speaking I dont have much of jeeping experience. I just knew for theory that the indicators need to be constantly monitored and various other stuffs under the bonnet. I noticed the battery light was continuously on. The meter stood at 10v. Ok I got the first issue. Decided not to stop as it was a very short distance to cover and I knew at any point help would be just a phone call away.

3. Last year I took the jeep for a recce for testing purpose(I already mentioned that in this thread) after the mechanical works were done at Uday Sir's workshop. That time there was a noise coming from the rear right wheel as it turned. That was to be taken care after the body work. Now after such a long time the noise has increased. It reduced a bit when I speeded up. It must be the brake shoe.

4. I think the brakes were not functioning upto the mark as the vehicle with disk brakes should be. The jeep would stop at a distance even if I press it with full pressure while driving at a slow speed.Again one more issue due to the jeep's long idle state I guess.

Finally reached Uday Sir's resi a bit late at around 10.30 at night. The first thing he noticed is the engine too hot. First he thought I might have come with the 4WD engaged. We check but it was in 2WD mode. I also reported him about the battery indicator. Then he opened the bonnet and discovered the fault. The fan belt was snapped- all the way we came without the radiator fan working and also the alternator ...well I already admitted earlier that I dont have much of an experience of owning a jeep so I ought to get the benefit of doubt rather than perceived as too stupid...will post the current pics...right now I am pretty excited about the big event after a few hours.

Regards...Saikat

[rods2580]

Hi Saikat, glad to know about your registration, hopefully things will get around soon and you can get the MM550 on road soon. Do post some pictures after you put the seat and soft top. Its coming out pretty nice.

regards
Abhisek

[4x4 loaded]

Originally Posted by rods2580

Hi Saikat, glad to know about your registration, hopefully things will get around soon and you can get the MM550 on road soon. Do post some pictures after you put the seat and soft top. Its coming out pretty nice.

regards
Abhisek

I brought the jeep to a garage nearby my place and ordered for the seats to be done. Posting some pics of our new baby in the Recce. It was the biggest event I have seen in Calcutta. Will start a seperate thread about the same shortly.

Saikat

[harjeev]

thats a very nice & well done up 550!!! congrats

btw have you put the headlight grills been put diagonally by mistake or purposely???

[yikes6633]

A wonderful job and a great jeep....good story line of the jeep getting enriched from rags to riches!

All the best happy jeeping

[SPIKE ARRESTOR]

when are you getting new tyres for your Jeep? Your Jeep looks good otherwise.

Spike

[hgnishanth]

Your Jeep has come out real nice. Looking good. Like spike said it does need new pair of shoes though? what have you in mind?

Cheers

nishanth

[Kandisa]

Hi Saikat,
Its really nice to see your jeep has finally started rolling and the paperwork is also getting sorted out. And i must say it has come out very good, good choice of colour. Get a new sets of tyres and you are all set to go. And thats really amazing to see so many jeeps in an event in Kolkata. Congrats once again.
-regards,
Soumen

[GoSlow]

Hi Saikat

The jeep looks good in white! Enjoy your 4x4.. loks like you are loving it already.

BTW what tail lamps are you using?

Cheers
Ankit

[4x4 loaded]

Originally Posted by harjeev

thats a very nice & well done up 550!!! congrats

btw have you put the headlight grills been put diagonally by mistake or purposely???

Thanks harjeev. The grills were done like that in the body shop. I will get them straight..it looks a bit girly otherwise.

Originally Posted by yikes6633

A wonderful job and a great jeep....good story line of the jeep getting enriched from rags to riches!

All the best happy jeeping

Thanks Yikes

Originally Posted by SPIKE ARRESTOR

when are you getting new tyres for your Jeep? Your Jeep looks good otherwise.

Spike

Originally Posted by hgnishanth

Your Jeep has come out real nice. Looking good. Like spike said it does need new pair of shoes though? what have you in mind?

Cheers

nishanth

Yes will get new tyres soon. However those tyres performed exceptinally well in the recce. There was an almost 75-80 degree incline. There was another MM540 which had new sets of Sand and Highway. Surprisingly it had to try atleast 5-6 times to cross that hurdle everytime. When my turn came I was expecting to get stuck royally with those flat tyres...surprise again..I crossed the same incline quite a few times without getting stuck a single time. Obviously it was mainly coz of the sheer power of 76 BHP but the tyres didnt betray me either. But in the highway it was a bit scarry though at higher speeds.

Originally Posted by Kandisa

Hi Saikat,
Its really nice to see your jeep has finally started rolling and the paperwork is also getting sorted out. And i must say it has come out very good, good choice of colour. Get a new sets of tyres and you are all set to go. And thats really amazing to see so many jeeps in an event in Kolkata. Congrats once again.
-regards,
Soumen

Thanks Soumen. It was a great event organised by Adhiraj and Ghanshyam.

Originally Posted by GoSlow

Hi Saikat

The jeep looks good in white! Enjoy your 4x4.. loks like you are loving it already.

BTW what tail lamps are you using?

Cheers
Ankit

The tail lamps are of Tata Indicab. They look quite smart.

Regards...Saikat