[svsantosh]

Originally Posted by madhkris

Does this mean that you are going to get the present tub tinkered, painted and then at a later date change it for a CJ500 tub?

yep, but when i say tinkered - its hardly a full job. the whole thing is a rust bucket, any money spent on it is a waste job - see below pics...

Originally Posted by Jaggu

Slightly confusing the point 4 in the first quote and hence asked you about multiple phase or redoing the tub later?

Oh the new tub (Or a better condition cj500 which can be easily cut down) part, that idea came up once the state of current tub was seen. That is no where a near' future project, will need lot of funds for that. Current project will hardly touch double digits

----------------
By end of day one we were close to getting the tub off, just that the boyz got tired and my sinus acted up and we all went back home...















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I also learnt from my electrician that my jeeps alternator belongs to a TATA 407 and is surely not the OE 25Ah one. I am confused as well surprised. Well, if it is surely not OE 25Ah, and it belongs to a 407 - means it may be 35 or even 45Ah - and it works fine for the last 2 years- then I am OK with it

[svsantosh]

By end of day2 this was the result. After this state, progress will get slower since I cannot back out from the place ...

[svsantosh]

Chassis got its primer done, more things kept falling off the tub, so tinker is still at it. The painter is the weakest of this whole lot, as my other 2 good friends found it out...!!



Jeep Gurus -- I have a doubt; which is the WATER/Coolant drain bolt on the XDP4.9 Engine? Is it '1' AND/OR '3'.

And what is '2' for? Looks like a electrical wire sits right behind the oil filter assy system.





And, this is the so called Tata 407 alternator (per my elect guy) in my jeep. What is the A/Hr Rating of this?

[Jaggu]

2 seems to be the oil pressure switch, which can be connected to oil pressure light in the dash board?

[svsantosh]

Originally Posted by Jaggu

2 seems to be the oil pressure switch, which can be connected to oil pressure light in the dash board?

Ah, I missed something so simple - I never engage a gear without the red light going out...!!

This also reminds me, need to get the functionality of dash lights back to OE spec. 1st thing, get parts to make the low-brake-oil warning light work!!

Oh, another 30 mins spent today eve at the garage to achieve this current state...



Now, the tub will be put back and work will continue on the tub. It needs lot more work.

[madhkris]

Mate: "it's not over until it is really over" get them to do things a wee bit faster or we may not have your Jeep ready to take up the EXAMM!!

[svsantosh]

Originally Posted by madhkris

Mate: "it's not over until it is really over"

Meri Billi Mujhe Meow

Ok Ok, I have taken the next 9 days off to get the white 540 out of the way, then lets see the progress. Dont worry, lots of work has happened in the last 30 days, So what if only 5-man-days of work was done in 30 - thats the way these guys work right?

[svsantosh]

After a month of divorce, the tub and chassis are re-united...

[Jaggu]

Good good, so now progress is going to be super fast i guess Keep updating the pics and lessons learned please.

[svsantosh]

Well, a few things I learnt...

1) The best tinkers and painters are a rare lot.

2) The car show 'overhaulin' is not a joke, by a far extent. The entire time taken by the tinker/paint shop for the black 540 is less than 10 working days, but overall it took 2 months. Thats how lazy/laid back these guys are. (Wanky, are you there)

3) My jeep needed only 5 man days (~40 hours) to remove tub, fix most of the patches in it, rub down chassis, primer + black paint the chassis, put the tub back on. It is already been there for 31 days, and still needs a few more weeks!!

4) Money is not the object - these guys just cant be pushed to deliver like a lappy carrying techie can be made to work till 3AM to email the code!! Even a FULL days salary as a bribe to work yesterday (sunday) did not work!!

5) Their main income is not from US - JEEPERS. It is from the yellow board vehicles (ALL KINDS), and LOTS AND LOTS of Sumos!!

6) Every day they make at least Rs.500 (Each, net) and above from minor jobs done on goods auto, pickup jeeps, sumos, indicas, 407s, etc etc. The total money we pay as a jeeper for a restoration, say 20K, makes up only 25-35 days of pay. So they cant and will never say NO to a small job - its what truly pays to them.

7) Money spent at a specialist jeep or a body shop might be a 2x or a 3x premium, but time is also inversely propotionate at -2x or -3x. So, choose yourself.

8) If you cant learn to digest a few of the above points, better double your restoration budget and head towards a specialist job.

9) No wonder HYD jeeps look like that after a 3L - 6L repair bill...!!

10) Small scale tinkers/painters can achieve a max of 60% efficiency. They can never be thorough. It is good only for a year or 2 max.

11) BIGGEST pro of these guys is the MONEY factor. Since they deal with daily bread winner taxis, load autos, 407s etc etc, they dont get very greedy - their greediest demands will not even exceed your lowest estimate - i guarantee.

12) Oh before I forget - either get all your jeeping requirements within 2 kms of your home, or get a good friend to oversee the project. Else, you will have to spend all the savings on your petrol bills to travel to/fro the garage.

13) Never pay a advance - always pay in parts/percentages after a stage of work is complete.

14) Use your socializing skills at your own discretion depending upon the person you are working with.

15) Last but not least - 'It is not over until it is really over' - so many tiny-winy things come up even after so-called delivery...!!

[Sudarshan]

@ SV , you are 100% correct , this is indeed a life time learning experience with these guys .

Jeeping is not an easy exercise , either you spend a lot or you use your brain a lot thats the truth & you have put it correctly .

The more one manages these guys successfully ,more he gets the thing done economically .

Sudarshan

[mohang_j]

Originally Posted by Sudarshan

@ SV , you are 100% correct , this is indeed a life time learning experience with these guys .

Jeeping is not an easy exercise , either you spend a lot or you use your brain a lot thats the truth & you have put it correctly .

The more one manages these guys successfully ,more he gets the thing done economically .

Sudarshan

I agree with both of you. It’s in deed life time experience. Did not worry much about progress in my jeep in the last 2 months as i was tied up at my new house. Now after complete waste of a day realized that managing these guys is not a simple thing. Really did not understand if not money what else could make them work? It was easier for me to make the construction workers at my site to do that extra bit for one month and somehow get the house completed.

@SVS
It was not a watse of time completely today. Got most of the electrical parts.

[svsantosh]

Originally Posted by Jaggu

Good good, so now progress is going to be super fast i guess

WHAT a guess, well all i can say thanks

Tub is bolted on to chassis using new MM540 bushes and all new bolts nuts washers...

All welds, patch work, tinker work, holes covering up Over...

Fenders back on...

Steering box, column back on...

Rest tomorrow and hopefully into paint shop...

[sreejeshmp]

Santhosh,
Waiting for the pics , are you keeping that grill and the door ?

- Sreejesh

[svsantosh]

Originally Posted by sreejeshmp

Santhosh,
Waiting for the pics , are you keeping that grill and the door ?

- Sreejesh

Sreejesh, unfortunately yes. Keeping the grill, cant waste money to change a non-functional thing. But the door is gone, wasnt functioning correctly anyways. The quotes I got for a (used, gujri) grill/bonnet/2 fenders are nearly equal to my entire tinkering/painting cost.