MM550 Army to Civilian Makeover by JeepCaptain

Salikt · 2nd October 2010, 15:16

Hi Shibu,

Your jeep looks so meaningful now with those fat tyre and Winch! Winch from Dubai? whats the make and cost?

Sali

4x4addict · 3rd October 2010, 10:58

Hi Shibu:

Is your tire 31x10.5x15 or 32x10.5x15? How did they hold up in the slush? I am planning to upgrade to 31x10.5x15 and this is the most cost effective tire that I can find.

JeepCaptain · 3rd October 2010, 12:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by Salikt

Hi Shibu,
Your jeep looks so meaningful now with those fat tyre and Winch! Winch from Dubai? whats the make and cost?
Sali

Dear Sali, Thanks so much. Yes winch is from Dubai and brand is Rugged Ridge 10500 lbs ( 4.7 ton) capacity. Will send you PM with cost.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 4x4addict

Hi Shibu:
Is your tire 31x10.5x15 or 32x10.5x15? How did they hold up in the slush? I am planning to upgrade to 31x10.5x15 and this is the most cost effective tire that I can find.

Dear Tini, They are 31 x 10.5 x R15 on 8J Alloys.They were holding on well on thick slush /mud but loose slush it was skidding off slightly. My be due to sharp inclines and not deflating the tyres. After I deflated to 20 psi the traction improved considerably. But 100% better than previous JK sand cum highway tyres.They were a nightmare in slush with no grip at all.

Good Luck with your upgrade but I thought you were selling your Jeep. I remember seeing the advt in the classifieds section.
Cheers
Shibu

Kandisa · 3rd October 2010, 18:41

Shibu, the jeep is looking perfect now with the upgrades. Even with those 32" tyres there is sufficient clearance in the front. Pardon me if you have already mentioned it before,but what have you done to lift the vehicle? The same mechanism as in your red Gypsy?

JeepCaptain · 3rd October 2010, 20:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kandisa

Shibu, the jeep is looking perfect now with the upgrades. Even with those 32" tyres there is sufficient clearance in the front. Pardon me if you have already mentioned it before,but what have you done to lift the vehicle? The same mechanism as in your red Gypsy?

Dear Soumen, Thanks a bunch. I guess you didn't notice. I have upsized the tyres but downsized the rims to 15". Hence no lift was required still got enough clearance.in the wheel wells.

swastikviji · 3rd October 2010, 21:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by JeepCaptain

Dear Soumen, Thanks a bunch. I guess you didn't notice. I have upsized the tyres but downsized the rims to 15". Hence no lift was required still got enough clearance.in the wheel wells.

Shibu, you are clearly mentioned its 32", how a 32" became small if mounted on 1" smaller disc?

Abes · 22nd October 2010, 13:29

Pardon my ignorance, what is that hole on the front grill/mesh for? looks like something is protruding through that!

karizma9292 · 22nd October 2010, 13:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by Abes

Pardon my ignorance, what is that hole on the front grill/mesh for? looks like something is protruding through that!

the protruding object is a latch used to open the bonnet like all cars, so the hole .

Abes · 23rd October 2010, 19:55

My understanding was that for opening a jeep bonnet, you just have to pull the T shaped hooks, disengage from its 'slot' and lift the hood.

So, in addition to doing this, you got to pull the latch to open the bonnet!

Thanks for the clarification.

4x4addict · 23rd October 2010, 20:35

@Abes: most vehicles including the lowley Marzuki 800 has the extra safety latch up front. Even after pulling the cable from inside you need to move some lever mechanism up front. If I recall correctly even Ambassadors had this...

Abes · 24th October 2010, 20:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by 4x4addict

@Abes: most vehicles including the lowley Marzuki 800 has the extra safety latch up front. Even after pulling the cable from inside you need to move some lever mechanism up front. If I recall correctly even Ambassadors had this...

Yes, I know that the old ambys and fiats had the latch. I was ignorant only about the jeeps. Though I have driven my cousins' jeeps, occasionally in the past, never had to open the jeep bonnet.

4x4addict · 24th October 2010, 21:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by Abes

Yes, I know that the old ambys and fiats had the latch. I was ignorant only about the jeeps. Though I have driven my cousins' jeeps, occasionally in the past, never had to open the jeep bonnet.

The older CJ500/CL500 doesn't have this feature.

harjeev · 25th October 2010, 13:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by Abes

Yes, I know that the old ambys and fiats had the latch. I was ignorant only about the jeeps. Though I have driven my cousins' jeeps, occasionally in the past, never had to open the jeep bonnet.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 4x4addict

The older CJ500/CL500 doesn't have this feature.

The CJ3B CL340 & CJ340 and the legendary CLASSIC also didn't have this feature. I am pretty sure that the GPW and the MB's are deviod of this feature.
Seems that M&M must have put in this feature from the MM5x0 series onwards

JeepCaptain · 31st October 2010, 15:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by 4x4addict

The older CJ500/CL500 doesn't have this feature.

Quote:

Originally Posted by harjeev

The CJ3B CL340 & CJ340 and the legendary CLASSIC also didn't have this feature. I am pretty sure that the GPW and the MB's are deviod of this feature.
Seems that M&M must have put in this feature from the MM5x0 series onwards

Thanks Tini & Harjeev for clarification about the bonnet latch to Abes,

Just a quick update

Last week we went for the Great Mountain Challenge Recce.And the vehicle performed superbly well. It was a lot better than last time when I took to a similar trail.

I guess the difference is due to the combination of the following.

New suspension/heavy duty leaf springs from Hyderabad ( Thanks to Fazal Sir)

31x 10.5 Yokohoma Geolandar A/T Tyres
Lighter wheels ( Alloys Rims)
New Lamda FWH
Rear LSD kicking in whevever required.

I would say it marginally outperformed the other 2 Invaders and 540 aswell. Thanks to LSD.

Will post pics soon.

JeepCaptain · 13th May 2011, 17:34

Its been a while I updated this thread because I got busy with some new 4x4's in my stable which are LR Defender 90, Land Cruiser FJ62, Thar CRDe 4x4.

I have done quite a lot of OTR's after the MGE Waynad and the 550 performed superbly well.
In many of the OTRs' there were CJ3B's with various Engines, XDP 4.90, XD3P, OM 616, Invaders and MM540's. When all of them were struggling my 550 was effortlessly climbing or tackling every obstacle. Thanks to Yokohama rubbers and LSD.

After seeing my 550 performing. Many of my friends installed LSD on their Jeeps.

Attaching some pics

2nd October 2010, 15:16	#121
Salikt BHPian Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Calicut / Riyadh Posts: 285 Thanked: 35 Times	Looks cool Hi Shibu, Your jeep looks so meaningful now with those fat tyre and Winch! Winch from Dubai? whats the make and cost? Sali
	() Thanks

3rd October 2010, 10:58	#122
4x4addict Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Chennai Posts: 4,483 Thanked: 4,531 Times View My Garage Infractions: 0/1 (5)	Hi Shibu: Is your tire 31x10.5x15 or 32x10.5x15? How did they hold up in the slush? I am planning to upgrade to 31x10.5x15 and this is the most cost effective tire that I can find.
	() Thanks

3rd October 2010, 18:41	#124
Kandisa Senior - BHPian Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Noida Posts: 1,118 Thanked: 559 Times View My Garage	Shibu, the jeep is looking perfect now with the upgrades. Even with those 32" tyres there is sufficient clearance in the front. Pardon me if you have already mentioned it before,but what have you done to lift the vehicle? The same mechanism as in your red Gypsy?
	() Thanks

22nd October 2010, 13:29	#127
Abes BHPian Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Muscat Posts: 201 Thanked: 60 Times	Pardon my ignorance, what is that hole on the front grill/mesh for? looks like something is protruding through that! Attached Thumbnails
	() Thanks

23rd October 2010, 19:55	#129
Abes BHPian Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Muscat Posts: 201 Thanked: 60 Times	My understanding was that for opening a jeep bonnet, you just have to pull the T shaped hooks, disengage from its 'slot' and lift the hood. So, in addition to doing this, you got to pull the latch to open the bonnet! Thanks for the clarification. Attached Thumbnails
	() Thanks

23rd October 2010, 20:35	#130
4x4addict Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Chennai Posts: 4,483 Thanked: 4,531 Times View My Garage Infractions: 0/1 (5)	@Abes: most vehicles including the lowley Marzuki 800 has the extra safety latch up front. Even after pulling the cable from inside you need to move some lever mechanism up front. If I recall correctly even Ambassadors had this...
	() Thanks

13th May 2011, 17:34	#135
JeepCaptain BHPian Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Dubai / Gods Own Country -Kerala Posts: 864 Thanked: 492 Times View My Garage	Re: MM550 Army to Civilian Makeover by JeepCaptain Its been a while I updated this thread because I got busy with some new 4x4's in my stable which are LR Defender 90, Land Cruiser FJ62, Thar CRDe 4x4. I have done quite a lot of OTR's after the MGE Waynad and the 550 performed superbly well. In many of the OTRs' there were CJ3B's with various Engines, XDP 4.90, XD3P, OM 616, Invaders and MM540's. When all of them were struggling my 550 was effortlessly climbing or tackling every obstacle. Thanks to Yokohama rubbers and LSD. After seeing my 550 performing. Many of my friends installed LSD on their Jeeps. Attaching some pics
	() Thanks