ex army MM550 in Bombay

davids4x4mm550 · 27th November 2009, 15:31

]Hi all this is my story of an mm550 build.I was always a big jeep fan and was one of the luckiest guys to own an original 97 mm classic. But had to part with her as I had to move out of the country. Back in India from 2007 was on a quest to find another classic also begged the guy who sold my classic to convince the buyer to sell it back to me but to no avail.In my quest to score a good 4x4 team bhp happened where is read up a lot on the mm550 capabilities as a good offroder. Reading up on the forum I happened to also learn about the jeep Mecca Mayapuri.

After considering all options on how to get one picked up I happened to have a word with Harjeev who was the only reason I could pick this baby up. Can you imagine all this was done with me sitting in Bombay and a few friends along with Harjeev went and cracked the deal for me.

Harjeev hats off to you man if it was not for you I would be looking for a needle in a haystack. Thanks a ton.
Here are some of the pics when it reached Bombay. Will write up a detailed report on prices and the entire experience of getting it to Bombay.Jeepsters in Bombay will need all help possible to source parts and ideas for the rebuild.

Thanks.
David

deutscheafrikar · 27th November 2009, 16:13

Hey David,
Congrats, thats a cool jeep. Lucky guy. I hope you find a good place to restore this jeep. Do you have a good mechanic or a machine shop. I have a friend at Shivaji Park who runs his own machine shop. If you need to get engine overhauled let me know I will introduce you to him. He's a good guy and you wil get a professional doing the job. I see you're in borivali. Is it possible to see a photo of the engine?
best
Nigel
P.S. I think you need to write directly in team-bhp and not on a text editor cos you will get all the Font message instead

dhrishikesh · 27th November 2009, 16:19

David,
Its really nice to know that there is someone in Mumbai who is owning a ex-army MM550.
Looking forward to a restoration process.
Wish, I could own one like this someday !!!

SPEEDY_RACER · 27th November 2009, 16:23

davids4x4mm550,

hi david, congrats for a new ride.

by looking into the pictures i can say that the jeep is very much in good condition.

we will be waiting for a review how the jeep was aquired, and price and buying details..

Ramsagar · 27th November 2009, 17:25

Congrats in owning this beauty. Seems to be in good shape. Pls post some snaps with the tub. Any signs of rust?

Want more details abt year,odo & missing things etc.

davids4x4mm550 · 27th November 2009, 17:39

All right the deal went down this way.
On the 31st of Oct my Two of my friends and Harjeev went to Mayapuri and looked around i wanted a 2002 model but it was not available. Harjeev zeroed in on a 99 mm 550 which had almost all parts in and from his exp he said that it was not messed with by the mayapuri guys. With blind faith and hoping for a good deal i asked my friends to crack the deal wich went down for 76,500.00 he was asking for 80k.

Once the deal was done we got the jeep trucked to my friends place in delhi where it sat for a week as i was trying to get the best deal to get her down to bombay which i could not work out from here. In the end we had to do the deal with the guy from maypuri only to get it down
So the price to get it towed to my friends place was 900
To get it towed from my friends place to the truck 1500 (Jeep loaded on 14th nov)
From Gurgaon to Kalyan 7500 (Jeep reached Kalyan on the 18th)

Now here where the fun starts . The transporter calls me and informss me that i got to come pick the jeep up so i call my local tow guy and he stated he would take 3.5 to tow it + toll , i was so excited that the jeep reached that i said ok and dint chk with any other guys.
So any way we reach the truck stop which is in a pretty big open field but could not see the jeep. thinking it must be parked some place else we met the transporter and thats when i got the shock of my life , While the jeep was beeing lowerd from the truck via the ramp they lost controle of it as no brakes and the jeep just kept going broke a wall and landed in a 6 foot ditch. thats where i first laid my eyes on her ( can you imagin shes OTR without the engin started hahahahaa ) i jumped into the ditch and expected the back part smashed but nothing happend lucky there were some veins growing from a tree that stopt the jeep from banging into the tree. NOw the first thing going thru my mind is how the hell am i going to get it out i spoke to my tow guy and he said flat no his tow truck would not be able to do it as the ground was wet so what we did is get a crane paid him 500 bucks and got the jeep pulled out. i was superised that the jeep was not at all damaged from behind.

SO we hook the jeep to the tow van and head to borivili at the dhaisar toll naka we get caught as the vehcal is not registerd and we had to pay octroy the guy claimed 5000 i said no way i offerd him a bribe of 1500 and he took it . Once we reached my friends garage and offloaded the jeep the tow guy said he wanted 5500 insted of 3500 as he had to spend a lot of time due to all the mess i told him i would pay him 4500 and sent him off as i was in no mood to fight with him ..... So in all i got ripped off in bombay where it cost me almost the same as trucking the jeep from delhi to bombay crazy

ANy way the jeep is at my friends garage who is not a expert at jeeps but states the jeep bodyline is good and all parts of the engin are in .

will post how we got the engin started tomorrow here are the engin pics

beejay · 27th November 2009, 18:23

Its unfortunate that you let go of your SWB.

Anyways better late than never. Hope to see and hear more from you on the 4x4.

davids4x4mm550 · 27th November 2009, 19:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by deutscheafrikar

Hey David,
Congrats, thats a cool jeep. Lucky guy. I hope you find a good place to restore this jeep. Do you have a good mechanic or a machine shop. I have a friend at Shivaji Park who runs his own machine shop. If you need to get engine overhauled let me know I will introduce you to him. He's a good guy and you wil get a professional doing the job. I see you're in borivali. Is it possible to see a photo of the engine?
best
Nigel
P.S. I think you need to write directly in team-bhp and not on a text editor cos you will get all the Font message instead

AS of now i have taken her to the place where i used to get my classic done im not sure how good he will be with a entire restor but am takng a chance ... THe Engine as of now will not be overhauled as we managed to start her up will have to test it a bit and then see.

davids4x4mm550 · 27th November 2009, 19:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by dhrishikesh

David,
Its really nice to know that there is someone in Mumbai who is owning a ex-army MM550.
Looking forward to a restoration process.
Wish, I could own one like this someday !!!

If your close to borivili yuor more than wellcome to check her out

davids4x4mm550 · 27th November 2009, 20:06

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ramsagar

Congrats in owning this beauty. Seems to be in good shape. Pls post some snaps with the tub. Any signs of rust?

Want more details abt year,odo & missing things etc.

Thanks man. Yea the bodyline is good and not much signs of rust its a 1999 dec model . not sure of the odo i think its done 40000+ or more . Will get some close ups of the tub soon

deutscheafrikar · 27th November 2009, 20:36

Your engine looks to be in good condition, so does everything around it. So it has a Lucas fuel pump. Did you get the battery with the jeep, cos looks pretty new to me. And since you say the engine is working, I think by far a very fine vehicle. This is a 4 speed right with the 2.5 liter peugeot engine. Good bargain. My Dad once bought a very old military auctioned motorbike with a sidecar way back in 1969. He paid Rs. 1250/- and 60 bucks to truck it home to bandra. By the by did the octroi guys give you a reciept, cos I'm thinking you wil have to pay octroi when you register the vehicle. Wouldn't you have to pay less at the toll naka itself since when you go to register it your vehicle will be in a very good condition and the value might be much more.

davids4x4mm550 · 27th November 2009, 20:42

Can anyone help out with a contact in bombay for parts?
I need to get all the ruber hoses changed. The ones available at my spare part dealer are for a 540s or thats what he says and are vey small compared to whats on right now. He has told my mec to cut them and use conectors and get them fit which is something that i dont want to do.

Quote:

Originally Posted by deutscheafrikar

Your engine looks to be in good condition, so does everything around it. So it has a Lucas fuel pump. Did you get the battery with the jeep, cos looks pretty new to me. And since you say the engine is working, I think by far a very fine vehicle. This is a 4 speed right with the 2.5 liter peugeot engine. Good bargain. My Dad once bought a very old military auctioned motorbike with a sidecar way back in 1969. He paid Rs. 1250/- and 60 bucks to truck it home to bandra. By the by did the octroi guys give you a reciept, cos I'm thinking you wil have to pay octroi when you register the vehicle. Wouldn't you have to pay less at the toll naka itself since when you go to register it your vehicle will be in a very good condition and the value might be much more.

Yea we got the engin to start today morning and it works and sounds good the water pump is running off and needs to be changed. Yes thats a lucas fuel pump . No man no battery with the jeep had to pick up a brand new one . yup its a 4 speed 2.5. No man the octroy guy was a *** he was just giving me a hard time , i know a contact who warks there but to my bad luck he was not in on that day and was not reachable , i thnk if i need a recept he may help out lets see how it goes down

Note from the Team-BHP Support Team : Slang and SMS Language are STRICTLY prohibited on Team-BHP. Please type in full and proper English for the benefit of other community members.

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dhrishikesh · 27th November 2009, 20:56

@ David,
I live in Dadar, but my classes are there in Borivali.
Where do you stay there ie.e where is the jeep ??
Try to source the parts from Bail Bazar i.e. CST-Kurla Road.

Sathyagith · 27th November 2009, 21:10

Congrads David it's a wonderful buy. The pictures suggest its in a petty good state.
Hope to see it restored to its original glory at the earliest.
-Sathya

IQBAL VEERJI · 27th November 2009, 21:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by davids4x4mm550

Can anyone help out with a contact in bombay for parts?
I need to get all the ruber hoses changed. The ones available at my spare part dealer are for a 540s or thats what he says and are vey small compared to whats on right now. He has told my mec to cut them and use conectors and get them fit which is something that i dont want to do.

Yea we got the engin to start today morning and it works and sounds good the water pump is running off and needs to be changed. Yes thats a lucas fuel pump . No man no battery with the jeep had to pick up a brand new one . yup its a 4 speed 2.5. No man the octroy guy was a *** he was just giving me a hard time , i know a contact who warks there but to my bad luck he was not in on that day and was not reachable , i thnk if i need a recept he may help out lets see how it goes down

Note from the Team-BHP Support Team : Slang and SMS Language are STRICTLY prohibited on Team-BHP. Please type in full and proper English for the benefit of other community members.

We advise you to read the Announcements and Board Rules section before proceeding any further.

ATLAS MOTORS in Opera House , it is a best and resonable priced shop. the owner is a honest and very good person he will not cheat you, you will get genuine parts.

27th November 2009, 15:31	#1
davids4x4mm550 BHPian Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: pune Posts: 330 Thanked: 88 Times	ex army MM550 in Bombay ]Hi all this is my story of an mm550 build.I was always a big jeep fan and was one of the luckiest guys to own an original 97 mm classic. But had to part with her as I had to move out of the country. Back in India from 2007 was on a quest to find another classic also begged the guy who sold my classic to convince the buyer to sell it back to me but to no avail.In my quest to score a good 4x4 team bhp happened where is read up a lot on the mm550 capabilities as a good offroder. Reading up on the forum I happened to also learn about the jeep Mecca Mayapuri. After considering all options on how to get one picked up I happened to have a word with Harjeev who was the only reason I could pick this baby up. Can you imagine all this was done with me sitting in Bombay and a few friends along with Harjeev went and cracked the deal for me. Harjeev hats off to you man if it was not for you I would be looking for a needle in a haystack. Thanks a ton. Here are some of the pics when it reached Bombay. Will write up a detailed report on prices and the entire experience of getting it to Bombay.Jeepsters in Bombay will need all help possible to source parts and ideas for the rebuild. Thanks. David Attached Thumbnails Last edited by Dippy : 27th November 2009 at 16:25. Reason: Editing font tags. Please do not use external editors to type out your posts. It becomes difficult to read for other members.
	() Thanks

27th November 2009, 16:13	#2
deutscheafrikar Senior - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Mumbai & Candolim Posts: 1,166 Thanked: 358 Times View My Garage	Hey David, Congrats, thats a cool jeep. Lucky guy. I hope you find a good place to restore this jeep. Do you have a good mechanic or a machine shop. I have a friend at Shivaji Park who runs his own machine shop. If you need to get engine overhauled let me know I will introduce you to him. He's a good guy and you wil get a professional doing the job. I see you're in borivali. Is it possible to see a photo of the engine? best Nigel P.S. I think you need to write directly in team-bhp and not on a text editor cos you will get all the Font message instead Last edited by deutscheafrikar : 27th November 2009 at 16:22.
	() Thanks

27th November 2009, 16:19	#3
dhrishikesh BHPian Join Date: May 2009 Location: Mumbai / Pune B Posts: 806 Thanked: 214 Times	David, Its really nice to know that there is someone in Mumbai who is owning a ex-army MM550. Looking forward to a restoration process. Wish, I could own one like this someday !!!
	() Thanks

27th November 2009, 16:23	#4
SPEEDY_RACER BHPian Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Bangalore Posts: 423 Thanked: 251 Times	davids4x4mm550, hi david, congrats for a new ride. by looking into the pictures i can say that the jeep is very much in good condition. we will be waiting for a review how the jeep was aquired, and price and buying details..
	() Thanks

27th November 2009, 17:25	#5
Ramsagar Senior - BHPian Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: BLR_Nellore(AP) Posts: 1,396 Thanked: 252 Times View My Garage	Congrats in owning this beauty. Seems to be in good shape. Pls post some snaps with the tub. Any signs of rust? Want more details abt year,odo & missing things etc.
	() Thanks

27th November 2009, 17:39	#6
davids4x4mm550 BHPian Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: pune Posts: 330 Thanked: 88 Times	All right the deal went down this way. On the 31st of Oct my Two of my friends and Harjeev went to Mayapuri and looked around i wanted a 2002 model but it was not available. Harjeev zeroed in on a 99 mm 550 which had almost all parts in and from his exp he said that it was not messed with by the mayapuri guys. With blind faith and hoping for a good deal i asked my friends to crack the deal wich went down for 76,500.00 he was asking for 80k. Once the deal was done we got the jeep trucked to my friends place in delhi where it sat for a week as i was trying to get the best deal to get her down to bombay which i could not work out from here. In the end we had to do the deal with the guy from maypuri only to get it down So the price to get it towed to my friends place was 900 To get it towed from my friends place to the truck 1500 (Jeep loaded on 14th nov) From Gurgaon to Kalyan 7500 (Jeep reached Kalyan on the 18th) Now here where the fun starts . The transporter calls me and informss me that i got to come pick the jeep up so i call my local tow guy and he stated he would take 3.5 to tow it + toll , i was so excited that the jeep reached that i said ok and dint chk with any other guys. So any way we reach the truck stop which is in a pretty big open field but could not see the jeep. thinking it must be parked some place else we met the transporter and thats when i got the shock of my life , While the jeep was beeing lowerd from the truck via the ramp they lost controle of it as no brakes and the jeep just kept going broke a wall and landed in a 6 foot ditch. thats where i first laid my eyes on her ( can you imagin shes OTR without the engin started hahahahaa ) i jumped into the ditch and expected the back part smashed but nothing happend lucky there were some veins growing from a tree that stopt the jeep from banging into the tree. NOw the first thing going thru my mind is how the hell am i going to get it out i spoke to my tow guy and he said flat no his tow truck would not be able to do it as the ground was wet so what we did is get a crane paid him 500 bucks and got the jeep pulled out. i was superised that the jeep was not at all damaged from behind. SO we hook the jeep to the tow van and head to borivili at the dhaisar toll naka we get caught as the vehcal is not registerd and we had to pay octroy the guy claimed 5000 i said no way i offerd him a bribe of 1500 and he took it . Once we reached my friends garage and offloaded the jeep the tow guy said he wanted 5500 insted of 3500 as he had to spend a lot of time due to all the mess i told him i would pay him 4500 and sent him off as i was in no mood to fight with him ..... So in all i got ripped off in bombay where it cost me almost the same as trucking the jeep from delhi to bombay crazy ANy way the jeep is at my friends garage who is not a expert at jeeps but states the jeep bodyline is good and all parts of the engin are in . will post how we got the engin started tomorrow here are the engin pics Attached Thumbnails
	() Thanks

27th November 2009, 18:23	#7
beejay Senior - BHPian Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: The Nilgiris Posts: 1,963 Thanked: 204 Times View My Garage	Its unfortunate that you let go of your SWB. Anyways better late than never. Hope to see and hear more from you on the 4x4.
	() Thanks

27th November 2009, 20:36	#11
deutscheafrikar Senior - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Mumbai & Candolim Posts: 1,166 Thanked: 358 Times View My Garage	Your engine looks to be in good condition, so does everything around it. So it has a Lucas fuel pump. Did you get the battery with the jeep, cos looks pretty new to me. And since you say the engine is working, I think by far a very fine vehicle. This is a 4 speed right with the 2.5 liter peugeot engine. Good bargain. My Dad once bought a very old military auctioned motorbike with a sidecar way back in 1969. He paid Rs. 1250/- and 60 bucks to truck it home to bandra. By the by did the octroi guys give you a reciept, cos I'm thinking you wil have to pay octroi when you register the vehicle. Wouldn't you have to pay less at the toll naka itself since when you go to register it your vehicle will be in a very good condition and the value might be much more.
	() Thanks

27th November 2009, 20:56	#13
dhrishikesh BHPian Join Date: May 2009 Location: Mumbai / Pune B Posts: 806 Thanked: 214 Times	@ David, I live in Dadar, but my classes are there in Borivali. Where do you stay there ie.e where is the jeep ?? Try to source the parts from Bail Bazar i.e. CST-Kurla Road. Last edited by dhrishikesh : 27th November 2009 at 21:00.
	() Thanks

27th November 2009, 21:10	#14
Sathyagith BHPian Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Mysore Posts: 49 Thanked: 2 Times	Congrads David it's a wonderful buy. The pictures suggest its in a petty good state. Hope to see it restored to its original glory at the earliest. -Sathya Last edited by Sathyagith : 27th November 2009 at 21:12.
	() Thanks