Team-BHP - YetiBlog® - My Land Rover Discovery
Team-BHP

Team-BHP (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/)
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-   -   YetiBlog® - My Land Rover Discovery (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/4x4-vehicles/71627-yetiblog-my-land-rover-discovery.html)

I don't even remember how long it had been. I had always wanted a Jeep. A big 4X4 rattly hunky metallic vehicle.

I remember the time my friends laughed though.

It was about 12 or 13 years ago. Some Auto exhibition in Mumbai. There was a gorgeous Mahindra CJ340 parked at the stall, with wire wheels to boot! I was so excited that I ran over to the Mahindra stall and sat in the driver's seat.

Tried to sit in the driver's seat.

It isn't designed for a guy who is over 6' 3" tall. No sir it isn't. And as I sat there, my knees banging repeatedly against the firewall under the steering I was aware of my friends laughing loudly at me.

I got off sheepishly. Maybe this wasn't for me.

To be honest, I never liked the Maruti Gypsy. I know many people like it, nay LOVE it and so be it. I drove a Gypsy soft top, a hard top and finally a 1.3 Gypsy King. Heck, I even drove a fully modified Gypsy with half a zen welded on top of it.

No I didn't want a Gypsy.

Then about 5 or 6 years ago, my company bought a Mahindra Scorpio. No it wasn't a 4X4, it was a 2 wheel drive and it was bloody bouncy.

Bounce bounce bounce, whump whump whump. Who designed THAT suspension?

I took that and drove it through some pretty rough terrain in Uttaranchal.

You can read that thread here

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Fun, yes. But not quite the vehicle I wanted.

Welcome back Sam, your blog had been a big overdue. :)

To be honest, I'm not really an off-roader in the true sense of the word.

I see on this forum. People wake up Sunday morning and drive their vehicles through the roughest, unmotorable roads.
I see people flinging themselves into huge pits and mucky slush just to prove to themselves that they can drive in and out of this with their driving skills and the capability of their 4X4s.

Yes I do understand - it is a sport, a game I guess - but that sort of thing doesn't really excite me. It's not my thing.

I don't think I'll ever join an Team-BHP OTR, to be honest. I don't think I'll enjoy climbing up and down the same mountain in a 4X4. You know what, I don't even think I'd know HOW to do that.

I'd probably kill myself and destroy a good car.

so the Yeti strikes back, good start sam

keep it coming and people here love LR.

cheers

Okay! You have my attention.

If it was NOW that i wanted a 4X4 - I'd whittle it down to mid-life crisis. It's easy to pin that one down. The aging party monger, the old rockstar who wants to feel young again.
Same reason why Schwarzenegger stuck a cigar in his face and drove a military spec Hummer.

It isn't about terrain. It really isn't about adventure. Nope, not for Schwarzenegger.

it is far simpler than that. Really it is. It's very basic, a bit phallic, a bit attention-seeking and it stops there.


But my desire was not new. I wanted a jeep many many years ago - when I still was the rockstar, lol. I just wanted to have a rough looking car that would simply, go anywhere. It was a toy for me. Yeah, that's what it was. A toy I wanted.

sammy.. sammy.. where are you
oh here you are
welcome back sam bhai clap: been missing your writings for sometime now

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sam Kapasi (Post 1634461)
I wanted a jeep many many years ago - when I still was the rockstar, lol. I just wanted to have a rough looking car that would simply, go anywhere.

+1 to that.

Deep within me is also the hidden desire to own a jeep which is growing day by day and the OTR just adds fuel to the fire, someday, i will also own one.

All set, subscribed to your thread and lets roll :D

Sometimes I would think of the times when I was younger and drove as a passenger in some serious jeeps.

Old battered Mahindra 10 seater commandos. Even older Jongas. My parents were travellers and as kid I had ample opportunities to travel to hilly terrains where used and misused army auction Jongas were usually used, old war horses that would huff and puff us up from one mountain to another and standby with the hood popped open and steam billowing out from all sides.

I remember holding on for dear life to that handle where the glove box should have been. I remember sucking on lemons because the jeep would be wallowing left and right and sometimes I'd feel sick.

I would love to do that. Climb up a mountain and go somewhere in the jeep.

For years the boys made fun of that time I bruised my knees in the CJ340.

I didn't care.

When I was 10, my folks took me for the 3rd time to Kashmir. This time was supposed to be a serious adventure trip. We were to embark on a jeep journey that would last 3 weeks through completely non-touristic terrain.

We would buy vegetables and fruits in villages that we crossed. Every now and then we would set up the tents and cook by the riverside. We used to carry living chickens in a basket on top of the jeep (apologies to the vegetarians) as that was the best way to keep them fresh and would carry rice and masalas and a big pot. Ever had a chicken biryani made by your mom at 6pm using freshly melted snow at a riverbank in remote Kashmir?

Water was never a problem, we would usually drive along or over river beds.

We had a local driver of course. My Father was too busy with his camera to drive.

And that jeep went everywhere. Never stopped anywhere. And it was a 4X4. I remember asking the driver why the jeep had a normal gear shift and a baby gear shift....

We drove everywhere. I remember the army sending us back home though. We weren't supposed to go that close to Pakistan.

When I joined TBHP in 2005 (I think) my jeep dream was dormant. Then I went to Cochin for some work in 2007 and outside the JBL store I saw a Mahindra Classic parked outside.

I looked at it wistfully - it was gleaming black and had chrome wire wheels and a bullbar and God it looked beautiful... and that was when it struck me.

I was now a Team-BHPian! I now knew thousands of people that would not laugh when I would say something like I want a Jeep.

That weekend I wrote in the private section, soliciting help from the support team and my fellow DBHPians.
Through all the gentle humour and funny remarks came some help.
Jeepers like Samurai and Rush came to my rescue with help and advice. Robin (Rtech) had lots of advice he gave me both online and offline. NC just thought I'd lost it and abused me. lol.

GTO said exactly what I knew. That I would not fit comfortably in a CJ340 or a Classic. In fact GTO had modified the seats on his Jeep to go back as far as they would go and he said that it was not enough for a person of my height.

He went on further to invite me to his place to check out his Jeep and to see if I could in fact sit and be comfortable in it. It was a kind offer and I did not refuse.

And so one morning I went to GTO's home. He wasn't even there, but had left word with his family that some big funny looking chap would take the cover off the jeep and sit in it for a while.

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No, my knees were not hitting the firewall, but it was uncomfortable for me. They were all right. I could not drive this for an hour anywhere.

I covered the Jeep and walked away. Till date I wonder what GTO's family must have thought of that whole incident, lol.

You need an MM540 or an MM550
was the collective advice.

I took the advice. However there was one more problem.

I already had 2 cars and had placed myself a mental budget for 1 lac to buy this Mahindra MM540. Would I be able to buy one?
Start a thread on it was the advice. And so I started this thread in 2007.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/suvs-m...rocured-5.html

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sam Kapasi (Post 1634563)

I was now a Team-BHPian! I now knew thousands of people that would not laugh when I would say something like I want a Jeep.

...

Through all the gentle humour and funny remarks came some help.
Jeepers like Samurai and Rush came to my rescue with help and advice. Robin (Rtech) had lots of advice he gave me both online and offline. NC just thought I'd lost it and abused me. lol.

...

And so one morning I went to GTO's home. He wasn't even there, but had left word with his family that some big funny looking chap would take the cover off the jeep and sit in it for a while.


Hey Sam, that is a very interesting story telling

I think, if any one of us were in place of GTO, we would said the same thing to our family "A big funny looking chap.."

:uncontrol

Keep this going, i will stay tuned to your broadcast.

Yeti and a 4X4 thread ??!!! It should be something different, I am glued !

That thread got a lot of attention, it did. People emailed me pictures, pointed me to other people who had jeeps for sale.

I was amazed at how many people wanted to help me. Equally amazing was the fact that I could simply not find what I want.

There are different kinds of Jeep lovers in the world. Many can look at a Jeep and see what they can make out of it. Not me. I don't know enough about cars and jeeps to pretend to be able to do that. I need to like what I see.

Besides, having allotted myself 1lac, there wasn't much room to be able to buy something and then make something out of it.
Some people suggested buying something in Punjab, someone suggested a Jeepwalla in Pune.

One day I received an SMS from B&T

Would you like a fully done up Jonga? All clean and painted military green with a brand new Toyota engine inside? Completely awesome?
I was like YEAH!!!
And he said So would I. Shame there's none available.

And so many months later, that thread was locked. It got nowhere and neither did I.

Enthralling and amusing writing as always Sam.

Looking forward to the rest of the jeep hunt story :)

East Africa. 1993.

I was travelling through the Mara in Kenya and in and around the Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.
We were driving a Land Rover 110. It was not a defender or discovery or whatever. Just a Land Rover 110. The roof was cut open and we were standing on the seats when we were close to animals.

And we were driving through the bush in that white Land Rover. Gorgeous.







Yes, I loved that Land Rover and the 2 or 3 weeks I spent in it.

I remember seeing a Land Rover Defender in Bandra once, about a year or so ago and being deeply enamoured by it. And then I remember a Camel Trophy I once saw.

Yes, the Land Rover was a beautiful car.

Did I dream of owning it? No. I fantasized of owning a Land Rover yes, I did. Never dreamed of it. Didn't ever think one would come my way.

Then I met her.

No, not my Land Rover, but TheOne®.

She loves Land Rovers, she does. She lived in South Africa and Botswana for 6 months and drove a Land Rover Defender in the bush. She knows what it can do, that car.

See now THAT is a go-anywhere car.

It was supposed to happen. The Land Rover was supposed to be mine. And yet I could barely conceal my amazement and joy when I finally became the proud owner of a 1993 Land Rover Discovery.
And it was fitting that when I first fell in love with Land Rover, this car was being made in Solihull, England.

Opportunity knocks once, you must open the door for it. Often opportunities need to be grabbed. This one did all but fall into my lap. And yet there I was, thinking if I should take it.

I turned to my automotive support system. That's right you guessed it, here. With a little help and a well-rounded viewpoint, I reached out and took my Land Rover. I owe many people thanks, but most of all I owe Steeroid and V-16.

I know the questions. Where did it come from, how much did you pay, who did it belong to and more?

All I can tell you is that she was beautiful, brought to India from England, British green in colour, she had new tyres which were bought last year and she was mine when i saw her.

How much did I pay? I didn't. I didn't pay for the car. It was passed on from one Land Rover lover to me, a wannabe Land Rover lover.

You read correctly. I was gifted a Land Rover Discovery.

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And that's why I always say in all my YetiBlogs, hold on to that dream because you never know. You really never know.

Next: What I did with my Land Rover and what I do with it everyday. (next update tomorrow)


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