[shankar.balan]

I sketched these on the iPad with the iPad pencil some months ago...just for fun.
I just love Gypsys....


And Alfa Romeo cars and so on....

[shankar.balan]

Can’t get enough of the Old Beast....my Spitfire!
Restoration Step 1 done.
Lots more to go....including some tinkering and a new growls exhaust etc....
More to come and I m going to keep putting more pics.
Love that old Gypsy!

[shankar.balan]

20-25kms high speed run done this morning. Gypsy behaving decently. But there is a lot of work on the underneath, tinkering and stuff.
Have to slowly bed in the engine and gearboxes with all this lovely new oil and additives that we put yesterday.

[Vikram Arya]

Gypsy evokes very strong emotions and nostalgia for a whole range of us however we are not the only ones that are afflicted with this.

Roman Mica and Nathan Adlen are lead presenters of a leading US automotive channel TFL Cars on youtube. TFL Cars has close to 715,000 subscribers and their Youtube channel have so far garnered 337 million views.

6 days ago Roman who is based in Colorado bought a 1987 Suzuki Samurai on Craigslist for US$2,600. His and Nathan's passion for the Samurai is to be seen to be believed. It also must be mentioned here that Suzuki Samurai with a short wheelbase & soft top with 1.3 ltr carbureted engine was sold in North America from 1986 to 1995 and was an identical copy of the 1.3 ltr carbureted Gypsy that was sold in India from 1996 to 2000. Post-2000, as we all know the engine was fuel injected and booster brakes were added at some point.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8x1OVr3uBgc&t=244s

Enjoy!

[Vikram Arya]

Here's the follow-up video where the presenter is lamenting the absence of this brilliant little 4X4 from the US market.

It is an interesting take by this young lad who has probably never seen/driven the original back in the day (he was probably not even born in 1995 when the Samurai was withdrawn from the North American market) however you can see the admiration for the design and simple engineering in clear-cut terms...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORo9-VxlHoY

[cool_dube]

When 2 Kings roam the urban jungle A quick meet up with TBHP-ian starter last week.

[drifter]

Nice. Didn't know starter got a new Gypsy. Here's mine 2015, stock. Only the seats have added cushioning and a sub-woofer is added along with stiffening the soft top. And of course the sarkari type horns and fogs.

[cool_dube]

Originally Posted by drifter

Nice. Didn't know starter got a new Gypsy. Here's mine 2015, stock. Only the seats have added cushioning and a sub-woofer is added along with stiffening the soft top. And of course the sarkari type horns and fogs.

Looks lovely. What do you mean by stiffening the soft top?

Also, what tyres are those? Stock MRFs?

[drifter]

Originally Posted by cool_dube

Looks lovely. What do you mean by stiffening the soft top?

Also, what tyres are those? Stock MRFs?

The super structure has thicker bars for the centre and forward bars just like the last bar which is thicker.

The tyres are stock Ceat F78-15 which have seen 30000km of snow and road. Planning to replace with the same tyres next monsoon.

[cool_dube]

Originally Posted by drifter

The super structure has thicker bars for the centre and forward bars just like the last bar which is thicker.

Sounds interesting. Could you please share some pics of the frame? Also, is the soft top still OE?

Originally Posted by drifter

The tyres are stock Ceat F78-15 which have seen 30000km of snow and road. Planning to replace with the same tyres next monsoon.

Interesting! Very few people I know have retained original tyres. How did they perform in snow?

[Lambro]

The old girl is gonna say her final goodbye soon i guess ...

https://www.thehindubusinessline.com...le25487448.ece

[drifter]

Originally Posted by cool_dube

Sounds interesting. Could you please share some pics of the frame? Also, is the soft top still OE?



Interesting! Very few people I know have retained original tyres. How did they perform in snow?

I'll get pictures of the interior once back in town. Traveling at the moment. Stock tyres are pretty decent in the dry, not so good in the wet. Snow is nothing great, but being narrow, they work better. In any case, snow chains fix everything.

Don't feel the need for radials. Just drive with lower air pressure. 19-20psi. They are almost done, will replace with the same set in a few months.

[antihero]

Originally Posted by Vikram Arya

Here's the follow-up video where the presenter is lamenting the absence of this brilliant little 4X4 from the US market.

It is an interesting take by this young lad who has probably never seen/driven the original back in the day (he was probably not even born in 1995 when the Samurai was withdrawn from the North American market) however you can see the admiration for the design and simple engineering in clear-cut terms...

Yes exactly. Thank you for sharing these little gems. The Gypsy is rudimentary - yes. It is uncomfortable - yes. Lacks any creature comforts - yes. But can I think of another vehicle better suited to where I live and to do what I do. No.

And that's the charm of a rudimentary purpose built vehicle. Will it sell like Maruti would want it to in India. No. But for some of us it is all the vehicle we will ever need.

P.S. I can vouch for the single self start like they say in the video. Even my 22 year old carburretted model starts without fail every morning for the 3 months when we get sub zero temps.

[Vikram Arya]

You may want to replace yours or add a new one to your fleet while it's still available.

I'm sure you've heard the news of Gypsy being discontinued officially. The dealers will take the last orders for the next couple of weeks with the production coming to a full stop in March 2019. This is a result of new safety norms coming into effect in October 2019 and Maruti Suzuki's unwillingness to upgrade the platform.

Like all good things, it had a good run but unfortunately, it's coming to an end.

[antihero]

Originally Posted by Vikram Arya

You may want to replace yours or add a new one to your fleet while it's still available.

Not really. The condition my Gypsy is in, I have no doubt it will last another 10 years with ease unless the government decides to outlaw it. When that happens I will decide what to do with it (not the government). I'd rather run it to the ground (or over the side of a mountain) than have it thrown in the scrapyard because the government deems it to be scrap.

To me my Gypsy will never be scrap. It is far better maintained than any commercial vehicle that I see on the highway. With its rigourously maintained carb, engine tune and catalytic converter exhaust (borrowed from a king) it pollutes far less than most commercial vehicles. If the Green Tribunal had any brains it would mandate a MOT like yearly checkup than a blanket order banning old vehicles. Let vehicles that are lovingly maintained stay on the road rather than casting them aside with poorly maintained commercial vehicles that I see on the road everyday.
No sir, the Mg410w stays with me till the day I can't drive it on the road. And once i can't it still stays with me on my estate. NGT be damned.