[shekaran]

Dear TeamBhpians & Friends,
i would like to share some pics of my new acquisition - a 1995 model Mahindra MM 540 4WD - Softtop.

Everything stands OE except the 235/70R16 Radial Tyres on OE rims.

The engine, Diesel Pump, Gearbox, Transfer Case - all have been worked upon, Rebuild to OE specs, and also Lambda Free Whee Hubs fitted to the front wheel.

No Power Steering, Power windows, central locking, but lots of image, lots of free flow air circulating all round, and being a softtop, a lock makes no sense...

To End it, the Jeep gives me a mileage of 13 kmpl on highways @ 70-80kmph cruising and a city mileage of 10kmpl, mainly in 2nd-3rd gears.

Overall i am the happiest person now - to share this pride with you - looking for future OTRs and offroad adventures.

[jeepster]

congrats shekaran ji

540 looks really good.
fuel efficiency is at its max.

just change the front single fog lamp. dosent look good.
any offroading plans?

The engine, Diesel Pump, Gearbox, Transfer Case - all have been worked upon, Rebuild to OE specs, and also Lambda Free Whee Hubs fitted to the front wheel

please share the all the costing for above.

[joshguy]

Hi Shekaran,

Your 540 looks stock and that what i like.Like Jeepster said please remove or change the fog lamps to new one.

Guess pondy has more such 4x4 hidden ;-)

[shekaran]

Friends,
my MM540 is undergoing once again restoration, as i wanted the jeep for my daily use. i aspired a daily use vehicle, so did not want to take any chances.
so i started with the mechanicals, stripped down the engine, checked all seals, rings, etc, refitted. changed the oil pump. calibarated the fuel pump at authorised mico bosch centre, and changed to new nozzles.
recambered the 4 leaf spring setups, and also changed the shock absorbers. yet not satisfied with the hard ride, so planning to go for gas shocks, not available in my vicinity.
then stripped the gearbox, and changed the main shaft, all bearings, oil seals, and checked all the gears for play, transfercase included. there is a slight whine from the transfercase gears, which the mech says will soon subside down, as the jeep is run some 2k kms. am using 90 oil for the gearbox also, planning to change it to 140 oil, for a more smoother gearbox.
changed the oils, gearbox, differential, engine, brake etc.,. and a new set of brake shoes with greasing of the wheel bearings which were changed earlier, before i bought the jeep. changed the rubber beddings, in between body and chassis, and new gearbox mountings also.
plonked in 2 bucket seats from a toyota hiace van, with full driver seat adjustments, lumbar, seat height etc.,. planning to change the rear seats to army seats - side facing, with good padding...looking for army rear seats ???
took the radiator for refurbish, replaced the top and bottom tanks, as the core was fresh, good. changed all rubber hoses, and added coolant to the radiator water.
checked all electricals and found them to be very old school type. so... fitted a 55w HID Xenon dual beam headlamps on new H4 headlamps. used relays to add spice to the hid system.
chanced upon a hardtop for sale from a ex-police jeep, and fitted that into my jeep. the hardtop is roplas make, with full frp rear door. changed the rear door lock set, strenghthened the frp hardtop in mounting point areas, for a rattle free ride.
changed both front door glass winders, locks and the jeep now has not 1 but 2 but 7 keys - ignition, underseat storage bin, dash bin, front door lock, fuel cap, rear frp door, spare wheel lock, whew... anyone seeing me will think either i am a lock maker or a "kallan", with 2 sets of key chains hanging in my buckles...
got new free wheeling hubs from lambda, for the front hubs. changed tyres to new apollo hawkz 185/85R16 all terrain type tread, which makes the steering light as well as responsive. the hawkz give superior grip, and the jeep screeches to st.line halts, under hard braking, without skids or any jeep associated dramas.
apart from these, changed wipers, overhauled the starter motor, alternator etc., changed accelerator clutch cables, and also changed the clutch finger kit, overhauled the clutch. took care in making the jeep as comfortable as a car, so the restoration is still not over.
Works to be done :
Painting - Tinkering (not full body but need to make the tub surface good, as earlier the jeep had softtop, with lot of mounting points, holes etc.,.) - Under Chassis Anti Rust Coat, a 59k worth ICE (Blaupunkt HU + Kenwood KAC-M845 4Ch Amp + Blaupunkt Vc542 Comps + 18F Boss Capacitor + Polkaudio db840 svc Sub), Airconditioning, Full Interior Lining Works - Planning a overhead LCD with inbulit dvd player, games, IR Headphones etc - independent of the Audio systems...
Parts Looking for :
Rear Side Facing Army Seats from MM550 ?
Ice Suggestions and Layout for the parts mentioned above in the jeep interiors ?
Gas Shocks for MM540 ?
ICE fitment - ?

Jeep Gurus, Friends - Pls help me, if you get to know if the above items come for sale ? all help, suggestions needed - even hard criticisms most welcomed - making me learn, grow sooner...
Regards to all, Have Safe Drives...

[shekaran]

Got the army rear seats now, just hours after i posted in tbhp.
Thanks mhd ali for the seats.
Wanted - Suggestions from tbhpians for ICE fitment - locations, specifics etc.,.
Gurus, pls send your suggestions...

[shekaran]

Friends,
my MM540 is under painting. colour still undecided.
i would like teambhp members to suggest me colour choice - basically its full white as per RC book. but i dont want my jeep to look like a govt vehicle. so friends, pls suggest me colour choices.
my jeep looked like the 1st pic before a few days - light grey body with white frp hardtop.
also i would like to have a front insect screen like the 2nd pic. where can i get it ? i have enquired in the local mahindra dealer, where there are only front covers like mahindra maxcab loadtruck, like 3rd pic - with horizontal slats. but i need something which has only vertical slats, similar to the original jeep grille. Friends, pls help me source one such front apron cover.
HAPPY & Prosperous NEW YEAR WISHES TO ALL TEAMBHPians.
PICS taken from teambhp only - respective owners pls allow me, thanks.

[AVR]

Hi Shekharan,

Congratulations on the 540. A worthy companion for any form of offroading. Have had one for about a year now and am extremely happy with it. Oops just saw that your first post was in July but Congratulations anyways!

An average of 13 Kmpl is good. I got that when I went to Lonavala from Ahmedabad for EXAMM.

Couple of mods I think a 540 really needs:
1) Power brakes: Please get a booster kit from the Bolero fitted. It inspires immense confidence especially in the rains and even otherwise. Fazal bhai on tbhp has been very helpful in guiding me through that process. It costs about 15k including labor and new parts and is well worth it.
2) May not sound too intelligent here but I feel sticking to 235's would have helped instead of going to 185's. The wider tyres at some level did help control any form of wobble (even the famed death wobble) and the vehicle is very surefooted with those tyres. Do keep it in mind for the future.

Get your radiator flushed if you haven't already. Made a lot of difference to the operating temperature as once I got that done (along with coolant-water mix) temperatures have rarely crossed 80 in the last 6 odd months (including trip to Lonavala)

About color: Matt black is something that would look awesome on the 540. I remember seeing some matt black 540 pics posted here and it surely looks better than any other color i have ever seen. Not the same vehicle but you should check out how it looks on tbhpian Hanmust's G-Wagen and you'll realise how apt it is for an off-roader.

Cheers and Happy Jeeping!
Adi

[shekaran]

AVR Sir,
Thanks for the detailed info.
i flushed the radiator, and a new core was fitted. my temp always stands at 80 degrees in city, and at 90 degrees when cruising at 80kmph speeds. but never more than that, in any hot climates.

Reg the brakes, i have overhauled the brakes, and everything was new from the shoes to the kits, so my braking is tyre screeching - in hard stops, and very very sharp - so even my mechanic feels my mm540 brakes like power brakes.

i always wanted the pedals to be like bolero type, planning to change - but mine being xdp engine, the booster assist needs a vaccumm - mechanic suggests this as a difficult alteration, so he advises to stay below 80kmph always, better that way...

reg the tyres, i switched to 185/85R16 to have a lighter steering, and 235s i earlier had were giving me an amazing grip even in high speed cornering, but the steering was heavier, heaviest in city traffic. also my rim width (OE rims) could not accomodate the 235s without the ballooning effect, which the alignment guy showed is not correct. the inner tread was wearing faster than the outer tread. tyre wear was not even. thats the main reason, i switched to the apollo hawkz 185s.

Sir, Black - that too, full vehicle is out of option, due to family preferences, emotional/sentimental aspects. but black in parts of the vehicle accepted. i apologise for saying this, but the truth is "black is a strict no-no, in my family".

am planning to have the body in white, front windscreen in black and the hardtop in a light shade of green or grey. but still undecided, as my jeep is stripped only today.

Thanks again for your sincere advices, and such suggestions from experienced jeepers make newbies like me, go further to understand the "it's the jeep thing".
Cheers.

[AVR]

Hi Shekharan, Please call me Adi, too young to be called Sir and too inexperienced to deserve it!

Originally Posted by shekaran

AVR Sir,

Reg the brakes, i have overhauled the brakes, and everything was new from the shoes to the kits, so my braking is tyre screeching - in hard stops, and very very sharp - so even my mechanic feels my mm540 brakes like power brakes.

i always wanted the pedals to be like bolero type, planning to change - but mine being xdp engine, the booster assist needs a vaccumm - mechanic suggests this as a difficult alteration, so he advises to stay below 80kmph always, better that way...

Good part about power brakes is that you don't really need to stand on them in times of emergencies. Am not sure if you have experienced it but driving through even a little amount of water usually results in brakes pulling to one side sharply.
The suspended pedals are part of the power brakes conversion. The booster assist needs a vacuum-compatible alternator and is an easy find/replacement for your standard alternator in the scrapyard so surely not a complex fit. Its actually quite a simple mod.
1) Add the booster kit/brake cylinder
2) Relocate the air filter if it comes in the way of the booster placement (mine did as I have the old oil sump air filter and not the paper type)
3) Suspended pedals - Much more convenient and required for booster brakes

Tyres- Agreed 235's can be cumbersome on the city roads and I feel that way too sometimes but it saves me the effort of working out so am fine with it!

Color-You should check out Fazal bhai's (tbhp -fazaladil) white jeep for pointers. Looks awesome. Somehow the white Roplas hardtop just has a very govt vehicle feel to it.

Cheers,
Adi

P.S. & OT - Do you know women rated the suspended pedals as one of the most important inventions in an automobile? Suspended pedals can be pressed while wearing heels while the old ones are extremely uncomfortable to do so

[shekaran]

The entire body has been stripped of the paint, anti rust coated, primered, and a 1st coat of "super white" shade painted today.(as per the RC book). Friends, pls suggest your ideas, to make my jeep a charming rider. Thanks in Advance.
Some WIP pics for all your eager eyes !!!

[fazalaliadil]

Shekaran,

Welcome. Your 540 looks good, the body and paint has come out good.

For it to stand out you will need to do some changes away from stock (externally) like fender flares, army type step ladders, handles, light guards, maybe snorkel, it looks good without the rear two piece fender, army antenna, Jerry can, round tail lamps on fender, body handles, reflectors appropriately placed, rear tow hook, D shackles on front fender, swing up type windshield, pair of Hella's on front etc.
If you are not using alloys, remember to colour the wheels the same as the body colour, as no other colour will go with your stark white and will highly contrast. Same colour wheels as body gives the Jeep a bigger and solid appearance.

Pardon me for posting a pic of my Jeep (done in 2006) on your thread, it is just to give you an idea of how the above things can change the look.

Regards,

[chanu]

Rightly said Fazal saab your x jeep revs up my desire of having one which I guess will happen this year. The below mentioned items by you will not only add up machoness but will be really usefull while in use. I also liked the point of painting the same colour to the rims and particularly if the rims are stock 550's I love them.

All the best Shekaran for your project and don't mind me asking you why was the hood, mudgaurds, wind sheild glass, hard top not removed while painting. Hope to see your machine shape up really awesome. There is no doubt when gurus like Fazal saab and other are there watching you.

[Red Liner]

Shekharan anna ;-)

What anti-rust coating did you give on the body? And how much did that cost?

[svsantosh]

Shekaran,

1) Which brand of paint are you using? The super white is really super white and I am planning to do my jeep also in white. Is it Aspa or Dupont?

2) How much did you pay for the hard top?

3) Regarding the anti-rust treatment, did you do a 3M or the more common/less expensive 'pitch', 'thar' - so many names for it.!!

4) Did you remove the tub of the chassis for scrapping the chassis and painting it with red-oxide?

Santosh


---- Venky dude, me 2 asking questions for the same reason, i think I am ready to put my jeep under the brush ---- whats the condition of ur jeep?

[shekaran]

Faizal Saab, Chanu Sir, RedLiner (Thambi - ), SV Santhosh Anna , All Teambhpians,
Thanks for the appreciative comments, ideas, inputs.
will post pics this next week, after the 2nd coat is done.
my restoration is a little slower, as i give enough time in between jobs, so pls bear with me, for my slowness.
it took me one full year to complete my contessa, still only 95% completed, Sorry Guys.
Best Regards. Happy Motoring.