[jeepster]

Originally Posted by smsrini

Why not an army auction 1 ton similar to what Arka has ? Its a flatbed, allows you to put any configuration of seats, and is proabably has 4x4 ?

he wants simple small lwb vehicle with less power 'M'.

[headers]

Originally Posted by smsrini

Doc,

Why not an army auction 1 ton similar to what Arka has ? Its a flatbed, allows you to put any configuration of seats, and is proabably has 4x4 ?

cheers!
Srini

That is an option if one could fill him up every hour!! Its gotta a 4.0 litre inline 6 generating 110 BHP and a single speed 4x4. Would definitely suit the purpose but the trails will have to accommodate the width of the vehicle!!

[Aroy]

Wider and longer vehicles may be ideal people carriers and successful in the African Safari parks, but in deep forest a shorter, narrower vehicle can maneuver on trails where a larger vehicle may at the best be inconvenience and at times impossible to take due to narrow passages bordered by trees and rocks. That is one of the reasons why a Land Rover Defender is so popular in spite of all its quirks and problems.

Hence I prefer the Gypsy to a larger and heavier SUV for dense jungle traverse. The conditions in MP jungles during wet season would be similar to those in Kerala plantations, so some of the plantation SUV users can suggest their preferences.

[vinod_nookala]

Originally Posted by fazalaliadil

Dr. Ghosh,
A Mahindra man promoting MUL, I too think you should go for it instead of swapping engines doing rebuilds will surely cost you more than your target, which will only be realized after the project is completed.

The SWB Gypsy has time and time again proved to be the best in maneuverability in the jungles tracks (only a Cj-3b an beat it). Get two 1.4L Gypsies from army auctions and build them.

Have foldout arms for camera mono-pods outside the body line of the Gypsy, this will solve the problem of extra room for long or over sized gear.
Regards,

Fazal sir,
Looks too silly for me to bring THAR proposition every where. For jungles petrol is the best and THAR doesnt have petrol option.

Originally Posted by abheekg

True Vikram, Vinod and Fazal saab. But what if I WANT a diesel just for the sake of my whim [boys will be boys thing] , then what vehicle should it be in this budget range ?

I am interested to know about this TATA Safari Petrol ..........

But I want to really keep it as my last option and look for some diesel solution if there is any.

I just need more space around in the vehicle..... !!

Jonga may work but not with the stock engine which will e terribly uneconomical -.......
Some other ideas guys ?

regards,
Dr. A Ghosh

I still would suggest go for a petrol 4wd. If you want a silent diesel only then look no further beyond Scorpio getaway 4x4. It has space, powerful engine and can off road moderately. WOuld be expensive to buy at about 9 lakhs and modify though.

If i were you-

Petrol- Gypsy
Diesel- THAR (for silent engine)

Barring space, the above two vehicles you get every thing what you require for wild life adventures and these vehicles can be modified at lowest cost and most important they are reliable. Old ones like FC, Jonga, TATA safari petrol etc etc will need lot of time and money.

[COUGAR]

diesel vehicle in a forest? BAD idea!

[abheekg]

After a lot of self deliberation, I have made up my mind to go for an uncomplicated leaf sprung petrol vehicle as the base vehicle for the first prototype.

Considerig my low budget, my choices are very slim now. I will have to either use a gypsy ( i will prefer the MG410w) or a mahindra commander series vehicle with a gypsy heart for this project.

Am I right in assuming that I will be able to pick up an ex Army MG410w with decent mechanicals and bodyline from Mayapuri in the range of 50-55k or lesser + 10k for zira registration ?
Mayapuri experts to help me here please. If this is available in this range then I would like to pick up one such vehicle during my visit to Delhi in the third week of this month.

Alternately what may be the cost of an old mahindra commander with registration papers (body+chassis+mechaicals) in Mayapuri ? Am I right i assumig that I will get it i the rage of 15-20k ?
The govt vehicle in auction that I was interested in http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/4x4-ve...ml#post2044208 sold for an atrocious cost of 52k.

Additionally what will be the cost of giving this---> [mahindra commander body+chassis+mechaicals] a gypsy mg410 with 4wd or an isuzu petrol engine with 4wd heart ? And what components will be needed for the conversion ? Would love to hear experiences of similar conversions.

Arka has already give me the gyan of converting the commader into 4wd here http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/4x4-ve...ml#post2045175 .But this is only a 4wd conversion keeping the diesel heart intact. My requirement is of a petrol heart with 4wd on the commander !!

Finally if it is Delhi from where I procure the base vehicle, I will also need a reference to a low cost garage who can tidy the vehicle up / do the gypsy heart transplant on the commander and ready it for the road trip to Nagpur. Any pointers guys ?

regards,
Dr. A Ghosh

[joshguy]

abheek commander with isuzu petrol engine is the way to go !

Can take 8-10 people easily and will be silent and powerful too.Guess the mileage will be a decent 8-10 kmpl

Even armada's will suit this need

[COUGAR]

Try for the gypsy. You dont really have to extend the chassis any more: just a 12" frame extender made out of tubular steel: the last row bench is itself mounted on the extension open to the ground below. True 3 rows of seating(7+1) HUGE amounts of 3rd row space for photography eqpt. As i said: seen on many gypsies hired out for documentary trips in Ranthambore. I thought i had a dozen photographs of this gypsy since i had specifically hired one. Sorry couldnt locate any.

Stick to petrol no matter what... If you insist on Mahindra: while in Ranthambore i saw some antiquated 60's vintage Mahindra's with petrol engines(check near the Khandhar FRH), not sure what they are called. Very silent in operation and can kick the gypsy's *** as far as sheer maneuverability is concerned. but the one i drove had a world war-2 aged 3 speed gearbox and clearly lacked the refinement of the Gypsy and you certainly cant do the mods you want because the model in question lacks the space you would require for this project.

Perhaps you can retrofit that Mahindra petrol engine with a modern MM550 and a 5-spd gearbox. Not sure.

Play safe bro! and stick to the gypsy!

[Aroy]

From the point of view of logistics, I would still recommend a fleet of Gypsies. There is a lot of merit in keeping single type of vehicle, especially in the remote areas.

As I have said previously two vehicles with say 5 persons each, are not only safer than one with 10 persons, but offer redundancy in case of mishaps. A lighter and narrower vehicle can also go where a wider and heavier vehicle will get stuck.

I see no reason to transplant gas guzzling petrol engines to a large vehicle, when the Gypsy has an excellent relatively low consumption power plant. I believe the Nissan 1 tonner consumes 3km/L, compared to 6-8 for a Gypsy under similar conditions.

Regarding costs of a second hand vehicle from Mayapuri, from what I have read the total costs after repair and registration will not be less than 70-100 thousand. Normal costs are - Registration, tyres, body work, mechanical work, painting and upholstery. Each item taking between 10-20 thousand each. Add to that the cost of jeep from Army auction, say 20 thousand.

[Jeepfreak]

Originally Posted by abheekg

After a lot of self deliberation, I have made up my mind to go for an uncomplicated leaf sprung petrol vehicle as the base vehicle for the first prototype.

Considerig my low budget, my choices are very slim now. I will have to either use a gypsy ( i will prefer the MG410w) or a mahindra commander series vehicle with a gypsy heart for this project.

Am I right in assuming that I will be able to pick up an ex Army MG410w with decent mechanicals and bodyline from Mayapuri in the range of 50-55k or lesser + 10k for zira registration ?
Mayapuri experts to help me here please. If this is available in this range then I would like to pick up one such vehicle during my visit to Delhi in the third week of this month.

Alternately what may be the cost of an old mahindra commander with registration papers (body+chassis+mechaicals) in Mayapuri ? Am I right i assumig that I will get it i the rage of 15-20k ?
The govt vehicle in auction that I was interested in http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/4x4-ve...ml#post2044208 sold for an atrocious cost of 52k.

Additionally what will be the cost of giving this---> [mahindra commander body+chassis+mechaicals] a gypsy mg410 with 4wd or an isuzu petrol engine with 4wd heart ? And what components will be needed for the conversion ? Would love to hear experiences of similar conversions.

Arka has already give me the gyan of converting the commader into 4wd here http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/4x4-ve...ml#post2045175 .But this is only a 4wd conversion keeping the diesel heart intact. My requirement is of a petrol heart with 4wd on the commander !!

Finally if it is Delhi from where I procure the base vehicle, I will also need a reference to a low cost garage who can tidy the vehicle up / do the gypsy heart transplant on the commander and ready it for the road trip to Nagpur. Any pointers guys ?

regards,
Dr. A Ghosh

Hi Dr Abheek ,

It was great talking to you over the phone, After going through your entire thread here is my 2 cents

Assuming body shell is of a commander jeep

1. Gypsy King engine 1.3 with 5 speed GB and 4 wheel drive GB with diff ratio 9:44
2. ISUZU petrol 1.8 ltr engine with 5 Speed GB of ISUZU + 4 wheel drive GB of Gypsy (ISUZU 4X4 GB will cost approx 25-35 K, where as this setup will be approx 10K)

Diesel Option:

ISUZU G1 + Trooper GB (ISUZU 4wd GB)

Please feel free to revert back to me, I will be in Bhopal from 9th to 18th feel free to pay a visit and you can test drive my jeep if you re intersted in Gypsy king setup.

Thanks & Regards,

Fahad

[r_nairtvm]

Originally Posted by abheekg

After a lot of self deliberation, I have made up my mind to go for an uncomplicated leaf sprung petrol vehicle as the base vehicle for the first prototype.

Considerig my low budget, my choices are very slim now. I will have to either use a gypsy ( i will prefer the MG410w) or a mahindra commander series vehicle with a gypsy heart for this project.

regards,
Dr. A Ghosh

Dr Ghosh,

I am sure you are aware of this but MM has jeeps that run with Isuzu Petrol Enfgines. The specs of the soft top model is as per the link below (I don't know if they still build it)

Mahindra

So if you can get the MM 550 bidy in Army Auction and a Contesss/Amby Engine eithere new or reconditioned, you have your silent powerful vehicle.

See the specs the Petrol version gives about 10 HP more than the XDB engine

http://auto.indiamart.com/cars/mm-range/

May be that is the way to go. I am sure you would know that the ISZ Petrol Engine is a really super silent engine.

All the Best With the project

Best Regards & Drive/Ride Safe

Ram

[vinod_nookala]

Tiger likes Mahindra Bolero :-)) A jungle scene from South Africa.

[r_nairtvm]

Originally Posted by vinod_nookala

Tiger likes Mahindra Bolero :-)) A jungle scene from South Africa.

Vinod,

Interesting pictures! But rather confusing

These must be from some private sanctuary or a planned photo shoot!

Otherwise one normally does not associate Wild Tigers with Africa (actually Africa is one of the continents without Tigers). The cat in the picture looks like a "Siberian" one so it has to be am "import" to Africa, probably with some Circus.

Anyway very interesting picture nevertheless.

Imagine this picture shoot with Thar - "Thar & Tiger"

Best Regards & Drive/Ride Safe

Ram

[Kandisa]

Originally Posted by r_nairtvm

Dr Ghosh,
I am sure you are aware of this but MM has jeeps that run with Isuzu Petrol Enfgines. The specs of the soft top model is as per the link below (I don't know if they still build it)
Mahindra

The MM ISZ was sold in very few numbers for a limited period of time i guess. Forget about being still in production, coming across an old model is also very rare. As per i have heard, thanks to the pathetic mileage, this model was never a hit like the diesel ones. These used to come with the mpfi 1.8 Isuzu, though i am fairly content with owning one with the carb counterpart.

...May be that is the way to go. I am sure you would know that the ISZ Petrol Engine is a really super silent engine.

Powerful & reliable too. It is hard to believe how this engine keep going on & on....

[abheekg]

Originally Posted by Kandisa

The MM ISZ was sold in very few numbers for a limited period of time i guess. Forget about being still in production, coming across an old model is also very rare. As per i have heard, thanks to the pathetic mileage, this model was never a hit like the diesel ones. These used to come with the mpfi 1.8 Isuzu, though i am fairly content with owning one with the carb counterpart.


Powerful & reliable too. It is hard to believe how this engine keep going on & on....

Hi
Can you share with me the details of the engine of your jeep ? Although the first prototype is going to be on a Gypsy, however I am still keen to build one more on a jeep chassis with a petrol heart.

Dr. A Ghosh