[ashphil]

Harjeev,
You have restored my wife's faith in my sanity! Owning a Gypsy was a dream since the Eighties. After eyeing a rusting gypsy (1993 MG410) parked a few streets away from my home in Chennai each time I was back in Chennai for a few days from my job in Saudi, I finally purchased it much to the horror of my wife.She was ready to get me certified and tucked away in a padded cell. I am slowly getting it done up at a local garage and hope to get the FC done this May.
I was delighted to see your writeup and forced my wife to read your thread and more importantly, see the pics of your Gypsy! she now believes that I just suffered from 'temperory insanity'
By the way, would be grateful if u could let me know where you purchased the spares from? especially the wiring harness. I have had no luck finding it in Chennai.
I will stay glued to your thread to see how your Gypsy turns out. Good luck!
Regards,
Ashok

[BulZire]

Originally Posted by harjeev

Thanks BulZire. Congrats on the Linea. Why did Redone sell that too.
Also I've sent you a PM. Pl see if you could reply to that.

He got relocated to Bangalore from chennai and Linea was chennai registered, I suppose he was also planning for a upgrade. I was intentionally looking for a chennai registered one. That's where and why we went into the deal.
I Was really happy to deal with him, we both were happy at the ending.
+1, happy that i bought the car from a real car enthusiast who is also a BHPian.

[maddy42]

Harjeev!! Wow dude. I love your passion and love for restorations man. Its 1am here and i took half an hour to complete your thread. Totally worth it!!

Playing above and beyond in the background and i picture myself driving a gypsy too

Thanks for the ride dude and take care of your back.

Cheers
Maddy

[harjeev]

Originally Posted by ashphil

Harjeev,
By the way, would be grateful if u could let me know where you purchased the spares from? especially the wiring harness. I have had no luck finding it in Chennai.
Ashok

Hi Ashok,
All the spare parts are being bought by Aman Ahluwalia. I have done a package deal with him for the entire vehicle. There are loads of parts that are being replaced in the vehicle and leaving aside the following, we have tried to buy all the parts as brand new.
The parts that we had to source old are as follows and the reason of buying these from the scrap market as opposed to new ones was that new parts were working out to be really really expensive.
List of parts sourced IInd hand

1. Complete MPFI Engine + Alternator + Starter motor
2. ECM
3. Front and rear Crown Pinion
4. 5 Fwd + 1 Rev Gearbox
5. 4x4 transfer case (from a MG413) Didnt use the old one as I have another project that's on the cards
6. Shafts
7. Brake Caliper
8. Brake Hub (one side, Right or left I do not remember)
9. Body Shell from the MG410, However we bought a new bonnet
10. And last but not the least obviously, the Chassis :P

This is more or less it. Rest all the parts are supposed to be put in brand new. This is the exact reason that the cost has increased astronomically, but I believe that at the end of it I would have an almost new if not brand new vehicle.

Please do ask incase any further clarification is required. I would try to the best of my knowledge to answer your queries.
Cheers

[fazalaliadil]

Harjeev,
Been following this thread since some time, but don't know where to start.
Only you have the courage to do this much work on one vehicle, I would shudder at the very start itself.

The outcome will surely be great knowing you, after tremendous effort that has and is going in the build. Looking forward to the final outcome.
All the best.
Regards,

[harjeev]

Now when the body was removed from the chassis and the pictures of the preparation of the chassis were uploaded in the previous posts the big task of the battered body work are in enclosed in this update.

Also to be noted that thought I am updating the entire set of pictures in one post, this entire job took well over 2 whole months to complete. Part of the delay was that we all got busy in Desert Storm 2011 in which, naturally everyone was involved. Anyways better late than never.

The condition of the underbody…






Patch work can be seen



And the final outcome…





Once the work on the underside was completed, it was time to pay attention on the other body panels.



The Fenders



Work progressing on the running boards, engine Bay area, side panels, etc



More pics





The floor of the body tub (drivers side, passenger, loading area, etc)



The battery mount had to be completely re-fabricated, some pics





This is a picture of the double shock setup that generally rally prepared gypsys run on,


In the following pic me and my friends can be seen have a go in the, well I leave you guys to complete the most appropriate set of words to describe it…




Cheers till next update.

[annu0706]

Originally Posted by jeepster

looks like one liter MG 410 W.

costs nothing & a great vehicle for all kinds of mods.

BTW are you planning for its heart transplant?
1.3 MPFI, 1.6 MPFI, DDIS, ISUZU P, ISUZU D?

please update ASAP cause i too have one MG 410.
so i can copy.. ahh i mean to say is, get inspired by your project.

hey is DDIS the swift engine ?

[jeepster]

yes.
DDIS & ISUZU (D) are diesel ones.

1.3 MPFI, 1.6 MPFI, ISUZU (P) are petrol ones.

@ harjeev:
great writeup along with pictures.
just waiting for final product.

rgds,
Nikhil

[DHABHAR.BEHRAM]

Originally Posted by harjeev

In the following pic me and my friends can be seen have a go in the, well I leave you guys to complete the most appropriate set of words to describe it… Cheers till next update.

Dear Harjeev - my "set of words" are - from a Jeep crazy "Bawa" (me) to a Jeep crazy "Sardar" (you), what else can be expected? . Trust a Bawa or a Sardar to be crazy enough to take such a project and execute it to its logical conclusion. I guess that's the way we are.
"Tussi Great Ho. Tohfu Kabool Karo" !!!!! .

Best "crazy" regards,

Behram Dhabhar

[ashphil]

Hi Harjeev,
Thank you for the information you have posted in response to my question. Only a very brave man can undertake a project of this magnitude! I am eagerly awaiting to see the final product.
A couple of queries please!
1. Is the MPFI engine a straight fit into a 410 or does it require some modifications? If mods are required then are they expensive?
2. Any info on the prices paid for the MPFI engine , alternator & starter motor and the ECM would serve as a guideline on what are the lifestyle sacrifices I would have to make( and for how long! ) to acquire the same.
Thanks & Regards,
Ashok

[harjeev]

Update IV

As in the previous update one could have seen the battered condition the vehicle was in and painstakingly it was being restored back to its original shape. Now the body work being completed the time was coming closer for the next phase. The preparation of the body so that the vehicle could be put onto the paint job.

As always this post will be more of pics, so here goes

The new front hoot 'bonnet' purchased as the originally the vehicle was a MG410 and the old bonnet had to be replaced.



Pictures of the the rally cabin now mounted on the vehicle,
the new avatar taking shape



As said earlier, a lot of body parts were changed. One of them were all the fender flares along with the base thats welded onto the body



Pictures of the tinkering work in progress










Also another major thing that needed to be changed were the engine mounts. The mounts of the older engine sit way at the back and the new ones a little further up towards the radiator.





Now the tinkering (denting work) completed, the time had come for the final preparation of the body with the body filler.
For once I am thankful for the heat in Delhi as who need the heaters of the paintbooth to dry when god himself has made the entire north as a natural heater... hehehe...




Cheers for now

[harjeev]

I bought the vehicle (if it could be called a vehicle, as the state it was in) in the 1st week of December 2010. This was exactly 6 months after I sold my 2006 MPFI Gypsy last June. When I sold the gypsy in June I thought that I wouldn’t buy another one, Ever. And this is when I remember being told by a friend “Bappe, Whatever you do, I know that you would buy a Gypsy in the next 6 months”. Its believed that predictions don’t come true, but in my case, it surely did. Now 6 months after I bought this vehicle, which WAS, as friends termed it, “A RUST BUCKET” now stands totally transformed.

It was a very long and tedious job and I am very sure that no one else could have pulled it off. I whole heartedly salute AA of AA for AA. Let me explain Aman Ahluwalia of Auto Attitudes for Amazingly Awesome work. Also I would like to thank the team of workers at the workshop who have toiled and worked hard in the peak of the summer months to bring the vehicle in the current state. I salute you guys.


Finally the D-day was this Saturday June 4, 2011. I couldn’t believe it that I was standing there taking the delivery of my old but new vehicle.
Now I leave you with some pictures that we took at the workshop. Will try to take better quality pictures in a couple of day and post it too.
Another aspect that many would like to know is how much did I spend on the vehicle. Well, the answer to that is, this vehicle is priceless, but by the time I am finished with the rebuild I believe that the total cost would be an approximately 15-20% less than the price of a brand new gypsy. yes, this should be the range. In this range I have included the complete rebuild cost, cost of the vehicle, goodies that I plan to put in the vehicle like front off-road bumper, air-conditioning, in car entertainment, fog lamps, etc etc etc. However I think if I stop the buck now, that is as is where is, the price should be considerably less, though I haven’t calculated. Anybody wanting to know any specific details please PM me.

Cheers
Harjeev

[manikjeet]

wooo what a transformation
after seeing your thread i regret selling my 2008 gypsy king

[Fordmanchau]

Wow!! That's some transformation of the rust pit you have done.
I was comparing the vehicle pic before and after transformation and it was nothing short of a miracle.
Hats off to you for pulling this off. I liked the fuel tank and spare tyre location.
You mentioned that you have fitted an A/c too!!.
Color combination, recaro seats and the blue lit tacho meter is just class.
Under the hood pics are even more awesome, even better than new.
Thanks for sharing such magic with us.

[Ardy]

Congratulations, Harjeev !!!

Indeed, Aman and his team had a great craftsmenship in restoring these beasts. Have fun driving on & off-road the newly acquired beast.

Cheers,