[maddy42]

Hi CP,

Off the top of my head i would say let the price be in the 80-1.2 range. But overall factor in the costs of production shipping and a 10-15% margin. Problem would be distribution and getting the product out in the various markets.

If wishes were horses i dont get it why Mahindra cant offer this product as standard and save the folks a bunch of pain!

Maddy

[ku69rd]

Dear Bopanna,
It would be a very good initiative if you are keen on driving this. My wishful thinking would peg it at 100 to 125K which should include installation. Do not see any point if it goes beyond 150K post taxes.

There apparently seems to be one more Black Thar which does the rounds on Airport Road with the same design HT. But am not sure if its a replica or an original.

[cpbopanna]

An update after quite sometime

1. Jeep Wrangler Hood catch (rugged-ridge) - bought through e-Bay; looks good and avoids scratches on the hood!

2. Bolero ZLX door mirrors - The field of vision in the original Thar door mirrors is limited, often scary due to pronounced blind spots, a direct fit to the existing holes. Mirrors can be painted body-colour (if required), I prefer black. Also, the surface of the mirrors is smooth and prevents wind-noise at high road speeds. Tested up to 120 kmph.

3. OE wiper blades replaced with Hella Dyna-edge; remarkable difference in cleaning ability!

4. Rear seat-belt installation - Shifted the front OE seat-belts to the rear (requires the fabrication of a support at the bottom) and fixed Maruti Swift's seat-belts at the front! Just adding to the security to the children at the rear, who other-wise could get thrown about!

[Thar4x4]

Originally Posted by cpbopanna

An update after quite sometime

Excellent !

Can you please post pictures of hood catch and rear seat belt mounts.

I am in process of fitting rear seat belts in my Thar as well however I am not getting the bolts which fits in mounts given on SA roll-over bar, The stock bolt from front seat belt mount is right fit however it is not available in ordinary auto shop, they are fine thread 11 mm.

Thanks,
Vishal

[cpbopanna]

Originally Posted by Thar4x4

Excellent !

Can you please post pictures of hood catch and rear seat belt mounts.

Thanks,
Vishal

Sure Vishal, here they are!

Please note that two holes (with pre-welded nuts) have been provided on the floor, around 5" from the rear door. However, I did not use these due to two reasons.

1) It limits the luggage space at the rear (behind the front-facing rear seat)

2) The belt will be at a slope from the top mount (on the roll-over bar) and the mounting on the floor, fouling with the speakers I have installed in the rear corners. (you can see my speaker installation in Image 1)

However, if you do not want to drill additional holes on the body, you can use the pre-drilled holes (with welded nuts) without any problems.






In addition, I have padded with foam and wrapped the SA roll-cage with rexine, to prevent rear passengers from banging their heads against the low-lying bar





A couple of close-up images of the Rugged Ridge hood latches from Jeep Wrangler:








And finally, the typical Jeep look with the front insect mesh discarded!



P.S. Image not very clear because picture shot in night mode - with limited light

[cpbopanna]

The raw authentic Jeep look, the way I like it!

[Thar4x4]

Originally Posted by cpbopanna

Sure Vishal, here they are!

Please note that two holes (with pre-welded nuts) have been provided on the floor, around 5" from the rear door. However, I did not use these due to two reasons.

1) It limits the luggage space at the rear (behind the front-facing rear seat)

2) The belt will be at a slope from the top mount (on the roll-over bar) and the mounting on the floor, fouling with the speakers I have installed in the rear corners. (you can see my speaker installation in Image 1)

However, if you do not want to drill additional holes on the body, you can use the pre-drilled holes (with welded nuts) without any problems.

In addition, I have padded with foam and wrapped the SA roll-cage with rexine, to prevent rear passengers from banging their heads against the low-lying bar

A couple of close-up images of the Rugged Ridge hood latches from Jeep Wrangler:


And finally, the typical Jeep look with the front insect mesh discarded!

Thanks a lot !

Your set-up is looking nice.

I have following questions:

1. Maruti Omini front seat belt with motor/pulley costing 2500 and without motor/pulley costing 850 for single set, I think the later one is useless. Do you think first one is VFM? any other options?

2. Considering the space between roll over bar (where the seat belt is fitted) and seat, is the seat belt effectively holding the passenger?

3. Padding the SA Roll Over bar is on my list as well. Have you thought of covering wheel arches with soft materiel which will be used as seat extension?

Thanks,
Vishal

[cpbopanna]

Originally Posted by Thar4x4

Thanks a lot !

Your set-up is looking nice.

I have following questions:

1. Maruti Omni front seat belt with motor/pulley costing 2500 and without motor/pulley costing 850 for single set, I think the later one is useless. Do you think first one is VFM? any other options?

2. Considering the space between roll over bar (where the seat belt is fitted) and seat, is the seat belt effectively holding the passenger?

3. Padding the SA Roll Over bar is on my list as well. Have you thought of covering wheel arches with soft materiel which will be used as seat extension?

Thanks,
Vishal

Vishal, thanks!

1. Go in for Maruti Gypsy seatbelts, the ones from the Omni are too short, I learnt it the hard way!

2. Yes, it is highly effective, you are almost glued to your seat! Also, please remember if the vehicle topples, the SA roll-over bar is better suited to hold than the Targa band of the Jeep, it is for this reason that Thars sold abroad have seat belts fitted to the SA roll-over bar.

3. I am planning to place 2 bolsters above the wheel wells.

[ajaysusarla]

Dear Mr. Bopanna,

Kudos to you for your impeccable taste and sincere efforts into making your Jeep what it is. I have seen your Jeep on many occasions around Bangalore. And have been a keen (albeit mute) follower of this thread.

I'm a Thar owner as well (Rocky Beige), and I'm keen on the Italian Hard top that you have procured.

I would commit to purchasing the Hard Top if available. Please count me in.

Appreciate your dedication and enthusiasm.

Cheers,
..Partha

Originally Posted by cpbopanna

Dear All

The manufacturers of the Italian Hard Top are keen to start selling the hard-top in India, in numbers.

Please advise what is an ideal/realistic/affordable landed price in India, giving due consideration to the fit & finish of the product.
In my opinion, the quality is far superior to any other hard-top/similar products currently available.

Based on the feedback received, I could possibly work out a game plan for commercial imports (and installation)!

Thanks in advance!

[cpbopanna]

Originally Posted by ajaysusarla

Dear Mr. Bopanna,

Kudos to you for your impeccable taste and sincere efforts into making your Jeep what it is. I have seen your Jeep on many occasions around Bangalore. And have been a keen (albeit mute) follower of this thread.

I'm a Thar owner as well (Rocky Beige), and I'm keen on the Italian Hard top that you have procured.

I would commit to purchasing the Hard Top if available. Please count me in.

Appreciate your dedication and enthusiasm.

Cheers,
..Partha

Thanks Partha!

The critical number is 10, since 10 fit in a container. If we can get 10 pre-orders, I can negotiate with the suppliers and try to get a good price!

Let's catch up sometime, do flag me down when you see me!

[cpbopanna]

Originally Posted by ajaysusarla

I'm a Thar owner as well (Rocky Beige), and I'm keen on the Italian Hard top that you have procured.

I would commit to purchasing the Hard Top if available. Please count me in.

Originally Posted by dean

Hi,
1)I am in for ordering in bulk do let me know the exact details like cost,time period etc.

Originally Posted by THAR 4X4

Thank you sir for quick comparison.

Nothing can match the original. Please keep me in loop for bulk order.

Thanks,
Vishal

Originally Posted by cpbopanna

Three in, seven more to go!

Guys, I have asked the supplier to send me a fresh quote for 10 Nos. individually-wrapped italian hard-tops (in a 20' container), CIF Chennai!

If I get another 7 interests, I can work out the final pricing.

It will roughly take 3 months after confirmed order and full payment!

The following makes it (possibly) FOUR people interested in the Italian Hard-top

Originally Posted by JKBKS

Hi CPBopanna,

Pls PM the cost and delivery time as my firend is also interested in this.

Thanks

[sjcherian]

Sir - interested in the HT but need the price. Also two questions.
Is the rear portion easily removable ? Also can the stock side facing seats still fit ?

[cpbopanna]

Originally Posted by sjcherian

Sir - interested in the HT but need the price. Also two questions.
Is the rear portion easily removable ? Also can the stock side facing seats still fit ?

Answer 1: I am awaiting final CIF pricing from manufacturer/supplier. To this, the following need to be added:

1) Fees to get Import-Export licence
2) Warehousing/Clearing charges at Chennai port
3) Customs clearance charges
4) Miscellaneous expenses at port
5) Forwarding charges
6) Land freight from Chennai to Bangalore
7) Warehousing charges at Bangalore
8) Finance charges and finally (9) My margin.

Until I have 10 confirmed orders, I can just provide a ball-park figure of around Rs. 1.50 Lakhs. Please note that the predominant factor is the forex rate and with the current volatility, the price can change drastically if the Rupee inches towards 70!

Answer 2: The rear is removable. However if proper box type of spanners are used with ratchets, it becomes easier.

Please check the following you-tube video where owners have an elementary pulley/strap mechanism attached to their garage roofs, it simplifies matters to a great extent, you remove the rear portion and suspend it! Link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bI19Tqyhkhg

If you live in an independent house with your own garage, this is the way to go about it! I live in an apartment and cannot afford this luxury.

If not, you need to plan for safe storage of the rear roof once removed. Please remember that the roof by itself is quite fragile (with no rigid support from the Jeep)! With the pulley mechanism, just one person can remove the rear roof, if not, two are required.

Answer 3: It may be possible to fit side-facing seats at the rear but I do not advocate that for two reasons:

1) With the Italian hard-top or any other non-metal hard-top for that matter, the rear passengers have absolutely no protection in case of a roll-over. Therefore, an SA roll-cage is highly recommended. If you peruse the innumerable posts on the subject, the Targa band itself may not with-stand a roll-over. It will be ideal to go in for an SA roll cage, have front-facing rear seats and ALL seat-belts (front and rear) fixed to the SA roll-cage.

2) The Italian hard-top slopes towards the inside on the rear, having been modeled like a Wrangler. For you to have side-facing rear-seats, they will need to be positioned closer together making sitting at the rear very uncomfortable and defeating the very purpose of side-facing seats (to seat more people)

[ajaysusarla]

Originally Posted by cpbopanna

Answer 3: It may be possible to fit side-facing seats at the rear but I do not advocate that for two reasons:

===========For you to have side-facing rear-seats, they will need to be positioned closer together making sitting at the rear very uncomfortable and defeating the very purpose of side-facing seats (to seat more people)

Interesting information. Although, like me, if one uses the jeep as a 2 seater + luggage space with an occasional short distance trip with people, the side seats should be ok.

[cpbopanna]

Just checked out the two major changes in the New Thar at India Garage, St. Marks Road, Bangalore

The upgradation of AC control panel is pretty neat, in my opinion, its worth doing this on the old Thar. However, the entire middle panel needs to be replaced!

I just hope the new controls are back-lit, in the earlier version, one needs to grope in the dark!

The AC controls in the earlier Thars look relatively crude!


The 'X' member attaching the front wind-screen section to the targa band is a different story though!

The way the clamps have been welded above the windscreen is sad, looks like an after-market job!



The attachment to the targa band is relatively better, but the 'X' member has just been fastened to one of the existing bolt/nuts! However, in comparison, it looks better than the attachment at the front!



The 'X' member by itself, looks quite decent. If the fastening of the 'X' member to the A and B pillars was done more professionally, the 'improvement' or 'modification' would have appeared factory-fitted rather than 'jugaad'!



There is a velcro strip holding the (hard portion of the) soft-top to the 'X' member.

At the rear, the seats definitely appear lower. But I did not have a chance to check how comfortable they were!