[johny_desparado]

Hello Db sir,
I wish to get the brakes upgraded as well from bangalore . Is there any way i can get this individual's contact number or garage address please .

thank you

[slalom]

@ johny_desparado, couple of guys in Delhi have got their brake boosters ungraded under warranty .( info from Facebook 4x4 India page )
I think you can get in touch with your ASC and ask for an upgrade.
You probably have to put pressure on the ASC and insist on getting the brake booster and barke calipers changed ,I think it will depend on how you convince them .
The company is aware of this issue and they wont recall all the Thar's , and only the "crying child gets the milk " ,

[cpbopanna]

A busy schedule prevented me from using my Jeep on long-distance drives over the past few months. So when Christmas hoildays arrived, I decided to garage my SX4 and use my Jeep for my Coorg trip - to check the road-worthiness of the Italian hard-top and also to fix my Hella fog lamps onto the front bumper (the earlier fitting was on the Mahindra roll-bar which I ditched due to aesthetic reasons)

Cruising on the wrong side of 100 with the Italian hard-top is a breeze, literally! The unstressed engine and the noise-less cabin gives an impression that the road speed is not beyond 60 kmpl. The gaps between the doors and frame have all been sealed with a rubberized adhesive tape supplied with the hard top.

I noticed that in most 540/550/Thars the fog lamps were either fitted from clamps protruding out of the front grill or were mounted on off-road bumpers. I prefer the original front bumpers of my Jeep and hence welded a cross-member using a 2.5" angular onto the chassis just behind the bumper. The fog-lamps themselves are fixed onto two stalks, which in -turn are welded on to the sub-frame. The sub-frame is hidden under the 'Mahindra' plastic plate and only the two stalks stick out. The end result is a very rigid fitting with good focus of light and no vibrations whatsoever!

I finally decided to jettison the front bucket seats of the Thar which I had fitted to the rear - I found them too tall with the passengers' hair almost touching the roof!

I shall soon be replacing them with a twin seat from an Innova/Scorpio/Xylo, as appropriate.

So, all the seats of the Thar, the front buckets, the rear bench seats and the soft-top are going to be used in my 540 which is being restored....more on that later!

As a quid pro quo, my 540 sacrificed its original 'Jeep' emblems, which prodly adorn my Thar now, with ALL the Thar emblems removed!

Fitting the 'Jeep' emblems was an idea I got from BD, what remains now is to ditch the rear bumperetts and replace them with the PRAD rear bumpers + original Wrangler tail lights if I can source them.

This will doubtless complete the 'Jeep' look.

As it is, the eye-balls that the Jeep attracts is amazing, people are confused with a vehicle which looks like a 540 from the front, has Jeep logos on the side and a (near) Wrangler look from the rear!

Will keep updating!!

[cpbopanna]

Hot from the grape vine.....Mahindra Thar equipped with MHawk engine undergoing testing...

[powertrain]

Originally Posted by cpbopanna

Hot from the grape vine.....Mahindra Thar equipped with MHawk engine undergoing testing...

Is it the mHawk Scorpio engine or the mHawk derived 1.5L Quanto engine?
How reliable is this "Source"??!!

Whichever way, It's great news. Hope this comes with ABS as standard.
Regards
Varun

[speedmiester]

Originally Posted by cpbopanna

Hot from the grape vine.....Mahindra Thar equipped with MHawk engine undergoing testing...

That's great news. Any news on the hard top and better interiors from the manufacturer on the anvil. Hope Mahindra improves the brakes as well.

This will push the price to the scorpio territory.

[cpbopanna]

Originally Posted by powertrain

Is it the mHawk Scorpio engine or the mHawk derived 1.5L Quanto engine?
How reliable is this "Source"??!!

Whichever way, It's great news. Hope this comes with ABS as standard.
Regards
Varun

I understand it is the 2.2 L MHawk! Did not hear anything about ABS though!
The 'source' is 'pretty reliable', however cannot reveal at the moment

Originally Posted by speedmiester

That's great news. Any news on the hard top and better interiors from the manufacturer on the anvil. Hope Mahindra improves the brakes as well.

This will push the price to the scorpio territory.

Someone has made a 'clone' of the Italian Hard top at Mumbai, reportedly at a fraction of the price I paid. Whether the 'manufacturer' sells the Hard-top directly or if will get routed through 'Mahindra Genuine Accessories' remains to be seen!

[slalom]

Great news cpbopanna about the "Mhawk" , motorbeam has reported that they drove the Mhwak powered Thar with the scorpio's interiors .

http://www.motorbeam.com/cars/mahind...onavla-report/

[XLR8]

Hi Bopanna,

It was nice bumping into you the other day. Your ride looks even better in flesh. I am using your ownership thread like a sales brochure to get an approval from home ministry(wifey)

Happy miles ahead!

[cpbopanna]

Originally Posted by XLR8

Hi Bopanna,

It was nice bumping into you the other day. Your ride looks even better in flesh. I am using your ownership thread like a sales brochure to get an approval from home ministry(wifey)

Happy miles ahead!

Hi XLRB!

It was my pleasure meeting you!

Just pray that your better half gets floored by the Sales Brochure, better still get her aquainted with a Jeep in the flesh and blood, nothing else will do after that!

Bopanna

[cpbopanna]

Update: Squeaks from the Targa Band + a new redesigned rear seat frame

After giving my Jeep a break for a whole month (only short drives within Bangalore), I noticed squeaks from somewhere between the Targa band and the A-pillar. So I decided to drive down to Coorg for the week-end and get my trusted mechanics to help identify and sort out the problem.

The Italian Hard-top was removed to check where the squeaks were coming from. Wonder of wonders, the bolts holding the horizontal connecting metal strip between the Targa band and the A-pillar had gotten loose! (highlighted in picture). The bolts were re-tightened after inserting spring washers, the squeaks are now a part of history!

However, since I had removed the hard top, I used 3M adhesive tapes on all metal surfaces which are in contact with the FRP hard-top, to avoid any noises due to relative motion between the two. It must be remembered that the Italian hard-top has very few fasteners holding it in place, on either side of the Jeep - one bolt above the A-pillar, two bolts at the bottom of the Targa band, three bolts on the side body (above the wheel-well) and one at the rear. Knowing the structural (non?)rigidity of the Thar body, small relative movements are bound to occur between the hard-top and the targa-band, etc, the bracing between the targa band and the SA roll cage notwithstanding.

I would recommend to anyone attempting a hard-top fitment to use spring washers and tighten all the fasteners on the A/B pillars and supporting metal strips, it does make a lot of difference!

This was the first time I could check the noise level on a long-distance trip (600 kms in two days). I enjoyed my long drive listening to Kenny-G and Pink Floyd (the Dark Side of the Moon is my favourite!)

The cabin is pleasantly silent with the only irritant being the outer rear-view mirrors. When the Jeep crosses the 100 kmph mark, the wind-flow around the mirrors make such a racket, one gets a feeling that they (the mirrors) may break! With a soft-top, when driving at high speeds, the flapping from the sides drowns all other noises, with the hard-top new ones emerge!

I was finally able to re-design the frame for the forward facing rear-seat. I junked the old frame onto which the original front buckets were fixed. In its place, I have fabricated a new frame, ensuring that the seat surface (sitting area) is in line with the top of the wheel arches. This is to avoid the rear passengers' heads hitting the roof! I have used the twin-seat from a Tavera, whose back rest is comfortably angled. However, I find the seat not wide enough for two adults to sit comfortably. During my next visit to Coorg, I shall extend the seat to fully utilize the 35" between the wheel arches, that should make it very comfortable for two adults. The sitting position is however very comfortable and as a bonus, the driver has a good view of the rear through the center rear-view mirror with no obstructions from the rear seat.

Last but not the least, I have padded the rear door. Cost me a mere Rs. 200, but the door looks very up-market. The funny thing is that all the (treaded) holes are in place to fit a pad, wonder why Mahindra does not bother to do it themselves!

[Thar4x4]

Originally Posted by cpbopanna

Update:..

Sir,
Thanks for update, I enjoy reading your updates Also nice talk to you on phone the other day.

I am working on rear front facing seat too, can you please post some pictures of the frame you have created. Those Tavera seats are same as Innova third row split seat?

Thanks,
Vishal

[yikes6633]

The bookings for Thar are closed and the dealership confirms (India Garage, Bangalore) that all production of the Thar (CRDE & DI) has been stopped by M&M.

[Trueintrepid]

Originally Posted by yikes6633

The bookings for Thar are closed and the dealership confirms (India Garage, Bangalore) that all production of the Thar (CRDE & DI) has been stopped by M&M.

Some lull before the storm, I gather! Hope it can match up to all the expectations.

Also, look out for the scoop on the engine bonet. That could be it!

Will miss the DI and CRDe work horses. But wait, why DI? Is the current bolero engine making its way into the DI?

[cpbopanna]

Originally Posted by Trueintrepid

Some lull before the storm, I gather! Hope it can match up to all the expectations.

Also, look out for the scoop on the engine bonet. That could be it!

Will miss the DI and CRDe work horses. But wait, why DI? Is the current bolero engine making its way into the DI?

I wonder what the effect of the budget is on the new Thar prices! I understand that there is a hike in Excise Duty on vehicles with ground clearance more than 170 mm!