What Engine & Body for making a Custom SUV ?

mamba24 · 3rd March 2008, 18:10

Guys quick question.

Suppose i got a Body of a Maruti Gypsy or an Old mahindra.
Which Engine would be a perfect replacement?

Which Engines are reliable? Does Tata or HM or Mahindra do engines?
What about force motors?

ive been searching the net wildly for answers and im surprised by the amount of choices available in India.

Anyone mod their cars with a different engine? do let me know the specifics. Im an amatuer lol

jyobeb · 3rd March 2008, 19:04

If you are not worried about making your vehicle street legal, then you could buy an old jonga and you pretty much have vehicle you can do any permutation & combination on.

aandu · 3rd March 2008, 19:06

Mamba, Pls get a MM or Gypsy which runs .... do not mind about the condition of the engine... But make sure it runs. Remodeling a vehicle which is in non-running condition is an interesting thing to do but sure to shoot the costs up...sometimes astronomically...

mamba24 · 3rd March 2008, 19:27

Well the reason for the custom SUV, is my need for power.

If i can place an engine which has a displacement of about 2.2 - 3 litre.
Bhp of about 150 that would be awesome.

I am aware i can get a body of an old Mahindra, 1960's model from the scrap heap for below 10 grand rupees. Touch up on body work should cost another 10 grand or so. Some add ons and the car with no engine should cost me about 50 Grand.

If i get a Brand New engine how much would that cost?

As far as making it road worthy i guess that should not be a major problem right? I do know a friend of mine who has a Mahindra Roland is it? and hes replaced his Pertol with a 3 Litre Diesel and road worthy.

dinar · 3rd March 2008, 22:53

If you are seriously looking at modying , Get a Jeep [M&M] it's a good chassis , it will accept most of the 4 cylinder engines available and also some bigger once, but you'll have to modify every thing from suspension,steering, brakes, and strengthen the chassis too.
A 150bhp engine will be hard to find in good condition, it has to be some thing from the scrap market or you may have to import one, the diesel from TATAs ,I don't think it will be available in the market as yet it's recently launched. M&M does not have engine with that sort of power.
The 3 liter engine shoehorned by friend , is it the M&M unit out of their vans [FJ 3200]?????? thats got good torque but no power.
The cost of a which new engine are you asking??????? which manufacturer , if you looking at the CRDe that it should be around 3 Lac [I think], and most of the engine should be around that figure....
The road legal part depends on where do you get it registered [metro or small town ].
or you can just buy a jonga and do anything you want, any way the engine is quit powerful and torque, it's got a 4 liter inline six cylinder 110 bhp petrol nissan engine, or if you can go around and can find one with a big diesel Hino engine 4 liter,4cylinder 110 bhp, which can accept a turbo and power can be bumped to 145bhp , but you'll need nerves of steel to drive it, need to upgrade brakes.

aandu · 4th March 2008, 11:36

If you get a body & Chassis for just say 10k; Then apart from a engine and gear box, you need to go in for braking system, clutch system, suspensions, electrical wirings and fittings, new tires(5), maybe wheel discs, tinkering and painting, steering system, upholstery, diesel tanks and lines(sure they would be rusted and pretty useless), differentials if you are changing to diesel, RTO for paper work... I am sure you will end up shelling out at least 1.5 lacs apart from body and engine...!

Best option is to get a MM 540 or a CJ500D that is in running condition... You wont need more power than a 540 Peugeot engine for more than 85% of your work. The international engine that comes as part of the CJ500D though a sluggish and noisy engine packs lots of low end power. After all that is the heart of a MM Tractor, which is wat most of use to pull out 4x4s that get stuck in the mud...!

Just as Dinar said you can go in for a Jonga. But remember it is not a beast that is easy to maintain. You will certainly have to change the petrol engine as the mileage of a Jonga petrol engine is around 5-7kmpl! Moreover in smaller towns the Jonga is getting rarer and so are the parts...

And pls tell me what are you going to do with all that power on a Jeep? Drive the jeep up a wall

....

mamba24 · 4th March 2008, 15:43

Yea looks like driving up the wall would be a good idea

. Besides being an off-roader i would have wanted to use it for travelling. hence the power for speed as well.

I am basically buying a SUV for my dad , possibly a cut out between a Scorpio and a Endeavour, and i was looking out for something cheap for me. A used SUV something below 5 lakh indian rupees. I will be travelling to india one month a year since my dad will be permanantly residing there now.

Hes having his problems deciding which SUV he wants. Me and my bros are gifting him one and he has that dad analogy to go for the cheaper one. He didnt have the same analogy while he was testin my range rover in aspen and yellowstone.

anyway i guess alot of time would go into a custom SUV. Does anyone have a SUV on sale? let me know. you can PM me. Im not sure if that feature is yet working for me.

rranjith_kum · 4th March 2008, 21:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by aandu

Best option is to get a MM 540 or a CJ500D that is in running condition... You wont need more power than a 540 Peugeot engine for more than 85% of your work. The international engine that comes as part of the CJ500D though a sluggish and noisy engine packs lots of low end power. After all that is the heart of a MM Tractor, which is wat most of use to pull out 4x4s that get stuck in the mud...!

Anna,
Just a clarification; isn't the 540 peugeot engine which you mentioned is known as the XDP4-90 engine(its quite popular in our forum and i know it by that name only). anna is it being used in tractor also!! (MM 275 ??) i know its got loads of torque as i move my commander in second gear from stand still

but damn this sounds even more exciting!!

the prices of MM540 ranges between 90k - 1lakh mostly, and what could be the probable cost of CJ500 moreover this is the vehicle which can be converted into classic look alike right?

looking forward to a lot of details in the thread. Anna expecting lot of your expertise in this regard!!!

aandu · 11th March 2008, 17:33

I know of a MM540 which sold for 19k to the scrap dealers. This jeep's body was 60% useless...! A person I know bought a old model 540 for around 50k! The 540 price varies between 20k to 2.5 lacs depending on the model, titles, engine&body condition it is in...

CJ500 is much more cheaper than a 540. Mainly because the engine is International and the model is older. To convert a CJ500 to a classic takes a good amount of work and money. Better try to convert a short wheel base (CJ3B) to classic..it is easier.

PAVAN KADAM · 11th March 2008, 17:52

This combo i feel would be great.

Chassis: MM 540
Engine: any V8 engine
Tyres: 20 something inch with big fat rubber.

Work around this and i feel you are ready to rule the road.

Nahal · 17th March 2008, 16:45

the best combo ever, cj4a mahindra with 1ggte twin turbo engine with 25psi of boost making around 350-400hp at the wheels this mahindra flys

badboyscad · 17th March 2008, 17:18

@Nahal: please create your teambhp garage(gallery) and post pics of your ride and its under hood.. would love to see it.

3rd March 2008, 18:10	#1
mamba24 Newbie Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 16 Thanked: 0 Times	What Engine & Body for making a Custom SUV ? Guys quick question. Suppose i got a Body of a Maruti Gypsy or an Old mahindra. Which Engine would be a perfect replacement? Which Engines are reliable? Does Tata or HM or Mahindra do engines? What about force motors? ive been searching the net wildly for answers and im surprised by the amount of choices available in India. Anyone mod their cars with a different engine? do let me know the specifics. Im an amatuer lol
	() Thanks

3rd March 2008, 19:04	#2
jyobeb Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Madurai Posts: 1,010 Thanked: 704 Times	If you are not worried about making your vehicle street legal, then you could buy an old jonga and you pretty much have vehicle you can do any permutation & combination on.
	() Thanks

3rd March 2008, 19:06	#3
aandu Newbie Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Coimbatore Posts: 15 Thanked: Once	Mamba, Pls get a MM or Gypsy which runs .... do not mind about the condition of the engine... But make sure it runs. Remodeling a vehicle which is in non-running condition is an interesting thing to do but sure to shoot the costs up...sometimes astronomically...
	() Thanks

3rd March 2008, 19:27	#4
mamba24 Newbie Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 16 Thanked: 0 Times	Well the reason for the custom SUV, is my need for power. If i can place an engine which has a displacement of about 2.2 - 3 litre. Bhp of about 150 that would be awesome. I am aware i can get a body of an old Mahindra, 1960's model from the scrap heap for below 10 grand rupees. Touch up on body work should cost another 10 grand or so. Some add ons and the car with no engine should cost me about 50 Grand. If i get a Brand New engine how much would that cost? As far as making it road worthy i guess that should not be a major problem right? I do know a friend of mine who has a Mahindra Roland is it? and hes replaced his Pertol with a 3 Litre Diesel and road worthy.
	() Thanks

3rd March 2008, 22:53	#5
dinar Senior - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: goa Posts: 1,066 Thanked: 57 Times	If you are seriously looking at modying , Get a Jeep [M&M] it's a good chassis , it will accept most of the 4 cylinder engines available and also some bigger once, but you'll have to modify every thing from suspension,steering, brakes, and strengthen the chassis too. A 150bhp engine will be hard to find in good condition, it has to be some thing from the scrap market or you may have to import one, the diesel from TATAs ,I don't think it will be available in the market as yet it's recently launched. M&M does not have engine with that sort of power. The 3 liter engine shoehorned by friend , is it the M&M unit out of their vans [FJ 3200]?????? thats got good torque but no power. The cost of a which new engine are you asking??????? which manufacturer , if you looking at the CRDe that it should be around 3 Lac [I think], and most of the engine should be around that figure.... The road legal part depends on where do you get it registered [metro or small town ]. or you can just buy a jonga and do anything you want, any way the engine is quit powerful and torque, it's got a 4 liter inline six cylinder 110 bhp petrol nissan engine, or if you can go around and can find one with a big diesel Hino engine 4 liter,4cylinder 110 bhp, which can accept a turbo and power can be bumped to 145bhp , but you'll need nerves of steel to drive it, need to upgrade brakes.
	() Thanks

4th March 2008, 11:36	#6
aandu Newbie Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Coimbatore Posts: 15 Thanked: Once	If you get a body & Chassis for just say 10k; Then apart from a engine and gear box, you need to go in for braking system, clutch system, suspensions, electrical wirings and fittings, new tires(5), maybe wheel discs, tinkering and painting, steering system, upholstery, diesel tanks and lines(sure they would be rusted and pretty useless), differentials if you are changing to diesel, RTO for paper work... I am sure you will end up shelling out at least 1.5 lacs apart from body and engine...! Best option is to get a MM 540 or a CJ500D that is in running condition... You wont need more power than a 540 Peugeot engine for more than 85% of your work. The international engine that comes as part of the CJ500D though a sluggish and noisy engine packs lots of low end power. After all that is the heart of a MM Tractor, which is wat most of use to pull out 4x4s that get stuck in the mud...! Just as Dinar said you can go in for a Jonga. But remember it is not a beast that is easy to maintain. You will certainly have to change the petrol engine as the mileage of a Jonga petrol engine is around 5-7kmpl! Moreover in smaller towns the Jonga is getting rarer and so are the parts... And pls tell me what are you going to do with all that power on a Jeep? Drive the jeep up a wall ....
	() Thanks

4th March 2008, 15:43	#7
mamba24 Newbie Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 16 Thanked: 0 Times	Yea looks like driving up the wall would be a good idea. Besides being an off-roader i would have wanted to use it for travelling. hence the power for speed as well. I am basically buying a SUV for my dad , possibly a cut out between a Scorpio and a Endeavour, and i was looking out for something cheap for me. A used SUV something below 5 lakh indian rupees. I will be travelling to india one month a year since my dad will be permanantly residing there now. Hes having his problems deciding which SUV he wants. Me and my bros are gifting him one and he has that dad analogy to go for the cheaper one. He didnt have the same analogy while he was testin my range rover in aspen and yellowstone. anyway i guess alot of time would go into a custom SUV. Does anyone have a SUV on sale? let me know. you can PM me. Im not sure if that feature is yet working for me.
	() Thanks

11th March 2008, 17:33	#9
aandu Newbie Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Coimbatore Posts: 15 Thanked: Once	I know of a MM540 which sold for 19k to the scrap dealers. This jeep's body was 60% useless...! A person I know bought a old model 540 for around 50k! The 540 price varies between 20k to 2.5 lacs depending on the model, titles, engine&body condition it is in... CJ500 is much more cheaper than a 540. Mainly because the engine is International and the model is older. To convert a CJ500 to a classic takes a good amount of work and money. Better try to convert a short wheel base (CJ3B) to classic..it is easier.
	() Thanks

11th March 2008, 17:52	#10
PAVAN KADAM BANNED Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: NAMMA BENGALURU Posts: 5,602 Thanked: 2,549 Times	This combo i feel would be great. Chassis: MM 540 Engine: any V8 engine Tyres: 20 something inch with big fat rubber. Work around this and i feel you are ready to rule the road.
	() Thanks

17th March 2008, 16:45	#11
Nahal Newbie Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: New Zealand - India : Nawashar Posts: 24 Thanked: 0 Times	the best combo ever, cj4a mahindra with 1ggte twin turbo engine with 25psi of boost making around 350-400hp at the wheels this mahindra flys
	() Thanks

17th March 2008, 17:18	#12
badboyscad Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: TN Posts: 1,511 Thanked: 477 Times View My Garage	@Nahal: please create your teambhp garage(gallery) and post pics of your ride and its under hood.. would love to see it. Last edited by badboyscad : 17th March 2008 at 17:29.
	() Thanks