News

Bought a 21-year-old Maruti Gypsy King: My childhood crush

12th January 2022, 18:12 by Utkarsh Chaudhary

The 1.3-litre MPFI engine of the vehicle was in top condition. The only thing needed was a basic service.

BHPian Dodge_Viper recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

There is a specific set of vehicles that are termed, immortals. They were present since the Jurassic age probably and will stay till the end of Kalyug. These timeless beauties are a sight to behold when you see them on roads. For me, these were the "JEEP" and "GYPSY". Love them both. Die-hard fan of both. Getting a new Jeep was out of the question since Mahindra no longer manufactured these. Circa 2000, when we got our first vehicle, a humble Santro, Gypsy was still available off the showroom brand new. But imagine mentioning at home to buy such a vehicle. A barrage of chappals would come crashing down on you. "You" want such a vehicle, grow up, start earning and buy with your own money. Fair point. Some day, I said to myself.

Then came the biggest news of my life in 2010/2011 when Mahindra launched its "JEEP" again. Thar. But given my fresher salary, I was not able to afford anything above 4.5 lakhs. Forget the thought of having one primary vehicle and one secondary weekend fun vehicle. Thar was 7 lakhs on road. Obviously, my first showroom visit was Mahindra to check out the Thar but paying 7 lakhs for such a horrible barebones vehicle was definitely out of scope. Still sat in the vehicle and said, someday. Gypsy was the same case. Out of budget. The purchase of either of them was put on hold for an indefinite period. All along these years, drooling over Thar and Gypsy threads on TeamBHP, the itch was still there. But I was not in a position to keep a second vehicle. Going through the used car route was the only option. Close friends knew my love for Thar, but probably didn't know the equal love for Gypsy. BHPian sierrakamat had got a Gypsy in the meantime. Drove it and decided please let me be the first to know when you decide to sell it. Then started the countless number of hours spent on OLX hunting for Gypsy and Thar. Ads used to get exchanged between me and sierrakamat almost every week. But still, the decision-making thing was lacking. Sierrakamat, one day, gave up and said, you are not going to buy anything, don't waste my time. Depressed, I left the search. But destiny came knocking in the form of one army restored Gypsy. It was beautifully done. Went to see it, test drove it and decided to go ahead. Finalized the price and came a bummer, no RC. There was no point in taking a risk with such restored vehicles without documents. Left it there and went on the hunt again. At the same time, sierrakamat messaged about a known Gypsy on sale. The doctor owner was going for higher studies and was planning to sell it. It was the same Gypsy that was with us during one of the OTR sessions I had attended with sierrakamat. So I knew it very well. I did not give it a second thought and went to see it. Drove it, and as sierrakamat had already approved it, paid the token then and there. Special thanks to sierrakamat!

And thus a long 20+ years of dream came true.

After payment, I had handed over the transfer papers to an agent and kept her at sierrakamat's place. Was waiting for an auspicious day to get her home.

Blessed:

About the vehicle

This particular model is a 1.3 MPFI Gypsy King hard top civilian version. Registration of May 2000, almost 22 years old. RC is valid till December 2025. The engine was in top condition. It obviously needed basic touch up things to get it in perfect shape. The previous owner had done quite a useful set of mods as below:

AC
Carbon Fibre rear leaf springs
Monroe Gas shocks
Full redone wiring with extra relays and fuses
Original Hella 7" headlamps with 110/90 All-weather lights
Anti-corrosion underbody treatment
Aux fan with custom radiator
Brand new MGP rims
And the biggest of them, brand new Yokohama Geolanders A/T

The only thing needed was a basic service, some tin work and AC service. The brand new tyres saved 40k of expenses then and there.

Post-delivery, took her to the garage and got the below work done:

Full service, changed all oils and filters.
Got the hardtop repainted as the fibre top paint had peeled off at some places.
Rear door hinge had bent, so fixed that as well.
Change the entire seat upholstery, new foam and new covers. changed the door trim as well to match seat fabric.
Carpeting done with heatlon.
Cleaned the radiator.
Got a family lock set installed, one key for all.
Silencer had a hole that caused a free flow type drone. Previous owner enjoyed it, however, I didn't want it. Replace the end can.
Got the AC fixed as well.

Painted Fibre Top:

Changed the entire seat foam and covers:

Rear side facing seats changed as well:

Full carpeting done with heatlon:

Got these 7" HID spot beam lights from sierrakamat:

Rise and shine:

Total damage to the wallet was about 40k including all.

Customary Ritual:

As all the work was done, took her for the first long drive to my native Satara during Diwali.

It's fun at petrol pumps where the attendant expects me to handover the key to open the fuel lid but, "are usko direct kholo, no key" (Open it directly, no key).

Was on a constant lookout for any overheating issues, but luckily did not face anything.

Little one loves it too!

A head-turner for sure:

First trip to Kaas Plateau:

There are still a few things pending to do cosmetically. Planning to either get an offroad bumper or get the existing one painted.

There is one irritating earthing issue that needs to be fixed. It causes flickering of indicators and the fuel and temperature gauge shoots up to the max. Yet to take her off-road, although I have not bought her strictly for off-road use. I will be using it for touring as well.