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Transforming my Mitsubishi Pajero SWB from 2.5L AT to 2.8L MT

28th January 2022, 13:07 by Rahul Nagaraj

Made many other changes as well, including upgrading to all-terrain tyres and also changing the entire colour of the SUV.

BHPian harshmirani recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Hello TBHPians,

Firstly, sharing my journey of owning Pajero SWB 2.5L Automatic. It was an impulse buy, back in 2011 from Pune (it was Mumbai RTO registered though). I saw it online and had gone to Pune for work so gave a visit and fell in love prima facie. But the trial gave more clarity obviously and it was not in a good condition, the previous owner didn't maintain it properly.

Still, I went ahead and bought it completely trusting my advisor (he had sent someone for trial also). He was like, "harsh abhi le lo apan kuch karte hai". I directly took it to him and he serviced it and made necessary changes.

Fast forward 4 years and in 2015 I decided to go ahead and do major changes. The reason being:

No engine power (torque came after crossing 60 km/h), driving at low speed was painful
Gearbox problem
Rusting (windows, rear door)
Interior work as sunroof leaking, seat wear and tear etc
Tyres

When we started working on it we thought of fixing the existing engine and gearbox. But the availability of parts was a major issue which was taking a lot of time, without any result.

So eventually we went ahead and converted it from 2.5 to 2.8, thinking about the future maintenance also being easier. Also shifted from automatic to 5-speed manual gearbox.

Few other changes:

3M underbody antirust coating,
New carpet after fixing the rust and did antirust coating here also
Shut the sunroof (big relief) and have a new ceiling now
New seat cover
4*4 works perfect now
Maxxis 31/10.5/15 all new tyres and steel rims
New colour

There are a lot of other minor changes done in the vehicle of which I may not be aware as I relied on and trusted the garage. I have started using it now and getting to learn slow and steadily. There are no modifications w.r.t. off-roading except A/T tyres. Just the basic and most important work done so far.

Recently I came across the idea of putting hybrid clutch, would like to know more about it. If anyone has any experience in their Pajero do share your valuable feedback.

Driving it is luxury and super fun. People look at it till it's out of sight even expensive car owners stop and give it a glance. I am making a video of the restoration will share it soon till then do enjoy the pictures.