[thalavoy]

Congrats DKG. I would love to hear your opinions on using Thar as your daily drive. thanks

[vinod_nookala]

Congratulations DKG. Welcome to the THAR club! This year there were some really well prepared THAR's from Hyderabad. AKC & EXAMM were like THAR/ MM550 specific events, there were simply so many of them!..and iam not complaining:-P

It is truely an all rounder and nothing comes close at this price! Wishing you too see in every escape, be it Shimla or Kohima escape and i know now, you have got the legs to do it:-)

[Ronnie Zach]

Originally Posted by vinod_nookala

Congratulations DKG. Welcome to the THAR club! This year there were some really well prepared THAR's from Hyderabad. AKC & EXAMM were like THAR/ MM550 specific events, there were simply so many of them!..and iam not complaining:-P

It is truely an all rounder and nothing comes close at this price! Wishing you too see in every escape, be it Shimla or Kohima escape and i know now, you have got the legs to do it:-)

It's reassuring to see you out there Vinod ,and our hopes are now pinned on you and of course Mr. Anand Mahindra(Now that Mr Behram is no longer there) to keep the Thar fundamentally simple,rugged, dependable and easy to repair (if the need arises- where high tech workshops are not available-); and not allow it to descend into the realm of those "offroad" pretenders with very soft under-bellies.The Classic came with a steering lock,but even with that I was never happy leaving her parked anywhere other than my Garage. The only reason I parted with her(we brought her home on 30-11-96)in 2007 was 1) because the original soft-top "Canvas" went out of production and although TVS cochin tried to source it from a private supplier from Bombay ,it never materialised.The local soft top covers which were available were below par and totally spoilt that "Classic look"2)the engine tended to overheat with the AC on (Due to the plastic window zips of the front doors tending to get stuck,it was not practical to unzip and rezip frequently-so an AC was mandatory) albeit only when crawling in the first and second gears,especially in city traffic.I am not very particular about an AC in the Thar if it is going to make the price go up steeply but I strongly feel it should come with a steering lock at least:-)

[headers]

Wow, Congrats Deepak,

Am sure you are pretty happy with your decision. Enjoy the vehicle - Drive safe! AFAIK, the brakes need ABS especially over 120+

Originally Posted by vinod_nookala

Congratulations DKG. Welcome to the THAR club! This year there were some really well prepared THAR's from Hyderabad. AKC & EXAMM were like THAR/ MM550 specific events, there were simply so many of them!..and iam not complaining:-P

Vinod, my friend - When is the THAR coming to Chennai? Or is it not because it does not have AC?

[DKG]

Enjoy !!

[DKG]

Originally Posted by thalavoy

I would love to hear your opinions on using Thar as your daily drive. thanks

Thar as a Daily Driver

What I like:

High seating and commanding view in traffic
Explosive performance, gem of an engine
Butter smooth and crisp gearbox
Delightful steering, like the way its been weighted
Smart functional interior
Suspension and SUV/car like road manners
fab turning radius, will put many a hatchback to shame !!
Diesel economy

What I don't like:

Lack of security if you have something valuable in the car
Slightly spongy brakes (solution already advised )
very high ingress/egress, drag for ladies and old people
no a/c
a blindspot which can gobble up an entire car !!
2dr impracticality
low rear passenger comfort for long distance driving

Ideally I would recommend the Thar as a second vehicle so the family has a practical hatch or sedan and this as a fun leisure vehicle. I could easily use the Thar as a permanent daily driver. With an a/c and an audio I am willing to give up my office Aveo. I love the Punto as I am a sucker for sports cars and hot hatches. So between the Thar and the Punto to be very honest the only other car that now interests me is the Porsche 911 cabrio !!

[AWD]

Lovely pics, these make me look at the Thar with a different perspective!

Just a thought on the thread title, don't the "trees constitute a forest"!

[DKG]

Originally Posted by AWD

don't the "trees constitute a forest"!

its an very old idiom where the phrase implies that when you focus too much on the details you miss the bigger picture in a situation. The reason why I used this title is just that. Too many people have been nitpicking on the details and simply lost the plot in understanding what a brilliant 4x4 Mahindra has given us. When you remain open and perceptive to the overall package the Thar becomes exceedingly attractive. Atleast it did for me and the more I use it the more I am convinced people have not been fair to this car. Its a real gem, warts and all !!!

[ExtremeTorque]

Deepak, phenomenal stuff! First the Harley, now the Thar, congratulations! One of my mates from office (non-TBHP) was so inspired by your choice of color that he moved from black to rocky beige. He is taking the delivery late tomorrow or early-day after. I was involved with the whole buying/dealer negotiating part and plan to put up a detailed account of the same on his behalf, once we have the delivery.

BTW, any luck with the caravan (207 Di mod)?

[DKG]

Originally Posted by ExtremeTorque

he moved from black to rocky beige

Fantastic. It really is such a gorgeous colour !! We must meet and go for a drive once he gets his Thar !!

any luck with the caravan

My garage has been in a mess on account of some major construction activity very close to our house. Now that its all over I need to get my garage organised and finish the camper. Basically I need to finish the interiors and lighting etc. I think post monsoon will get down to it and complete that too.

[DHABHAR.BEHRAM]

Dear Deepak - AP09CE3828 looks fantastic. As you are one of my favourite "customers" who have bought the Thar (there are numerous others also) and as I still don't have my own vehicle, I request you if you can consider doing the following things on your vehicle to make it look still better. This is my wishlist. I always wanted to do all this but for various reasons which included the great CMVR, I was not able to do so in production.

1. Procure a Jeep CJ3B / CL500D Jeep front bumper from the used car market (Chor Bazaar). This is the bumper which has around 30 degree cuts on either side and is not as long as the bumper you have on your vehicle. Remove the existing bumper alongwith its mounting brackets and throw it out. Locate and weld the Jeep bumper in place. You may need a small cut on its underside to match the Scorpio long member dimension. If you are going to install the winch, you can carry out this change alongwith welding of the winch mounting plate. This bumper will completely change the way the vehicle will look. Paint the area with chassis black color and paint the number on it. Do not use a numberplate. At the same time, you can fit brackets for driving lights if you want but please package them properly.

2. Please see if you can procure the original "Hella" german front parking cum indicator lights. These are half amber and half white. We had lots of them lying around in Nasik plant stores. Please fit them on the radiator guard and remove the front fender mounted lights. These are also fitted due to CMVR / commonality of aggregates. This change will recreate the authentic look. You will have to paint the fenders though.

2. Remove the existing rear bumpers and throw them out. They were born to meet CMVR only. Procure new rear bumper end pieces of the Thar DI (same as used in CL550MDI) and fit them on the chassis rear bumper. If you can procure the spring steel round bumperettes of the original CJ3B and fit them, your vehicle will look fantastic. Please remember that the rear bumper is a box section, you will have to devise a proper fitting system. Paint everything chassis black. I suggest that even if you fit the pintle hook, please keep it as an ornament only because the Thar chassis does not have the original "K" member of the CJ design due to fuel tank packaging below the vehicle due to commonality with Bolero VLX / CMVR. Do not use it for towing.

3. Alongwith the rear bumpers, the present number plate and its light will go. Please paint the number on the tailgate next to the LH side of the spare wheel. You can use a good looking number plate light.

4. Please align the rear wheel mud flaps to the wheel track centers. The present ones are borrn out of CMVR and look completely out of place.

5. Please relocate the wiring harness located on the rear bumper and route it in front of the fuel tank. Please remove all the long clips welded on the rear bumper and throw them out.

6. Please relocate the horn wiring out of the chassis area and relocate the horns inside the engine compartment. The wire looks bad from the front.

7. Please remove all the stickers from the front glass. It should be absolutely clean of everything, including the PUC sticker.

8. Please put black rubber mats on top of the carpet. They will enhance the appeal of the interiors. Please do not use the transparent mats.

9. Please procure 25mm*50mm steel box sections, fabricate canopy holding brackets for the LH and RH rear ends and bolt them on the canopy from outside the vehicle. These must be black powder coated parts. I will guide you on this.

10. Please remove the FRP fender extensions (carefully, they are brittle!) and repaint them in black color with suitable degree of gloss. The production part finish is not good. Please do not reuse the screws which came with the vehicle to mount them, please use only M6*1.0 green passivated bolts with flanged consruction.

I know that you have a highly motivated team to do such me meticulous work. This is my first list. There is a lot we can do on the mechanicals also, starting with brakes. I await your comments. When I am done, you will have a unique vehicle.

Best regards,

Behram Dhabhar

[ashphil]

Congratulations DKG on your new acquisition. May you have loads of fun with it.You must be the first person in India with a Harley and a Thar! I am one among the bunch of people hoping to emulate your example.
The Indian 4X4 community is lucky to have people like Mr. Behram in our midst. One man's dream and committment has given us the opportunity to own a totally thoroughbred Indian 4X4 vehicle. I am sure Teambhp will help to develop more people like him.
Regards,
Ashok

[SPIKE ARRESTOR]

Originally Posted by DKG

Slightly spongy brakes (solution already advised )

What are you planning Sir?

Originally Posted by DKG

its an very old idiom where the phrase implies that when you focus too much on the details you miss the bigger picture in a situation. The reason why I used this title is just that. Too many people have been nitpicking on the details and simply lost the plot in understanding what a brilliant 4x4 Mahindra has given us. When you remain open and perceptive to the overall package the Thar becomes exceedingly attractive. Atleast it did for me and the more I use it the more I am convinced people have not been fair to this car. Its a real gem, warts and all !!!

Reminds me of a short story which I read during my high school days-- God sees the truth but waits - by Leo Tolstoy.

Linky - God Sees the Truth, But Waits - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Spike

[DKG]

Originally Posted by ashphil

You must be the first person in India with a Harley and a Thar!

never thought about that !!

Originally Posted by SPIKE ARRESTOR

What are you planning Sir?

Over the phone BD advised me on a change of the booster. Will "sit" down with you both and make a list of things both of you would have prefered to do to upgrade mechanicals. I intend sticking to your advise to correct anything if at all !!

Originally Posted by DHABHAR.BEHRAM

consider doing the following things on your vehicle to make it look still better....

BD I am huge fan of the army spec CJ3B and the 550. What has always amazed me is that when I find the civilian 540 utterly drab and boring the army spec 550 is outright handsome and arresting in its looks. I remember sometime last year Hyderabad had received a lot of brand new army 550's and I saw one near my office and literally froze in my tracks. The little details simply glued my eyes to the car. Something so deeply attractive about army vehicles. Maybe its the fact that so much of their design stems from function.

So the mandate I have set for myself is to go for changes that make the car look more like a army spec 550.

Taking your suggestions into account here's the list:

1. Get rid of the front and rear bumpers and add the rear bumperettes and the front CJ3B bumper.

or

add warn bumpers front and back like these





The first is a low cost but handsome change. The Warn bumpers cost a packet but will allow me the right platform for a Warn winch

2. Add the usual grab handles as found on the army Jeep

3. Warn has these two fabulous lamps. What do you say to these?

3.5 inch fog lamps W350F



7 inch dual beam driving lights (driving and spot lamp beams) SDB 210



Now I need your suggestions on where the fog lamps go. Should they go into the front bumper? or onto the fenders? or A pillar windscreen hinge? I don't want the car to look too dressy, just plain functional positioning of lights. Actually I was thinking of the small fog lamps as replacements for the blackout lights of a army 550

4. ARB onboard air compressor for tyre inflation and tools



5. Black rubber mats have been put in. Am concerned about the thick padded carpet which can get soaked easily and rust the floor is left unattended. There are holes in the floor which have not been plugged with rubber drain plugs. Right now I have put tape on them to prevent water from coming in while washing

Will remove all stickers this weekend. I too am not very happy about the side lights but am not for cutting holes in the front grill plate and installing the round ones there. Besides I don't want to ape the CJ5 look too much. I didn't like the mods done to the silver Thar from Hyderbad. Its looking too dated.

[rm_arjuna]

Mr.Deepak , where can we source these warn lights in hyd. looking for some good options for my scorpio.