Popular Post Daan Posted January 1, 2019 Popular Post Share Posted January 1, 2019 Hi, First day of the new year, and i thought it was fitting to start a topic about my new Project. Yes, Shock horror, after 28 years on my Landy, I decided it was time for a change. My new project is a 4x4... but it is not a Land rover... No, I thought there are other cars about that I fancy having a go at (not many, but still). I fancied a classic car. And the one that started of the whole 4x4 scene, a Willys MB Jeep. They just look right and there is so much history to them that that is the one car that always had my interest. They are a bit spendy though, in recent years even complete rust buckets won't go for less than 5K, usually incomplete and without V5, to a running one for about 10K, up to well over 20K for a minter. That was not what I had in mind, and added to this is that in reality, a Willys jeep is not much of a car: They tend to have their spec stenciled on their hoods in the UK: And that pretty much says it all; Although added to this should be no heater, manual wipers, and almost no brakes. The general advice for these is not to enter a motorway which makes sense, but if I am going to get one of these, I want it to be able to get along with normal traffic. Which is 70 MPH in the UK and ideally a bit in reserve as well. So then my mind goes into modifying ideas, but the problem is that this devalues the car, which just does not make sense to me if you spend a lot of money in the first place.. Like most iconic cars, people had a go at imitating it, most notably the Jago Jeep, based on an escort MK2. People have done homegrown replicas, usually based on Suzuki chassis. Neither of these interested me much, as it is just too far away from the real thing. There is, for us in the Uk an alternative though: the Mahindra Jeep. Generally overlooked by most people, due to having a bad name, they were sold in the UK between 1990 and 1995. They were license build Willys jeeps, build in India with the blessing of Jeep. Their spec is based on the Willys CJ3B Jeep, which is the latest and greatest Willys jeep ever built; They have a 4-speed gear box (as opposed to 3 speed of the original Willys), hanging pedals with a brake booster, a Peugeot Diesel engine, A dana 44 rear axle (very strong) and a chassis made out of thicker material. They tend to be overlooked as they were withdrawn from the UK market due to quality problems with many warranty claims and a following dispute between the importer and Mahindra over who was going to settle the bill for this. The problem is of course that if you try to sell a car 50 years after it was originally designed, you will have to deal with different expectations. I suppose it didn't help that Top Gear did a feature on the worst car ever made, and guess who came out on top? Yes, it was indeed the Mahindra Jeep. Anyway, Having looked at this option, I decided it is worth investigating. The rolling chassis is basically identical to the MB, so a replica MB body bolts straight on. The only real difference is it being RHD, and there is no such thing as a RHD Willys MB. So a bit of modding will be required here. If you want to use the original body It is also possible to lower the bonnet and bulkhead and replace the wings, grille, and screen to make it look like an MB. Anyway, A Mahindra it is, and this is what I bought: From 1990, with a diesel V5 and a body falling apart from rust holes, it was ideal for what I wanted with it. And it was very cheap. The engine did run, but the clutch was seized solid. 50K miles on the clock, these things don't travel far, as they aren't very quick. with a bit of work, I dismantled it into this: Into this: I didn't expect chassis to be riveted together in 1990, but this one certainly is: So that is where I am now. The plan is to fit a newer engine, I bought a VW 1.9 TDI from a Pasat for it. Disc brakes, PAS, and overdrive, and topped off with a Willys Jeep replica body, this is going to be my modern-day classic car. Daan 4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arjan Posted January 1, 2019 Share Posted January 1, 2019 Interesting Project Daan !!!!! Looking forward to the various solutions you'll have to find - like welding the chassis together ? Goed Gedaan !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anderzander Posted January 1, 2019 Share Posted January 1, 2019 Yippee ! You said you were wanting a new project in my thread and I’m delighted you have 😊 I saw you’d uploaded the pictures to your gallery, and clicked your name on here to pm you and it said your status was ‘creating topic in modified build forum’ - I was beside myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowie69 Posted January 1, 2019 Share Posted January 1, 2019 I am looking forward to this... Dana 44 or similar axles aren't they? I played with a couple of Rocstas in my time, good fun, but similar problems to the Mahindra... And twiglets for axles. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blanco Posted January 1, 2019 Share Posted January 1, 2019 Subscribed! I didn't know anything about them till I read your intro, looking forward to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotts90 Posted January 1, 2019 Share Posted January 1, 2019 Good luck with the new project. Should keep you busy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stellaghost Posted January 2, 2019 Share Posted January 2, 2019 Watching with a great deal of interest good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnoK Posted January 2, 2019 Share Posted January 2, 2019 I don't know how compatible they will be with your Mahindra, but this crowd do replica bits.. https://www.mdjuan.com.ph Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lo-fi Posted January 2, 2019 Share Posted January 2, 2019 Riveted construction is interesting! Probably more reliable than welding in a low skill environment. Brilliant project, I'll be looking forward to updates. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mickeyw Posted January 2, 2019 Share Posted January 2, 2019 Interesting project Daan. I have encountered two Mahindras in my time, both of which were just a couple of years old. One was body rusting at an alarming rate. The other's front axle fell apart. Now I think about it, I am talking over 25 years ago. How old is your new purchase? If you are replacing the body shell I guess the rust isn't an issue for you. 9 minutes ago, lo-fi said: Riveted construction is interesting! Probably more reliable than welding in a low skill environment. When it went on the LR Experience tour a few years back they explained how much the RRS et al are now riveted construction. It saves them on huge energy bills vs spot welding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lo-fi Posted January 2, 2019 Share Posted January 2, 2019 That makes sense; I'd not really thought about it that way. I'm guessing they're using aero style cold worked alloy rivets, though? I think what we can see on that chassis are old school hot rivets! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve b Posted January 2, 2019 Share Posted January 2, 2019 The riveted joints also help with designed in flex ( twist ) when off road , similar to HGV 's , also higher quality (carbon) steel can be used as there is no HAZ from welding , leading to lighter construction making for the light tough design of the original Willys . Great project Daan , it will be an interesting daily drive when done , I'll be following this - thanks for posting it up . cheers Steve b Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happyoldgit Posted January 2, 2019 Share Posted January 2, 2019 Subscribed. Looking forward to seeing updates Daan. TBH I wish I'd never sold my last MB. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowie69 Posted January 2, 2019 Share Posted January 2, 2019 Is that what you get when you drive it more than half an hour, HOG? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daan Posted January 2, 2019 Author Share Posted January 2, 2019 22 hours ago, Bowie69 said: I am looking forward to this... Dana 44 or similar axles aren't they? I played with a couple of Rocstas in my time, good fun, but similar problems to the Mahindra... And twiglets for axles. The front axle is a Dana 27 or 25, not sure which one it is, the rear is a dana 44. The rear axle would benefit from a floater kit though. 7 hours ago, JohnnoK said: I don't know how compatible they will be with your Mahindra, but this crowd do replica bits.. https://www.mdjuan.com.ph These are the manufacturers of the bodys, They make chassis, bodies, and just about any other parts for the willys, except drivetran and axles. Parts are very cheap actually, but the quality varies. 6 hours ago, mickeyw said: Interesting project Daan. I have encountered two Mahindras in my time, both of which were just a couple of years old. One was body rusting at an alarming rate. The other's front axle fell apart. Now I think about it, I am talking over 25 years ago. How old is your new purchase? If you are replacing the body shell I guess the rust isn't an issue for you. When it went on the LR Experience tour a few years back they explained how much the RRS et al are now riveted construction. It saves them on huge energy bills vs spot welding. Indeed the body needed very little persuation to come off, and is now mostly in the scrap bin. Chassis is much better, as it is hidden unde rthe car and a Uchannel, so no trapped water in it like a landrover. The MDJuan stuff is made out galvanized steel I believe, so that should improve things. The age of my Mahindra is in the tittle.... Not sure of the axles, I will rebuild them with good quality seals and bearings. 2 minutes ago, Bowie69 said: Is that what you get when you drive it more than half an hour, HOG? 😎. Thanks for the replies chaps. Time will be my limiting factor, so bear with me. Daan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
western Posted January 2, 2019 Share Posted January 2, 2019 Didn't take long to pull that apart then, interesting to see a riveted chassis. will be keeping a follow on this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazzar Posted January 2, 2019 Share Posted January 2, 2019 I've always wanted to revert a Mahindra to Willys pre hurricane engine style bonnet. Good luck with the project, not tempted by a stainless steel body from the Philippines? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Daan Posted June 2, 2019 Author Popular Post Share Posted June 2, 2019 Well, there is progress to report, not much physically to show, but a lot of hours have gone into it. The main focus has been on the Chassis; It is structurally sound, however, the front spring hangers were twisted, so a bit of jigerry pokery with my neighbours portapower was needed: Also, there is a strip spot welded to the bottom of the chassis rail, and this formed some rust sandwich of about 5mm think in places: I removed the strip, by drilling off all the spotwelds. This also meant all the spring hangers had to be removed. This means drilling off 2 rivets and grind through 2 welds. After all this, I replaced the rear crossmember and front bumper. In jeep world, replacing a cross member means drilling of the rivets, and bolt on a new one, which costs £50. All good, Daan 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anderzander Posted June 2, 2019 Share Posted June 2, 2019 Good work Daan 😊 and thank you for sharing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snagger Posted June 3, 2019 Share Posted June 3, 2019 Somehow I missed this thread. It looks a great project. I'm glad to see you taking it to bare bits and doing it from the ground up, though - I'm familiar with the workmanship and quite interested to see what you find. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carloz Posted June 14, 2019 Share Posted June 14, 2019 Looks like a mix between a MB and a M38A1... Kinda CJ2 from the fifties. I saw a lot of the original ones last week in Normandy: Willys MA & MB, Ford GPW and GPA (amfibious), and quite some pre production variants (slat grill etc.).. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nonimouse Posted August 16, 2019 Share Posted August 16, 2019 Reminds me of the fun I had with my Rocsta/CJ5 hybrid Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daan Posted August 17, 2019 Author Share Posted August 17, 2019 Plenty of fun with this at the moment! Daan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anderzander Posted August 17, 2019 Share Posted August 17, 2019 Share it then you tease ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badger110 Posted August 17, 2019 Share Posted August 17, 2019 Have to love a rammed to the hilt garage to work on projects! I remember someone dropping a 200tdi off at my garage once to replace the 19J..unfortuately it was at the door and the Landy was nose in...no room to get the engine down the side! trolley jacks and alot of swearing got it to the front end where it was needed 😁 look forward to the work being done Daan 👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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