Restoration of Mahindra MM540 - Work In Progress


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Disclaimer: This restoration started about a year back and is still going on. The owner is my close friend and this thread is to share his experience and take suggestions & advice from TAI'ans regarding some issues he is facing with the car. I have not touched the car so far, so I dont know much about the car/its engine etc. In fact I am likely to drive it for the first time tomorrow.

2013-09-15 22.18.23.jpg

2013-09-15 21.34.56.jpg

2013-09-15 21.34.33.jpg

2013-09-15 21.34.27.jpg

Hi all,

One of my close friend, wanted to buy & restore a Jeep/Mahindra MM540 and he decided to be a part of the whole restoration work, instead of just paying money and waiting for someone to finish the work for him.

He has faced plenty of hurdles, had to change garage twice, tinker also changed mid way times, paint job twice, luckily electrician was good. I will post more about this later.

I am sure it is Mahindra, but have no idea about model etc (I am absolutely inexperienced in Jeeps/off roaders etc so dont mind if the title is inapprpriate [confused])

Plenty of mods done on the car so far
1. Wider front track
2. Wheel arches for rear
3. Custom roof (soft top)
4. Smaller size seats in the rear
5. Alloys and DIY wheel cups
6. Wiring has been almost rebuilt
7. Seating height increased etc

It has a two wheel drive (not a 4x4) and the original ITC engine. The owner has spent a lot of time in the garage and in fact some spares were sourced from different cities as well. A few mods include parts from Bolero too.

Restored in Tirunelveli, parts from Madurai, now in Bangalore. More updates tomorrow with daytime pics (tonnes of them [;)])
 
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it seems TAI has to open a new section like 'SS80's Restoration jobs'!

Congratz SS80. You are lucky to get experienced in all types of vehicle.
 
Thread Starter #3
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Hi Releesh, I have not done any work on this car, I am just about to paint its wheels (alloys) and a section of the floor. Except that everything else was done at different garages by my friend. I am just waiting to learn from this car about the way it works and one thing I noticed is everything is heavy and made to last for ever.
 
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I will try to get more info and pictures of the car. The issue being, the car needs urgent attention from a good mechanic. My regular mehanic is too far to visit the garage everyday. My friend is not ready to leave it anywhere for more than a week (without visiting). Hence stuck in a dilemma, as to which garage to go for. Engine needs a rebuild I guess, not sure. My friend says its doubtful that it would reach the garage on its own and hence thinking of towing option as well.
 
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Why is engine painted red ? Is that factory enamel ?
Looks like car needs a lot of attention

Car needs to get whole thing put together again.
Good luck with the project.


From what I see : Seating area (under the seats) is not neat
Paint finish doesn't look that great
Panels do need some tweaking
Wheel colors needs to be changed for sure. That golden rims are for Subaru Wrx Sti

May be paint it black ?
What I have seen some people in Punjab make dabbwali jeeps.
They put toyota engine in those jeeps and make them well looking from outside but the interior looks so plain . Make sure you give this one a good interior atleast something that looks good plus a good looking steering wheel
 
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Disclaimer: This restoration started about a year back and is still going on. The owner is my close friend and this thread is to share his experience and take suggestions & advice from TAI'ans regarding some issues he is facing with the car. I have not touched the car so far, so I dont know much about the car/its engine etc. In fact I am likely to drive it for the first time tomorrow.

View attachment 108548

View attachment 108549

View attachment 108550

View attachment 108551



Hi all,

One of my close friend, wanted to buy & restore a Jeep/Mahindra MM540 and he decided to be a part of the whole restoration work, instead of just paying money and waiting for someone to finish the work for him.

He has faced plenty of hurdles, had to change garage twice, tinker also changed mid way times, paint job twice, luckily electrician was good. I will post more about this later.

I am sure it is Mahindra, but have no idea about model etc (I am absolutely inexperienced in Jeeps/off roaders etc so dont mind if the title is inapprpriate [confused])

Plenty of mods done on the car so far
1. Wider front track
2. Wheel arches for rear
3. Custom roof (soft top)
4. Smaller size seats in the rear
5. Alloys and DIY wheel cups
6. Wiring has been almost rebuilt
7. Seating height increased etc

It has a two wheel drive (not a 4x4) and the original ITC engine. The owner has spent a lot of time in the garage and in fact some spares were sourced from different cities as well. A few mods include parts from Bolero too.

Restored in Tirunelveli, parts from Madurai, now in Bangalore. More updates tomorrow with daytime pics (tonnes of them [;)])
hi, ss80, the picture uploaded by you is not MM540 its CJ (CJ500/CJ340) model so the title need to be renamed as "Restoration of Mahindra CJ500/340- Work in progress"
 
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@ ss80, I always wanted a jeep like this. But my relative says that they give a lot of problems. Even if I bought one, it would stop working. Then people would use it as a landmark to find the way to my house. :-(
Then I wanted a Contessa, but my cousin discouraged me again, he said they are used as stunt/to be exploded vehicles in Indian movies. :'(
 
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Hi all,
yes it is a CJ500, I dint know much about it hence the thread title was incorrect. My apologies.

My friend has recently bought a new Fluidic verna and hence no parking space available for jeep @ apartment. He is looking to sell the jeep, already ads posted. In the last few months a hose replacement, radiator wash, starter motor rewinding etc were done. Jeep is fully functional, but occupies huge space to park (especially on narrow streets). Local miscreants will end up targeting this legend sooner or later.

Few pics of the same (taken a couple of months back).
April Back up 217.jpg

April Back up 219.jpg

April Back up 218.jpg

April Back up 221.jpg

April Back up 222.jpg

Its a TN registered vehicle hence using it in Karnataka, is a pain, untill road tax is paid.
 
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