Cool Jeeps You Can't Have - Mahindra of India

[unleashd]

@jscherb

Thank you very much for this awesome thread on these amazing vehicles from India. Thank you for taking me back to my younger days when we would tinker around with these vehicles in my uncle's shop during summer breaks.

The Mahindra trucks and the Hindustan Ambassador are the longest running production vehicles in India. It is sad that the Ambassador is not produced any more. For kind of traffic and road conditions that were, and some places are, these were the only 2 brands of cars & trucks that could withstand all the abuse that you could put them through. More than this, maintenance and service of these 'pre computer controlled' mechanical wonders was cheap and easy. A street mechanic on a 2 wheeler carrying a small bag of tools could get your vehicle fixed and back on the road even in the middle of nowhere. We did n't need 2/4 post lifts to work on them. We didn't need fancy diagnostics and air powered tools.

Thanks again. Subscribed, following, and looking forward to a lot more.

PS: Next time, I go back to visit my parents, I will remember to bring back my album with pictures of my travels to share with y'all. Those were the days of 'film' cameras and prints are all in an album with my dad

 

[unleashd]

I don't know why all the machine gun mounts on Jeeps there. Maybe its the proximity to the Paki border (about 18 miles). There is a LOT of military presence on the road between the city and the border.

India and Pakistan have had border disputes since partition in 1947. Same goes for the India - China border as well. Hence the heavy artillery presence in pretty much every place along these borders.

 

[billiebob]

Some more Bolero Campers.

This next one is in police service in Amritsar, Punjab.

As you can see, it has a machine gun mount. Earlier in this thread I posted a photo of a Thar with a machine gun mount at the Amritsar Airport (https://expeditionportal.com/forum/...-mahindra-of-india.222439/page-3#post-2890118). I don't know why all the machine gun mounts on Jeeps there. Maybe its the proximity to the Paki border (about 18 miles). There is a LOT of military presence on the road between the city and the border.

Another one in police service in Punjab (no machine gun on this one):

While we're in Amristar, you may be familiar with this Amritsar sight:

It's the Golden Temple (yes, that's real gold) and it's the center of the gurudwara (place of assembly and worship) of the Sikhs. The gurudwara dates back to the 1500's. OK, enough India background info for the day .

We went to a couple of Sikh Temples and what a warm, welcoming experience. An amazing religion, culture. Wonderful people.
I think my favourite part of India after the people, culture, food, is the way they use water in architecture.

 

[jscherb]

A few more.

Another Utiliti. I took this photo some years ago in Kalimpong, West Bengal, which is in the Himalayan foothills not far from Darjeeling.

 

[jscherb]

Want to build you own Utiliti 4-door CJ-style pickup? There are companies in India that make fiberglass replacement body parts for various Mahindra models...

Here's a source: https://www.indiamart.com/royalbody-parts-accessories/mahindra-body-parts.html#bolero-camper-body


I'll take a break for a little bit and when I start back up I'll do the Forward Control.

 

[jscherb]

Time to start up again...

The Forward Control (FC) wasn't very popular in the U.S. It was produced from 1956 through 1965; its best year was 1957 but even then less than 10,000 were sold that year. It was produced in several wheelbases - the FC150 had an 81" wheelbase and the FC170 had a 103" wheelbase (same as the LJ BTW).

The FC was very popular in India and was mostly produced as the FC160 with a 92" wheelbase. Production continued all the way until the summer of 1999 - it lasted 34 years past the FC's demise in the U.S.

I'll start with a few brochures.

Many variants were produced in India - pickups, panel trucks, busses, ambulances and more. Chassis+cowl and chassis+cab versions were offered for custom builders.

I took this photo in West Bengal a few years ago:

 

[jscherb]

An early FC brochure:

Early Mahindra brochures were pretty much copies of U.S. brochures. The front page above looks exactly the same as a U.S. version, but on the back the specs for the FC160 are listed, which was only produced in India.

The F150 was produced in India, although it was nowhere near as popular as the FC160

An Indian FC150 and brochure.

 

[tyler.armijo]

Fc’s are so flipping cool. I love that giant flat face I wish they would’ve been more popular here in the states. The possibilities are really kind of endless


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[ihatemybike]

I want a FC-160 minibus something strong.

 

[Blowby]

Fc’s are so flipping cool. I love that giant flat face I wish they would’ve been more popular here in the states. The possibilities are really kind of endless


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Got to agree,they are the coolest!Definitely not something you see everyday.

 

[jscherb]

I want a FC-160 minibus something strong.

Here you go...

The FC160 Bus was very common in India; some are still on the road 20 years after production stopped.

 

[jscherb]

Or how about an FC Van?

 

[jscherb]

A few more bus brochures

 

[jscherb]

An early cowl/chassis brochure. Many custom bodies were built on this platform.

 

[tyler.armijo]

I think I am going to start looking into buying one of those FC-150s and having it shipped to the states. It really would be the coolest. Like a small deuce and a half


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