I was actively trying to source and set up a thorough scheme for coating the underbody considering Django was spending most of the time near sea water or in it.
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Underbody Protection and Coating
The threat of seawater corrosion and rapid rusting of underbody was becoming real for this island gurkha.
I was actively trying to source and set up a thorough scheme for coating the underbody considering Django was spending most of the time near sea water or in it. I had not discussed the same with Force Motors or any workshop.
Django has become quite well known in our island capital now. Gear heads and the ‘car community’ in town keeps a watch on its movements and excursions excitedly. I have people eagerly flocking to the truck when I’m parked or in market places and enquiring about 3 things mainly – the Gurkha, Thar v Gurkha, and how I got it here. Our local tiny rally and off-road community is anyway aware of the induction of the newest green horn among them.
Word spreads fast within the four main roads of the island and it was only a matter of time until someone offered to help!
Our hyper proactive local Andaman Force dealer Mr Shibu, who has become a good friend now, reached out to me on his own accord. He advised that we need to get the underbody work done soon before Django heads out beach roading again.
We discussed various coatings available and how we can implement it on the undercarriage. We also discussed the intrusion of the low bash plate position and how to address it.
Brainstorming various options. With my experience with boats, I considered anti corrosive paints used on boats here for its insane resilience. But its demerit is that it locks up all nuts and screws jamming them permanently and so is not practical for an auto undercarriage in contrast to smooth boat hulls. Mr. Shibu suggested some Anti rust treatments available in market they had previously used on TT vans to good effect.
A word about Mr Shibu & A.G Motors
This Shibu gentleman is a blessing here for Django. He has a got a small team of battle hardened, qualified and Force trained mechanics in his workshop and supports all Force vans , ambulances and Tempos and Traxes running up and down to remote locations. With limited resources, their team still offers towing assistance and quick repairs, even in other remote islands way beyond Port Blair to keep the lifeblood flowing through Andamans. I want to throw light on this for mainlanders to appreciate that even milk and eggs come in to Port Blair and a chain of ferries and vans and trucks move like clockwork to get it to other islands. These trucks, pickups and vans can’t afford to stop or be broken down for long.
As for A. G Motors, I saw them ferry an engine and gearbox from Havelock island and quickly box it up and turn it around in a day! Their lead technician Mr Prakash is one of those child prodigy type guys who ‘talks’ to engines and is lightning quick in way and wit , how he unravels the mysteries under the hood. Limited by resources, innovation rules supreme and I can see how they trust their own experience and assessment to overcome any mechanical glitch. They cannot afford to wait for long lead parts to arrive from mainland to fix small issues and can’t wait for any tech head to visit for elevating complex issues. The buck stops here and they do what they do, as the tides rise and fall, right here.
I have little doubt that this small island team can take down a ‘big city’ workshop in a garage showdown anyday, (and still finish well in time to make it to the last ferry)
The Good Samaritan, Mr Shibu also runs a Free Hearse Van ,he and his friends modified from an old Traveller XL to help people in need to ferry the departed from remote North and Middle Andaman. I’m really glad my Gurkha helped me make his acquaintance and earned a good friend.
For Django, he offered to do the entire underbody work Free of Cost as a kind gesture towards the first BSVI Island Gurkha and as a part of the ‘Force Family’, he said benevolently.
I bought the paints and the coatings required for the execution and so started Django’s first workshop visit.
The crew also excitedly huddled around to see the first BSVI Gurkha and what’s new in and out.
We lifted Django on the large capacity lift which has only seen the likes of TT vans and minibuses before this. (What a beautiful sight of a lift against backdrop of a small stream and coconut trees.)
Our initial observations compared to the undercarriage of the older Gurkha.
Force Motors has provided decent underbody coating right out of the factory. There is rubberised coating on the mainframe chassis for wear and corrosion resistance. This was provided in the older model as well to suit off-road duties.
The management of the cables and hoses running underneath is vastly improved. All hoses and breathers have been neatly organised and routed through safe conduits tucked along the body to prevent any fouling or disconnection.
The U bracket provided to ‘catch’ the drive shaft if it breaks and falls down. The bracket is decent strength and hangs under, providing some protection to the shaft also against direct hits.
After a thorough wash and degreasing, the Gurkha was left overnight to dry. Then we used 3M Underseal and PPG UnderCoat to coat the underbody fully. All moving parts were greased and all nuts were tightened. We used Hammertone Black paint for the wheel wells and covered the underside of the footwell and rear foot step as well. The finish is robust and looks like it can take punishment. All electrical connections were sealed and insulated to prevent damage due to water ingress.
We needed to address the low bash plate and improve it for better clearance. The bash plates and the brackets were removed and the plate was cut and re shaped to suit the contour of the undercarriage. This moved the new plate higher and closer to the body thus liberating a whopping 235+ mm of ground clearance now, befitting the Gurkha. No more scary bone jarring, heart wrenching clangs when you hit a bump the wrong way.
The coatings and the plate work required the the truck was at the workshop for 2 days. Mr Shibu offered his own old Gurkha Explorer as a standby vehicle! I quite enjoyed my time with the old boy and appreciated the improvements in my new model better.
The solution may not be perfect and will need re-touch periodically, but we have done the best with the available resources in the island. I’m happy with the work and can’t wait to take Django out on his next offroad adventure.
Keyword: Underbody protection & coating for my 2021 Force Gurkha