While they add to the vibrance on the city streets, it may soon be time for Bhopal to bid adieu to its legendary old jeeps, as most of these rehashed beauties fail to conform to prevalent emission standards.
Originally built with petrol engines, a vast majority of these famed 4x4s from the 1940s were converted to diesel engines when petroleum prices first skyrocketed during the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s.
A rather basic Kirloskar diesel engine was the first choice for those switching from petrol during the initial years, before refurbished Isuzu and Mahindra DI and DI Turbo engines emerged as the first choice of aficionados supervising these vehicular 'restorations'.
Imported from the United States, most of these souped-up jalopies were also converted into right-hand drive to match local preferences. The addition of pilot seats with plush upholstery imbued these wartime builds with a degree of comfort that was never a priority for engineers at Ford and Willys, who originally put these magnificent machines together.
Come winter, an informal junkyard competition plays out in the city, as youngsters lovingly scour the local Kabadkhana to piece together a vehicle that they hope will grab eyeballs and become the talk of the town when they roll out their labour of love in the summer.
In a bid to outdo the competition, some painstakingly restore the vehicles to their original glory, while others rely on modern upgrades like big, fat all-terrain tyres that are often scoffed at by purists who swear by the authentic aerodynamics of the vehicles.
Heralding the arrival of their owners onto the city scene, these coming-of-age builds are not cheap. A rehash with a diesel engine can cost upwards of five lakhs, while expenses for putting together an authentic jeep with an original petrol engine could cost four times as much.
The love, money, and painstaking efforts aside, most of these vehicles only last for about a year due to the need for regular repairs they require after each off-roading expedition. Heartbroken and struggling to keep up with prohibitive maintenance costs, owners often give up on these vehicles, which can be seen gathering dust at kerbsides across the city.
Regulations do not allow engine swapping, and any changes to the original vehicle also strip it of the vintage tag that these jeeps would otherwise enjoy.
Pollution officials say that soon the government will have to take vehicular emissions into account and ban old and refurbished diesel engines from the city roads.
They admit that they are not sure when that will happen but confide that the decision is unlikely to remain on the back burner for too long.At a time when civic administrators are fighting a losing battle against the stagnation of contaminants in the city air, how long these magnificent vehicles will survive is something that only time will tell.
