two months ago I purchased a 20 year old Land Cruiser I was in Australia with the
vehicle in South Africa it's for my own use in Africa when I visit to come and
explore yet another a dreary Airport wait
I mean Johannesburg just arrived after 11 how a flight from Perth and normally
when I come to Africa I've come to do a big trip somewhere amazing and to tell
some stories not this time this trip is very different
I'm Andrew st. Pierre White join me as I share my passion for building four-wheel
drive trucks and traveling to the remotest parts of the world
because every time I come to Africa before I arrive I have to arrange for a
rental four-wheel drive or a loan for drive up to now since I left the country
in 2013 they've always been rentals and wrinkles
have their problems as anybody who has rented a vehicle of any kind no
particularly one that is full of camping equipment and has the potential to be
abused as do rental vehicles particularly four-wheel drives so this
visit is to find and rebuild a Land Cruiser that I can use for the channels
future productions in Africa I'm flying into the town of George on
the coast not far from the southern tip of Africa I've purchased blind a Land
Cruiser and I'm on my way to see it for the first time there's quite a bit at
stake here so here I am I saw a glimpse of it
hello funny very nice to meet you
masturbation there you go hey that's my car you're gonna miss your car I'm glad
you're gonna miss your car because if are you were gonna miss your car you
means you've loved your car unlike other 100 series Land Cruisers the 105 has
solid axles phantom back and like the 80 series manual 5-speed gearbox full-time
four-wheel drive with lockable center front and back differentials no
electronics diesel engine and this one has done three hundred thousand
kilometres well it's too bad if I didn't like it hey see I've paid for it but
they're very rare so I had to either take it or leave it so I thought I would
take the risk and she looks good it actually looks better than the
pictures
which is a very nice surprise
great I'm happy man after a good night's sleep and a drive of or about seven
kilometers first impressions are very positive very positive feels reason to
be tight for three hundred thousand kilometers it feels good
the suspension doesn't feel particularly well set up it has a three inch lift
which is a little bit more than I would normally put on this vehicle the
interior looks in better condition than it did on the photographs but I think
that's because the previous owner had it cleaned and cleaned properly but let me
cut to the chase what don't I like about it that's the first thing it's a bull
bar that it actually is a bull bar from a 79 series that's been adapted it's not
very nice it's tjm they don't make a bad bar but
it doesn't look that great The Rock sliders be very slippery to
stand on in the wet but yeah tires Pirelli scorpions
yeah I don't read them hardly at all for kind of driving I do rear bumpers
actually not bad at all but I'm gonna replace it because I'm gonna put in a
Gobi X because the Gobi X is just the best of ever used and I've been offered
one so I'm gonna change it it's a lot better than that
and the interior again is really quite nice so I'm pretty chuffed this morning
I feel good about this decision and this choice I like the colour it's unusual
and I'm actually excited about it and now of course I've got to drive it to
Cape Town in Cape Town it's where we are going to strip it mechanically and all
the mechanical upgrades and then following that I'm going to drive all
the way to Pretoria and we're going to turn the inside
into a camper Torah without any proper camera rigs in the car actually have to
hold the camera while I'm driving and I have a hundred kilometers on the clock I
have done that distance in the in my new Cruiser and I have a
big big smile on my face and into fifth gear box is good all the gears no
clanking no backlash no nothing in the cadet the gear change feels very good
and what is what is really surprising me and I've always known that these cruises
are very well engineered cars a good Carter well with this mileage on this
vehicle there is no play on the steering it's absolutely normal
that's remarkable I think that's I think that's pretty pretty exceptional the
ride isn't particularly nice it's a bit jittery and it's not terrible now it has
Ironman Springs and my experience of Ironman Springs is that the death
they're they're fairly firm then they're gonna produce a firm ride and the shock
absorbers are not Iron Man I think they are the tjm shock absorbers but that's
not the problem with the ride the ride is the jittery because I believe it's
lift is 3 inches and that's contributing to it to it and that perhaps maybe they
didn't do sufficient cast correction bushes on it so it's a little bit
sensitive on the steering at speed and the riders have been jittery I mean I've
owned these vehicles before and I know how good the ride can be and yeah I can
get it I can get a lot business but it's not terrible it's just you know
I'm being I'm being picky the engine is sweet and it's it's
pulling like a one egg said it's like um
what do I say I think the expression I'm trying to reach for is couldn't blow the
froth off a cappuccino
crack windscreen the seller didn't mention that I'm
assuming you forgot because he did mention quite a few things that the
handbrake doesn't work you mentioned that I thought that out the there is a
clunking in reverse gear I can feel it it's my guess is it's quite serious I
don't think that's going to be an easy fix
at that that's the sum total
of the I have no other concerns about this vehicle at all none at all
imagery it's running nicely so far it's lovely
it's gonna do the job brilliantly so I'm very happy very very excited very
very snowman's four-wheel drive is a Land Cruiser specialist outside of Cape
Town and specialize in doing exactly this rebuilding old Land Cruisers and
bringing them a new life or even sometimes bringing them back from the
dead leading this rebuild is my close friend
and friend of the channel all mark-paul should be here Paul how are you man good
to see you back in Africa yeah and anyway I like the colour ya know these
vehicles are in my heart because the 80 and the 105 are such capable trucks yeah
and you know we've both driven them and we both love them yeah and now we've got
one to play with well to be honest with you I don't know
if I would have done this if you hadn't been around because yeah I know that
another basics but I don't know the in-depth look that's when you know these
things as deep as you can go so I would be relying on other people to know in
depth as I am now but I know you look I mean over the years you know I remember
being in England going to a show in England
and filling my stand up with Landcruisers yeah as a Landrover show
yes at a Landrover shell and Robichaux and you know the whole thing at that
point in time the land rover is a very capable vehicle and England didn't have
much in the way of Overland Land Cruisers yes and you know I think they
both have a place in the market yes in my heart I think people used to want to
cut me out and then say half Land Rover half Land Cruiser but my heart really
cruisers but you say that glad you drove a discovery from from London to Cape
Town driven a discovery so much around the world
yeah and I'm driven defenders and I've driven Range Rovers and they're all good
vehicles yeah here in Africa these do dominate yes and in particular I think
the 105 is just well we both know you've owned one I've got an 80 yeah we've done
lots of work on the moon they've beautiful vehicles to build up are they
really comfortable and they were really strong hmm
so I'm looking forward to can be a great great project I'm good to have you back
know there are a lot of things that we will we know now that we must replace we
know it already without even looking at it there are other things that we will
discover that and then you will make a decision yeah this is the kind of thing
we we should replace but we could get away with it and there are other things
that obviously are broken bent about to break must be replaced so I'd like to
give the people watching the series if they're doing a build exactly to
understand what is the negotiable what it what it what is flexible lease
flexible I thought a pump for example a water pump is a testing example you know
there's something I've put a new one on yes and I actually taken good spare take
a new spin as the old one never really works as a spec they dried out and the
seals can be yes so it's why not item that if it fails you're not gonna drive
anyway so I'm also of the opinion that when you build a truck up you should be
looking at what you going to carry it not heavy because
a lot stuff you've put new you have to carries that is precisely the process I
want to go through to help the viewers understand that mindset what parts not
flexible one part what you know I mean and we know why we why we taking all the
vehicle yes I think that's for me very important is a reason why we take all
vehicles when they are brand new vehicles on the market yes we then
invest a lot of money at all vehicle yes and is a reason why we might never it
you know for the simplicity for a lot of you know making it all reliable we have
on the components that are warm yeah and what as you say what do we need to
change let's pull it apart let's examine it
let's decide what we're changing yes and then I think we've given I think
we can share a lot of a lot of knowledge and we're going to have what you're
going to take this truck and do some much trip so let's see in the future yes
so it's gonna be really good yeah and you're leaving it in Africa oh
absolutely I mean the whole point of this is that I don't want to rely on
rental vehicles I want to have my own vehicle because you know the difference
you know some of the rental vehicles are great others aren't
I want another place in the market absolutely but I want my and that's what
I always say to people start off using a rental vehicle get an idea of what it's
about but once you start to love the passion the idea of traveling more often
then it's really about having your own vehicle that you can trust is in the
condition you know it is and you can go with confidence into places with the kit
that you should have yes stuff where you like it the tent that you prefer the
this that you prefer the little a becomes yours and it actually adds a lot
to a trip I think absolutely and especially when you're gonna go to
remote places you know I think the more remotes you go the more confident you
could have been your skills and of course your yeah yes and what you're
taking and what you're not taking and why you're taking those yes so we're
gonna have a lot of fun we're gonna really enjoy this it's gonna be