Route research

Purely in the interests of research (!) 4x4 Peak District Guide, Kieran Johnson, who runs Free Spirit, and myself, took the Willy’s around the proposed route for our September Jeep shakedown last week. Not only was the 80 mile round trip of Derbyshire great fun, but it proved that a 68 year old Jeep is the match for most types of terrain we are likely to encounter, both on our planned Jeepery weekend in September and, ultimately, in Egypt over Easter 2012. Soft sand was a little short in supply in Derbyshire, but we had rocks, bumps, ruts and fast stretches over smooth tracks. Thanks to the nifty little Spot locator you can see roughly where we went. I say ‘roughly’ because it sends a location every 10 minutes, so the route looks a little hard to follow. All will be clearer in the desert, where it will represent an accurate description of our route The Willy’s held up very well and throughout the day I covered just over 230 miles, including fast Motorway driving (55 mph ish) and about 40 miles of off road. There are, inevitably, a few small snagging jobs to do on the Willy’s, but nothing serious and it performed admirably throughout.

A rare find.

I found this last week on a trip around Georgia last week (former USSR one!) Maybe a pre war style desert trip one day? Bagnold used similar on his pioneering trips between the Wars that have inspired so many of us. I think it’s a Model A Ford truck, but I could be wrong. It had no engine, sadly, but I guess any old engine could be adapted to fit.

How to spend Easter. No eggs!

The web site is up!

For two weeks we shall re-enact many of the daring escapades of the legendary Long Range Desert Group in a pair of original 1943, World War Two, Jeeps. Our expedition, limited to just eight people, will drive through the stunning dunes of the Great Sand Sea.  Explore the Gilf el Kebir, a plateau the size of Switzerland. Camp under the stars a million miles from the nearest town.  Stand in the Cave of the Swimmers, immortalised in the film, The English Patient.   Live for that Ice Cold in Alex moment as we celebrate in exactly the same bar as they did 70 years ago. This is no cruise along the Mediterranean coast, but the real thing, sweat, steam and fatique, but with a fully equipped logistics team on hand to cook, wash up and guide us through some of the most beautiful desert scenery on the planet.

Departing from Cairo, we shall cover in the region of 1200 desert miles between Monday 18th April 2011 and Monday 2nd May 2011.

A tight fit

A productive day up at the Matt Savage Overland Preparation Barn in Matlock. I went up in the 101 to have a few minor jobs done - new brake linings, oil and filter change and general check over. This accomplished, we thought it would be prudent to try and fit the Willys MB in the back. The master plan is to stick one Jeep in the back of the 101 and tow the other on a trailer, as far as Venice, where we shall drive them onto a ferry and head for Alexandria. The great news is that the measurements proved correct and a Jeep will just fit in the back of a 101. It’s tight, but with a set of 15 inch Suzuki SJ rims, no tyres and the steering wheel removed, we shall be able to have the roof on for the 2000 mile return trip.

Following in their tyre tracks.

It will be 70 years ago next year, that Ralph Bagnold was asked to form the Long Range Desert Group. Their forays behind enemy lines caused havoc amongst the Italian forces - blowing up airfields, destroying communication lines and knocking out remote desert outposts. They mainly used Ford and Chevrolet 30 cwt. trucks, but when David Stirling came along with his newly formed SAS, the Jeep gave them a big advantage in speed and manoeuvrability. Colossal distances were covered in heavily laden Willy’s MB’s and Ford GPW’s. Tales of heroic ‘walk outs’ are still unmatched today. Next Easter we shall be driving many of their routes - down to The Gilf el Kebir, 8 Bells, up to Shaw’s Cave, Big Cairn and finally, their base for much of the conflict, Siwa.

Full details will be on our web site, going live by mid October.

Link for the day!

Leaps and Bounds.

Back in September 2007 I detailed the rebuild of the first Jeep on the Blog, ‘1943 Jeep Rebuild’. (Scroll down to the bottom) That Jeep has now clocked up a trouble free 1500 miles and after a very small list of snagging problems have been sorted out, will be ready for it’s big Egyptian challenge.
The second Jeep rebuild will be detailed here, but not in so much detail, as it is much the same story.
Progress is going well, and on schedule for a completion at the end of October, or beginning of November. So far all the brakes and wheel bearing have been rebuilt with new parts and the floor of the body tub has been repaired with panels supplied by Jeeparts in Shrewsbury. The rolling chassis has now been painted in Desert Sand and the next stage will be fitting the body tub. The engine was a runner and we had an amusing run up and down the farm track with no brakes and little in the way of steering! It has now been fitted with a new clutch assembly and water pump and we shall reassess the engine condition when it’s easier to drive.

A Grand Plan

Four of us - Myself, John Carroll, Sam Watson and Mahmoud Marai, have long harboured the dream of driving authentic World War 2 Jeeps across the Sahara, following the routes taken by The Long Range Desert Group. With the first Jeep finished and having clocked up 1500 trouble free miles and the second nearing completion in the Matt Savage Overland Preparation Barn, plans are going well for this unique adventure next Easter . Many e-mails have been exchanged, but with John and Sam up in Yorkshire, me in Leicester and Mahmoud in Cairo, the opportunities to meet up are rare.
This month, Matt had a stall at the Peterborough Land Rover Show and us three Brits were all going, so as the show drifted from shopping to partying we met in Matt’s marquee for a barbecue (hence the smokey picture) and a chat to finalise plans.
This Blog will detail the build up to our Easter 2011 departure.
The main photo is a montage of the one finished Jeep, duplicated and set against a background of the Gilf el Kebir, shot back in 2004 on my last visit. The second shot is the four of us Brits - left to right, Matt Savage, in charge of Jeep rebuilds and helping me get both Jeeps to Venice to catch the ferry to Alexandria, Sam Watson, ex Cairo resident and expert of the Long Range Desert Group, John Carroll, life long Jeep enthusiast who has driven more Jeep miles, in more countries, than most and me, enjoying a beer!