Jeep Driving Weekend September 2011

After months of preparation the first of our two Jeep Driving Weekends finally happened this weekend. We were blessed with good chunks of sunny weather interspersed with the odd shower, but that did not dampen spirits.
We welcomed Karl-Gunnar Noren, from Sweden, James Platt from Rippon and Steve Riley from Harrowgate who were entertained and guided by myself, John Carroll, Matt Savage and guide, Kieran Johnson. On hand to help were Will Savage and Dr. Charlie Hubert. Saturday was spent mastering the noble art of double declutching on a part road, part track around the Matt Savage Estate. Unfortunately a fault in the steering box put the Ford GPW out of action for Sunday’s Green Laning day, but the Willy’s did us all proud covering over 70 miles in the day with a mixture of drivers.
As we stopped for lunch at The Waterloo Inn am email from The States revealed we were being ‘virtually’ stalked by Jason Paterniti. ‘At the moment you appear to be on the A6 near Priestcliffe.’
Proof that the Spot location finder was doing it’s stuff.

Another Brief Encounter.

Jason Paterniti emailed us to say he would be in the U.K. briefly for his pal, Al’s wedding this month - Was I about?

Jason is down as a ‘cert.’ for the trip and is an enthusiastic member of the U.S. based Explorers Club. and is President and Chairman of the charity, Global Exploration & Oceanographic Society. His travels have taken him far and wide around the Globe and it is something of a relief that he has experienced Desert Travel at it’s most basic. During a very rushed hour and a pot of tea we discussed the details of our trip, fine tuned a few aspects and parted knowing we have many shared interests.

‘See you in Cairo’ was the parting cry as Jason went to get changed for Al’s Stag night and I zoomed of the Le Mans on my Cagiva Elefant!

Nice pair!

This week saw the final stage of the second Jeep’s restoration. The 1943 Willy’s MB is now finished and registered with the rather splendid registration number, 635 YUD. (Plates not yet fitted!) I took the Ford Jeep up to Matt’s place in Matlock to collect it and took the opportunity of leaving the Ford behind for a new coat of paint. It has been finished a couple of years now and we made the mistake of using a matt finish sand yellow. This has absorbed moisture and caused some surface rust. This will be cleaned off and a couple of fresh coats of 15% gloss applied for that eggshell finish that should repel water. This paint came from The Paint Man - a chap who really knows his paint and also owns an LRDG Replica Jeep, based on a Hotchkiss. Purists may argue that we have placed the condenser can a bit far back, but the LRDG did not have to worry about headlamp efficiency and an annual MOT test - plus, we think it looks a bit neater set back into the grille a couple of inches.

Over the last few weeks Sam, John and I have discussed revised dates for the LRDG Expedition, postponed due to the unsettled nature of North African politics right now. We are pleased to announce our LRDG trip through the vastness of the Western desert will now be Easter 2012. this should give all the displaced North Africans a chance to find their way home and leave the Desert available for adventure.

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!