OVERLAND JOURNAL FALL 201999ingtheirsanityandmanners.Theytraversetheland,mapping
therocksandcollectingsamples,spendingtheirnightsshrouded
insmokefromtheircookingfiresdiscussingtheday’sdiscover-
ies.Moreoftenthannot,forvariousreasons,a seeminglyprom-
isingmineraldepositwill subsequentlyremainuntouched by
minedevelopers,leavingthebaobabtreesandtermitemounds
tobreathea sighof relief.
Theexplorersreturnhomewithwildscribblings,evenwilder
theories,andmeticulouslylabelledbagsofrockandsoiltobe
analysed formetals or diamonds.Uponarrivalin civilisation,
theyaresportingunevendriver’stansandpatchybeards,andare
overcomebyanunquenchabledesirefora coldbeerandfresh
boerewors,orfarmer’ssausage.Butaftera coupleofweeks,the
confinementof thecitybecomestoomuch.Theypacktheirbags
andwaitimpatientlytobesentofftoa newcornerofAfrica,
wherethewindin theirhairandthereassuringpurrofa Cruiser
dieselenginepromisespeacetothesoul.Thesegeologistsvisit
someofthemostremoteandruggedplacesontheAfricancon-
tinent,havinguniqueexperiencesinareasveryfewpeoplehave
theprivilegeofvisiting.Fornearly 50 yearsnow,theseexplorers
havecometoloyallyrelyontheLandCruiser,justasa cowboy
reliesonhischosenhorse.TheCruiser’sinfalliblereliabilitybe-
camepivotalinthesuccessofmanyprojectsandthesubsequent
discoveryofmanymines,someof which are still a major slice of
SouthernAfrica’s economies.
HISTORY
When production of the long-wheelbase FJ45 began in
SouthAfricain1972,mineralexplorationworkwasalreadybe-
ingcarriedoutbySeriesII LandRovers,alongwithFord250s,
andslow,heavytrucksliketheBedfordJ5.Inthethicksand,
thesetruckslefta widetrackthatthenarrowLandRoverscould
notsettlein,butratherslidallovertheunmatchedspoorlikean
icecubeona tiledfloor.
TheLandCruisersenteredthefraywitha 3.8-litrepetrol
motorand3-speedgearbox.Theyoffereda bitmorespeedand
pullingpowerthantheLandRover’s2.25-litremotor,andon
mainroads,theycouldhumalongcomfortablyat90-100kph.
TheCruisers’wheelbasewasslightlywider,wideenoughinfact,
tospoorinthedeepsandtracksleftbythebiggertrucks.This
proveda massiveadvantagebecausethesoftsandoftheKala-
haricoversmostofBotswanaanda lotofNamibia,areaswell
knownforcopperandparticularlydiamonds.A reliablevehicle
thatcouldhandlethesandwasthereforecrucialto thesuccessof
thosecompanies.
TheseearlyFJ45Cruiserswerebynomeansperfect.They
wererealdonkeyswitha load,andsometimesrequiredlowrange
firstgeartopulloffona hillwhenfullyloaded.Thebodywas
madeofheavysteelwhichmadejustliftingthebonneta chal-
lenge.Theyhadunboostedbrakesandnopowersteering,but
theywereas trustyas theycame.
Inlate1973,a 4-speedboxwasintroduced,andtwoyears
laterthe3.8-litreF enginewasreplacedbythe4.2-litre2Fver-
sion.Thenewgearboxhada lowerfirstgearforcrawlingin those
dryriverbeds,butthesamefinaldriveratiotoovertakeLand
Rovers on the highways. The body as a whole kept the same basic
shape,thoughthenewmodelsnowhadhigh-liftdoorhandles
to replacetheoldtoilet-flusher-stylehandles,andthewipermo-
torswererelocatedunderthewindscreen.
It wasinthemid-1980sthattheCruisergota makeover—
theclassicFJ45shapewasreplacedbythe 70 Series,starting
withthe 75 Series,accompaniedbya 4.0-litre3Fpetrolengine
or2Hpushroddieselengine.Thenin1990,Toyotareleasedthe
stuffoflegends:theoverheadcamshaft1HZ4.2-litredieselen-
ginewhichstillcomesstandardinSouthAfricanbasemodels.
Withthisnew,potentandnever-say-dieengine,the 75 Series
andsubsequent 79 Seriesbegantosolidifytheirreputationin
mineralexplorationevenmoreasa simple, solid, and powerful
machinethatcouldbedepended upon.70-SERIESCRUISERS
Bythe1990s,severalvehiclesbesidesthedieselCruiserwere
stillbeingused,suchastheLandRoverDefender,theToyota
Hilux,andthegasolineversionof
theCruiser.TheDefenderwassol-
id butdidnothaveas muchpower
orloadcapacityas theCruiser.The
Toyota Hiluxand other pickups
werelighterinthesandbutcould
nothandletheheavyloadrequired
either. The 4.5-litre EFI gaso-
line Land Cruisers, while faster
andmorepowerfulthantheirdieselsiblings,dranklikesailors
andhadtocarrysomuchgasolineintothefieldthatit waslike
travellingina tickingtimebomb.Thepopularityofthepracti-
cal70-SeriesdieselLandCruisers,therefore,continuedintothe
mid-1990s,as investmentin mineralexplorationgrewthanksto
boomingeconomies.Bythistime,mostgeologistsrealisedthat
thiswasthepreferredvehiclefortheworkat hand.
And work theydid—impressive resultsareread fromthe
documentedhistoryofourgroupof 30 LandCruiser70-Series
vehiclesspanning 20 yearsof mineralexplorationwork.This
particularsquadofvehicleswasputthroughthemostextensive
mileageandextremeconditionsinsandandmud,andonrocks
andpotholedhighways,travellingbyroad from South Africa as
farafieldas KenyaandtheCongo.70-SERIES1HZENGINES
The release of the70-Series Cruisers in theearly 1990s
cameatthesametimea newexplorationtechnologyallowed
forsubsurfaceexplorationoftheKalahariBasin.Tensofmil-
lions of years of erosionof the surrounding highlands filled
thisbowlwitha thickblanketofsoftsand,indoingsocover-
ing diamond-bearing kimberlite pipes. These pipes were provenOpposite:A late-modelFJ45long wheelbasepickupat an exploration
campin Zululandduringa soil sampleprogramfor basemetals,circa
1979.Openingpage:An early-modelFJ45long wheelbasepickupwith
a ladderon the backfor climbingdownancientmineaditsin Zululand
to samplefor gold,circa1976.This vehiclewas knownas GreenMam-
ba, namedafterone of Africa’smostvenomoussnakes. It is still in use
to this day as a safari truck at a game lodge.The 4.5-litreEFI gasoline
LandCruisers,whilefaster
and morepowerfulthan
theirdieselsiblings,drank
like sailorsand had to carry
so muchgasolineinto the
field that it was like travel-
ling in a ticking time bomb.