OVERLANDJOURNAL FALL 2019101tobethesourceofthosegolf-ball-sizedstonesthathadgeolo-
gistslickingtheirlipsintheirsleep.Hence,it wasn’tlongbe-
foremanya Cruiserwasbeingpreppedtojointhesearch.This
softdrysandmakesengineshowlandgearboxesgroan,assuch
bothhavetobetreatedcarefullyintheseconditions.Inthose
days,beforebeepingwarningsystems,driversweretrainedto
pickupa fluctuatingtemperatureneedleasif it werea compass
leadingthemtoKingSolomon’sMines,buttherewasalsothe
nightmarethreatofanacaciabranchgoingthroughtheradia-
tor.StopLeakofferedsomecomfort,buta spareradiator,justin
case,helpedeveryonesweata bitlesswhenbranchesscrapedthe
undercarriage.
Theonlytimethese1HZenginesfailedwasincaseswhere
a puncturedradiatororblockedhosewentunnoticedandthe
engineoverheatedtothepointofseizing.Butnotoncedidthis
resultina damagedcylinderheadorblownheadgasket.After
sometimetocooloffandtheblockageorleakbeingfixed,the
1HZwouldrunsmoothlyas if nothinghadhappened.
Emissionsregulationshaveresultedin thenew,moreeconomi-
cal,morepowerfulcommon-rail-injectedV8dieselslowlyreplacing
the1HZinsomecountries.Sadly,thisnewengineis coveredin
superfluousplasticcovers,andassistedbya labyrinthof electrical
wiresandchips—hardlythestuffforexplorationin Africa.They
arefussydrinkerstoo,anddemand 50 ppmpremiumdieselwhich
becomesdifficultto findnorthof theZambeziRiver.Thankfully,
SouthAfricansstillhavetheoptionof buyinga brand-newCruiser
withthetriedandtrusted1HZengine,and many are still rolling
offthefactoryfloorrightintothebush.
GEARBOX,SUSPENSION,ANDTYRES
Intheearly2000s,the75-Seriespickupwasreplacedbythe
79 Series.Besidesminorcosmeticchanges,it camewitha lighter
shiftingR151Fgearbox,anda newclutchwhicheasedtheleg-
work.Inallthoseyears,therewasnevera clutchburnt,despite
thelaborious gear changes inthick sand.However,thenew
gearboxesdidnotperformas wellandsometimesbrokeoilseals.
Withoutmaintenance,thiscouldresultinthegearoildraining
intothetransfercaseandburningupthegearbox.Needlessto
say,theolderboxwasmuchpreferredforheavywork,butwith
attentivedrivingandoilchangesevery20,000kilometres,the
newerboxesprovedtobesound.
While the Kalahari sand tested the engine and gearbox,
rockyareaslikesouthernZambiaornorthwesternMozambique
weremuchharderonthesuspension,especiallywhencarrying
thousandsof bagsof rockandsoilsamples.Theearlier75-Series
modelsof themid-1990swerestillleaf-sprungallaroundwhich
madefora bumpyride,buttheycompensatedforthiswithsu-
perbcontrolledchassistwistonrockytracksanddryriverbeds.
Later,frontcoilspringsandlongerspringleavesonthebackaxle
wereaddedtothe 79 Series,affordingmorewheeltraveland
comforttoo.
Eight-plyskinnytyreswerestandardonearlieroperations.
Therewerebettertyresformudandsand,butthehardsidewalls
oftheseskinniesprotectedagainsttheKalahari’sthornbushes
andsharprockshiddeninmud.Lateron,thankstotyrerepair
shops springing up in the farthest corners, the skinnies werere -
placedwithcomfortable235/85/R16sthatwere betterinthe
sandandcouldbefixedwithplugstoo.
Naturally,forcontinuousperformance,anyvehicleneedsto
bewell-maintained.Inthefield,a dailyvehiclecheckwasdone
as routinelyas takinga walkwitha shovelafterthemorningcof-
fee,andservicesweredonein thebushevery5,000kilometresby
thegeologiststhemselves.Backhomebetweenprojects,shocks
andspringswerechecked,engineshadtheirmajorservicesdone,
and electrics were thoroughly cleaned.According to a well-
knownmechanicinCapeTown,a LandCruisercanlastforever
if lovingcareis shown,andif not,wellthenreplacingtheengine
headofthe1HZat about600,000kilometrescanofferyouan-
other600,000kilometres.Examplesof79-SeriesCruiserswith
a millionkilometresontheclockarenotunheard of either.MODIFICATIONSANDACCESSORIES
Thediesel 79 Seriesas theycameweremechanicallyreliable,
buta fewextratouchesenhancedtheCruiserfroma plain,re -
liablepickuptoa personalisedmemberofmineralexploration
teams,fullof handytricksandsurprises.
Startingwiththebasicpickupbody,goatrailsonthebin
werethefirstnecessity,tosecurea largeloadandshelterpas-
sengersfromthorn bushes.Therailsalsoaddextraweighton
thebacksuspensionwhendrivingempty.Fora niftymovein
emergencysituations,thebackgateofthegoatrailsservesasa
hardstretcher,andcanbestrappeddownontopof thesparetyre
inthepickupbintosecurea patientbeingtransportedtoa hos-
pitalorairliftevacuation.Overthegoatrailframewenta heavy
canvastie-downcanopytoprotectexpensiveequipmentfrom
dust,rain,andpryingeyesatbordercrossings.AHi-Liftjack,
shovel,andextrasparewheelweremountedtothesidesofthe
goatrail.TheHi-Liftbecamemandatoryafterthreevehiclesgot
boggeddowninmudseveralkilometresapartneartheLiuwa
PlaininZambia,withonlyonejackbetweenthem.Theyoung
fieldiewhopickedtheshortstrawhadtohikewiththejacksev-
eralmilesinlonggrassbetweenthe
vehicles,hauntedbyrecent memo-
riesoflionscallingnearbyjusta few
nightsbefore.
Abullbar,KCspotlights,Safari
snorkel,and seedgrill coverswere
also useful additions.When nego-
tiating flooded rivers in the rainy
seasonin theCongo,anARBwinch
wasa valuablefriendtohave,soev -
erysecond Cruiserwas fittedwith
one.VHFradioswereessentialtokeepintouchonlonghauls
andtoarrangerendezvouspointswithteamsonfoot.
Thestandard90-litrefuelcapacitywasincreasedto 270litres
byaddinga 180-litretankat thefrontofthebin,witha manual
valveunderthedriver’sseattodrainintothemaintanktopro-
videlongerrange.Thisgenerallyallowedfora roundtripintoa
projectareafromthenearestfuelsupply,andaround 10 daysof
workin thefield.Often,44-gallondrumsof dieselwerestrapped
tothebacktoincreasefuelcapacityforevenmoreremotear-
eas or erratic regional fuel supplies. Behind the long-range tankA LandCruisercan last
foreverif lovingcare is
shown,andif not,well
thenreplacingthe engine
headof the 1HZ at about
600,000kilometrescan
offeryou another600,000
kilometres.Examplesof
79-SeriesCruiserswith a
millionkilometresonthe
clock are not unheard of.