Go Drive & Camp May 2019

112 |May2019go! Drive&Camp

MY WHEELS

These owners have lovingly adjusted their oldervehicles.Theytell us what

they’ve done,and why.

Goldenoldies

2009 ISUZUKB300D-TEQD/C 4X4AT
Not thattherewasanissue withhis
customisedold Ford Ranger, butLouis
Ackermanfrom Kraaifontein startedfeeling
that therewas perhaps something else out
there for him.

Maybeit wasthathard suspension
systemonthe Ford, but justover
twoyears ago, Ipickedupthis used
KBforR167 000and itcertainl yhelped
twistmy armthatitwas almostasgood
as new. Forme, seeing thiswasgoingto
be my overlanding vehicle, it needed tobe
reliable, with freelyavailable partsand not
break thebank. All qualitiesthis Isuzu had
in spades.
My only gripe withthe Isuzu KB is that
in standard guiseit doesn’tcome withvery
goodground clearance, but that’s nothing
adecent lift-kit can’t remedy. Otherthan
that,the Is uzu’s suspensionmakes arough
dirt road feelas comfortable asanewly
laid tarmac highway. It’sgot allthe power
Ineedand the automatictransmission
makes driving it during peak hour traffic
abreeze.
I’vefitted asuspension lift kitwith

airbagsonthe rear axle, tyresmoresuited

for off-roadingexcursions,adrawer

system,adual-battery system, an extra

diesel tank,atwo-way radio and other

itemstoo manytomention here.

In terms of performance,I’vefitted

a63 mmfree-flowexhaustwith the

catalytic converter removedandstage 1

Q-Tecsoftware.Theseupgrades resulted

in newpeak output sof151 kWand 492

Nmfrom thestandard figures of115 kW

and 340 Nm.I’m morethan happywith

the performance.With an extraR10 000

to spend, I’dprobabl yhaveafront-

mounted intercooler installed because the

standard one sits ontop of theengine.That

way, theenginewouldrun even cooler.

TheKBaverages asmidgenover

10 ℓ/100kmwhen I’m home, but that

figur erises to12,6ℓ/100kmwhen fully

loadedwitharoof-top tent onatrip.

So far there have been no notableissues.

Ichanged theinjec tors before and the

exhaustgas recirculation systemhad to

be unblockedonce –nothingreallyout of

theordinary.

My favouriteroadstohit with Bushpig

are theSwartbergPassandGamkaskloof.

Theformer is one of the most beautiful

mountain passesin ourcountry and

Gamkaskloofisnot for sissies.It’sso

serene in thatvalleyand because I’m

asuckerfor history,the little town

is full ofcool and interesting facts.

Bushpig