Oh how I will miss the glimmer and gleam, hop and
pop, rattle and squeak, and purr and bubble of my now departed Land Rover Series
2A 88" , the Brown
Bolt. The Brown Bolt was so named because of the exceptionally high speeds obtained not
only on slight down hills but also on long steep downhills.
We spent a total of 15 years together, joined at the
arms and legs we were an integral part of each other lives. I couldn’t go anywhere
without BB and BB couldn’t go anywhere without me, so we ended up going everywhere
together. BB was my alter ego, my inner strength together we were invincible, well almost
anyway.
On the cool humid mornings in Richards Bay
we certainly were not invincible. BB had a weakness for water. Large amounts of water were
no problem, rivers, dams, ponds and puddles posed no real threat, in one side and out the
other side, no problem. But it was that elusive cool morning humidity which seemed to
penetrate a different electrical connection every time. So only after I had tried all the
short cuts, postulated and disproved every other theory possible and then finally and
laboriously cleaned every electrical connection, would BB, as if nothing were ever wrong,
spring to life. Other than completely loosing it the only other thing I could do was
smile.
Invincible we certainly were
on our numerous windsurfing trips. With 6 or 7 boards on the roof or behind on the
trailer, kit and supplies for a week and a bunch of highly spirited mates (as many as
could fit in) we were untouchable. Not even third gear and 40km per hour up hills, or the
‘as far as the eye could see’ train of cars behind us, or the variety of
gestures made by irate motorists could get us down.
Love and hate it definitely was. I loved to drive BB
both on the road and especially off road, but I hated the fixing and repairs. After weeks
of prolonged trial and error repair and maintenance I would be cursing, moaning and
loosing faith. But then after only a few minutes behind the wheel and on the road, all was
forgotten, only the good remembered.
All was not love and roses, we had our
close calls. Like the time we were in Mozambique on route home after two weeks of sun,
beach and sea at Bara. With the roads as bad as they used to be it was shake rattle
‘n roll through the potholes and hop, skip and jump between potholes. All this
excitements and activity worked the fixings for the hooter loose. The next thing it was as
if we had been tear-gassed and the cab was full of smoke. A quick reaction and a handy
fire extinguisher resulted in only a few burned out wires. The hooter had come loose and
caused a short circuit resulting in a small melt down. We were lucky and counted our lucky
stars, it could all have ended right there and then.
The brown bolt had a long and illustrious career as
the vehicle in which I practiced to get my license; a participant and victor of numerous
rallies at the Landrover Club; a return to the military in 1987-1988 during national
service; daily transport to and from WITS as well as a year long stint in Cape Town at UCT; and many memorable sailing expeditions to Sterkies, Richards Bay and other
destinations.
The most memorable journey in terms of
bonding was a two day solo trek from Johannesburg to Cape Town, an expedition of
note. For two days it was just
the two of us cruising along. Twenty one odd hours of changing scenery, passing cars, the
humming of a perfect 4cyl engine and the agony of uphills and euphoria of down hills. Any
normal person will tell you that travelling is merely a transition phase going from A to B
using a car, but its not the same in a Land Rover. In a Landy its an experience, it is a
concerted effort to get the Landy and all of its contents to the destination. It was like
that in BB, we traveled together.
But alas with times and priorities changing, the time
had come to part and go our separate ways. In the latter years BB had become more of an
ornament and less of a working vehicle, spending most of the time sitting quietly under
the car port. But the story has a happy ending because BB found a new home, with a
dedicated and caring owner. As I reminisce Brown Bolt is dutifully committed to yet another
owner, not unlike the many owners before and the many owners to come.
I got the vehicle from the military in about 1985, where it had belonged to a
mechanic, evident because it had a little spanner painted on the wing. This was a
good sign because it usually meant that the vehicle had been well serviced and looked
after.
Other than cosmetic changes and a few minor mechanical repairs the vehicle
was on the road in no time. Once on the road the performance was not as good as it should
have been. So I sourced another 2.25l petrol engine from a Forward Control which had
done less than 500km. The engine was cleaned up, the head taken off to skim, to increase
the compression slightly and then replaced.
Since then the vehicle has performed very well with only routine
maintenance required, and has been very reliable. In 1998 the gearbox finally gave
in, and was then re-built, and a new clutch put in. In the interim the vehicle has
undergone a few spruice ups including a new canopy and inside paint job, to keep it in tip
top shape.
