Land Rover – Page 6 – OverLand Rover

Completion of Phase I of the Body Work

After reviewing a couple of other options I signed a GHC 300 contract with Paani the “welder” for the body work,which included removal and replacement of all the rusted door and floor pieces, removal of the electrical plugs along the roof gutter, repair of the door hinges and loose windows, and straightening/filling/adjusting of the body dents. It was a big job and the contract I did up gave him 3 weeks to complete the work but he had it done in less than two.

Stripped down to gain access to bulkhead and footwells

New footwell on passenger side, note A/C distributor is out

Some before and after pictures are particularly instructive in this case. The one immediately below is of the footwell on the passenger side which was so rusted I could see the road through the left hand side under my feet as I drove. When it rained my feet got wet. I had purchased replacements for both the right and left had side footwells from Famous Four in the UK and had Paani install these. I learned after I had imported mine that Paani also makes these, but the material cost would have been about the same. I think Paani would have preferred I not buy my own because they are harder to install, but they fit well and are a heavier grade of galvanized aluminum than what he has.

New driver's side footwell, in the proces of being installed

Drivers side footwell, rust and all — Driver side footwell, before

A big part of what Paani had to do was restore the bottom of the door frames. A classic issue with Land Rovers is rust that appears where the aluminum body sheets come into contact with the steel door frames, especially at the bottom because that is more exposed to wet conditions. He cut out the entire bottom of all the door frames and replaced this with galvanized pieces he makes.

Paani the welder with a restored door, note the new metal at the bottom

The rear “safari door” got special treatment. Paani advised me that where the spare tire is mounted on the rear door it is not uncommon for the door frame to bend or break, particularly if the vehicle has been driven on lots of bad roads. Ours is a good example of this, when the rear door closed with the tire on it shook as if it were going to fall off. Not any more, Paani repaired and re-inforced the door and it now closes very smoothly.

Repaired and reinforced rear safari door

The door work included taking all the doors off and remounting them. Paani showed me if you open a door and stand at the end and move the door up and down you can notice a bit of wiggle, which indicates wear in the hings and mountings. That wiggle is now gone. He also replaced all the exterior door hinge screws, using a replacement set I had imported with my second shipment from Famous Four in the UK. This is as much appearance as anything, it will pay off when it comes time for repainting as many of the screw heads were showing signs of rust.

One of the delights of this phase of the restoration has been working with Paani He fulfilled all the terms of his contract and surpassed these in several ways. Our contract did say he had to replace all rusted metal, but when I wrote that I did not realize how much there was to replace and which I only notice as I go around and see all the new metal in the bulkhead, doors and elsewhere he has put in. He also straightened a bend in the front bumper that I had not even noticed until he showed me he had straightened it. He also reseated the side door sills that 15 years of abuse had left a bit loose and off-kilter. Not in the contract at all was the removal of all the door panels and roof lining that he had to do to complete the work. He has all the pieces neatly stored in a corner of a shed at Opere’s Shop under the tree; perhaps I should be nervous something is going to get lost, but I’m not. Paani is a charming, consientious young man who takes great pride in his work. It is a pleasure to work with him and he is certainly going to benefit from a good “dash” for the work he has done for me.

The fender the elephant must have sat on

Dent hammered out and filled, before sanding

So all the basic metal work and external body work is done. The reference in the title of this post to “Phase I” of the body work is less a reflection of a pre-conceived multi-phase plan than it is the simple recognition that there is still more body work to do. Paani still has to fill the holes in the cargo bay as per contract before I can pay him his holdback, and there is also the not-so-minor matter of cutting out the rear wheel wells to allow installation of rear seats from a Land Rover Discovery to make the back seat more comfortable (I hope to do a separate post on this). I am also discussing with Paani the options for the door “steps” which also deserve a separate post. Then there are a few other details that will come back after painting, like the installation of the 3mm aluminum chequerplate on the fenders and bonnet, and perhaps a few 2mm decorative sheets in places like the sills and bumper tops. But that all needs to be kept on the back burner for now, first I have to organize a few electrical touches and the painting of course.

Pre-Restoration Condition of the Body

Now that the basic mechanical work is done it is time to shift attention to the body. I have now had plenty of time to sit in, climb over and think about the vehicle to develop some ideas of what to do and how to do it.

The body is certainly in worse-than-average- condition for a Land Rover this age. There is a terrific amount of rust on the driver side footwell, and at the bottom of a couple of the doors. There are dents in most of the doors and panels that need to be knocked out and/or filled, although these are not serious. All the doors and windows are functional, if a bit sticky. The front fenders look like an elephant sat on them, after taking a roll in the mud.

The interior is pretty trashed, the front seats have little or no cover left, the rear cargo space seats are bent and soiled, there are seemingly random holes drilled in the floor that no doubt served some purpose in support of the public education/awareness-raising that this purpose-built vehicle was supporting. The windows rattle. What really impresses me is how much dirt there is. In every nook and cranny of the body, the dash the engine compartment, there seems to be 15 years of accumulated dust and grime. I have started to clean the dash but the dirt just keeps on coming.

Cargo Bay Will Become Focal Point for Outfitting for the overland trip

Opere refers to his body person as “the welder”, which led to some misunderstanding at first. He kept saying I had to come back when the welder was there to talk about the body work. Not the first application I associate with that trade, but of course Defender bodies are (were) all aluminum, there is absolutely no fibreglass in this vehicle at all.

The idea is now to strip the body completely inside and out, remove or cut away all parts that show any rust (lower portions of the metal door frames and the footwells) and replace these with new galvanized metal, then straightening and filling dents, before priming and repainting. This is work that in North America or Europe would be too expensive for me to even contemplate, if I could find someone who could do the work. In Ghana they are so accustomed to keeping old vehicles on the road that the skills are in abundance, and they are affordable. I have quotes on the body that are so low I am embarrased to repeat them.

Here is a first general list of the things that need to be done to the body, exclusive of any soundproofing/cosmetics/expedition prep:

Removal of all seats and interior fittings
Removal of exterior fittings
Removal and replacement of rusted metal (doors, footwells, bulkhead)
Removal of most of the six electrical outlets located along the side of the roof
Removal and/or Fill of all dents and scratches
Filling of all drill holes left in cargo bay by previous owner
Primer, interior and exterior
Painting, interior and exterior
Re-installation of interior and exterior fittings
Replacement of all door hinge screws
Installation of aluminum chequerplate on fender tops and bonnet
Installation of new door seals
Removal of electrical box in rear wheel well. This was a feature I initially found potentially useful, but all we will need is a couple of good lights on the roof rack, I can better use the wheel well space for additional fuel and water storage.
Replacement of all interior and exterior fittings

Opere has a bodywork person (the “welder”) within his stable of specialists (Paani) that I have a quote from on the above that is so reasonable as to beggar belief. GHC 550, or about CAD 363. I have obtained a quote from another fellow who seems quite professional but is a much more costly (GHC 1200). I have seen a lot of the work that Paani has done and it is seems a good result, and I have watched him work. He is very good, why risk a higher price on an unknown bidder, when I know the low bidder does quality work? Of course these quotes do not include painting, that is done by someone else. It is typical of Ghana (of Africa?) that everyone specializes and it is difficult to find people who will quote you a price on a multi-component task. At one point I thought Opere would play this role because he hires these people to do work for him, but he seems to prefer that I deal with them directly. At least this cuts out the middleman, but I have to be careful I am not being given inflated quotes because I am percieved as a dumb foreigner that does not know the market. (a rather accurate perception, actually). I am obtaining two or more quotes for just about everything – painting, body work, interior upholstery, etc) and when the suppliers see me responding to good prices that will help to encourage reasonable pricing for future things.

I am gradually accumulating some body parts for this part of the restoration. I brought in new galvanized aluminum footwells from Famous Four, and as a first investment in the soundproofing I purchased new seals for all the doors. Looking ahead to the expedition prep I have ordered galvanized aluminum fender tops, knowing from our South Africa experience we will spend a fair bit of time clambering up to gain access to the roof rack. Installation of all these latter pieces will come later, after all the other body work is done.

Hey, it works!

On Saturday my daughter Kat and I picked up the Land Rover and brought it home from the shop after Opere had it for over a month for the initial mechanical repairs. Kat drove the Subaru home, I asked her to follow me to watch for smoke from the Land Rover….we even had a race out of a stoplight on Independence Ave…….Kat won.

It feels great to be able to finally drive the Defender after owning it for more than three months and I am already using it for errands. And it drives very well. The clutch works marvelously, the gears almost change themselves from second to third. I am particularly pleased with the smooth ride, in part thanks to the new poly bushings all around (rubberlike cushions that go between any metal parts between the, springs, shock absorbers and chassis). The Bilstein heavy duty shock absorbers that I decided to invest in make for a good ride, a bit stiff but that is fine, the vehicle is lighter now than it ever will be. By the time we add the soundproofing, carpet, roofrack with roof tent and all the expedition gear the heavy duty shock absorbers will pay off in spades. Best of all the motor does not smoke and it has a surprising amount of pickup, which indicates the compression is good. A good run on the highway, and some servicing should help clean up the bit of smoke that blows at take-off. Before I can do that though I have to get it legalized. Gomez the shady vendor has yet to produce the papers that I have to present to the Department of Motor Vehicles to get it licensed. Why do I think this is going to cost me more money?

Of course it is still not quite roadworthy. The signal lights do seem to work, but the brake lights do not, nor do the headlights. It is also very noisy, the body is full of holes and everything rattles and clangs. But this week for the first time since we got it I realize that the whole project just might be feasible, and that is a satisfying feeling.

Opere’s “Shop” Under the Tree

A large part of the inspiration for this project came from my colleagues Stephane and Brian who had each purchased Land Rover Defenders in Accra to restore to take home to Canada at the end of their Ghana postings. Of course the whole idea is only feasible if there is a source of qualified, affordable expertise to do the restoration work, and this is available from Opere and his Land Rover “shop”. He will figure prominently in my own story and provides a wonderful example of African micro-enterpreneurial genius.

Located in East Legon, between the Accra mall where we do a lot of our shopping and the University of Ghana a mile to

Some old Ghana Police Defenders Await Their Turn for Restoration

the north, like many micro-enterprises in Ghana Opere’s “shop” is situated under a large tree, in this case a mango tree. It is just a tract of land about 1000 square metres or a quarter acre, under a power line. The term “shop” suggests a building with a door, roof, maybe some windows, but you can’t find any of those at this shop. There is a table and a bench under the tree, a nearby space where three or four vehicles can be driven up from the road to work on and a very rudimentary hoist arrangement for pulling motors. There is a small shed for storing tools and parts, but all the work is done out in the open. The rest of the area is filled with Land Rover Defenders. ranging from dilapidated hulks that are scavenged for parts to very pretty restorations and everything in between, representing various stages of repair or restoration. There are some that are completely stripped but have just been painted (usually white), others that are having the interiors redone.

Under the tree, looking for parts on-line — Opere and Jonathon under the tree, looking for Landy parts on-line on the laptop

Focussed almost exclusively on Land Rovers and in particular on Defenders, Opere provides a service that is recognized as the place in Accra for the best Land Rover repair and restoration work. A mechanic by training, he is now offering a full service model using specialists in different fields. There is Eric the electrician, Paani the “welder (an important function as the Defender bodies are all aluminum) someone else who does the interiors, etc. There are a few people who work for Opere, mostly mechanics. The other specialists do not appear to be actually employed by him, rather they provide their services to him or his clients on a fee-for-service basis. Opere is the real entrepreneur, he has a valuable sense of customer service and plays the role of guarantor – whenever I seem dubious about something he reminds me that it his reputation that is at stake so I should relax. It is difficult to estimate how many people earn their living there, it may be as many as fifteen or as few as five.

There are two lines of business, one where Opere buys a vehicle and restores it for resale, another for maintenance and repair for Land Rover owners around town. The vast majority of the business seems to be older Defenders like mine, although there are also a few Discoverys (ies?) and Range Rovers that come in as well. It is all very informal, there is no paper, no receipts. If he needs to buy parts to do your job he tells you how much he needs and you front him the money. He has never given me change for anything.

The clients are both expat and Ghanain, but mostly Ghanaian. Ghanaians love Land Rovers, our guard, staff in the High Commission, another mechanic I know, have all separately described them as “very strong vehicles”. The strong chassis and alumimum body have stood the test of time on Ghanain roads, and Ghana still imports a great number of new Land Rovers, although these days they are probably no “stronger” than their Japanese counterparts.

Land Rovers on Laundry Day — Defender Hulks on Laundry Day

Some of the boys that make their living at the shop — Some of the boys that make their living, and perhaps live, at the “shop”

The workspace is typical of informal economy micro-enterprises we have seen in Accra. The heavy-duty tailor who made our sailboat cover last year, or the welder who repaired our barbecue grill, or the furniture maker who did our rattan for the backyard all had similar work areas. Trees constitute an important part of the establishment because they provide shade and shelter, albeit porous, from the elements, and they do so at no cost. Actually, there probably is a cost, each of the prime spots may well have been rented or leased from a traditional Ghanaian chief for a fee, perhaps based on the size of the tree.

Mechanical Condition pre-restoration

Opere and one of his helpers came by shortly after I got the vehicle to look it over closely and after poking around the vehicle for a bit he comes up with a list of parts I need. Before I bought it Opere said it would take about GHC 4,000 to get it into good running order. Much of what is needed he knows without having to look at the vehicle, many of the items he just rattles off from experience that tells him what a 15 year-old Defender that has not been well taken care of is going to need. Brake and clutch parts and wheel bearings fall into this category.

Land Rover_006 — Opere and helper at the house looking it over. Jonathon (wearing a tie because he just popped home from the office for the occasion) has a book to list the needed parts. Does the book have enough pages?

Many of the parts are available locally but they are expensive here and Opere recommends I import them. One of the things I like about this approach is that my mechanic is not recommending something just to sell the parts, and can also tell me when something can be obtained locally. He does not seem to sell any parts This was a tip I initially received from Stephane, my Canadian High Commission colleague who was the original inspiration behind this project who was restoring a Defender when I first arrived in Ghana and is now back in Quebec with his Defender, he put me on to Famous Four, a parts depot based in the UK that specializes in Land Rovers and has a well-tuned mail order operation.

Using the Famous Four website www.famousfour.co.uk I am able to find everything on the list, and in the process familiarize myself with the range of parts that I might want. It is really a great site for Landy parts Some of them are genuine Land Rover parts but most are Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM), from the regular supplier to Land Rover or “after market “ parts made by someone else as a copy of the original part. The prices are not bad, much less than I would pay here and they do not charge VAT on anything exported from the UK. The shipping costs are hefty but the per pound cost declines the heavier the order is, and the weight adds up when you start adding axles and drive shafts.

Opere and I have some interesting communication problems in the process of deriving the list of needed parts. We both speak English, but issues of accent, culture and jargon enter to pose some surprising challenges to my comprehension. Of course a big part of the problem is my less-than-complete mechanical knowledge. I never heard of a “servo” before, or a “slave cylinder”. If I don’t catch something the first time I don’t mind asking Opere to repeat it once or twice but after three times if I still am not sure of what part he is talking about I resort to pretending to understand and then writing down what I think I have heard and searching for it on parts sites on the internet. The best one was “axle”, which I had a hard time with in part because of his accent and in part because it not something I expected to hear that I would need. Apparently the “half-shaft” rear axles had been welded to the drive members, the pieces at the end of the axles that the wheels bolt onto. This left us both shaking our heads in disbelief.

Here is the list of original parts I am ordering from Famous Four. This will get the clutch and brakes and wheels and axles back into good running order. This is not the list Opere gave me, I have augmented it with items suggested by the helpful people at Famous Four, or by Ndoria, a Land Rover mechanic friend in Nairobi that is advising via email.

Clutch Release Arm Fork
Release Arm Slipper Pad
Clutch Master Cylinder
Clutch Slave Cylinder
Clutch Kit, (Plate, cover, release bearing)
Release Bearing Staple
Push Rod Clip
Clutch Flexi-Hose
2 Rear Half Shaft axles
Stub Axle to Axle Case Gasket
2 Stub Axle Oil Seals
2 Drive Members
4 Wheel Bearing Kits
Brake Master Cylinder
2 Rear Brake Caliper Seal Kits
2 Rear Brake Pad Set
2 Front Caliper Seal Kit
Hose Bleed Assembly
Front Brake Pad Set
Bottom Water Hose
By-pass Water Hose
Top Water Hose
Front Drive shaft
4 Hub Dust Caps

The front drive shaft we have to add because there simply isn’t one, perhaps someone found a better use for it. I add a few cosmetic things and items I do not need right away but that I want as part of the restoration or for general service and getting them now will bring the shipping cost down. Including shipping this first parts order will set me back $1200, which sets my total investment to date at $6,300 (including the battery) . At the end of it, with a couple of hundred dollars labour to put it together, I should have a vehicle with a good clutch, brakes and drive train, but which will still require some motor work and many, many other restorations and upgrades, including electrical, interior, and bodywork. I have now obtained a set of Land Rover repair manuals and a restoration book to serve as reference materials, these are proving very handy to my learning process.

Land Rover_008 — There are enough mechanical problems that Opere has to have it pushed out of my yard to start it (the alternator is defective so the battery is dead) to take it off to the shop for the first stage in the mechanical re-build.

Of course the big mechanical item is the motor. It runs but smokes quite badly, which might indicate worn pistons, a cracked block, dodgy injectors, or a blown head gasket. I knew before I bought the vehicle this was going to be a big part of the rebuild. For the motor Opere suggests I consider two options. I can have it rebuilt or I can import a “reconditioned” replacement TDI 300 from Europe and have Opere install it. Opere rebuilds Land Rover motors regularly in his shop under the tree (see separate post), but also brings in reconditioned motors from time to time, he calls them “new”, but they are only new to him. Again, this is a Ghanaian practice, the age of things is really measured from when it comes into the country, a used car might be 20 years old, but it is “new” when it lands at Tema Port. While the “new” motor is a bit more expensive than the rebuild, it is surprisingly affordable and much simpler than the rebuild, where I would have to import all the parts which could involve delays.

I am also nervous about what the rebuild might end up costing if we discover some unknown problem that is not easily fixable and adds significantly to the cost. I am also somewhat apprehensive about a rebuild given that the shop under the tree is not the ideal environment for working with sensitive moving parts. The reconditioned motor also comes with a number of parts that I need, like A/C and an alternator. One of the first decisions I make is to go for the reconditioned motor.

Opere says he has 3 TDI 300s coming in shortly and could install one while I am waiting for the other parts to be delivered. We negotiate quite hard on the price, as the objectivity present in my other dealings with Opere is lacking here (he is selling what he is installing) and I do not have another source. We settle on the Ghanaian equivalent of $2,000, with $1500 up front and $500 payable in one month upon satisfactory performance. Sort of a guaranteed guarantee. When it is done I will be up to $8,300 on my investment, including all the other parts I am ordering. That is still well within budget, but there is still a lot left to do.

Getting Acquainted

Laura and I spent our first weekend just poking around to get to know the layout and condition. We washed off the layers of harmatan dust and took the roof rack and ladder off. Spending time with an older vehicle that you have had no prior knowledge of or experience with is great fun. This one must have been sitting for quite awhile because there is a great deal of dirt on it inside and out. There is also lot of loose pieces, old screws and bolts, cassete tape boxes, – in the battery box, in the glove box, under the seats. Incredibly, we actually found the original owners manual, still intact in its official Land Rover binder. We also found a book of usage tracking showing everywhere the vehicle had been driven between 2004 and 2007. I feel like an archeologist.

We cleaned the interior…..

and took the roof rack off as a first step to getting the body redone…..

There is a sheet of 5/8 inch plywood on the rack that may be as old as the vehicle, it is literally disintegrating.Nevertheless, our gardener and our guard were both standing by to take a piece home with them to support some project or other.

I took all the rear cargo bay bench seats out, I now have quite a pile of Land Rover debris in our carport.

Cargo Bay without the seats, this will be the focus for expedition storage systems

Taking Delivery

Buying it is one thing, getting it home is another altogether. First, I had to buy the battery, which calls into question the term “a driveable vehicle”. An 18 plate battery is what is called for and they don’t come cheap. So much for it being a driveable vehicle.

I decide to take Gomez’ offer of delivery. It took him two days to get it to me, I am still not sure why. Westerners criticizing the sense of time of people in developing countries is a terrible cliché, I have lived in the Caribbean and Latin America and am quite familiar with how it is more cliché than reality. However, there is a uniquely Ghanaian sense of time that I am gradually beginning to appreciate, actually far worse than I have seen elsewhere. Here, if someone says, “I am on my way”, it does not necessarily mean they are physically seated in some means of conveyance located between where they are and where you are. As often as not it means that they are thinking of leaving the place where they are soon. It may well be that they are going to pass by a third location to do something else before they get around to actually heading in your direction. To remove the uncertainty about when someone is coming I have learned it helps to seek as much precision as possible about where the person is at that moment and what they are doing. “I will be there soon” or “I am on my way” do not mean what it does in Calgary or Paris. Unfortunately I had not yet assimilated this wisdom when I was trying to get my Landy home.

Gomez told me about 9:00 AM one Saturday they were bringing it that morning. It is only about a half hour drive, so when at noon no-one had arrived I called to ask what was going on. It became clear that they had not left Bubiashie yet. By evening there was still no Defender in my parking lot. I was told they had had some mechanical problem and would bring it in the morning. Two fellows did arrive about noon the next day, I was never really given an explanation for the delay. There were a number possible problems they could have had, which became all too apparent later on. One of gentlemen (in the tam hat in the photo below) was the fellow who had pretended to be Gomez the day I went out to look at the vehicle. This was the guy I gave the money to, which was ironic.

Landrover - purchase_20110205_002 — Counting the money. You would think with so many cedis on the table there would be more smiles

Jonathon with Land Rover — Jonathon with the pre-restored Defender, in front of our house in Accra. Note the dents in front fender.

Now that the machine is accessible we can get acquainted. I can’t drive it yet but I am going to spend some time sitting in it, crawling under it and climbing over it.

We Find Our Defender

Since telling Opere that I want to get a 15 year old Defender in pre-restored condition I have visited and telephoned him many times. He knows my specs, but each time somehow the ones he has don’t quite fit, or belong to someone else. Then, finally, a couple of Saturdays ago he said he thought a friend had something I might like. He jumped in my Subaru and off we went across districts of Accra I had never seen or heard of, through Abalemkie, Tesano and North Kaneshie. Finally in a district called Bubiashie, down a busy, narrow, rough and tumble market road are all kinds of mechanical hardware strewn about on piles along the side of the road: old engines, petrol tanks, wheels and whole vehicles ranging from whole one-ton trucks to small sedans. There in a parking area to one side are not one, but three Land Rover Defender 110s. Judging from the numbers on the back windows it appeared one was 2002, one was 2003, and one was 1995. At 15 years old the latter meets one of my criteria: legal to go back to Canada.

Opere with the EPA Landy on our first visit - You can't see all the dents here

The 300 Turbo Diesel Injection (Tdi) engine (as opposed to 200 Tdi) was one attractive feature, another was the solid roof rack and rear ladder, a must have expedition feature. Some personality is added by the insignia of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)on the doors. It has wiring for external audio and video, the door on the rear fender gives access to a 220 output plug – perhaps it was used for public education in remote areas. Covered with the red harmatan seasonal dust it looks anything but pretty, and the aluminum body has plenty of dents on the sides and fenders. The odometer reads 180,000 Km, but neither vintage nor mileage seem to be important when assessing vehicles here. Most of the vehicles in Ghana are brought in used from Europe and by the time they get to someone often no-one is sure of the year and mileage, well, what it looks like is usually more important to the buyer. In the case of this vehicle, judging by the appearance those were probably 180,000 very tough kilometres, especially if it was used in the bush.

Opere looks it over and says the motor will need a rebuild and that the clutch, brakes and rear axle will probably all need to be replaced. However, he recommends I buy it, I just need to negotiate. The owner is not there right now, but his “brother” is, who tells us it is a driveable vehicle for which they want Ghana Cedi 9,000, or the equivalent of about $6,500. Opere says up front that it will cost the equivalent ofGHC 4,000 (about $3,500) to do all the mechanical work, including the motor.

After thinking it over for a couple of days I decide to go back and look at it again on my own. I have them start it up, a process much delayed by the fact that the vehicle does not have a battery. When they finally find a battery it starts grudgingly, and spews an awful lot of smoke. It is very difficult to engage the clutch, so I forego the normal test-drive. I already know it needs lots of work, that is part of the package.

Without ever meeting the owner, over the next few days I negotiate via Opere and we close the deal, moving from his asking price of GHC 9,000 ($6,500) and my offering GHC 5,000 ($3,000) we settle on GHC 7,000 ($5000). That is about half what I have been asked for restored Defenders of the same vintage, but this one needs alot of work. At this price I am probably not gaining much financially over buying a restored version, but I am attracted by the restoration itself. That way I will be able to able to manage the process so the end product suits our needs and tastes and I will gain a better knowledge of the vehicle and how it works, which may just come in handy when I start using it and something breaks.

There were some curious developments during the course of getting this vehicle. At one point after I have concluded my telephone negotiations without ever actually meeting Gomez I go out and am talking to someone who says, yes he is Gomez, but who still wants the GHC9,000 like we had never had the negotiations. I excuse myself and leave and call Opere to say Gomez is crazy. Opere calls me back in 10 minutes and says that Gomez was not the person I was just speaking with and he is still good for the GHC 7,000. Was some imposter trying to scam me? If so, how did he know GHC 9,000 was the asking price? In the end the real Gomez calls me to apologize and say that one of his colleagues that did not know he was negotiating with me had misunderstood, and he is still good for GHC 7,000.

The seats are completely shot, the bases have old rice bags as covers

Is that carpeting impressive or what? The layer of fine dust suggests the vehicle has not been moved for a long time

So after months of stalking Land Rover owners, after leaving my business card under windshield wipers all over town, and after many visits out to Opere’s Land Rover shop under the tree we have finally found our Defender. There is a lot of work to do, perhaps more work than I realize, to make it into an attractive, comfortable, functional vehicle to explore West Africa in.

Risky Business

I prepared this risk analysis very early on but did not publish it. I am doing so now, but backdating it to the beginning of the project, which is when it was prepared.

In any project it is always a good idea to be aware of the things that can go wrong and put you off schedule, or off track or, in this case, off the road. Some of the issues that might impact upon an obruni procuring and restoring an old vehicle in Ghana and using it to explore West Africa include the following.

Risk	Rating	Mitigation Strategy
A. To Procurement
Cannot find a suitable vehicle	LowThere seems to be no shortage in Accra.	Diversify sourcing network beyond Opere by telling CHC drivers and Francis the CHC mechanic I am in the market
B. To Restoration
Opere becomes unavailable due to illness, misfortune or disagreement between us.	MediumOpere seems a tremendous asset, but my dependence on him need not be absolute.	Getting the mechanical rebuild done first carefully cultivating the relationship so I can rely on him Diversify sources of expertise
2. I become ill, or Ghana posting is cut short	Medium	If fopr any reason I have to bail on the project with a half-restored vehicle I can likely find someone to buy it, Opere himself will likely be a good candidate
Actual Restoration cost exceeds budget	Medium	Complete as much as possible of the work myself; careful sourcing of parts;
C. To the Expedition
Cannot take the time due to personnel or professional obligations	LowI am now eligible to retire and plan to do so when I leave here so there will be no professional obligations	Complete arrangements for retirement, pre-retirement leave, and repatriation of personal effects well in advance.
2. Mechanical Troubles en route	Medium to High This is an older vehicle, mechanical troubles have to be expected	Become very familiar with the vehicle;Carry suitable tools;Complete Test Trips
3. Political Instability in Countries to be Visitied, including kidnapping risk	Medium to High People are kidnapped in the Sahel with regularity	Limited mitigation available. This is an adventure, if we are going to be risk adverse there is no point, we just have to get out there and do it.Maybe there is insurance?
D. To Demobilization
Unable to Sell before returning to Canada	Medium	Start marketing early,Diversify market options (Ghana local, Europeans interested in overlanding in AfricaFollow Canadian import regs
2. Change in Canadian Import Regulations	Medium

Testing the Idea in South Africa

Morning at Natal-Drakensberg Park en route to the pass

I am not particularly knowledgeable about Land Rovers (there is an understatement!)so before going too far Laura and I thought it might be a good idea to try to gain some exposure by going to South Africa and trying it out. We rented a 2005 Defender from Bushlore, an expedition outfitting company, and took it from Johannesburg in the north-east part of the country and down through Lesotho and back. It was slow, noisy, and wonderfully functional. We had a tent on the roof, propane tanks installed on the rear, a good fridge and lots of kitchen gear stowed in a drawer system inside.

We were most impressed by its road worthiness. In this big, heavily laden vehicle with a relatively small 2.5 Litre diesel engine we climbed the 3,000 metre Sani pass up into the Drakensberg range between South Africa and Lesotho, which is also known as the “mountain kingdom”, on a road that is not really a road at all, rather a very rough steep, track, full of quite tight hairpin turns. As we ascended this valley bounded on both sides by cliffs we honestly could not figure out where the road was going to go to get us out of the steeply walled valley, until we realized we were just going to go over the top.

The road just gets steeper and kind of transforms into a scree slope with tracks until you emerge out the top. Voici lepass. Driving our Defender 110 up that mountain was a delight, it simply clambered up the 40 degree slope, made all the tight, switchback turns and kept going, past other vehicles that had stopped dead in their tracks and were being pulled, by other Land Rovers. In 4WD low it felt as if we could climb straight up. Unfortunately we did not think to take pictures of the road when it really got tough.

At the Summit at the Lesotho border, we really needed those jackets

When we reached the summit there were only about six other vehicles, all Land Rovers, (I am not joking – there are a lot of Land Rovers in South Africa) parked at the Sani Pass Inn, which bills itself as the highest bar in Africa.

Road Coming Down into Lesotho From the Sani Pass – as steep and winding as on the SA side, but at least its paved

After a well-lubricated pub lunch and a great conversation with the fascinating owner we drove another 100 km to an alpine town and flipped upon our roof-top tent under the stars. We were really enjoying the Land Rover experience.