A mid 1950's W series KENWORTH truck has been relocated to JAN FOUCHE and Sons Commercial vehicle restoration facility in Lichtenburg in the Western Transvaal ,some 500kms from Sandstone Estates for a complete rebuild.

This venerable old truck worked its heart out hauling freight for Albert Brink Transport of Cape Town on the long and dusty 1000 mile (1600km) trip from Cape Town to Johannesburg and back.It was located in a wonderful retirement home for old trucks near Bloemfontein run by Zach and Yvonne Van Staden.Zach will only allow his senior commercial trucking citizens to go to exceptionally good homes and SANDSTONE is justifiably proud to be selected to assist this old girl to get back on the road.She will be joined by our rugged working Ausralian 1990 KENWORTH T900 which has been hauling old machines since she arrived brand new from Melbourne in 1991.

We will publish regular reports on the restoration.

Francois Fouche with the 1950's W series KENWORTH truck

Our 1990 KENWORTH T900 - "Grunter"

Over the weekend brothers Shaun and Pat Ackerman steamed our S4 off the lowbed and in to the local town of Ficksburg. They had this to say about the restoration of the two latest 2ft narrow gauge locomotives and the
S4.

Both Pat and I had the honour this weekend to steam and operate the Feldbahn and Peckett locomotives and the Sentinal Steam Truck as you are aware. Well, what a one in a lifetime experience we had and I say this because if you think about it it is an honour to steam and drive such unique steam locomotives which we have such a passion for and we all know that not many people get such an oppertunity especially youngsters
like us. In the steam industry throughout the world as you are no-doubt aware it would usually be "grumpy old men" doing the honours. No offence to older men though!

Again an exellent restoration and a round of applause to Lukas Nel and Keith Stevens who deserve oscars for steam preservation in SA along and for saving them in the first place.

Roger Pearce, well known for his exploits with MG's on the African continent (Roger drove all the way to the UK in an MGB recently), has organised a fascinating classic car rally which takes the participants from Johannesburg all the way to the Equator.

The Sandstone Heritage Trust's contribution will be to drive a Ford F100 Series American V8 truck dating back to 1950. In many ways these early Ford trucks are icons in their own right. They conjure up visions of
Route 66 and the good old days in the United States. They have very strong associations with farming and therefore we thought that it would be appropriate to select this vehicle from the Sandstone Heritage Trust's Commercial Vehicle line-up. The Sandstone Heritage Trust exists as a result of the dynamics of Sandstone Estates' arable farming operations and our various commercial vehicles form the lifeblood of that operation.
Obviously trucks like the F100 have been in retirement for some years but an event like Afriod provides an opportunity for these trucks to be sorted out and put back on the road.

For those who are technically minded here is a brief summary of the vehicle. It is a V8 powered Ford fitted with the last of the 3-speed gearboxes which were phased out in late 1950. In all other respects it is a standard right-hand-drive truck which would have been assembled by the Ford Motor Company in Port Elizabeth from CKD kits imported from the United States. Its condition was thought to be reasonable but inevitably upon further investigation a whole host of problems were revealed. Chris Wilson, who is well known as a vintage tractor specialist, took the project on hand last year and brought the truck up to its current standard. It had never been licensed and Chris went through the tedious process of completing the formalities to get this truck registered in the Free State.

The upgrade was significant in the sense that the entire gearbox was removed and stripped, and most of the gears were remade to specification. However, when the trials commenced there was a disintegration of a number of gears and it was revealed that they had been over hardened by the gear specialists and effectively shattered like glass. Because of the short time available to repair the gear box again we searched the Internet and were astonished to find that we could obtain gears, shafts, bearings and gaskets ex stock in California. Through excellent support from our friends in the United States these parts arrived a little over a week
after they were ordered and the gearbox was duly commissioned with new components. This was all arranged by EMGEE Garage in Randburg, who did an amazing job of stripping and rebuilding the gearbox in 24 hours!

There is a lesson here for South African preservationists - do not make something that you can order new from a specialist supplier somewhere around the world. The sheer level of sophistication of the classic car parts industry is something that needs to be taken into account.

The full Afriod programme is attached. We will attempt to update this web item from time-to-time giving details of the trip, where we have been, and how we are getting on. The drivers are Wilfred Mole from the Sandstone Heritage Trust and his daughter Tamara who lives in the UK. Tamara is an excellent driver and has plenty of experience driving various vehicles in various parts of the world and she relishes the opportunity to drive a truck that is nearly twice her age. In Wilf's case he was 6-years old when this truck was manufactured. It is the oldest vehicle in the line-up and inevitably this will attract some attention. The event concludes at a Classic Car Concourse to Elegance event in Nairobi.

For those who love this type of vehicle, there is no doubt that our old Ford has its own special type of elegance. She speaks to you in many different ways. Arm out of the window on the open road, the best of American automotive industry which probably peaked in the 1950's and the 1960's comes to mind.

The low revving, high torque, leisurely way in which their power plants worked is always a joy to have in front, and of course in an age where there is a permanent energy crisis it is wonderfully nostalgic to be able to put that aside and to watch one's travellers cheques vanish into thin air. Is there value in that? You bet.

Father and daughter team, Wilfred and Tamara Mole are gearing up for what will no doubt be a trip of a lifetime. It's not often the case that one can make that claim these days, but in this instance I think it if fair. A road trip from Johannesburg to the Equator! Wilf will be leading with Tamara taking up the role of co-pilot as they set off in this old Truck.

THE SCHEDULE:

The trip will take 3 weeks, cross 5352 km and four countries. The adventure commences on Saturday 9 September 2006 at 7am. Day one will take us straight from Johannesburg to Francistown in Botswana. By day two, we will have already reached Livingstone in Zambia. Four night stops later, and an average of 500 kms/day all vehicles will cross into Tanzania via Mpika. By day eight, we hope to abandon the vehicles (and our laundry) to take flights across to the colourful Zanzibar where we will be resting for two nights, and also enjoying a beach party or two! When back on the main land, we continue our journey north and on day eleven views of Kilimanjaro will befall us. Having passed through the Ngorongoro Conservancy area, on day fourteen we will enter into Kenya where two bustling days in Nairobi are scheduled. A number of the vehicles will be attending the Concour. By day seventeen we will be ready for the final push - to make it to the Equator, overlooking Mt. Kenya, our final destination.

So, all that is left to do, is finish our packing and make it to the start line!

We'll let you know how we get on!

>>>View the African Odyssey Daily Itinerary

>>> View the African Odyssey Entrant List

Above: Our Ford F-150

Above: The certified registration document

The Numberplate!

Jan and his team have completed the repairs on the cab, and are now busy with the bonnet. The bonnet is made out of aluminium and some of the pieces are missing, so some welding is needed. The radiator has been repaired and cleaned and now the grill and headlights are being repaired and de-rusted. Oil leaks to the differentials are also being attended to. Two of the brake boosters are beyond repair, but replacements will be picked up in Johannesburg next week while fetching the re-chromed parts.

Most low beds have hydraulic winches fitted. They are expensive and theyrequire that the mechanical horse have hydraulics fitted. Sandstone Estates has a much better idea. We carry a single cylinder Series II contractors model Field Marshall dating back to 1947. Not only does this tractor have a very powerful winch fitted to it but it can move around, leave the vehicle, tow the item that needs to be loaded into position, then climb back on the truck and winch the item on.

This is all for a few litres of diesel. Field Marshall tractors are amongst the most charismatic of all vintage tractors ever made. They are powerful, they are reliable, and in the case of the contractors version particularly immensely flexible. The photograph shows our Field Marshall perched on top of a low bed where it spends a good bit of its time.

The Sandstone Heritage Trust has acquired from Colin Healey, a well known preservationist and master steam roller driver, restorer and collector, nothing less than a wonderful old 1955 AEC Lorry.
This solid old beast is in perfect working condition and will be (surprise, surprise) put to use for both Sandstone Estates and the Sandstone Heritage Trust in a haulage role.

Many of the loads that we collect are far too small for our big tri-axle low beds, and we have up to now had nothing which could be deployed to move smaller loads. Its first job will be to accompany the newly restored Sentinel S4 steam truck on a long road run where it will provide back-up in the form of fuel etc.
Strangely enough the Sentinel is quicker than the AEC so we will have to stop on the side of the road occasionally to let the old AEC catch up.

This is another example of living preservation. Why bring a modern back-up vehicle when you can bring something that is nearly as old as the Sentinel itself.

The following information has been kindly supplied by Colin Healey.

Thanks Colin, you are a star.

Our magnificent Kenworth T900 prime mover built by Paccar in Melbourne, Australia in 1990 has been a faithful servant to Sandstone Estates since its inception. The truck has now come into our main workshop for a 15-year upgrade. This means it will be gone through from end to end and all mechanical and cosmetic items will be checked and if necessary rehabilitated.

In addition, with the large wheat harvest to be combined in January, this hugely powerful truck, fitted with a 550 horsepower CAT 3406E engine, will see service in the wheat lands. In Australia this horse would have
typically pulled three tri-axle trailers with a an all-up weight of over 100-tons.

Therefore by Australian standards the truck never works that hard.

Further details to follow.