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Allans G-Wagen (Big
Blue)
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Some other G-Wagen
pictures click here |
| B65
VYL came into my possession when a chance meeting saw
me purchasing this 1985 Mercedes 280 GE for a mere £1000
with the promise to the previous owner that I would bring
it back to road worthy condition and more so off-road
condition. To see it back to health she required a new
pair of brake calipers, discs and pads, a set of +1”
heavy duty springs took care of the broken rear spring
, a better tailgate , and a custom made stainless exhaust
saw the ‘G’ ready for a quick coat of paint
to freshen her up. I wasn’t going to spend a fortune
on the paint work because this G-Wagen is destined for
a hard life from now on. We took care of the drab olive
green by choosing a brighter German Standard Green , this
will soon be changed to the light blue of my van and David’s
rally car to keep with the corporate image.( I know it
sounds corny but after persuading David to paint the rally
car this colour I feel its only right that I do the same.)
It was time for an M.O.T. and wee service and it was on
the road. |
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Two weeks later saw us all off to the Isle of Arran
for the weekend, the drive to the ferry highlighted
a problem , when cornering hard left she wanted
to plough straight on with a loud click as you cornered
hard right again, we had a ferry to catch and a
meeting with a bartender desperate to sell us drink
so I carried on promising to check it out on my
return . The problem persisted all weekend which
culminated in a humiliating river crossing , as
you can see from the pictures the river had a huge
hole in it ,…who said look before you leap?
…. And it was then that I could confirm that
we had no cross axle diff-locks, we were 3 ft in
water and going absolutely nowhere, after a while
we got a passing Terrano to give me a pull out but
by this time I had cleared around the wheels and
it only required a small tug from the Nissan to
get me out, he didn’t even need to engage
4 wheel drive , his face was a picture when he saw
the full size of the G-Wagen when it emerged. |
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Fearing the worst I removed the diff lock actuators on
return to find the pins were broken on both front and
rear units , two second hand units at £20 each and
about one hours work saw them both functioning again ,a
bit annoying as I could have had them rectified before
the trip. It just proves how strong the Merc. running
gear really is ,you think of it we were driving on tarmac
with the front and rear axles locking and unlocking by
centrifugal force at speeds up to 70mph and nothing broke
and over the past two years nothing else has broken in
the transmission department.
Over this time the big machine has been seeing a lot of
the muddy stuff, we take part in events ranging from trials
to night navigation events organised by Ae Forest 4x4
club as well as general fun days throughout the country.
My friend David Johnston was impressed by how good these
machines are off-road in standard form and so he purchased
on. a 1987 diesel 300GD, were now known as Team G-Wagen
. David’s ‘G’ is completely standard
apart from 235/85/16 Amazon tyres which have proved very
good in the mud. |
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Shortfall
of the G-Wagen is its weight, not as heavy as
some would have it, the SWB versions like ours
weigh in at just over 2 tons and not 3 tons as
a lot of people seem to think, what you need to
remember is that they come so well equipped for
off-roading in standard trim, diff-locks all round,
power steering, strong chassis, sturdy steering
guard, very strong axles, big props and roomy,
warm interiors, …. and cup holders Getting
muddy doesn’t mean you need to rough it
completely does it ?
I have tried to address the weight problem by
converting my ‘G’ to a kind of truck
cab affair. I took the plunge when I heard of
a small team challenge event that was coming up
soon , so time to get cutting , and that’s
almost as easy as it was, I planned out where
to make the cuts and got to it, removed a large
section out the middle, slide the rear section
to the front and welded to two together , cut
down the old rear door , made Perspex rear windows
fitting them with the original rubbers cut and
superglued together, and repainted all the required
areas , the best bit was the cost …as it
cost nothing just good old elbow grease. Apart
from looking a bit different it has saved some
weight and has made her a lot more convenient
when off-road , throwing mucky bridging ladders,
Hi-Lift jacks and ropes in the back is great when
you need to get on to the next bog where you guaranteed
to get stuck in. |
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So
if you want a capable off roader and something a little
bit different why not check out an old G –Wagen
, you will be pleasantly surprised.
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