Ray Hyland
Expedition Leader
Howdy everyone. We (my wife, 3 kids, and I) are planning a family camping trip next year. We have a 1954 Series 1 Station Wagon (86") that I got for $500. It hasn't run for at least 20 years, has no wiring, no brakes, no glass, etc. The plan is to patch it up a little bit (windows, basic seats, brakes, get the engine running, etc) and ship it to London in August 2015 and then drive it to Singapore.
It's only 12,000 miles, but I am guessing it will take 6 months or so, since the truck is slow, and I expect it to break down pretty much every other day.
Our route will be across the channel on boat/train, through Europe, Greece, Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, India, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, and arrive Singapore in early 2016. That will give us enough time to be back in North America for the 2016 NW Overland Rally.
If all goes well it will be the 60th anniversary of the Oxford and Cambridge First Overland London-Singapore trip of 1955-56. I met those guys in Singapore in 2006 when they flew out for the 50th anniversary, and the story of that trip really inspired my wife and I.
I'm looking forward to the simplicity and slow speed of this vehicle but also dreading it. The series 1 only had 49 hp when new. I imagine it hasn't increased with age. We will be a family of 5, with some basic camping gear in the truck as well as a bit of food, fuel, and water. So it will be a tight fit, and I think if we can average 40mph we will be happy.
There is no Air Conditioning obviously, so I imagine we will be driving through places like Iran with the door-tops/rear-door taken off, and wrapping wet towels around our heads/necks when it gets toasty. We have driven our D110 (200tdi) in Death Valley in the summer with no A/C so we know what that feels like. It's not pleasant but it's doable. The series has a tropical roof so that will help a bit.
Anyways, I am just starting to get serious about the whole thing. I just did some welding to the series frame to make it not as likely to break in half on the first bump, did some basic repairs to the hubs and stub axles, and started calling around to get quotes to rebuild the engine. As it turns out, it's pretty expensive so I might just pull it apart myself and see how hard it will be to do a lot of it myself. How hard can it be? I do know that two of the 4 cylinders have rust in them, so I am expecting the block will need to be bored-out and sleeved, or just honed if I am really lucky. I do like the current look of the truck (no paint, dents everywhere, bits missing, random holes in the body, rusty bulkhead, mis-colored dash, etc, etc) so I don't think I will bother to hammer it straight or paint it. Besides, as I have learned in a lot of places, when you look poor, you kind of fly under the radar.
I will try to take some photos of the process as I work on the truck.
Gear-wise I am thinking of a shared 4-6 man ground-tent, 2 jerry cans (1 each) of gas and water, a simple stove that runs on gas, a pot that will fit 5 plates and cutlery, and each family member will have a 40L dry bag for their clothes, personal stuff, and personal camping kit (sleeping bag, pad, etc) which can be strapped to the roof.
Recovery gear will be a bottle jack, a pair of maxtracks, and maybe (I haven't decided yet) a small 4000 lb winch.
I'd welcome advise from people who have done long trips in series trucks, or who have recent travel experience in some of the countries we are planning to visit. Random questions and criticism are also welcome.
Cheers
Ray
It's only 12,000 miles, but I am guessing it will take 6 months or so, since the truck is slow, and I expect it to break down pretty much every other day.
Our route will be across the channel on boat/train, through Europe, Greece, Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, India, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, and arrive Singapore in early 2016. That will give us enough time to be back in North America for the 2016 NW Overland Rally.
If all goes well it will be the 60th anniversary of the Oxford and Cambridge First Overland London-Singapore trip of 1955-56. I met those guys in Singapore in 2006 when they flew out for the 50th anniversary, and the story of that trip really inspired my wife and I.
I'm looking forward to the simplicity and slow speed of this vehicle but also dreading it. The series 1 only had 49 hp when new. I imagine it hasn't increased with age. We will be a family of 5, with some basic camping gear in the truck as well as a bit of food, fuel, and water. So it will be a tight fit, and I think if we can average 40mph we will be happy.
There is no Air Conditioning obviously, so I imagine we will be driving through places like Iran with the door-tops/rear-door taken off, and wrapping wet towels around our heads/necks when it gets toasty. We have driven our D110 (200tdi) in Death Valley in the summer with no A/C so we know what that feels like. It's not pleasant but it's doable. The series has a tropical roof so that will help a bit.
Anyways, I am just starting to get serious about the whole thing. I just did some welding to the series frame to make it not as likely to break in half on the first bump, did some basic repairs to the hubs and stub axles, and started calling around to get quotes to rebuild the engine. As it turns out, it's pretty expensive so I might just pull it apart myself and see how hard it will be to do a lot of it myself. How hard can it be? I do know that two of the 4 cylinders have rust in them, so I am expecting the block will need to be bored-out and sleeved, or just honed if I am really lucky. I do like the current look of the truck (no paint, dents everywhere, bits missing, random holes in the body, rusty bulkhead, mis-colored dash, etc, etc) so I don't think I will bother to hammer it straight or paint it. Besides, as I have learned in a lot of places, when you look poor, you kind of fly under the radar.
I will try to take some photos of the process as I work on the truck.
Gear-wise I am thinking of a shared 4-6 man ground-tent, 2 jerry cans (1 each) of gas and water, a simple stove that runs on gas, a pot that will fit 5 plates and cutlery, and each family member will have a 40L dry bag for their clothes, personal stuff, and personal camping kit (sleeping bag, pad, etc) which can be strapped to the roof.
Recovery gear will be a bottle jack, a pair of maxtracks, and maybe (I haven't decided yet) a small 4000 lb winch.
I'd welcome advise from people who have done long trips in series trucks, or who have recent travel experience in some of the countries we are planning to visit. Random questions and criticism are also welcome.
Cheers
Ray
