Builds complete BJ45 rebuild start next week in Bolivia (1 Viewer)

[waiting for time]

Dank je Coen voor alweer een serie prachtige foto's.
Have à safe journy and enjoy the ride.

 

[mailking]

The last kilometers to the border are bitumen again.

The other side is French Guyana. In the far end you can see the uncompleted bridge. So we have to find other means of transportation across.

Welcome to Europe! We are ferrying acros to French Guyana and don't need to stamp any car documents.

We pass under the new bridge that will open later this year and facilitate the crossing between Brazil and French Guyana enormously.

Brazilian cupboards find their way into Europe.

France in the jungle.

Adventurous greetings,
Coen

 

[crushers]

cool, please keep posting.

 

[Awl_TEQ]

Rarely on this site is there a build/rebuild thread that goes so quickly into an expedition thread. Or an expedition that does a total rebuild mid expo for that matter. Makes my day when I see a new mailking post.

 

[Andino]

Wow, you've put on a few miles since Cochabamba. Thanks a bunch for the photos!!

 

[mailking]

yes we have
btw, you still holding on that winch for me?



Orangina and Sauerkraut sound very French to us.

Our Land Cruiser will draw a crowd here as well.

It is strange to see the red round traffic sign. That sign is standard throughout Europe and we haven't seen one in ages.

Perfect asphalt leading over hills and along jungle.

A real tropical paradise. A butterfly poacher shows us a small snake he caught.

When we arrive in Cacao, I meet my first Iveco 4x4. I had never seen one in my life. The proud owner Gwen is happy to show his car, but he and his friends are more interested in our car...

Clearly we are back in France.

 

[lostmarbles]

Wow. That Spanish "Massif Iveco" is impressive! Diesel too with specifications that suggest it may be quite rugged.

Shame that the manufacturer (Santana Motors) appears to have gone out of business earlier this year.

I see from Wikepedia that the vehicle is supposed to have "a New Zealand connection" in that our national rugby team (the "All Blacks") were apparently used to promote their sale.



PS. As always - You're pictures are a highlight (of visiting ih8mud) for me Coen.

 

[twoyotas]

love to follow this story. as always, your photos are wonderful.

 

[Ambrew]

Thank you for posting and sharing the "Cruiser dream" with all of us. Love the pictures.

 

[crushers]

of course North America won't let Massif Iveco in here. Heaven forbid if a REAL truck ever was sold here.

have i ever said that i love this thread?

 

[mailking]

I think that Iveco is a great looking car, when I opened the doors and looked in the side map compartment and saw 10 centimeters of water standing in it, I inmediately liked it a lot!

Some people say that because the Spain production stopped, it might be coming to the US?

Iveco Massif: future Jeep Rescue pickup?

If you like a nice teaser video:

YouTube - Overland 12 - Teaser

but there will always be electronics and stuff. That's why I like the diesel 40 series the best!

Adventurous greetings,
Coen

 

[crushers]

hate to say it but once Chysler gets their hands on the Massif, it will become another American modified POS ...

 

[crushers]

cool vid, thanks for posting.

 

[lostmarbles]

Thanks from me for posting that video link too Coen.

I drive heavy vehicles for a living and the driving of these heavy trucks in these Overland videos scares hell out of me.

I can only conclude that the drivers/crew don't value their lives (like I do mine).

Here are other examples of VERY good videos from/featuring Overland/Iveco:

YouTube - Overland l'ultima grande avventura dei nostri tempi

YouTube - Overland 3/9 - Fuoristrada e impantanamenti in Africa. Parte Uno

YouTube - Overland 11- Nel Fango della Mongolia

(Now I know what to search for on YouTube next time I'm bored.)

PS. One of the videos above shows a Mitsi 4x4 being towed by an Iveco truck across a flood-swollen river, lost, and then recovered in what seems like impossible conditions!
And driving those trucks on crumbling mountain trails where road-collapse and rock-slides are ssoooo likely .... and where I would probably even fear to take my BJ40. Blooooody hellll !!!!

And what's more .... I think all this footage is REAL!
(But I can't understand the language of course.)

 

[crushers]

loved the rescue of the Pajero ...
and that vintage vehicle was hilarious.
thanks for posting

 

[mailking]

Great movies. Now I know what to show when people bother me again and again with questions how we can run with such a narrow tire and with such a normal pattern I clearly see that the old car with its skinny tires has less problems than the Massif

Those big truck on the mountains passes. Great! That reminds me so much of northern Pakistan.... Oh how I wish I was driving their again... Great country.

Adventurous greetings,
Coen

 

[mailking]

new t-shirts

By the way, I wanted to let you all know that I have been busy in the CafePress store again. I have made a bunch of nice t-shirts with a "where have you been" design on them. No way you can't like that.

And especially for those Facebook fans out there, I have made a special custom t-shirt that you can personalize. Fill in your name and it appears on the t-shirt. Great gift!

Let me know what you think.

Adventurous greetings,
Coen

 

[weagle99]

This is possibly one of best threads ever, anywhere.

 

[mailking]

ready for some more images:



This region is known for its beautiful butterflies. They are caught and sold for tourist sales in Cayenne. A perfect blue one like this makes 5 euros. In Cayenne they are framed and sold for 25 or 30 euros.

Gwen points us to a 'Carbet' of a friend where we stay a week.

It's only a roof over a few wooden beams. But for us perfect and gives us protection from the heavy rains.

This little lady will fetch a fair price in Cayenne of about 250 euro so we are told.

The famous sunday market shows us some very nicely made jewelry from little shiny bugs.

A lot of Hmong from Laso live in this region.

So there is a lot of Asian food!

Ranbutan, which we know from Malaysia costs a small fortune here.

These funny looking beverages are also known to us from Asia.

Laotians eat the famous soup.

Adventurous greetings,
Coen

 

[mailking]

Oh yeah, in this photography posting, you must spot the Land Cruiser! Tell me where it is hidden...