Builds Intro: Ugly Betty(so far) (1 Viewer)

[tmarx]

Time for an update - I fitted some wheel spacers which actually improved stability and cornering on gravel roads quite significantly. However with the flexy Hell Creek springs it did not take me long to damage the rear fenders. So I imported some Bushwacker Fender Flares.
It was not easy to take a grinder and drill to her fenders ...

But I decided to simultaneously refresh all of the old paint which was beginning to show the battle scars from the last 6 years so the result ...

 

[peteinjp]

Looking good as usual Theo! Any trips planned in the near future? I've sure enjoyed seeing your part of the world in this thread.

Thx-

Pete

 

[tmarx]

Thanks Pete.

Strange that you ask as the wife, just last week and rather unexpectantly I may add, managed to get us camping bookings in Kaglagadi for 8 days in Jan 2016 so ...

 

[boozewz]

Still my favorite 40 on mud even after drilling into the fenders!

Looking forward to seeing some pics of your upcoming trip!

 

[tmarx]

With our upcoming trip just around the corner and seeing what is planning to cart along on our game drives, I realized that I needed more storage space in Olive. My only option was an overhead centre console and nothing fancy ...

The roll cage was a limiting factor and ended up being the mounting platform ..

Covered in 3mm hardwood with the usual carpet ..

All done

 

[tmarx]

We recently had the opportunity to visit Kgalagadi again and these are some of our memories.

With the heat wave that was pounding ZA we went hiding at the West Coast before entering the Park at Mata Mata via Namibia. The pics tell the story ...

But you cannot survive on black mussels alone ..

and then it was time for the long trek to the park itself.

 

[tmarx]

After two border crossings on a Saturday, we eventually arrived just before closing time, only to be back in the same country we had started from ..

We had been to the park 6 months earlier during the winter and with it now being midsummer, we were not expecting too much quality sightings. Little did we know what lay ahead for the next 10 days ...

more to follow

 

[peteinjp]

Wow Theo! Amazing part of the world that you live in! I really appreciate that you post this stuff. For me it's the stuff of Tv and magazines so to hear it from a real live individual makes it just that much more real to me.


Pete

 

[tmarx]

In that case Pete, I hope that you enjoy these too ..

This lady was so stealthy that we drove right by her before she made her move !

tbc..

 

[White Stripe]

Where did you get your front seats from? Those pictures are incredible, really amazing. Few people get to experience such awesome stuff like that.

 

[handcannon]

Thank you for posting those pics Theo! Fantastic! I have always thoroughly enjoyed any time I was able to spend time in the outdoors, and viewing wildlife. I totally agree with Pete and White Stripe.

Gods creation is wonderful!

Don

 

[boozewz]

Outstanding sir!

Tell me, were you standing outside the 40 when the lioness walked by

 

[tmarx]

Thanks guys, glad you like em.

White Stripe, the seats came with the car from Aussie and I just redid the upholstery.ÌIRC they came out of a Chev Commodore.

Boozewz, on the ZA side of the park the general camps are fenced and outside of those you are not allowed to exit your vehicle save for a couple of designated picnic spots.On the Botswana side none of the camps are fenced and you are allowed to exit your vehicle everywhere - this pic was taken on the Botswana side by my buddie from inside his vehicle as we were tracking that lioness' spoor untill it just suddenly went missing and I had to turn around.Suddenly she just appeared from nowhere behind us ..

 

[tmarx]

Daytime temps ranged between 42 Deg C and 46 Deg C which caused some animals to take refuge wherever they could ...

 

[tmarx]

Sometimes you go out on a drive thinking it is one of "those" days ... but then suddenly nature throws you a spectacular curveball. Initially I thought it was just a Blue Wildebeest cow acting silly inside the waterhole

but then we noticed the contractions and the other signs of what was about to happen. She eventually left the waterhole and dug herself a hole under the watchful protection of the rest of the herd.

and so begins a new cycle of life.

I am not sure why but the lion population has seemingly exploded

A breeding trio at Mata Mata ..

Two dominant males guarding the waterhole which lead to a bit of a Mexican "stand-off" with these 2 younger lions ..

We will be back in the area in the beginning of June 2016 but this time we will be concentrating on the Botswana side, using 40 series vehicles only and due to the intended routes, no trailers so watch this space !

 

[tmarx]

When my son and I go on trips with Olive, we always sleep in our swags but for our upcoming trip to Mabua, his mother decided that our usual arrangements would be completely inadequate. I have learnt when to pick my battles and on this occasion I decided to just get on with finding a solid way to fit our Impi from the trailer onto Olive. Enter Heinrich Siepker at Hannibal: I did not want a complete rack and after patiently listening to what I wanted, we came up with this.

The slats to which the 6 feet are connected run all along the full length of the gutter so the load is nicely distributed along the whole gutter. It is very low profile and there is no extra wind noise at all, needless to say I am stoked with the result.

 

[alberta mac]

Thanx again guys.We do love her to bits ans as soon as she is finally registered and legally on the road we will try to restore her as best we can.At the moment I am just trying to stop the existing rust from spreading further untill we can strip her down and deal with the rust on a more permanent manner. Here are some pics to show what we are up against.Any advice,comments welcome

Does anyone know the purpose of all the floor panels bolted ?

 

[tmarx]

Those are to fit the OEM front facing rear bench seat which was found in the LX model

 

[alberta mac]

Great thread and real sweet LX !

 

[KY Longhunter]

Incredible pictures Theo!

I just saw Giraffe, Zebra and Rhinos this week myself but I was at Disney World! It's amazing to me that this is in your backyard.

Cheers!