I had it all planned. Had to go to the Vaal Triangle for work on Friday with the W126, should have finished not too late, would rush back to Johannesburg and then fetch the Hot Wheels Baja at Harry in Primrose where it had been standing for a while (i.e. I am renting a parking space at his premises cause I don't have enough parking at home.)
Later that Friday afternoon I would spend some time on the Baja cleaning it up for Logo Day, I was even playing with the idea of putting HW2's wheels on the Baja for the show. But the Baja's clutch was shot, and I would not be able to drive it to Logo Day - uphills would hear the revs climbing and the speed dropping...
Not a problem, the Baja would be TOWED by A-frame to logo day (in the comfort of one of Stuttgart's finest sedans, with a fully functioning heater and Becker Stereo), and then unhooked near the venue to be driven the last hundred metres - the clutch problem wouldn't be a factor and all would be happy.
But the Air Cooled Gods had other plans for me...
This is how my Friday went:
I left early from Johannesburg, decided to take the 'scenic' route to the Vaal Triangle, the R28 (or is it R82) via De Deur, and Vereeniging to Vanderbijlpark. Near Vanderbijl the altenator light on the Merc came on, and I knew it immediately: altenator belt off..
Now losing an altenator belt on a Merc is not child's play. The belt also turns the water pump, as well as the fan, and you can't drive very far before the engine would overheat. It can roughly be compared to the fan belt of a Beetle coming off - no cooling for an internal combustion engine. I went through the same exercise a mere two weeks earlier when the altenator belt first broke, and in the end JohnHoffe helped to tow me home. All the belts were replaced the next morning by a qualified mechanic. Since the replacement of the belts I have done another 1500km, which included a four-day work trip through Mpumalanga and the Kruger National Park. I had only returned home the previous night, and was absolutely furious that the belt broke again in Vanderbijlpark. I managed to limp to the nearest auto mechanic who, coincidently was a Mercedes specialist. The owner of Van Tubbergh & Wessels Motors walked with me to the car, and the first thing I saw was several litres of green fluid below the car... antifreeze
'Your waterpump has seized,' said the mechanic 'and you would need to replace it'. So he got onto his phone and started phoning. One after the other parts dealers confirmed what he hinted shortly after breaking the news to me: no parts available on a Friday in the Vaal Triangle, they could only fix it for me on Monday
I immediately started planning my next move, my biggest fear was that I would return to Gauteng too late to still find Harry's business open, and that I couldn't get the Baja for Logo Day. My next challenge was to get back from Vanderbijlpark to Johannesburg, so I phoned a taxi service. The 90-odd kms home would cost me no less than R 900!
So I made another plan, and here are the costs of that plan:
Taxi from Vanderbijlpark to Vereeniging Station (around 12 kms, no more than 10 minutes): R 95
MetroTrain from Vereeniging to Germiston (80km?) R 9, and an hour and a half
Taxi from Germiston Station to Primros (7km) - R 70
I got the Baja at around 16:00 Friday afternoon, and carefully drove it home with the slipping clutch.
At home, I changed the wheels (borrowed it from HW2), and removed the engine to fit the other clutch. Put the engine back, and was already dark when I finished. The first test drive went perfectly, so I stopped at JohnHoffe to hear if he got his buggy ready for LogoDay (BIG fire extinguisher, remember!) and if there was anything I could help with. So I did help him... but not with the buggy (we did however got rid of a certain Mr Jack in a square bottle)
We left early Saturday morning for Logo Day, and it was great fun.
Yesterday Marilize and I went shopping with the Baja - no problem.
Borrowed Bugger's A-Frame today to go and fetch the Merc which was fixed perfectly - the Baja didn't miss a beat all the way to Vanderbijlpark, and was towed back home safely.
Thinking abouth it now, I swear I saw the little Baja grinning when we stopped at the Engen for a cooldrink... so, in a nutshell:
The air cooled had to fixed in a hurry (which wasn't planned) because the water pump of the water cooled broke, the air cooled was then used again to go and fetch the water cooled. Sooooooooooometimes, all I need is the AIR that I breathe!!
Praat van die Volla hoor 
