Recovering the Black Rhino (pic heavy)

splitbusahollic · Post by **splitbusahollic** » Mon Feb 27, 2012 10:21 am

so due to peer pressure(Jolas & Klaus) i now post this story ....(Jolas&Klaus sounds like a nice dealership name...

)
snorkel in the air...hence the name rhino

i bought my black single cab fleetline wide-body bakkie a year ago...the problem was that it was built in between two walls, blocked in by some other VW wrecks and had no rear suspension and gearbox...so this meant we had to drive to JHB strip the Gearbox and rear suspension from the crashed fleetline panel van i had also bought and get the bakkie on wheels in order to winch it out of the tight spot it was in

we started off by stripping the panel van first....

got the gearbox out and then to fit it in a space where no one had set foot for 20 years !

spiders..etc..the biggest problem was lack of space and uneven ground..the gearbox and suspension can get fcuk heavy when you have to lift it in a confined space believe me .. the jack kept on sliding on the rocks and once you are in there and the gearbox slips off the jack...you have no where to move out the way !

after many swear words...almost throwing in the towel a few times and loads of sweat and bumps on the head, we managed to get the box in and the wheels on !!

the worst was over...we then fastened my portable winch to the nearest tree and slowely pulled the bus forward...we couldn't get to the driver side front wheel so this was flat and rotten...so steering was a bit of a challenge being so close to the wall !

this branch caused many bumps on the same heads and if there was a chainsaw nearby it would have been gone !!

Once clear of the wall we could get the 4x4 in to pull it further out the way over very rocky terrain !

note the drivers side wheel...how stuffed it is !

to my surprize we found this little roof rack(with a VW sign on it) lying upside down under the leaves on the back.

once the bus was out she rolled very easy up to clear ground where we will prep. her for the transport guys to pick her up
and bring her down to PE

and that was our 2 day bus rescue mission in Krugersdorp and another bus saved from scrap metal

Post by **jolas** » Mon Feb 27, 2012 10:52 am

respect dude ! That bus looks wicked man, congrats Jacques, that looked like an interesting salvage, spiders and all

I like the way you have dropped the back, looking very cool, you just need to do the same with the front before you start her up and drive back to PE

Looks like an interesting yard - anything else to be saved there before Mr Angle Grinder Container Man arrives ?
Cheers

sean · Post by **sean** » Mon Feb 27, 2012 11:02 am

Awesome Salvage.

The body seems quite solid?

Post by **Retrobug** » Mon Feb 27, 2012 11:18 am

at least one Rhino is safe!

DR WATSON · Post by **DR WATSON** » Mon Feb 27, 2012 11:19 am

You are a true 'Splitbusaholic'

splitbusahollic · Post by **splitbusahollic** » Mon Feb 27, 2012 11:29 am

jolas wrote:I like the way you have dropped the back, looking very cool, you just need to do the same with the front before you start her up and drive back to PE

someone took the torsion springs so the spring plates have no tension

i will be rectifying the problem...split buses are naturally low enough for my liking so no dropping here !

Sean, yes the body is solid..the only part that is messed up is the rear load body area as she stood under trees, full of leaves so the rainwater couldn't drain...and a tree fell on the roof...so i will be looking for a donor single cab roof....
the treasure bin and everything else needs a good clean,maybe a bit of blasting here and there and we can start resurrecting her !
looks like all original paint.

Klaus · Post by **Klaus** » Mon Feb 27, 2012 11:45 am

That there is the real deal.

Well done, sure you and your son were glad to see your beds after the missioning around the Vaal and the long drive back. Thanks for the beers, owe you some next time you up on the reef (or do I owe Craig

)

JohnHoffe · Post by **JohnHoffe** » Mon Feb 27, 2012 11:54 am

Now that is true commitment!!

Well done.

Ron&Gill · Post by **Ron&Gill** » Mon Feb 27, 2012 12:46 pm

Amazing. I'm impressed, and I'm sure that branch has a name by now, hehe...

louisvr45 · Post by **louisvr45** » Mon Feb 27, 2012 3:56 pm

Luckly my SC fleetline didnt end up there

splitbusahollic · Post by **splitbusahollic** » Mon Feb 27, 2012 6:35 pm

louisvr45 wrote:Luckly my SC fleetline didnt end up there

and if it did we would have rescued yours aswell Louis !

Post by **fig** » Mon Feb 27, 2012 9:53 pm

I'm amazed at the condition of that bakkie after all these years under the blugums. I first saw that bus, parked in the same place, back in the mid-1980s. Back then it had a rusty oval body on the back of it, that got crushed when the big bluegum fell.

I bought the Ratmobile (75 Fleetline panelvan) from Craig in 1993 and I still own it today!

Well done for rescuing it and all the others Jacques! Now I know what you were up to on this side of the world over the Kult kamp-out weekend.

splitfan · Post by **splitfan** » Tue Feb 28, 2012 10:08 am

"kombisutra" style good recovery !

louisvr45 · Post by **louisvr45** » Tue Feb 28, 2012 10:19 am

splitbusahollic wrote:
louisvr45 wrote:Luckly my SC fleetline didnt end up there
and if it did we would have rescued yours aswell Louis !

the closest it came to a dump site was to dropoff some rubbish

one of the good things of the wide bed fleetline is the wide bed protect the rest of the body, but only until the wide bed rusted through

flatfourfan · Post by **flatfourfan** » Wed Feb 29, 2012 9:08 am

the rhino actually looks in very good condition......nice work.

Aircooled VW South Africa