The Phoenix Rises from the Ashes

Just before I sat down to write this update I worked out how long it has been since the accident. It happened on 28th June so 11 weeks ago – I can hardly believe it.

It feels like yesterday, but when I think back such a lot has happened in between and we are in a far, far better place now than we have been for a long time.

We left you at the end of the last post having delivered Henry to Andrew Robertson in Pretoria and being extremely happy and confident that we had chosen the right person to rebuild him. Some 8 weeks later, including a quick trip to the UK and back, our view has only been reinforced by the care, attention to detail and skill that Andrew has lavished on him.

But let´s go back to when we first arrived in Pretoria. There was a lot to do.

James built Henry into the amazing overland vehicle he was – designing and building the internal units, installing the electrics, water, lighting and dual battery system as well as fitting the roof rack, awning, shower tent, side locker, peli case, rear step and a myriad of other things that I can´t now even remember.

No-one knew Henry like James did and, whilst Andrew was skilled and experienced with 4x4s of all shapes and sizes, we could not possibly expect him to have the same level of knowledge about Henry´s customisations.

So it made sense for James to spend a few days with Andrew dismantling all the non-standard parts – he built them, he knew better than anyone how to take them apart. We had 6 days before our flight and we intended to use them as best we could to make sure Henry´s rebuild started off as smoothly as possible.

The first step was to take out everything from inside. First things first, all our belongings, which we had stored in Henry to transport to Pretoria. They fitted neatly into six boxes, stacked in the workshop kitchen along with the mattress – it doesn´t look a lot for a whole life but then you don´t need much when you live in a Landrover!

Then James made a start on the kitchen units, worktops, fridge and bamboo flooring. It was a long, slow process, diligently removing every nut and bolt, labelling it and bagging everything up so it wouldn´t get lost.

At the end of the first day the units were out.

Henry was starting to look very bare but this was only the very start.

We reassembled the units in a corner of the workshop in the configuration they had been inside Henry, just to keep everything together and safe.

By the end of the second day we left leaving him looking very bare and empty but other than that little had obviously changed.

When we arrived back the next day, Andrew and his sons had put Henry up on ramps outside and given him a good and thorough clean. James smiled at me, these were his kind of people!

And then the real work started, dismantling Henry´s entire body.

James took a saw to the security hinges holding Henry´s bonnet on

Whilst Alex, the younger of Andrew´s sons, diligently worked alongside taking off the windscreen and doors.

At just 16 years old, the skill, care and attention he put in to the work was impressive.

6 days after the work had started, as our 7 day transit visas were coming to an end and our flights to the UK beckoned, we left Andrew´s workshop for the final time leaving Henry looking quite disarmingly small and vulnerable.

We went back to the UK for three very important reasons :

• To get a lot of much needed hugs from our family and friends
• To pick up some Landrover parts that we couldn´t source in South Africa
• To reset our South African visas – returning to your home country zeroes everything and we should be able to return with another full 90 days, assuming the embassy had given us correct information!

We succeeded on every score!

We got hugs in spades and felt very much better by the end of our trip.

We also managed to buy almost everything we needed for Henry – the only limitation was baggage space and weight. We returned to South Africa with 7kg of clothes and toiletries and 39kg of Landrover parts! We were literally 200g under our maximum baggage allowance. But the restrictions meant that the new Porta Pottie and seat box carpets will have to wait until our next trip back.

And as we landed back in Johannesburg and arrived at the border, slightly anxious that the information we had received from the embassy might not have been right, we breathed a sigh of relief as we were calmly stamped in with a smile and a new 90 day visa.

We always miss our family and friends and love coming back to visit, but as ever, as the plane landed on African soil, it was good to be home….

It feels as though everytime we go to the UK there is something wrong! First time it was the disappointment of having to ship Henry from Cote DÍvoire to Cape Town and the endless frustations and delays of container shipping. This time was even more fundamental – Henry hardly existed as we knew him at all.

But our confidence and faith in Andrew meant that this time we could concentrate on ourselves and try to put everything else out of our minds for a short time. We knew Henry was in safe hands and Andrew kept us updated on progress whilst we were away.

It was hard seeing the photos, heartbreaking in fact. I was very glad we weren´t there to see it for real.

The dismantling stepped up a few notches…

And then a few more

His front crash bar and number plate looked forlorn sitting by themselves

But it carried on and on

Tearing at my heartstrings

Until, finally, all that was left was his chassis

But when I say all that was left, that´s not quite true. He was in a million pieces but Andrew was able to save more than we had expected.

His whole rear quarter is still original – the worst of the dents having been panel-beated out and repainted. The only parts in this photo that didn´t survive are the side window panel and the post between the doors.

And as we hoped, everything underneath was salavaged – engine, gear box, chassis, suspension, drive train, brakes. The bonnet, one side quarter, front crash bars and one door (including the unbroken window we climbed out of, I´m so glad we have been able to keep that as a reminder!) were all salvaged.

We also managed to salvage the whole floor plate. Again, much work was needed to straighten it and knock it back into shape but by the time the team had finished with it, it was as good as new…

As Andrew went along he straightened, repaired, sanded and repainted everything

What remained of Henry was looking better than ever!

We had decided to send his chassis to be galvanised. It is something we would have loved to do before but given it requires a complete disassembly it seemed too big a job at the time. But now Henry was already disassembled so it was the perfect time to make him better and stronger than before.

Andrew had to send the chassis out to professional galvanisers as it´s not a common process in South Africa – too dry a climate for anyone to really need it. They normally only galvanise steel for large-scale commerical uses, not something as delicate as a vehicle chassis.

We were all nervous, especially Andrew, as with no galvansiers having much experience with this sort of thing in South Africa there was a serious risk of it coming back bent and damaged. It took over two weeks, far longer than we expected. But eventually it arrived and was perfect. Andrew then diligently painted it and sent us the first good news photo…we had hit the bottom of the curve, Henry was on his way up from here on in….

A few days later the new bulkhead arrived. It had been a near-impossible task for Andrew to source one, they are as rare as hens teeth in South Africa. It arrived slightly bent but nothing he couldn´t knock into shape. We were rocking and rolling.

The bulkhead was also sent to be galvanised, meanwhile Andrew and the team started the long, slow task of the rebuild. Within a couple of days we were jumping up and down with excitement as a photo came through of the wheels and suspension being refitted.

And we could hardly contain our excitement when we saw his engine and gear box back in!

A few days before we returned to South Africa, the last photo Andrew sent us made us very impatient to be back there, Henry´s body was starting to be reassembled…

We wondered what we would see when we finally arrived back in Pretoria and practically ran to Andrew´s workshop the morning after we landed. As we pulled up outside we saw a glimpse through the open doors and had to catch our breath!

He almost look like Henry again!

We were champing at the bit to roll our sleeves up and start helping but there were other things we needed to attend to first.

You may recall the large awning that used to be attached to Henry´s passenger side but was ripped off and damaged in the accident. We had transported it to Pretoria with Henry on Corne´s trailor and now we needed to work out what to do with it.

Our first stop was to the outdoor retailer who stocks them. They were friendly and sympathetic but advised that the only people who could fix it were the manufacturers themselves – Big Country. We would need to ship it to them and ask them to provide a quote. It was all seeming like an uphill struggle until we asked where they were based – about half an hour away they said! Big Country are a well known and respected manufacturer who supply overland gear across the world – and we were half an hour away from their factory and head office!

With big grins on our faces we threw the awning into the back of Andrew´s pick-up, which he kindly leant us for the day, and headed over to see them. They were amazing.

For such a big supplier they certainly didn´t lack the personal touch. They were fascinated by our travels, distraught to hear about the accident and delighted to help. They repaired the awning there and then whilst giving us a tour around their factory.

They replaced the ripped green cover bag for a grey one to better match Henry´s colour scheme and we even upgraded to include lights underneath.

Whilst walking around looking at all their products James complimented Devon, the manager taking care of us, on the quality of their welding and cheekily asked whether they would consider doing a special order for us. Devon was happy to consider it and so we have ended up with a beautiful, custom-made new roof box, plate for the sand ladder table and under-chassis storage box all courtesy of Big Country´s big heart! Now that´s what I call customer service – hats off to you guys!

We were feeling very positive about life and enjoying being back with Henry in the South African spring – the freezing cold weather we had left 6 weeks ago had turned into beautiful warm days whilst we were away.

Whilst we had been in the UK Andrew had spent days and days trying to rescue Henry´s roof, clamping it in a jig and bending it back into shape, tapping out the dents and welding bits back together.

Given that the roof is a precision, German-engineered pop-top which is only available in Germany itself, and that Henry had been lying on it for two days down a moutainside, this was the biggest make or break of the whole rebuild.

Andrew had worked miracles! James examined it as it lay disassembled on the bench and his jaw was dropping open. You could hardly tell there had been any damage.

I watched, fascinated, as Andrew re-painted it

And then with some help from James, Andrew and his elder son, Felix, set about reassembling it.

It seemed straight, the dents had been knocked out and now it was all back together. But Andrew was nervous – would it fit back on the frame? He sent us away so he could spend a day lowering the roof back on without distractions.

When we returned the next morning it looked as though Andrew had had nothing to worry about….even he was smiling a broad smile.

Slowly but surely, bit by bit, Henry was coming back to us.

Next, the new dashboard arrived and three pairs of hands struggled to lock it into place!

But even that was eventually looking pretty good

The new doors had also arrived and were being diligently sprayed, sanded and sprayed again. Henry was going to look better than new!

With the roof and body now coming along so quickly, James decided it was time to start refitting some of the custom bits and pieces that make Henry what he is….

First the rear step and reversing lights.

Then the peli case for all our recovery gear and the shower tent…

And then the rear ladder, axe, light and shower point

My heart was swelling as Henry started looking so familiar, so strong….and so clean!

The first door went on two days ago and he really is now taking shape.

His electrics are a maze and will take time to sort through and reconnect, but every wire is labelled, photographed and a map put together for how it should go

And we have no doubt that even this challenge will be risen to when the time comes.

Andrew is currently trying to fix a slight bend in the new bulkhead which only became apparent when the front doors went on and was probably caused by the galvanising. He also has a small number of parts which still need sourcing – little things like door handles and seat belt clasps.

James and I are busy buying bedding, cushions, cargo rail, rubber matting; getting the new windows lined with security film; having new transfers done to replace the old ones which were lost through the process of replacing or repainting all the body panels. The list is endless.

There is no shortage of other things left to do before we can finally start putting all Henry´s insides back in and, ultimately, head off into the sunset. Best estimates as of today are around 3 weeks but no-one really knows, he is a Landrover afterall and they never play by the rules!

But when I think back to 11 weeks ago, when I remember looking down at him believing we had lost him for good, I still find a tear creeping into the corner of my eye and something tugging at my heart – how lucky have we been? How grateful are we that we survived, that so many wonderful people have helped us and cared about us and that Henry is and always will be – our amazing, our beautiful Strong Car!