With a little over 2 weeks to go before we leave the Africa Mercy, I have begun my last big renovation project - that of replacing the bulkhead and door supports on #482 (a year 2000 model). Here is the original bulkhead which was rusted through in many places and had such big holes in the front footwells that you could see the front wheels going round:
Lamin, my new mechanic, found a good bulkhead on a scrapped police Land Rover, which is already installed in the photos below. To do so the wings had to be removed, the doors, windscreen, steering wheel, dashboard, seats, wiring, roof lining, rear windows...a huge amount of work, done by a gang of young ex-combatants in a local workshop which is little more than a patch of mud surrounded by wrecked cars...all for about $600.
I am confident that before I leave, #482 will be back on the road again as an ambulance ready to face the next 5 years of hard labour in West Africa. Olly
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