A lucky 13 with Lady

Some cars are famous, while others are legendary, says Danie Pienaar from the Strand. He shares the story of his 1984 Land Cruiser FJ60, powered by a 4,23 ℓ six-cylinder petrol engine

- Danie Pienaar

I wanted one like that and nothing else. And she had to have the United Nations’ UN insignia on the door. Nothing less would do.

I searched for nearly four years and finally found her at Windhoek’s airport – lonely and ownerless. Apparently, she was one of 60 Land Cruisers that arrived in the former South West Africa. It was at the time when the United Nations oversaw the peace process and elections. Rumour has it that six of the Cruisers ‘disappeared’ somewhere between Walvis Bay and Windhoek upon arrival.

I paid R50 000 for her. She was like a child with a dirty face, and it was time to clean her up.

This Cruiser wasn’t an ordinary vehicle. She had leaf springs front and rear, easily tackling today’s pothole-ridden roads. She had standard 4x4 drive without a diff lock, and the only electronic gadget was the radio. The windows were manually wound up and down, and the side mirrors were so large you could almost see into the previous generation. I could load a full one tonne of luggage inside and on top of her, and venture to places where few people would dare to go. I spent a lot of time with her.

Everything that could be unscrewed was disassembled, removed, or taken apart and restored or replaced – sometimes with parts from Japan. Every Saturday, I’d straddle the engine and ask, ‘What shall we remove today?’ She didn’t have airconditioning, but rather something you might describe as a ‘cooling plant’ – it worked wonderfully well. She also didn’t have powered brakes; instead, a sort of deceleration system.When you hit the brakes, the seat belts strained to keep your face from smacking the windshield.