Interesting vehicle- 1989 G300 (G Wagon) with an OM617 & 5 spd- It's a camper! - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

ROLLGUY · #1 03-01-2012, 11:11 AM

I was visited last year by some folks that drove from Belgium to the 'States in their 1989 G300 Camper. They are on a 4 year long vacation with plans of traveling all over the world in their rig. I posted in the G Wagon section last year, but I thought I would post it here, as this is where all my friends are and I spend most of my time here. The link: http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/ml-gl-g-wagen-r-class-unimog-sprinter/293629-visit-so-cal-belgium-g-wagon-r-v.html

We will be doing some routine maintenance today (he has never adjusted the valves on one of these engines), and I will try to post some photos.

pgringo · #2 03-01-2012, 12:20 PM

Quick question:

How are they financing a FOUR YEAR vacation?!

Desert Panther · #3 03-01-2012, 12:41 PM

Thanks for the thread & link! I enjoy seeing other folks' ingenuity when it comes to building a "one-off" vehicle. I bet they have some great stories to tell after being in South America that long!

Dee8go · #4 03-01-2012, 01:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pgringo

Quick question:

How are they financing a FOUR YEAR vacation?!

No kidding! I'd like to know that as well.

JB3 · #5 03-01-2012, 01:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pgringo

Quick question:

How are they financing a FOUR YEAR vacation?!

x2. Also, thats a nice job on that camper, must have cost a bundle to build. My guess is they are either independently wealthy/ make decent or made decent money, have been saving for 10 years for this trip, or are sponsored.

Id be interested in how difficult it may have been to cross the borders in south America. It looks like a military vehicle. They must have seached the heck out of it.

My friend endured an endless search of his motorcycle in Columbia on the border

He made the body out of road signs? it looks amazing, do they have any pics before paint?

ROLLGUY · #6 03-01-2012, 08:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pgringo

Quick question:

How are they financing a FOUR YEAR vacation?!

They are renting their house back home, and the income allows them to spend $60.00 a day without dipping into their savings. If they don't drive everyday, they don't spend $ on Diesel. They are not in any hurry, because the truck has only 60 MPH top speed. They are into their 4 year vacation about one and one half years so far. They need to fly back home once a year to get visas renewed.

JB3 · #7 03-01-2012, 09:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ROLLGUY

They are renting their house back home, and the income allows them to spend $60.00 a day without dipping into their savings. If they don't drive everyday, they don't spend $ on Diesel. They are not in any hurry, because the truck has only 60 MPH top speed. They are into their 4 year vacation about one and one half years so far. They need to fly back home once a year to get visas renewed.

That's just about the most awesome thing I've heard in a while.

ROLLGUY · #8 03-02-2012, 11:29 AM

We did some work yesterday. The valves needed adjusting and there was a leak in one of the injector heat shields. We decided to take out the injectors and adjust the valves while everything was apart.

While the cover was off, he decided to polish it before installing it:

The finished product:

We will probably do some wreckin yardin today to look for a plastic fan to replace the aluminum fan (he likes the plastic fan on my CD, but I don't have an extra).

ROLLGUY · #9 03-03-2012, 07:58 PM

We got a plastic fan from an 85 300D, and a dual aux fan from a 190E. We replaced the aluminum fan with the plastic one, and installed the dual fan setup:

They look like they were made for the vehicle!

Tomorrow they are leaving to visit Las Vegas, Grand Canyon, Death Valley, Yosemite, and head up to Alaska from there.

raMBow · #10 03-03-2012, 11:44 PM

Awesome!

PackerEdgerton · #11 03-04-2012, 01:08 AM

Wow. That is a REALLY cool rig, and what a lot of fun to drive around the US!

Thanks for sharing!

PE

JB3 · #12 03-04-2012, 08:44 AM

So how do the plates work? I am assuming he can drive around the Americas with Belgium plates and insurance? Did he have to get some kind of temporary waiver or something?

Would be interesting to know what kind of hurdles are involved. Can I just ship my car to europe and drive around with US plates?

ROLLGUY · #13 03-04-2012, 03:36 PM

I was able to get some photos of the construction.
The bare chassis:

The outer skin was made with fiberglass road signs (I hope the the drivers in Belgium do not miss their exit!):

The inside before interior furnishings:

Cabinets going in:

Back panel and door installed:

Codifex Maximus · #14 03-05-2012, 05:33 AM

Nice wagon! And a very interesting vacation story.

Wonder if next time he goes on vacation to the US if he could bring a few 5 speed manual gearboxes, hardware and clutches too? He could probably pay for his vacation and maybe even make a profit.

ROLLGUY · #15 03-05-2012, 11:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Codifex Maximus

Wonder if next time he goes on vacation to the US if he could bring a few 5 speed manual gearboxes, hardware and clutches too? He could probably pay for his vacation and maybe even make a profit.

I already asked him to import a few transmissions next time. He said that the one he found was very difficult to come by, so they are as scarce here as they are there..

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