The Hinterlandgrapevine Online News Travelling Jackaroo “Getting to the Top”

On

road” ….. continuing on with my mission!

Bit of an announcement, as most of you know, two weeks ago I had a pretty major breakdown north of Cataby in WA. What happened was I heard a pop followed by a puff of smoke followed by my oil pressure gauge hitting 0, I pulled the stopper and shut him down as quick as I could but I wasn’t fast enough and unfortunately he seized solid.

From there Lloyd from Geraldton towing sent someone 4hrs south in a truck to pick me up and take me back to Geraldton where BIG4 Sunset Beach Holiday Park Geraldton agreed to accomodate me.

After chatting with Lloyd he decided to donate something special out of a Bedford truck…. A 110hp 4 cylinder Perkins Phaser motor that we’d mentioned previously last year, when believe it or not we were actually thinking about doing an engine swap before I’ve managed to seize the old 4.270 that was in Slim until recently.

Now as far as the benefits of this new motor go there are many including

- better fuel economy

- better hill climbing abilities with extra power

- the ability to fit an exhaust brake to significantly improve my braking capabilities for long descents

- a slight potential increase in speed to around 40-45kph from my current average speed of 37kph I cannot thank Lloyd and the team from Geraldton Towing Services enough for this. Not only have they decided to help get me back on the road again but have also given me a motor that will not only make the trip more economical for me as I’ll be spending less on fuel but will also be making it safer with the exhaust brake and improved hill climbing capabilities.

I’ll be in Geraldton for the next week or so as we finish installing the tractors new heart whilst also replacing steering components as well as various other components before tackling the Nullarbor in the coming weeks

Once again I cannot thank Lloyd and everyone in Geraldton who have volunteered time and parts to get me back on the road and to make this trip happen Thank-you everyone!!!

I have also received a new Royal Flying Doctor’s badge which I have put on my Akubra hat to help hide some of my home made repairs which I have made with fencing wire up front to hold the band on.

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