The African bush and open roads are calling out to semi-retired Ballito electrician, Glen Grant, who has almost completed the restoration of a 352 Unimog Casspir to facilitate his offroad travel plans.
When driving on Ballito roads, it can be assumed motorists checking their rear-view mirror and spotting the monster-sized 4×4 would simply get out of the way, and that is certainly the case according to Grant.
A common sight in the military days back in the day, the Unimog dwarfs most traditional 4x4s.
“It’s a beast for sure,” said Grant, who has already managed to enjoy two trips on the open road, reaching comfortable speeds of up to 80km/h.
It has been a painstaking process to restore the highly sought-after Unimog, which reportedly spent some service time in the military.
Grant got his hands on the chassis when it went up for sale at R80 000 three years ago.
In his spare time, mostly on weekends, he works to get it completely 100% fit for a life on the road once retirement beckons, allowing him to explore all that Africa has to offer.
“It is fit for every kind of terrain one can imagine, and is highly sought-after in the 4×4 community at large,” said Grant.
While the exact manufacturing date of this model was not confirmed, Grant estimated it had been more than 20 years since the Unimog had hit the road again after being restored to a roadworthy condition.
Mercedes manufactured the Unimog, with this model likely to have come out in the 80s.
His first trip included a visit to Zinkwazi, which led to some minor engine problems that were soon fixed. A trip to Happy Wanderers on the South Coast earlier this year was, however, a breeze and trouble-free.
“My idea is to have a mobile home on wheels,” said Grant, who has already kitted the interior, custom-built from scratch, with two beds, a shower and toilet, kitchen and even an air fryer, sink and mini-fridge.
The left-wheel-drive aspect of the Unimog does pose somewhat of a challenge Grant admits. He would heed advice of getting an e-tag installed after realising what a mission it was to pay toll fees.
“One simply cannot reach over and pay the cashier at tolls as easily as one would think,” he explained.
Speaking on the restoration, Grant said plans don’t always work, but one tries and tries again to get things to work the way one would like.
“It’s about what you need,” he said, highlighting that he continues to work on the restoration with plans to include solar panels, too.
In terms of mileage, Grant estimated that the dual-fuel-tank capacity of 300 litres of diesel would just about make a trip from his Ballito home to Johannesburg.
While minor work remains to be done to get the Unimog up to scratch, it won’t be too long before Grant can kick back and enjoy everything the open road and Africa have to offer.
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