Pinzgauer

You’d have to look long and hard to find someone more knowledgable about exotic vehicles than Grayson Wolf. It was March of 2017 when Grayson started searching for what was to be my Land Rover. We’ve become friends in the the ensuing years and he is easily one of the most interesting people I have ever met. And a really good guy. Which brings us to the Pinzgauer project. I had never heard of a Pinzgauer.

(Wikipedia) “The Pinzgauer is a family of high-mobility all-terrain 4WD (4×4) and 6WD (6×6) military utility vehicles. The vehicle was originally developed in the late 1960s and manufactured by Steyr-Daimler-Puch of Graz, Austria, and was named after the Pinzgauer, an Austrian breed of cattle. They were most recently manufactured at Guildford in Surrey, England by BAE Systems Land & Armaments. It was popular amongst military buyers, and continued in production there throughout the rest of the century.”

As you can see from the photos below, Grayson has converted this one for comfy off-roading.

His next project sounds even more interesting: Designing an off-road obstacle course for a customer.

A big ranch in Tomales Bay. Trying to design something fun, with great views, and some perceived risk (make the truck lean, teeter on three wheels, etc) without any actual risk of rolling or damaging the vehicle. (While I’ve never done one of these) I love all of the individual ingredients – operating heavy equipment, chainsaws, 4×4-ing, design work, and, most importantly, rolling trucks over while off roading – so I feel qualified :)

Burning Man

Burning Man is most of the things I try hardest to avoid. Crowds, traffic jams and overflowing Porta Potties. The still image below just begins to capture the size of the event. This video comes closer.
Mr. Wolf has attended Burning Man in the past and he attended this year’s event: “We got out Sunday afternoon, so glad we’re not in that traffic hell!” Fortunately he was driving/living in the EarthRoamer XV-LT.

Deadliest Roads | India


Mr. Wolf turned me on (I’m a child of the ’60s) to this amazing series of documentaries. Of the countless YouTube videos I’ve watched, few have been as interesting –and inspirational– as this series. Beautifully shot and edited, the film makers take you on a journey on some of the worst roads in the world. But you meet some of the most interesting people along the way.

A great car needs a great video

The handful of readers who followed my Land Rover adventure will recall Grayson Wolf was the young man who found the Series III Rover that has been my daily driver for the last few years.

Based in the Bay Area, Grayson works on high performance vehicles for the well-heeled and finds buyers and sellers for just about any thing on four wheels. He’s been working with a friend to produce videos used to show and sell. I was particularly impressed with the music in these videos, original compositions by Grayson’s buddy. [2000 Ferrari 360 Modena, 1967 Jaguar E-Type, 2001 BMW Z8 Roadster]

Toyota Land Cruiser FJ55

Mr. Wolf is still out there finding, buying/selling, restoring vintage automobiles. This week he shared some photos of an FJ55:

“FJ55s were rare to begin with and had zero rust prevention, so they all evaporated. When you do see them they are usually a collection of rusty parts held together with Bondo. So an original paint 55 is a rare sight. That one now has fuel injection, a 5 speed, disc brakes, AC, beefier axles, lockers, etc.”“Original paint with heavy patina, so we did a satin clear coat on it.”

Road rot? Where?

When I purchased my 1977 Ford F150 pickup truck it was comparatively rust-free, having spent it’s life in Colorado where — I’m told — they add corrosion inhibitors to the salt they put on their highways. Had the truck spent those same 40+ years on Missouri highways, it would have rusted away long ago. But my truck did have (does have) some rust spots which I’ve successfully ignored. But the two holes in floor of the cab are getting bigger and sucking some cold air in.

My buddy George Tergin — the master of the automotive hack — suggested I patch these using old license plates, silicone, and self-tapping screws. Before and after photos below.

Hadn’t planned to do much about the other rust spots until Mr. Wolf pointed me to POR-15, a rust preventative coating that I can “glop on the other rust spots. Like so many things in my life now, the pickup only has to last as long as I do.

Bay Area, 2:30 p.m.

You’ve seen all of the fire photos. This one is from my friend Mr. Wolf. “Now we’re wearing masks to filter out the ash. Everything looks like it has a very light dusting of snow. Our AQI fluctuates between 80 and 250. 250 is world class bad, like Mumbai etc. But because it’s all fairly heavy particulate just staying indoors with everything closed up is very effective.