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Part 1: Introduction
I did not look for this car, it found me
Some time ago, my family decided to buy a house on coast in Kenya. Having lived for many years in this beautiful country and falling in love with its marvelous landscape and with the friendliest people in the world, we thought it might be a good idea to have our own place. As a result of a relatively short search, we bought a house in Watamu, from an older German gentleman, who had built the house himself and who felt the time has come to give it up. This house came with all that was inside and that also included a car: A 1983 short wheelbase Mercedes G Wagon, Mercedes Benz's answer to the Land Rover (here’s more about the Mercedes G, including its history: https://bit.ly/3SgFjzj). The car had been brought in 1983 to Kenya by DT Dobie (https://www.dtdobie.co.ke/) and for many years, it was in use by German Development Aid organizations and then a nunnery (that did not mean it was treated gently...). Mr. P., the former owner of my house, bought it from them and fully refurbished the OM 617 5-cylinder, 3000 cc Diesel engine, which is said to be one of the best and most reliable engines ever built by Mercedes. So, the car was running, but mostly in its original state, meaning it had quite some rust, and the interior and exterior reflected its age. However, that was enough for us, and almost for 5 years we continued using it until I decided that some restoration work is needed.
A Land Rover Man and a Mercedes G
I am a Land Rover Man. I got my first Land Rover when I was around 5:
Since then I’ve had a couple of them and until recently my main car for safari was a Land Rover Defender from 2007. I know that many believe Land Rovers are not reliable, but this not what I experienced. In over 10 years of using it, my Landy only let me down once and that was because I had ignored signals that the clutch needed replacement. But anyway, this blog is not about Land Rovers.
I just wanted to make it clear that restoring the G-Wagon does not mean that I have changed my mind about Land Rover. I might have never bought a G-Wagon, but it came into my possession, and I feel that it will be an interesting and rewarding project to restore it. A man needs to have something to do that makes his hand dirty...
And what about the environment?
It is absolutely justified to ask the question: Is driving an old car that has no pollution abatement technology, for instance, a katalysator, not bad for the environment? Why invest time and money into it, instead of buying a new and modern car?
In my view, the answer is: yes and no. Sure, an old car pollutes more per kilometer than a new car mainly because of the absence of the mentioned pollution abatement technology and because it might (but does not have to!) use more fuel per km. On the other hand, building a car and scraping it has an environmental footprint in itself. An old car, if driven modestly, might well be able to compete in terms of the environmental footprint with a new car, if you take this into account.
Overall, it is of course true that walking, using a bicycle, using trains or other forms of public transport, or staying at home, is better for the environment than driving a car. I try to do that, when possible, and if it brings me to the place I want to be.
The project
In this blog, I will let you take part in my project to restore the Mercedes 300 GD. In Kenya with a view to having in the end a car that still might not win a beauty contest but that will serve me and my family for another couple of years, including using it for safari without the fear of seeing it breaking down. I will try to keep as much as possible the original patterns of the car, but I will be practical. The work will be done by me, by contractors, and by people who I hire to do specific jobs. Most of it is in Nairobi, where I have brought it from Watamu and where I usually live.
I will describe the different steps of the restoration and will also include contacts to the companies or contractors I have used.
I welcome comments and questions but be aware: I am not a car mechanic, just an amateur with limited knowledge and some gasoline (diesel) in the blood. Also, I am not a native English speaker, so I apologize for any language mistakes you might find.
I will add chapters to the blog when there is something new to tell. I hope to finish the project within 3 months.
And the Family?
Yesterday I told my daughter about the blog. When I mentioned that it is about the Mercedes, she asked: "Is it the white car?", which is the Landy, with which she has been on Safari, driven to school etc. for over 10 years.... Well one lesson learned: I should not expect that my interests, or even obsessions are automatically shared by those around me. But they tolerate what I am doing. I believe that is fair enough.
Disclaimer
Kindly take note that this blog shall not be understood as a technical manual to restore a car and that I cannot be held liable for any damage that results from copying described activities, using mentioned contractors or materials, etc. In case of doubt, always consult a reliable car mechanic and/or the producer of your car. Please also note that what might be possible in Kenya might not be allowed in other countries.
Part 2: Preparations for the Painting Work
Addressing some mechanical problems
The car did quite well for our trip from Watamu to Nairobi, but it was clear that some minor (that’s what I thought at the time of writing this...) repairs were needed. These included:
Change of the engine heating plugs
A "nozzle service" to deal with little leakages at the diesel injectors
Fixing the mounting of the oil cooler. This connection had broken during the trip to Nairobi
Soldering of small leakage at the water cooler.
All this was done quickly by Frank's Garage, which has maintained my cars for almost 15 years.
There will be more repair/maintenance work to be done, but I will wait with it until after the car is spraypainted. As far as I can say, this will include:
Repairing the switches for the two differential locks (front and back axles). These do not move anymore because they have been hardly used for years.
Replacing of the coil springs at the rear axle: The existing ones became tired after many years of use.
Replacing the fan for the ventilation and heating system. Fortunately, Mr. P., the previous owner, left me a new fan.
Changing the brake pads on all four wheels.
Taking off the bumpers etc.
It was decided that the following parts would be sandblasted and powder coated.
All wheels and spare wheels
All bumpers
The spare wheel holder at the back
The tow hook
The protective metal sheet under the front axle and engine
Taking off these pieces was not too easy, all screws needed a good spray with W40, and some had to be cut. It became also clear that I needed to get a wrench set.
Why sandblasting and why powder coating? All the mentioned parts were extremely rusted, and I understood that just sandpapering them would not take all that rust off. When looking for a company in Nairobi that does sandblasting, I found Duff Engineering (https://duffengineering.co.ke/), which not only offers sandblasting (actually not using sand but tiny steel pearls) but also powder coating. "Powder coating is a type of coating that is applied as a free-flowing, dry powder. Unlike conventional liquid paint which is delivered via an evaporating solvent, powder coating is typically applied electrostatically and then cured under heat or with ultraviolet light." (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Powder_coating). The result is supposed to be harder and more durable than usual paint. We will see... Certainly, it seems to be more costly, e.g. sandblasting and powder coating of the front bumper will cost 7,550 Ksh.
Stripping the cabin
After all externals were removed, it was time to strip the inside of the cabin. As a first step, the car was brought to the company that I had selected for doing the following jobs:
Upholstery of the seats
New cover for the floors
New ceiling cover
New side panels
Renovation of plastic parts
For this work, the company of choice was Stitched By Wash (https://stitchedbywash.co.ke/), which I selected after visiting various places, comparing offers, and checking the workshops. Stitched By Wash also made the best impression because workers looked somewhat happier than at other places and I heard and saw laughter. Guessing that they were not laughing about me, I took it as a sign that there was a certain level of motivation and enthusiasm among the staff.
The upholstery will be done following the existing color patterns but replacing the textile on the seats that looked like a brown/black Massai blanket, with perforated black vinyl. The floor carpeting will be black instead of light brown.
We agreed that they would remove everything inside the cabin except for the dashboard and the driver’s seat. Then, I took the car with me to do all other work that needed to be done and would bring it back to Stitched By Wash to do all interior work as a final step. Stripping the car inside was done within a day, and I was asked to pay a 50% deposit (see a list of all the costs at the end of the blog).
When we got the car back, it was clear that what was needed first was a proper clean-up of the cabin. We found tons of dust, maybe the dust of 40 years... and additional mouse (or rat?) nests behind the panels (fortunately without inhabitants...).
The inside looked better in terms of rust than I expected but still bad enough. Fortunately, there was no rust within the doors or the side cavities. Just tons of dust...a
Talking about dust: When we took out the backlights, just to check, we found this:
I would not have been surprised if there would have been some potatoes growing there...
After the first dry cleaning with a brush and some vacuum cleaning (my wife refused to give our domestic vacuum cleaner... so we used the handheld cleaner), we (meaning Tom who works with me) cleaned everything with a pressure cleaner, making sure to cover beforehand the dashboard and sensitive parts with folio. If you want to do so as well, make sure that all the small drainage holes in the cavities, some of them with plastic plugs, are really open so that any water can get out again and does not stay forever causing erosion.
Area above the pedals.
Indeed, rust proved to be less of a problem than I had feared. Only on the driver’s side, near the door sill, there was quite some rust, including one place where there was no metal left (and that will need welding). The reason for the rust seemed to be that water found its way into the car from the engine room. I will ensure that the flooring will be done so that this place remains accessible so that I can monitor it.
Part 3: Painting
Sandblasting and Powder Coating
In the meantime, after almost three weeks, I got back all the sandblasted and powder-coated parts from Duff Engineering. These included bumpers, wheels, front parts, under chassis protective sheet, and the spare wheel holder. It was quite a forward and backward until the parts had the quality that I had expected (and that were promised). Some parts I had to send back three times until they had the required quality. Fortunately, Duff Engineering accepted all my complaints without any problems. It remains to hope that the sandblasting really got rid of all the rust…
I had decided to not smoother any surfaces on these parts but to leave them as they were. The car is over 40 years old, and it is normal that it has some scares.
New Tires
Also, all the six rims that I had for the car were sandblasted and powder-coated in black. These rims were maybe the most rusted parts of the car, so there was no alternative to sandblasting them. The result was quite impressive.
My hope that I could keep the previous tires did not come true. The tire dealer, Kingsway Tyres Ltd. (https://www.kingswaytyres.com/) convinced me that the possibly 20-year-old Firestone tires needed replacement, though they still were not blank. Thus, though knowing that I did not have this in my original budget, I opted to get four new tubeless Goodyear All Terrain tires, keeping 2 of the Firestone tires as reserves. I was able to sell the old 14-ply tires that also fit on a Kanter for 2000 Kenyan shillings each to the staff of Kingsway. Most likely, they will be in use for another 10 years…. ow!
Paint Work
Now the car was ready for the paintwork. For that, I had found company with quite a good online presentation and when I visited it, their offer to do the inside, outside, and underneath of the car convinced me. They said the job would be done within three weeks. Their name is…
Here I would usually put their name and contact information, but I decided to not do so. You will later understand why.
The car did need quite some extensive preparatory work before the painting. This included welding, some panel beating, straightening of surfaces with filler, etc.
The tasks agreed upon included:
Stripping the car so that all areas to be painted are accessible, including taking and painting the tank
Cleaning, de-rusting, and priming the inside, outside, and underneath of the car, applying phosphoric acid where needed to treat rust
Repairs/welding if any
Taking out the front window to be able to properly de-rust and paint the window frame
Preparation for paintwork
Applying undercoating paint inside and underneath
Painting
Polishing
In addition, we agreed on the following mechanical work to be done:
Repairing the switches for the differential lock (for that I provided spare parts)
Repairing the ventilation system (I provided a new fan)
Soldering the cooler
Any other job that might come up in connection with spray-painting the car
After three weeks, work had only progressed slowly and in the end, it took them more than 3 months to finish the job. It was astonishing that the car hardly had any serious rust problems. There was a lot of surface rust but hardly any places that needed welding.
I visited the workshop almost daily to check progress. I saw cars coming, being repaired or painted, and leaving the workshop and it seemed to me that my car had only been worked upon occasionally. Once I spotted a worker who saw me arriving giving signals to other workers who then ran to my car pretending they has been working on it for some time already….
When I took the car back, the work was not yet finished, the paint had scratches, still needed some polishing. Also, the mentioned mechanical problems were not solved. I decided, however, not to bring the car back to this workshop to finalize the job because I had lost my trust in their work.
But the car drove and I was able to bring it back to the upholstery to work on the interior.
Part 4: Finalizing the Interior
Upholstery and interior work
For the upholstery, but also all other interior work, including a new cover for the ceiling, I selected the company Stitched by Wash (see more information at the beginning of the blog). Seats and wall panels had been with them for three months while the car was painted. Unfortunately, that did not mean they had the job done….
Furthermore, what they had done, mostly the upholstery work, was not up to my standards. They admitted that and did completely new upholstery, the result of which was good. Finalizing the job took them another three weeks.
Covers for seats and spare tire
When going on safari, car seats easily get dirty or even damaged when you pack equipment on them, what most likely will be the case, because the short wheelbase G Wagon has means there’s not too much space inside. Therefore, I decided to get canvas covers done for the seats but also the spare tire. For that, I hired Mathias Mlamba (+254 722 893 589, mlamba44@gmail.com), famous in Kenya for his excellent work with canvas, not only doing seat covers but everything that you can imagine. I had worked with him in the past, and he had made for me tents, bags, covers, sunshades, umbrellas, motorbike bags, and more. Thus, I was not concerned at all about the results, and naturally, I was not disappointed.
Hand-made in Kenya
Roofrack
Originally, I had planned to get a roof rack built, similar to what I had on my Land Rover. But then I saw by coincidence, at the Bizarre Bazaar, the roof racks sold by the Kenyan Company Ultrared (https://www.ultraredoutdoors.com), which is a Kenyan manufacturer of 4x4 accessories. All equipment is 100% locally designed, made in Kenya, and of high quality. They specialize in 270-degree free-standing awnings, aluminum roof racks, custom drawer systems, fridge slides, and other outdoor equipment.
The roof rack had to be adapted to the size of the roof of the car and it was ready within about two weeks.
Part 5: Some more mechanical issues to be solved
After we were done with the spray painting, I brought the car to Simon (Mudrovers, +254 727 541013), my Land Rover expert, who was flexible enough and good enough in his work to also touch a Mercedes. Actually, he enjoyed it.
The repairs done by Simon included:
Replacement of shock absorbers
Replacement of all four springs
Replacement of bushes and bearings
Replacement of all flexible brake hoses and check of the brakes
Check the cooling system
Adjustments on the engine/full service
Repair of the switches for the differential locks (that now work again)
Replacement of the fan for the ventilation system
Replacement of the heating switch
Preparation works for installing a second battery
Check the electrics and repairs where needed
Replacement of all door seals (Be aware: those for the back door cost a fortune! For the side doors standard seals will work.)
Replacement of the steering rods
When replacing the steering rods, we realized that they are different depending on whether you have a right-hand or left-hand drive car. Thus, for the moment, we could only replace one rod because I had ordered for a left-hand drive car...
Most of the spare parts I ordered in Germany, from the GZR G-Manufaktur of Franco Boehme, (Hauptstraße 2, 29365 Sprakensehl, Germany, Tel.: +49 5837 140033.
Mobile: +49 171 2173830, Email: info@g-manufaktur.de). Franco is among the most knowledgeable people I know when it comes to Mercedes G. He was also very helpful in giving technical advice.
Part 6: Frustration
Painting, the second...
Looking at my car every morning, I realized that I was not happy with the paint job at all. Although many told me that after some safaris the paint will be scratched anyway and not look so good anymore, I decided to re-spray the car. For that, I contacted Edwin (+254 725 076744), who had been recommended to me by an acquaintance who is into restoring classic vintage cars. After we had agreed on the price for the job, which was decent, I brought the car to the place where he intended to spray paint the car. This "workshop" was not to my liking at all so the painting was done at my house. Again, that meant, stripping the car from all parts such as bumpers, spare wheels, etc. Deja vu...
While the paint needed a lot of buffering after the paint job was done, the quality of the work but also of the paint itself was much better than what I got from the company that tried first. After letting the paint dry for three weeks, we applied the ceramic coating.
Part 7: Final Touches
With the car now spraypainted a second time, the restoration of my Mercedes 300 GD from 1983 was almost done. What was left to do was to add a jerry can holder on the back door, putting in a wooden storage tray on the dashboard, adding a separator between the luggage compartment and the seating area, and mounting the roof tent. Then, the car should be ready to go.
Conclusion and Thank You
When I started the renovation work on the Mercedes, I thought the job will be done within 4–6 weeks. Like so many before me, I guess, I totally underestimated the time that I would need plus the possible complications. At the end it took almost 6 months to finish the job... Costs were at least three times what I had thought... But, when driving the car around Nairobi, I got many unsolicited offers to buy the car, which surprised me.
Overall, I am happy with the result of the work done and I would like to thank all that contributed to it, in particular Tom Oduor, who spent a lot of time driving the car around, bringing the from one workshop to another, supervising workers, mounting and de-mounting car parts, and more.
I also would like to thank my family for their patience and encouragement.
On the Road with the Car
In the meantime, some months have passed by. We have used the Mercedes for short trips but never went on a full-fledged safari. This changed in January 2024, when we decided to tour Tsavo East and West National Parks for a week, but not after doing another check of the car by a mechanic. This time, we did not do camping but stayed at lodges. During the trip, we encountered no major problems, except for some brake fluid leaking, a problem that we were able to fix quickly.
To be continued....
Proofreading and language editing done by Ariane L. Smith
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