Puppy on patrol

Safe and staid family vehicles aside, Volvo’s military vehicles make for excellent conversions, says Rick Schampers from Oslo in Norway.

Many campers and off-road enthusiasts are biased toward certain brands. And who can blame them when they get years of great service from their gear or when the brand runs in the family? That was exactly the way Rick Schampers felt about Land Rover, and he happily admits to having owned four before he laid his hands on this rare find.

I’ve always had Land Rovers, and when I moved to Norway from Holland, I owned a 2003 Defender Td5. The import taxes in Norway are extremely high and when I enquired about taking my Landy across with me, I was faced with paying a sum of €15 000 (more than R250 000 in 2017) to get the car legally registered in the new country. The Defender wasn’t even worth that, so I sold it before I moved.

While browsing to buy a Land Rover in Norway I came across the Volvo L3314, or Valp (which loosely translates to puppy) – as it was dubbed throughout

Scandinavia because of its clumsy-looking exterior.

Although I’ve been an offroad enthusiast since I was a teenager, I’d never seen this type of vehicle before. They’re quite rare, and only around

9 000 were built primarily for use by the Swedish military; though a small number of those were for civilians too. A second generation, codenamed C202 got a production run of around 3 000 models and, aside from a few technical adjustments, these updated models were assembled in Hungary instead of at the Volvo plant in Sweden.

The L3314s piqued my interest because they looked like a lot of fun and the prices were quite reasonable. I decided to give this 1968 model a shot three years ago and paid €3 000 for it (about R60 000 back then). Initially, my plan was only to keep it for a year or so until I could afford a Defender again.

But as 2017 rolled over into 2018, I got so attached to the little truck that I couldn’t sell it anymore. Instead of buying a Defender I started renovating and upgrading the little Valp into something more serious.

The Valp was 49 then. It had served its country in the army, and hadn’t really been looked after much after it was retired. Although it was drivable, it needed a lot of TLC, and I immediately started planning renovations and modifications even though funds were low. The very first trip with the Volvo was as I bought it, during December 2017 in Norway.

Turning up the heat

Soon after leaving home, we realised the heater wasn’t up to standard. As I didn’t have the money for a conventional heater, I simply bought a lightweight wood stove like the type used in tepees and used it quite comfortably during that first year. It made for especially cosy camping during winter, but it did have a few drawbacks: for example, the cabin temperature was hard to regulate in such a small vehicle.

And while we were cosy, we dared not leave the stove on after bedtime and on certain winter mornings, it felt like the inside of a fridge in there. The cabin tended to get black and

The country has a truly unique landscape that offers stunning scenery…

sooty over time as the stove door was opened while in use. And then of course, there was the issue of safety…

That first trip with the wood stove also brings up a memory. Although we were snug when we set up camp, driving was pretty miserable.

After three days of being cold and grumpy during overlanding, a friend sent a WhatsApp message asking why we don’t simply fire up the wood stove while driving.

It sounded like a good idea, so we did exactly that. Well, until the first uphill in a long tunnel. The airflow of the stove was affected by forces unknown to me and the smoke was being pushed back into the stove and into the Valp! Unable to stop in the 7,5 km tunnel, we had to open the windscreen and handle the -20° chill right in our faces.

I’d been to Iceland twice as a kid with my father in his Defender, so half a year into my ownership of the Valp, I returned to the Land of Fire and Ice. At this point, not much had yet been done to the Volvo, except for an aftermarket winch and the fitment of 35” mud-terrain tyres. I’d also replaced the brakes, clutch plates and fluids, and so off to Iceland we went.

The country has a truly unique landscape that offers stunning scenery, and it’s magical to explore in a 4x4 vehicle, with great camping spots and 4x4 driving opportunities. The Valp lived up to the Volvo reputation for reliability after four weeks of exploring without a hitch.

A brake hose managed to break on the trip, but that was minor and quickly repaired. During the third week of the trip, we ran into some of the Defender drivers we had met on the ferry to Iceland and they were completely amazed that the Valp was still going.

Things get serious

Back home, I commenced with some much-needed upgrades. There aren’t really modifications and accessories available for the Valp, so I had to custom fabricate a number of items and use parts from other 4x4s.

I stripped out the interior and adapted it to a living and sleeping arrangement, with

a table that can be lowered to form a bed. There’s also a kitchenette now that has modern stove and oven, as well as a sink and running water that comes from a 40 ℓ tank. The water is warmed through a Webasto diesel heater, which is less charming than the old wood stove, but way more practical. The Valp draws current from twin 150 Ah deep-cycle batteries and for the days it gets dark early, I fitted a television.

I decided to retain the original Volvo B20 engine, which is a 2,0 ℓ four-cylinder normally aspirated motor, but it only produced about 55 kW from the factory. I had it overhauled and tuned to produce more power, through an increased compression ratio, bigger valves, more aggressive camshaft, electronic ignition and a Weber 36 DCD carburettor. Now it’s packing 82 kW –enough to keep up with traffic in Norway.

Next was the rear axle, which was converted from a semi-floating to a fully floating bearing setup with modified parts from a Dana44 with custom heavy-duty shafts by United States-based drivetrain specialists Dutchman Motorsports. There’s also an ARB diff locker with 30 splines. Fortunately for me, the locker was an easy fit. Up front, the shafts are standard, with an auto locker and freewheel hubs.

The suspension system was upgraded with Koni Heavy Track shocks and air sleeve helper springs all-round. The air springs help to compensate for the additional weight from all the extra kit, and the ride height is adjustable by 80 mm between urban and off-road driving. To feed the air suspension system, and to also inflate the tyres when needed, I installed an ARB twin-cylinder compressor and two 10ℓ air tanks.

Some of the donor parts

include a Front Runner roof rack that came off a Land Rover Discovery 3, while the wheel arches are from a James Bond Spectre Defender (A special model we didn’t get in South Africa. - Ed), and the Koni shocks are from a Discovery 2. The ladder is from an old Series Landy, and the snorkel and mirrors are also from a Defender.

By far my favourite modification is the wheeland-tyre combination. These are 38x15,5 R15 Arctic Truck

AT405 tyres wrapped around 14j 15” wheels. The tyres have a winter tread pattern, which is somewhere between allterrain and mud-terrain rubber, and they perform well on all surfaces, including tarmac.

When driving in deep snow, we’re able to drop the tyre pressure as low as 0,2 bars to maximise the tyre ‘footprint’ and allow for maximum traction. The bodywork had to be widened by 150 mm on each side to make the tyres fit, as they’re substantially larger than the standard military issue tyres were in 1968.

Imperfect, but I love it!

Unlike most campers, this one is small enough to do some proper off-roading too.

It fits on pretty much any trail that an average to large off-road vehicle would. Weighing in at 2,4 tonnes fully packed, the Valp is also a lot lighter than most other fully loaded campers. The low weight, in combination with the large volume tyres, allows it to ‘float’ on soft snow, so we can still go on camping trips even in the winter when the forest tracks here are covered with a few metres of snow.

If I could offer some advice for anyone interested in converting an old military vehicle into an all-round camper and off-roader, it would be that continuous maintenance is key to avoiding breakdowns.

This is a high-maintenance

vehicle, but it also rewards the meticulous owner with outstanding reliability. The only problems I’ve had so far were the ruptured brake line mentioned earlier, a broken alternator mount bolt and a faulty spark plug – all of which were fixed on the side of the road in just a few hours.

There are many things about a 50-year-old military vehicle that could annoy you if you’ve become accustomed to the pleasures of modern motoring, such as the noise, relative lack of power and speed, lack of power steering, lack of power-assisted brakes, lack of air conditioning and very high fuel consumption (20 ℓ/100 km on road, and 25 ℓ/100 km off-road).

But the driving experience it gives when off-roading is the whole point of buying something like this. My Valp isn’t especially outstanding in any one area, but it can do almost everything, and that’s enough for me.

UITHOEK GUEST FARM FISH AND VELD

The Eastern Free State is probably the best-known getaway spot in this province, and it now boasts a new campsite. Uithoek Guest Farm lies between Fouriesburg and Bethlehem and is the perfect place to find some peace in nature.

The campsite is located at the northern foot of the Ventersberg, and you drive into the campsite on a paved road. In the middle of the campsite, between the stands, are two ablution blocks. You’re in sandstone world here, and the bathrooms are built from solid sandstone blocks. There’s hot water and a place to wash dishes.

The pool is at the farthest point plus three lapas for shade. The campsite itself is one large lawn with several beautiful shade trees. Each of the 60 demarcated stands is 12 x 12 m in size and has its own three-point power point, tap and freestanding braai.

To the left of the campsite are two dams. This is where you can try to pull out a black bass or carp, but remember, the fish must be returned to the water.

The water level depends on rainfall, which means it is better to wet your lines in the summer months.

If the fish are shy, practice hitting a hole in one instead. In the middle of the first dam is an island with a golf hole. You don’t have to bring along your clubs, the resort provides a club and balls.

Once you’re through the farm gate, chances are good that you’ll spot some wild animals – these plains are, of course, home to the black wildebeest, but you can also expect springbok, ostrich, gemsbok, waterbuck and zebra.

Other than fishing and game viewing, there are more than enough activities to keep you busy. Hike up the mountain on one of the two hiking trails or jump in your off-roader and tackle the 4x4 trail. Your vehicle should have low-range gears and the drive takes about 1,5 hours.

For the more adventurous, there is a zipline that’s a total of 1,1 km in length. It costs R500 pp and includes transport.