Age is but a number
At 22 years of age, Knersus is considered young – and this Cruiser has become part of the family, says Johnny van Dyk of Wellington.
After a disastrous tour in 2009 with my Volkswagen Syncro bus, I decided to upgrade to a more conventional off-roader.
I spotted the dark blue roof of Knersus – its wasn’t called that yet, of course – among other cars at a second-hand car dealer.
I took a deep breath… and that was it. The Land Cruiser, with its 4,7 ℓ-V8 engine, was
already 10 years old and had more than 200 000 km on the clock – in my opinion, it had just been run in quite nicely. It already boasted a few extras: a spot for the second spare wheel, a long-distance fuel tank, and a drawer system in the rear.
It appears, however, as though the previous owners weren’t particularly concerned about servicing the vehicle, and
a number of items needed attention .The hydraulic suspension was at the top of the list. Its new Ironman coil springs with shock absorbers lifted the car by about 50 mm, and after that, the ride was smooth. To help with heavy loads, I also fitted suspension air bags.
The plastic front bumper made way for steel bull bar, which improved the approach angle, and I also fitted high-lift jack hard points. After that, Knersus got a Heyman Reece towbar – and this was where I was able to temporarily mount a winch.
Later, the leather upholstery began to show its age, and I bought a set of Caprivi covers. All that was left now was the
snorkel – for attitude, of course! – as well as
a roof rack.
Knersus served us well for several years in this guise. But the towbar endured severe off-road conditions – so much so that it bent. It had to make way for a rear steel bumper, and the winch found a permanent spot inside the bull bar.
The Toyota agents in Paarl usually serviced Knersus, but lately it received some more special attention: after 10 years, I took another look at the suspension and replaced the Ironman shock absorbers with Tough Dog ones. I also approached the Land Cruiser specialists Snyman 4x4. Joubert Snyman upgraded and replaced a number of parts on the 20-year-old Cruiser. The steering wheel got some attention, the exhaust system was replaced with a free-flow version and, for better fuel consumption, it got
a performance chip. That added power with significantly better consumption. The name Knersus came from a friend, Johan Steyn. He named his Land Cruiser 100 GX “Hercules”. “Knersus” (a pterodactyl puppet in a children’s TV show) was, therefore, very appropriate, because he proved he can chew rocks!
We’ve toured widely without major problems: Mozambique, crisscrossing South Africa, the Kruger National Park, Kgalagadi, up and down our coastline, and many tours in Namibia and Botswana.
Usually, I tow my off-road trailer, and my wife, Liza, and I have made quite a few trips alone. Our last big tour was to the Khaudum National Park in Namibia with Liza’s family.
We’ve had some minor issues, but Iwas always able to fix those on our return
home. Once, I was forced to drive with the central diff lock engaged after the one front CV joint broke off. That trip was all the way from Baviaanskloof to Wellington – with the off-road trailer hitched.
Knersus recently visited the panel beaters. At the age of 22, with 335 000 km on the clock, they needed to remove a few rust spots. I also had them touch up the paintwork.
Even though Knersus no longer sports his characteristic battle scars, I can now show off anew with a car that is well taken care of. We’re ready for the bush – Knersus is wearing a new pinstripe suit.”