TEAM HILLBILLY ROLLERS
PART 0.2 - PROLOGUE
14th of March 2023
Once again standing in front of the IP Ruggers were Janne and Arne. They were pretty clear that the Rugger they should start with was the metallic green one with the chestnut brown hood. It was by no means beautiful, covered in rust and moss as it was, but it was surprisingly sound when they checked it up closer. They rolled it into the shop, since for some reason the brakes had not even seized from standing still, and went back out to look at the rest of the trucks.
“This is the next one we will aim our focus at”, Janne said, pointing at the T-boned white Rugger. “We need that military spec 4Z this time. It already has the right jets in the carb and lower compression ratio”. Granted, the truck being bent like a banana meant that there was a somewhat hard time to reach some of the bolts. After some swearing, Janne had enough and decided that cutting off everything using a hacksaw and an acetylene torch was the way to go.
“And now we will have to get the engine hoist for real men”, Arne laughed, and reversed his crane equipped Volvo Viking closer to the Rugger. Yes, it was a pretty effective way of removing the 2.4 litre 4-banger lump from the wreck, one must say. Or for that matter, putting it back into the light green Rugger. With a not so discrete “thump”, it landed in the engine compartment, and Janne for once was rather quick to install it back into the engine bay.
“At least it wasn’t one of their forward control vans. They can be quite a nightmare to work on”, Janne grumbled. “Don’t ask me how I know.”
After being finished with the engine swap, the team decided that it was time to take a coffee break with some strategy talk.
“So, where is this rally going to start, then?”, Arne asked curiously.
“Nevada”, Janne said.
“You must be kidding!”, Arne laughed.
“No, I am dead serious”, Janne said.
“So how are we even supposed to get the vehicles there?”, Arne asked.
“ANDREAS, FROM NOW ON YOU KEEP QUIET!”, Janne said.
“I haven’t even said anything”, Andreas answered.
“No, but you were probably going to. Anyway, I have some tricks. Let’s just say that everything on this planet is energy, and that I do have some tricks for fooling the system. We can end up in Nevada in no time”, Janne said.
“Now, if you have such a fantastic invention, why aren’t you using it all the time?”, Arne said.
“Material fatigue”, Janne answered. “No vehicle would be able to stand up to this in the long run. Once? Yes. Twice? Probably yes. But what will happen later? I don’t want to know to be honest. If something breaks in hyperspace…well… I don’t really know what will happen. I am just pretty sure that there is a reason why nobody on earth have ever heard an explanation about what happens when something breaks in hyperspace.”
“Oh well…whatever you said it can’t be worse than the Philippines in 1979”, Arne mumbled.
“Is the Philippines in Greece?”, Marie asked.
“JUST BECAUSE YOUR NAME IS NOT ANDREAS, IT DOES NOT MEAN THAT YOU SHOULD NOT KEEP QUIET!”, Janne said, pretty annoyed. “Drink your coffee and shut up.”
“But coffee without booze tastes so weird”, Marie said.
“Anyway. My plans are like this. We will build a driveable Rugger here. I’ll drive it to my place tonight. You follow with us in the Sanju, I will do the necessary work on it at home. Then Andreas can drive you back to Luleå again. Just come to my place the day we are supposed to arrive at camp then, I will fix everything.”, Janne explained.
“Oh well. Just so you know, I have no spare transfer case left at all now”, Arne said.
“Doesn’t matter. We can remove the diff housing and driveshafts up front to save some weight and friction in the driveline. Then we can cut and weld two propshafts together to 2WD length. We won’t need 4WD after all.”
Getting back from the coffee break, they did just that. One of the rusty 4Z equipped trucks donated its propshaft, and Janne cut and welded it together. “It might fuck up the balance a bit, but…meh”, Janne said.
After mounting the propshaft and filling up all the fluids, it was time to put a fresh battery in the truck. With some gasoline poured directly into the carb, it started immediately. In a cloud of smoke that disappeared after a while, but it started. Janne took it for a test drive and was more or less amazed when he came back.
“You know what? It runs like a champ! And everything, and I mean everything, works like it should. I might just give it a regular service and it’s good to go!”
They disassembled everything that could be prone to breaking from the three rusted out 4Z trucks, and the few parts that could be spared from the T-boned example. “I want to spare the diesel Ruggers”, Janne said. “They might come in handy later”. The light green Rugger was filled up with parts under the canopy, and the ones that did not fit was put into the Wolverine.
It was a pretty interesting convoy that was heading home. First, a maroon Vaughn Grand Mirage GTS, a kind of rare sight in itself. Followed by a light green, battered to hell IP Rugger. Last of them all, a Sanju MDM44 Wolverine. Needless to say, for everyone that saw the sight it was probably both first and last time.
TO BE CONTINUED…