We survived the first offroad mission with the Beast, and, even more important, the Beast is still alive too. New defects are arising every day, but most of them are manageable:

• the actuator of the windscreen wiper is broken (but you can grasp it through the side window and move manually)
• dashboard lights sometimes work, sometimes don’t
• right side mirror sometimes falls out of its frame

 The only two bigger issues are the heating radiator leaking and worrying noises from the 5th gear.

Except for some minor issues (no side lights, no dashboard lights, which doesn’t hurt since the speedometer is not working either) the first ride with the Beast was successfully completed on Saturday. Not yet Budapest-Bamako, but Budapest-Liptovsky Mikulas (in northern Slovakia).

The day after the preheating of the engine stopped working, but thanks to Michal’s inventive talent (connect the glow plugs directly to the battery using a wire, preheat for 20s, then run to the ignition lock and start the engine) we have a workaround. Slowly, but we are progressing!

I spent the last two days in and under the car and I am happy to announce that finally, after several months, the engine is working. Its noise sounds like music in my ears and its exhaust gases smell like perfume (well, almost). Here it is:

And this is the car with the new suspension, still with the original, small wheels: