Glue, Putty and Sticky-Back Plastic!

22nd Mar 2010

The Max Adventure team spent a day with the British Army's top vehicle mechanics who taught them how to keep their Land Rovers on the road during the London to Cape Town record attempt. With time of the essence, space at a premium and with no back-up, the team need to be able to deal with any mechanical problem they may encounter during the 10,000 mile run. Carrying unlimited spares is unrealistic, so the solution is to use improvised repair techniques.

The British Army call this particular type of repair technique 'Battle Damage Repair' or BDR. In the civilian world it's known as 'Bush Mechnics', making do with whatever you have at hand to keep the vehicles moving. In a military situation this could mean the difference between life and death and although the team's journey to Cape Town won't necessarily be that critical, it could mean the difference between success and failure.

The day was arranged by the Senior BDR Instructor, Staff Sergeant Chris McKenzie, along with four of his fellow instructors and representatives from 3M and Loctite who produce products that can fix a range of problems. Many of you will have heard of such tricks as using tights to replace a broken fanbelt, or crack an egg into the radiator to seal a hole, but in reality this won't really happen. Bumping along a dirt road for hundreds of miles would shatter any eggs carried, so expeditions tend not to take them and any woman on the team is unlikely to have packed her best hosiery! If it's an all-male expedition........well, say no more!

The day started with a presentation by team leader Mac, who talked through the project aims, team experience, history of the London to Cape Town record and what they hoped to learn from the Army. This was followed by a look at one of the actual Land Rover Discoverys that will be used on the record-attempt and a brainstorming session where all problems and possible solutions were discussed.

Chris showed the Max Adventure team around one of the Land Rovers that were used as practise vehicles for Vehicle Mechanics going through the BDR course. With a radiator expansion tank used a fuel tank, bits of string to operate the throtle and a plastic water jerry can as a make-shift radiator, this Land Rover was still capable of driving!

After lunch in the plush Sergeant's Mess, Steve Reilly from 3M gave the team a demonstration of the chemical metal and rubber putties that are strong enough to repair large holes in the engine or even tyres. After cleaning the affected area, a simple two-part putty is mixed together and applied over the whole, sealing it in a matter of minutes. Although not legal to use on UK roads, such quick and effective repair techniques would be able to keep the team going while in remote areas of Africa far from help.

Simon Groom and Garry Wakeling from Loctite then demonstrated their range of glues that were so strong that they could not physically be broken! A pack of rubber O-rings would allow the team to make repairs to almost any seal on the car's system and with proven success in the arduous Paris-Dakar rally it would definately last the distance.