With preparation for Peking to Paris moving steadily on, and with prices rising and the yen weak, not one yen of what we have to buy can be wasted.
The challenge car is a 1929 classic, so careful maintenance is essential to keep something from that era running.
The Peking to Paris Motor Challenge 2024 does not, in principle, allow a mechanic to travel with you, so we prepare as much as we can ourselves and aim to finish by servicing the car as we go.
What is AdBlue, and what can it stand in for?
AdBlue is apparently a special fluid that reduces the nitrogen oxides in a car’s exhaust. It helps clean up emissions.
It is used particularly in diesel cars and lorries, and a friend of mine in the scrap metal trade uses it — hence the idea of using the AdBlue container as a radiator jug.
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Why the radiator jug matters
There are all sorts of points on an old car that have to be checked carefully to keep it running in good condition.
The Peking to Paris Motor Challenge forbids taking maintenance crew or mechanics along the way, as the Paris–Dakar allows, so we aim to finish while looking after the car ourselves as far as we can.
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Cooling the engine
Partly because of how old engines behave, running long distances and hard roads like deserts means constantly checking the engine and cooling it effectively to prevent overheating.
Coolant ageing and how to prevent it
Coolant degrades over time and works less well.
So a radiator jug matters a great deal for supplying fresh coolant and keeping the engine’s cooling system working.
It also slows how fast the parts inside the engine wear, which is how you keep an old car running for a long time.
Over 14,000 km, weight matters enormously, so being able to carry this container empty — and its large capacity, enough for long desert stretches — both count.
Borrowing everyone’s help like this, we go on preparing, one step at a time.
That was a look behind the scenes.