Jelcz 325 "Himalaya Expedition", 1:25

**Sebastian01** · #1 02-09-2022, 02:10 AM

I present the Jelcz 325 Himalaya Expedition model.
HISTORY: In 1979 the first Jelenia Gora expedition set out, the aim of which was to reach the summit of Annapurna South (photo number 1). The summit was conquered, but this success was paid for by the death of 3 participants. It is a very moving story and I will not rewrite it here, but instead I enclose a link (in Polish): (Jeleniogorska wyprawa pod niebo – Annapurna 1979 - Jelonka.com - wiadomości JELENIA GORA). There were many expeditions to the Himalayas in the 1970s and 1980s. They would not have taken place without the means of transport onto which the equipment and supplies were loaded. Jelcz, both with two and three axles, performed very well in this role.
CONTEMPORARY: The son of one of the participants of the expedition, Mr. Maciej Pietrowicz, decided to honor the memory of the participants of that expedition in a beautiful way. He organized the action "In the footsteps of the participants" ("Sladami uczestnikow"), the aims of which were: to commemorate the aforementioned expedition from 1979 and its participants, as well as humanitarian aid and supporting the education of children in Nepal. Mr. Pietrowicz's project was to recreate the route from 1979. The route of about 10,000 km leads through: Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, India, up to the distant Himalayas in Nepal. Jelcz has repeatedly taken part in expeditions to the Himalayas in the period of the so-called "The Golden Era of Polish Himalayan Mountaineering" ... except that this golden age coincided with the years when Jelcz was produced. Mr. Pietrowicz's expedition is so ambitious that he intended to cover the same 10,000 km in a decades-old vehicle, for which spare parts have not been produced for many years. The participants were: Maciej Pietrowicz, Arkadiusz Peryga (driver and mechanic), Ryszard Wloszczowski (participant of the Jelcz expedition to the Himalayas from 1979 to Annapurna South) and Dariusz Majewski.
VEHICLE PREPARATION: Jelcz 325 was purchased, manufactured in 1990 (photo number 2). Jelcz company replaced the entire pneumatic system with a new one, and two new, 250-liter fuel tanks were also installed. The engine is original, a naturally aspirated SW680, durable, but there were concerns about this particular unit. It was sent to the Kilian company in Mielec, which deals with the renovation of such engines. There it underwent a thorough inspection, cylinder sleeves, rings, bushings, mirror in the flywheel were replaced, tightness was checked, all accessories were replaced thanks to parts from the Military Property Agency. At Kilian, this engine has also been painted, so it looks like new. The expedition was prepared for many months. On August 21, 2021, it set off from Jelenia GÃ³ra on the Jelcz route with four people on board. The planned journey time was 35 days. Unfortunately, the geopolitical situation related to the leaving of Afghanistan by NATO countries has turned into a very bad one. The expedition reached Iran and it was intended to reach India by sea, as an overland route through Pakistan was out of the question due to the Taliban militias marauding there. It turned out to be impossible to organize sea transport in such a short time and, in addition, with a limited period of validity of the visas. All this was combined with difficulties in getting along with the Iranian administration. Ultimately (the media reports the date September 20), a decision was made to return to the country. Although the expedition did not achieve its goal, it was not a result of the participants' lack of determination. For me, it is still a very ambitious undertaking that deserves to be remembered. Hence the idea for the Jelcz car model.
MODEL: It was supposed to be built on the basis of the Jelcz 315 garbage truck from Answer, but from that project I took only the frame (not the entire one, because I made the engine mount myself) and the suspension (springs). The SW680 engine comes from a Jelcz WS640 cut-out from Orlik, but I had to rework it, because it was a turbo version with a combined gearbox. So I added air filters and a clutch housing with an output for a short shaft to an overhead gearbox (my own design). The entire pneumatic system and fuel tanks are also my own development. The front axle and rear axle (slightly modified) are modeled (quite strongly) on Jelcz WS640 from Orlik. The cabin is designed by Pawel‚ (pawelelka77 from kartonowki.pl), who did a great job thanks to which the cabin looks like the Jelcz 300 series cabin. I added a few minor modifications to it, because I fix the glass and gaskets differently. The interior of the cabin is partly made of the garbage truck, and the rest is my own invention. I widened the engine duct and the hood, because originally in the garbage truck model the engine was not provided and there was not enough space. The loading box is of course a proprietary design. So are the wheels. The tarpaulin for this trip was designed and sponsored by the company PRO-TEHT from Krapkowice. I asked this company to lend me a tarpaulin design. Of course, I explained why I need this graphic. Mr. Wojciech from PRO-TEHT (whom I cordially greet) sent me ready-made graphics of the individual sides of the tarpaulin for which I would like to thank you, because without this the model would not look so good. The car was changing during the preparation for the trip. More sponsors joined (such as the aforementioned PRO-TEHT company, or the Apollo company, which founded the new tires). I show these changes in the following photos (photos number 3, 4, 5 and 6). As I do not have the tire design that the truck was equipped with by Apollo, and the tarpaulin (by adding more sponsors' logos) was also changing, I chose the model from the middle stage of preparation as a model to build (photo number 4). I invite you to watch and comment

**Sebastian01** · #2 02-09-2022, 02:15 AM

Pictures 21-40.

**Sebastian01** · #3 02-09-2022, 02:18 AM

Photos from the stage of creating the model. (1-20)

**Sebastian01** · #4 02-09-2022, 02:22 AM

Pictures 21-40

**Sebastian01** · #5 02-09-2022, 02:24 AM

Pictures 41-47

**VonMick** · #6 02-09-2022, 05:49 AM

Great work, and subject from times that Poland still have factories...
Those wheels are extraordinary.

**Sebastian01** · #7 02-09-2022, 07:45 AM

Thank you. Poland still have that factory: "Jelcz Sp. z o.o." which makes trucks for military purposes. They look great.

**Michael Mash** · #8 02-09-2022, 11:25 AM

Hello Sebastian,
It was time well spent, reading your story and exploring your photos. It’s a pleasure to see your work again. This is a great group of images and a wonderful story. Your effort to make the tires look like rubber is impressive. Excellent results. The lettering and graphics on the side of the cab and particularly the tarpaulin design is perfect. What a wonderful thing that the company that made the tarpaulin was willing to send you the graphics for it. The written story about the old and new expeditions was very interesting to read. I think this is a very fine tribute to those expeditions and the people who participated in them. All of it leaves me looking forward to your next project.
Bravo!
Mike