Expedition Motor Company, a specialist in ex-military Mercedes G-Wagens, has revealed its latest custom build and it is a thing of beauty. This 1991 250GD underwent more than 1,000 hours of restoration work in order to turn it from a crude army truck (also known as ‘Wolf’) to a comfortable off-roader that respects the model’s legacy.
There’s nothing too crazy here, just plenty of improving upon the G-Wagen’s original design, including a set of new LED headlights and taillights, metal guards for the fender-mounted indicators, a snorkel kit and a jerry-can holder at the rear.
EMC also added a set of proper air-lift hooks on the sides as well, which are bolstered with steel reinforcements from the inside, rendering it ready for a ride with a helicopter, just like some of the original army-spec Geländewagens.
The donor car was stripped down to the frame and all dissassembled components were inspected and then rebuilt, refinished or replaced as necessary. Major parts were blasted down to bare metal to remove any corrosion and then applied with a rust-inhibiting primer. The frame, along with other select parts, are finished in durable powdercoating, while body panels and drivetrain housings were professionally painted with premium automotive-grade paint.
All rubber parts, including bushings, body mounts, as well as hoses were replaced with new components while the suspension now features new Eibach springs and modern Bilstein dampers for better ride quality both on- and off-road.EMC is keen on retaining the original, numbers-matching powertrains in Wolf-spec G-Wagens; the original OM602 2.5-liter five-cylinder diesel engine was completely rebuilt with new gaskets, seals, belts, pumps and whichever internal parts needed to be replaced, with the factory five-speed manual transmission, the transfer case and the differentials being subjected to the same procedure.
This lovely G-Wagen s finished in an original Mercedes-Benz white paint over a new black soft-top. EMC says that the total cost of the build was US$ 92,150, slightly over the company’s base US$ 90k price for these revived military vehicles. Not cheap, but then again it’s practically as good as new; or maybe even better, considering the modifications.
