Kew Fargo Repairs

There are three Dodge Kew Fargo trucks to find: the beige and green beast carrier like this one, a blue and beige version that has Wameru stickers and zebras on the doors from the big Daktari Gift Set 14 and the tipper truck, always in white and dark blue.

The only variations seem to be the introduction of cast wheels later in their lives. I was going to remark that this is an odd addition to the range as we would never have seen one on our farms here in Britain or, for that matter, on the roads but then I remembered that we wouldn't have seen all those lovely American sports cars either! So, although this a bit of a lumbering beast, I have to welcome it.

This and the Unimogs escaped my attention earlier but now I am trying to track some decent examples down at modest prices. These Dodge trucks seem very cheap.They were not great sellers. The tipping version was more popular and yet, strangely, now is the more expensive although that might just be drawing inaccurate conclusions from the few currently available.

This one only cost a couple of pounds. It is in very good condition with just some marks on the green section and tiny paint loss on the raised bonnet edges. Its main problem seemed to be very loose axles that wobbled around and suspension that simply didn't exist! In fact, I had to look up a picture of the box to reassure myself that it should have suspension!

On examination I could see that the transmission shaft was quite bowed and that seems to have quite a lot to do with the way the axles get retained. I couldn't actually see what happened at the front but took a guess that a straighter shaft would help a lot. Now, could I remove part of it sufficiently to straighten it?

Yes! The rear axle can be released quite easily by opening slightly the two clip parts. Then it can be lifted and the shaft, with a little turning, comes out of the front section. That was nice. I had thought it might be connected under there but it isn't. Once straight it can be slotted back into place, making sure that it is positioned over, not under the front axle. Tighten the clips and all's well. The suspension now works perfectly. Another clever bit of engineering by Corgi. (OK so it went wrong but at least this was easier to fix than their later experiments with plastic!)

So if you find a cheap one and it is priced low just because the axles are rattling around and the suspension is no good then you might just get yourself a bargain!