A rare Mazda pickup and a terrifying experience
Andreas Heller sent us photos of his 40-year-old Mazda 1000 pickup, which he restored and drives in Thailand and sometimes uses for a move.
He told us that he took the small Mazda on a trip to the mountains of Chiang Rai province in northern Thailand during the early stages of the restoration.
Apparently, the side roads are usually laid out more or less without major bends and straight up the mountainside. It can be correspondingly steep. Too steep for the little Mazda, which simply ran out of breath. The car simply came to a standstill and good advice was expensive. The only thing left to do was a turning maneuver to get the Mazda back down into the valley. Because the road was so steep, the small pickup almost tipped over and the driver's heart almost dropped into his pants. Nevertheless, the turning maneuver was thankfully successful and finally the Mazda could be moved safely and gradually - the brakes had not yet been overhauled - around 500 m downhill back onto flat terrain.
Heller would like the experience to be seen as a warning to other adventurers.
Well, the Mazda is now fully restored and gives Andreas and Saifon Heller a lot of pleasure.
And thank you for the photos and the story!
