The Mercedes Benz 1213 ‘War Horse’Backbone is precious. Whether you’re fighting a war, or getting married, or running a business – having someone in your corner with backbone, and a heart of gold – is a treasure. In 1990 Welkom’s Jake Jacobs bought a feisty Mercedes Benz 1213 truck from its owner at HL&H Timbers. By then anyone could be forgiven for thinking the 12 year old 1213, which already had 1.8 million kilometres on the clock, was scrap on wheels. After paying R18 000 for it (a 1984 model 1013 is currently selling for R35 000 on Gumtree) and putting in a new engine, Jacobs put the beige little-truck-that-could to work.
If the 1213 worked hard for HL&H Timbers, its new boss, Mr. Jacobs, drove it through hell and back. Jacobs himself sat behind the wide black steering wheel for the first two years, guiding his charge far and wide, his heart determined to grow his new business come hell or high-water. Since Jacobs was (and still is) the director of A&S Mining, the truck had to convey upwards of 25 tons every day – towards far flung mining sites in Rustenburg, Durban and Cape Town. While the truck had averaged 410 kilometres a day making timber deliveries, that shot up to 600 kilometres a day delivering heavy metal generators and spine crushing steel cables – endless coils of the stuff mines use to brace or otherwise reinforce subterranean tunnels of rock. The truck was such a consistent performer she soon took on the name ‘Old Faithful’.
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