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Offered for sale on eBay, October 2013. Harrogate, Yorkshire N.Riding. Seller's description was:
A restoration project for someone who likes a challenge! Land Rover Series 1 1957. In need of restoration or for spares. Unused for many years. Appears to be Ex. Forces [NO!] and has a Series 2 2.25 litre engine fitted. The rear crossmember and some of the outriggers have been replaced and repair panels fitted to the bulkhead. The doors and hard top are removed as the photos show. The buyer will need to load the vehicle to remove as the brakes are seized.
The V5 registration document is available,however it is the old single page blue and white one. I have now found the seats which have been stored inside .
There were 24 bids, and the vehicle sold for £1,324.00. No further details of buyer etc known.
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These pics were cribbed from an unknown LR forum in February 2014:
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In June 2015, a member of the LRSOC Forum went to view the vehicle with an eye to buying it as a restoration project. He reported:
The vehicle required a considerable amount of money to be spent on it. Chassis required major surgery, the bonnet had been hacked away to clear the top of S2 or 2A suspended brake unit, bulkhead top rail gone and the rest very poor. I believe a new chassis and b/head needed. Various small parts badly corroded. The current owner had acquired it to break for parts but thought it too good for that.
He thought the asking price was too high for his pocket, bearing in mind the condition it's in.
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In July 2015 it appeared yet again on eBay, with a starting price of £2000. The (very brief) description said:
Ex army Land rover series 1 88 1957 for restoration original number plate with v5 brass army plate under bonnet
"Army" is, of course, incorrect. The 'condition' was (in eBay's definition) "For parts or not working". The vehicle is located in Debyshire. I shall watch this item, and report how it pans out.
I was informed (12/8/15) that the vehicle was sold for around £1900 to a new owner, believed to be fairly local to the Derbyshire location.
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In May 2018 the new owner (who wishes to remain un-named, but lives in Leicestershire) sent me further pictures, saying:
I'll only give the paint job 6/10. I should have stripped it back to bare metal, but I painted over about 30 different paint layers after flatting it down and unfortunately whatever paint I used, it reacted with one or more layers of the previous paint. I have now taken the sump off the engine and that is in a much better condition than the transfer box, although I did have to spoon out half a litre of sludge from the sump.
In August 2024 the car was advertised on eBay with a price tag of £16,000.
 [Good to see the Haflinger in the background!] |
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The seller's detailed description was:
I bought this Land-Rover as a complete basket case in 2015 as a challenge. Over the years I have steadily built it back to something like it should be and I thought it time to sell it onto someone who will put the finishing touches to it. My interest is in rescuing vehicles and having done that I am on the lookout for a new challenge. I have enormous number of photos and receipts which will go with the vehicle.
The vehicle body and chassis was stripped down to nut and bolt stage and the chassis and bulkhead welded up and a new top rail and several outriggers bought and welded in. The paint was stripped off and the vehicle resprayed outside in the only possible colour of Land-Rover Bronze Green. The paint job is not to concours class but is perfectly serviceable. The interior paint colour is Limestone, but not of the best.
I exposed part of the original Civil Defence transfers and have pictures of how the vehicles used to look... I have sourced a local firm who can produce them to put onto the vehicle. I found a hardtop with catflap which was of the type originally fitted and has now been installed. The cat flap supports were a nightmare of inefficiency so I have replaced them with a gas strut, which of course wasn’t available when the Landy was built.
The vehicle, when I got it, was fitted with a later 2.25 l engine with an alternator. As parts for this engine are readily available I decided to keep it and lightly overhaul it, checking bores, valves and bearings and renewing all hoses. The vehicle had obviously been kept outside without any antifreeze in the engine and the core plugs had blown out and the rad. was split. It now has new core plugs, water pump and radiator and the cooling system holds water perfectly. The gearbox seemed to be functioning, but the transfer box was full of water and the gears were lubricated with water rather than oil so I have replaced that with a new reconditioned unit. Both diffs seem to be OK and function, but I haven’t stripped them down.
It has had a new front hub swivel kit and seals and bearings. I also bought a gaiter kit to cover the swivels to keep them oiled and stop water getting to the swivels. It has had new brake master and slave cylinders, Kunifer brake pipes and a new fluid reservoir. When I got it had a series 3 brake pedal and servo, and as the servo didn’t fit properly — one of the previous owners had cut a hole in the bonnet to accommodate it. I removed them, riveted an aluminium plate in the hole and faired it in before respraying. However fitting these might have indicated the paucity of original Land-Rover brakes. You press the brake pedal on Tuesday and the vehicle stops around Wednesday/Thursday time.
All the Aluminium rivets used in the vehicle restoration were originally used on the aluminium skins of Avro Vulcan aircraft, so are of aircraft standard.
The wiring loom, such as it was, was removed and a new one made up to accommodate the existing accessories. It has an alternator, so the generator control box and wiring associated with it have gone. The vehicle has a negative earth system.
It has five new Deestone tyres to match ones of the period. A new exhaust system, and a new battery. The steering wheel is from a series 2 vehicle and ideally needs the correct steering wheel sourcing and fitting. The heater fitted in the vehicle was apparently out of a BMC van and is extremely rusty and unrestored and is not installed in the vehicle, but will be included. I have fitted an indicator switch (which is a bit Heath Robinson) on the steering column and that is wired up in the new wiring loom. The original seats were non-existent and I decided too uncomfortable for one of an advancing age, so I fitted some black deluxe seats from Paddock. The fuel tank was very rusty and after an unsuccessful attempt to mend it I bought a new tank to fit in the required place. The fuel gauge float is installed and works the fuel gauge on the dash satisfactorily. The dash and all switches and wiring was overhauled and replaced as necessary.
All rubber seals have been replaced although there are some places that still need rubber fitting in. One of the windscreen wipers has been mended, works and needs fitting. The passenger side one is missing and I haven’t been able to find a correct one at a reasonable price. I can get a spurious one easily but it doesn’t quite look the same.
The new buyer will still have things that can be done to finish off the restoration to their taste, but it has certainly been rescued from the dead.
The old radiator (which has been repaired) will go with the Landy, as well as about two litres of Land-Rover Bronze Green synthetic paint and 250 ml of Land-Rover engine enamel and the heater.
I can’t recommend the Land-Rover is driven on the roadway until it is fully checked.
It has had :
I have just realised I have not registered it as an Historic vehicle, which is definitely is and I should have done. I will happily register it as such, but it will mean the V5 going off to the DVLA, which the prospective purchaser may not want. Because of its age it is exempt from needing an MOT and paid road fund licence, although to run it on the road it will need to be insured and a zero cost road fund licence applied for. I do have the V5 for it in my name. It is located in the region of Loughborough.
The seller said that he would swop for an MGB GT V8 or Mk1 Fiesta XR2!
I had an email from the above owner saying that he had passed 578 on to a dealer, and now has the MGB he sought. I hope that the dealer is aware of what he's got, and is aware of this database.
I'm delighted that this vehicle, once looking so rough (at the top of this page) is now on its way to becoming a decent example again, and I hope that a new owner will continue to treasure it.
[To add (or alter) information on this page, please contact me on sxf@teeafit.co.uk.]