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Current Owner: Neil Aston, Cheshire
Previous Owner(s): Ben Stevens, Frinton on Sea, Essex
Advertised for sale on eBay, August 2013. Seller (Ben Stevens) wrote:
Land Rover Series 1. 1957 SWB 88 hardtop. 2 litre petrol, original engine and gearbox. Tax and MOT exempt but has just passed an MOT. 41,000 miles. Original fire extinguishers. Servo assisted brakes, leather seats. Original operation and instruction manuals. Chassis in very good condition. Currently not used, and dry stored.
My family have owned this Landy for the past 35 years, having been previously owned and stored for 20 years by the [Home Office (Civil Defence)]. For it's age she's in very good condition and very original, also drives very well. It does have some rust on the bulkhead, but is mechanically sound. Engine and gearbox are good.
Hardtop is clearly export specfication originally, but now with extra windows either side of the upper tailgate. There's no sign in the photos of the holes for the Station board, either in the 'H/top' or 'S/Top' positions. The nearside passenger seat — all seats have been re-trimmed — is in the conventional position, and not moved outwards to accommodate a radio in the centre-seat space. The seats in the rear are just cushions, with no backrests. No sign of an aerial base on the roof. All this suggests a vehicle that was not Reconnaissance (as most H/tops were).
In August 2013 I received an email from Neil Aston:
This is just to let you know that I have just bought SXF 604. I am new to Landrover ownership and have wanted one of the SXFs for some time due to their historical significance. It will need some work in the usual places but is generally sound and has only 41k on the clock. I am confident this is accurate, as the previous owner has had her for 35 years. The hardtop is not original and the seats have been re-covered but apart from that as far as I can tell she is original.
My intention is to take her back and keep her at our holiday cottage in Dwyran on Anglesey, just a short walk from where Maurice Wilks is buried.
That would be nice! Maurice Wilks was the Engineering Director of The Rover Company, and had a holiday home on Anglesey. It was while he was on Red Wharf Bay beach, 13 miles from Dwyran, that he famously sketched the basic outline of the Land-Rover in the sand, and persuaded his bother Spencer, MD of Rover, that it was the vehicle that they should build to help the company out of a sticky post-war patch. It was inspired by a wartime Jeep that he used for general haulage around his homes in Anglesey and Warwickshire.
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Neil contacted me to say that, owing to changed circumstances, he may have to consider (very reluctantly) letting SXF604 go to a new home. If you'd like to know more, then I can pass a message to him via the email address below.
I'm delighted to say that Neil didn't sell 604, and emailed:
Just to update you I still have 604 thankfully and still live in Cheshire. It’s been out and about all summer and is still used by me most days. The dogs really appreciate it.
It's very important to please the dogs!
To add (or alter) information on this page, please contact me on sxf@teeafit.co.uk.