Current Owner: Phillip Tuckey, Tenbury Wells
Previous Owner(s): Wilburn Family, Knaresborough/James Walton, Wressle/Bob Clay, Nidderdale/Bill Snelling, Newton Abbot
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SXF729 has made many owners happy over the years. Currently owned by Phillip Tuckey in Tenbury Wells (previously Stratford upon Avon), who wrote (03/15):
I bought the Land Rover off Bill Snelling (Newton Abbot, Devon) recently. Planning on some further restoration to return the Land-Rover back to original where possible. Bill has looked after SXF 729 really well and the Land-Rover is in regular use.
Bill Snelling recreated the original Civil Defence livery, and used to take 729 to shows, wearing a CD uniform.
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The paper in the passenger window is his vehicle history description:
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[To avoid possible confusion, I'll point out that a CD vehicle's detachment posting (in this case 'Surrey Division') would normally have been painted onto a removable board to allow the vehicle to be posted elsewhere without repainting. The board crossed the top of the rear wheelarch on soft-top vehicles, and was just above the waistline on hard-tops. Although the fixings are usually removed in civilian life, the presence or absence of the mounting holes are a good indication of whether a vehicle was a soft- or hard-top in service.]
A previous owner James Walton of Wressle, wrote (07/04):
SXF 729 has been in our family for at least 10 years. It's in good condition and has a new MOT etc. A capstan winch and overdrive box are fitted; there are hard and soft tops and it's otherwise standard as far as I know.
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Pictured on the back cover of Legend 122.
Later advertised for sale in AutoTrader. Advert said:
1960 LAND ROVER SERIES I [The '1960' is because AutoTrader's system can't cope with vehicles older than that!]
1958, 88 inch, reg SXF 729, ex Civil Defence, soft/hard top, capstan winch, overdrive, always garaged, drives well, tax/MOT May 2005. £2295.
A more recent owner, Bob Clay, wrote (01/05):
I live in Nidderdale, North Yorkshire and use the Landover on a daily basis. It is used off-road while I repair and build dry stone walls.
In 2019 I had more information and pictures from Phillip Tuckey:
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Your earlier photos of the car show it as drab olive. Previous owner Bill fitted it with Civil Defence style vinyl stickers. The Land Rover has correct wheels and tyres now, as well as new Elephant Hide Green seats in the front. There are still lots of jobs to do, but it drives great and it's in regular use. Interestingly, most components are dated month Nov or Dec 1957. (From memory all wheels on Land Rover SXF721 were dated 12/57 when owned by Matt Fullbrook but sadly he sold it to buy a Harley Davidson in 2017.)
By chance I have been told that there is another SXF Land Rover just a couple of miles away owned by a chap called Martin. I have not met him yet but will be interested to see his SXF Land Rover for comparison. Possibly SXF715 as I was it was a local purchase in around year 2017 so I was told.
In August 2020 I received an unexpected email from Jonathan Wilburn in Portsmouth. He wrote:
We discovered your website regarding this lovely old Land-Rover. My dad owned her from approx. 1970-2000! (He struggles to remember exact dates, but my mum is checking records/old photos.) I was born in 1972 so grew up with this Land-Rover in Knaresborough, N. Yorks. We had countless family holidays (towing many boats and caravans) and would often just play and climb on it in the garden. My dad did a gas conversion in the 1980s but doubt this is still in existence. [No, it isn't.]
A great piece of extra history, which I'm delighted to add, along with this photo of the family on Bog Hall Slipway, Whitby, at some time in the 1980s.
[To add (or alter) information on this page, please contact me on sxf@teeafit.co.uk.]