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Photo: ~
Current Owner: John Turner, Gorran Haven, Cornwall
Previous Owner(s): Various, including Dan Cape, Cornwall
For a long time I believed that my wife's 'Fido' (SXF870) was the highest-numbered Home Office Land-Rover (although from the first batch registered on 15/2/57). But there was a little niggle — Barry Holliss' book 'The Green Machine' hinted that there might have been an SXF871. There were no details included, and it was coded as 'unconfirmed', so I'd hoped that it was a red herring, and didn't include it in the database.
Then a posting by J.Lea of Cheshire to the Series One Club Forum on the subject of seat trim material in 88" Station Wagons included a picture of a seat back with an indentifying label which clearly shows SXF871 written on it.
This would suggest that 871 was possibly posted to Swindon. This begs the obvious question "How did Rover know the registration and destination as the vehicle came down the line?"
But on second thoughts, I was possibly missing a point... the Trim Shop Progress section may only have had the '3773' number on it when it left the factory. The 'SXF871 Swindon' could easily have been added afterwards (to a handy blank-ish space) to identify the vehicle that the seat back had come from.
J.Lea later posted:
The front seat back rest with the trim label on it came from Blanchards, in my search for green check seats for my ex Ministry of Supply station wagon. I have a feeling they had had it on the shelf for a number of years. I was lucky locating this one seat back they had on the shelf — how they came by it I don't know. I wish they had the other two to make the set up!
So, on third thoughts:
CD Reconnaissance vehicles were fitted with communications radios that occupied the middle seat space. They were slightly wider than the seat itself, so it was necessary to move the passenger seat a couple of inches nearer the door. I detail this in the Reconnaissance page.
Fido had three matching seats when we got her, so somewhere there must have been a warehouse full of seat backs and cushions, numbered up and waiting to be reunited with their vehicles when the radios were removed. This SXF871 seat back was possibly one of them?
To return to the present existance of the vehicle, one LRSOC poster reports:
SXF 871 comes up on Autocheck, on a green Land Rover, so it's still on the DVLA database and possibly survives.
However, another reports:
DVLA has it off the road since 1989.
You can read the whole thread on the LRSOC Forum.
Ironically, this information about 871 came to light on the 56th anniversary of the day that 'Fido' was built!
In January 2019, 871 was offered for sale on eBay. The seller (from Rainham, Essex) said: |
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There were plenty of pictures:
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That is, of course, a diesel engine — later confirmed to be a Perkins.
When the auction closed, there were 28 bids. The winning one was £2,800.00.
...a very short time after there was a new eBay offer under the title:
1957 Landrover series 1 project ex home office — nice winter project.
The seller was in St.Austell, Cornwall, and gave the following description:
Landrover series 1 for restoration. Ex home office. 6 Owners last one 20+ years. Very very straight genuine body, very original unwelded chassis, needs a little work on rear crossmember, one outrigger and little work on front dumb irons where previous owner welded front bumper on. Bulkhead needs work but perfectly repairable. Old logbook and new v5 in my name. Free wheeling hubs. Incorrect diesel engine fitted years ago and raised the bonnet (easy to put back).
There were new photos, with the wheelarch extensions removed — note the original Pyrene fire extinguisher under the dash:
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For sale on eBay again January 2019 from St.Austell, Cornwall, priced £3900 (but withdrawn "ended by the seller because there was an error in the listing").
In September 2019, Dan Cape wrote:
I was just sending a note to say that I am the now owner of the above, I bought it from the chap in Cornwall who had it on ebay. I have had a ‘original’ type 86” and now want to restore one so thought this was a good candidate. Its just sat in our workshop while I finish another project, but in the winter I hope to make a start.
In October 2020 I had an email from John Turner, also in Cornwall:
I hope you can help me with some history of Series 1 Land-Rover, SXF871. I bought it in February and have started to restore it. Having stripped it down for welding and rubbing down paint work, have found on the doors a faint crest and on the door tops the word 'Reconnaissance'. Do you know of any history for this vehicle, please?
Well, this very long page, including all the photos, proves that I do! John (who's confirmed that the engine is a Perkins diesel) has promised to send pics as the restoration continues.
This car has certainly had a number of owners in recent years, and I might tactfully suggest that that indicates the restoration task ahead. But I wish John well, and hope that 871 will soon be mobile in its adopted new Cornish home.
[To add (or alter) information on this page, please contact me on sxf@teeafit.co.uk.]