1948 Land Rover Series I

In 1947, whilst holidaying at his North Wales farm, Rover's chief designer Maurice Wilks came up with a plan to produce a light agricultural utility vehicle in the style of the Willys Jeep. He would have no idea that his design would become an icon and launch a whole new industry sector. The original Land Rover was presented in Sage Green with a canvas roof and revolutionised rural transport. As an engineering marvel it can still outstrip its modern counterparts, and the Series I rightly belongs in the Motoring Hall of Fame. Hugely successful globally, dozens of improvements were made throughout the long production run, until the end of the Land Rover as we knew it, in January 2016.

The holy grail for any Land Rover enthusiast is an early Series I, and there are a number of visual clues for an early car with the 'lights must be behind the grille' and no exterior door handles, being two of them. This Land Rover Chassis No. R861008 was manufactured on 30th November 1948 and was dispatched to the Rover agent 'Dunham & Haines Ltd.', of 46 Castle Street, Luton on 6th December 1948. Dunham & Haines Ltd. registered the vehicle in their own name, probably as a demonstrator, on 10th December 1948. It is understood that it was sold to an owner in Buckinghamshire and on 26th February 1953 was licensed to an owner in Gloucestershire. In 1969, the vehicle was for sale at Bears Pool Garage, Minchinhampton, and they sold it to a Mrs. Dutton of Slad Valley, who later transferred the Series I to her son, Mr. J. A. Dutton of Cheltenham.

GTM 320 had been used by the Duttons for twenty years and then subsequently barn stored for ten years. The vehicle was advertised in the The Land Rover Series One Club magazine in 1999 and was purchased by John Taylor, a major restorer and collector of Series I Land Rovers. Following a complete chassis up restoration which included fitting a correct 1948 period replacement side plate "inlet over exhaust" engine, the vehicle was sold in 2004 to Mr. W. Briggs. At this point, GTM 320 had covered less than 25 miles after restoration and, after careful running in, the total mileage after the restoration is now still less than 2,000 miles.

As an early example, 'GTM' is a truly historic Land Rover in superb order that is ready to be enjoyed in town or country, and is supplied with current V5C documentation and a fresh MOT.