1952 Land Rover 80'' Series 1

The original Land Rover Series 1 was designed by Maurice Wilks and launched by the Rover Company of Solihull on 30th April 1948. It had an 80inch wheelbase and a sturdy box section ladder-frame chassis. The open back with 3 seats in the front design was heavily influenced by the American World War Two Willys Jeep. The Land Rover quickly became popular with both the army and the farming fraternity. The wheelbase was extended during the Series one production to give the vehicle a greater load capacity. Originally produced with a 1600cc Petrol engine, Land Rover replaced this with the larger 2.0 litre petrol engine which was fitted between 1951 and 1958. We are informed by the vendor that this particular vehicle was supplied new to the Land Rover main agents 'Guyvers Ltd' of Coventry, it was registered on the 5th of December 1952 and after 60 years, the vehicle is still in the same county of Warwickshire. The current owner purchased VVS 781 on the 20th of July 2008 and subsequently remained in storage awaiting restoration which began in earnest in June of 2012. This series one is the very last of the more sought-after 80'' models; it comes correctly fitted with the square back seats, exterior door handles and a colour coded chassis and bonnet brackets.

The attention to detail in the rebuild of this Land Rover is truly exceptional. The vendor, who incidentally is an ex-Land Rover engineer, has restored this vehicle to such a level that it is almost factory fresh. All components have either been replaced or rebuilt, the restoration has taken over 8 months and around 1200 man hours and cost £8000 in parts alone. It would easily cost over £30,000 to restore a similar vehicle to this standard. The body was completely removed to restore the chassis; a particular Achilles heel of these early Land Rovers is the bulkhead which received a week's dedicated attention to refabricate the steel bulkhead to ensure an excellent finish. The suspension has been completely rebuilt including 'made to order' factory specification leaf springs. Replacement brakes, including all the brake wheel cylinders, are now sleeved in stainless steel such is the attention to detail on this restoration. A bespoke Land Rover Stainless steel fuel tank has also been fitted for longevity

A fully rebuilt 2 litre petrol engine is fitted to 'VVS 781', giving huge improvements in reliability. The later engine block is known as the 'spread bore' engine design, with a greater gap between the cylinders, thus giving improved reliability and less chance of head gasket failure whilst also reducing the risk of a cracked block. The parts and engine machine costs alone came to almost £2,500. A full detailed build sheet is available from the vendor upon request. Save for the later engine, the other important components show this to be a matching numbers vehicle and as such we can confirm the following;

Chassis 36101005

Front Axle 36101848 Rear Axle 36103608 Gearbox 36101279 Body ID plate 36101005 Engine is the later fully rebuilt 2 litre unit (dated 1957) 111705222.

There is a huge amount of interest in these early vehicles, as proven by the fact that Land Rover have used an 80" Land Rover to advertise their latest Range Rover Evoque! Worthy of a place in any serious car collection, Silverstone Auctions are proud to bring such a car to market...