LAND-ROVER SERIES 1
"Archaeopterix"
Over a period of 50 years the Rover company at Solihull have been producing Land-Rovers, in all variations for a diverse range of applications. But for me the most fascinating is what is now known as the Series 1 vehicles.
Conceived as a stopgap vehicle, it is amazing to still see these Land-Rover used today as if they rolled of the production line yesterday. Sadly even these vehicles suffer the results of aging and most Series 1 owners have their vehicles at some stage of restoration or rebuilding.
These pages document the efforts for restoring my SER1. They are intended to provide information to others involved in similar endeavours, and more importantly allow me to access the knowledge of others who can look at these pictures and provide feedback and suggestions (all gratefully accepted).
This is my vehicle. It is an 80 inch wheelbase Series 1 built at Solihull, Birmingham on the 2nd November 1951, as a 1952 model (VIN: 26131470). This vehicle was shipped to Zurich in mid-November 1951. From there it found its way to South Africa. The last 10 years it was owned by an archaelogist, who rescued it from a farm. The intervening years are presently a mystery. I bought the vehicle in the end of 1998 What makes this particular vehicle interesting is the left-hand drive (in South Africa vehicles are RHD).
"Archaeopterix" is a fossil of a reptile with feathers. Essentially evolution caught in the act. My Ser1 is so named because it is an old vehicle built in the evolutionary phase of model changes. It was originally very difficult to date this vehicle from appearance alone. It appears that it was assembled during the model change over from 1951 to 1952, and as a result it has features of both models, eg. 1951 doors, but 1952 grill.
As with all webpages this one is also under construction, guided by the restoration process of my SER 1.
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