17x05 - Land Rover Series 1

[bunniefuu]

We take on the curious
case of a classic Lamb Rover.

What am I actually driving?

That may not be all it seems.

My biggest challenge
with this car is not knowing

at this point exactly how
much of it is authentic.

And how much of it is, well,
goodness knows what else.

I'll need to dig deep into its history.

I've noticed that you've
got a copy part bulkhead.

But I don't need to change that.
Do I have a bulkhead?

Well, are we restoring this car or
are we just putting it back together?

And Elvis will have to turn detective.

That looks a bit deeper
than I think it should.

If we're going to
unlock the secrets of this

muddled up motor
without breaking the bank.

We keep spending,
spending, spending on this car.

That's the problem.

I've got a funny
feeling with this one we

could have bitten off
more than we can chew.

Oh, I love it, love it, love it.

I'm Mike Brewer and I've been buying
and selling cars for nearly 40 years.

It's rattling, it's noisy,
it's utterly wonderful.

Now I'm set up shop in Britain's
motor-inherited heartland near Oxford.

I can't stop smiling.

Along with ex-Formula One
mechanic, Mark Elvis Priestley.

Come on, hurry up.

Together we're going to buy.

I love these, mate.

So do I.

And fix up.

You'll be right down there, hey mate?

Yeah, I'm fine.

The most iconic and
exciting cars on the market.

Why is it on a trailer?

It hasn't run for 30 years.

30 years?

With Elvis' engineering skills.

Oh my goodness, what a mess.

And my car-dealing clout.

I think you're being a bit
cheeky with your pricing.

We should be able to
make ourselves a tiny profit.

Another happy customer, mate.

Another happy customer.

Hey, Elvis, drop tools a minute.
Can I borrow you?

If it's to put the kettle on, then no.

No, it's not for that.

What's up?

Tell me what you think of
this Series 1 Land Rover.

Oh, nice. I mean, I love a Series 1.

They're like the granddaddy
of all 4x4s, aren't they?

That's a nice one. How much is it?

16 grand.

Seems very cheap.

That's if it is a proper
Series 1 Land Rover.

Because it says this vehicle
was registered in 1963.

Yeah, that's weird.

Because didn't Series 1s finish
production in, like, 58 or 59?

Correct, Sherlock, yeah.

You know, it could be that the DVLA back
then kept loose records, which they did.

It could be a fault.

Oh, it's a potential goldmine. Where is it?

County Durham.

Oh, that's not close, mate.

I used to live up there.

That is a long, old drive.

But I feel that I should go and see it.

I mean, I totally agree with you, mate.

Well, I feel like it's trip to
County Durham coming on.

Yeah, all right.

I'm going to need a
flask for that long journey.

Yeah, I know. Get the kettle on.

Yes, please.
Don't forget those nice biscuits.

There is a lot of mystery
surrounding the heritage of this car.

I'm hoping it's just an
administrative error at the DVLA.

Then again, this could
all be a wild goose chase.

However, if we can prove the
paperwork is wrong and it is a Series 1,

we could be onto a real winner here,

because the Series 1 Land Rover
is the epitome of a classic car.

It's called the Land Rover.

As you see, this all-purpose
vehicle can go pretty well anywhere.

When the Series 1 was launched
in 1948, it cost a modest £450.

It was an instant hit
with the British Army,

who ordered almost 2,000 of them.

So many that the decision was
made to paint all Land Rovers

in the Army's dark green.

By the time it was replaced
by the Series 2 in 1958,

200,000 of them had been produced.

Not bad for a car that
started life as a sketch

in the sand of a Welsh beach
by its designer, Maurice Wilkes.

You know, I can't get my hopes up.

I've got to manage my
expectations here, because, for one,

there's the issues
with the registration and

manufacturing date,
and that is a big issue.

But the other thing is, when
you're going to buy an old Landy,

you have to really know what you're buying,
because most of them have had a hard life.

These Land Rovers, they've
made a thin aluminium,

and when they break and
bend and buckle, they do show it.

After a five-hour drive,

I finally made it to County
Durham to meet garage owner Fred.

He restores Land Rovers and needs
to make some room in his workshop,

so he's selling some of these vehicles.

Are you Fred? I am Fred.

Fred, how are you doing? I'm Mike.

Hello, mate, how are you doing?
I'm all right, not bad at all.

This looks all right, innit? What's this?

This is a Land Rover Series 3. Series 3.

One of the last Series 3s produced.

Well, I haven't come to see this, clearly.

The one you've come
to see is through there.

Can we go and have a look? Yeah, we can.

Oh, yes.

Oh, now we're talking.

Now we are talking. Look at that.

Oh, Fred, that's amazing.

You know, whenever I see one of these,

I get into that Britishness,
whether I don't know whether...

What do you do? Do you bow?
Do you curtsy? Do you salute?

I think the correct protocol
would be just tug your forelock.

Tug your forelock. Just a touch.

Let's start at the front
and work our way back.

So let's lift up this.

OK. Wow. Fred, look at that.
That looks amazing.

Well, it's the old-style four-cylinder
engine, overhead inlet and side exhaust.

We had the cylinder head
modified to take unleaded pedal.

Nice. Which is a must now.

It runs very nicely.

Oh, it's lovely and straight
down the sides, isn't it?

Sliding windows.

This is a bit weird, though, Fred.

This is a Series 2 rear axle.

Yes.
That's got floating half-shafts in that.

Yeah, that's these two
bits sticking out here.

Correct.
And that wouldn't be on a Series 1.

Just adds to the mystery even more.

Is it a Series 2 that's registered
and manufactured in 1963,

been backdated by somebody
to look like a Series 1,

or is it a Series 1
that's had a faulty rear

axle and got registered
as a Series 2 in 1963?

I told you, it's a proper mystery.

Yeah, it's a mystery.
It's a head-scratcher.

Oh, Fred, it's lovely round here as well.

This has got a nice, flat, even floor.

It all looks really good.

It looks like it's been well looked after.

I see you've got a starting handle in here.

Yeah. So what's it run and drive like?

It runs and drives really nice.

Do you mind if I take it for a spin?

I'll do a manidore. Thank you very much.

Oh, yes!

It's been many, many years,

and I forgot just how awful they are.

They are. They're terrible things.

It's rattling, wallowing
all over the place.

It's noisy. Oh, and it's utterly wonderful.

The engine, it starts up on the button.

It feels strong. It sounds great.

The gearbox feels good.

The steering is awful.
Look, I'm doing that.

We're still going in the
straight line down the road.

So the steering is completely wayward.

What am I actually driving?

It's such a weird one.

Is it actually a Series 2 Land Rover

that somebody's backdated
to make it look like a Series 1?

So that's the mystery.
That's the bit we've got to unravel.

It's like driving a
pensioner down the street.

It really is. It's noisy, it's unwieldy.

Couldn't find a heater,
couldn't find the air conditioning.

The electric windows don't work.
Where's the power steering?

No, none of those. None of those things.

And do you know what? You don't need it.

It's just utterly charming as it is.

I'm just scratching my
brain to think this is a gamble

and a mystery that I'd really
like to unpick and unravel.

But it all comes down to that magic figure.

£16,000, please.

I'm having it. It's down to me.

That's fine. Thank you very much.

Thank you very much.

And I've just got to bought myself
a Series 1, Stroke 2-ish Land Rover,

and I couldn't be any happier.

Thanks, Fred.

Thank you.

Right, here we go. £16,000.

I'm absolutely over
the moon with that deal,

and I've already got my brain
going about what to do with it

because I think that
we should get it looking

and feeling like a proper
Series 1 Land Rover.

that way I can really open
it up to the purest market,

the people that really want it.

The other thing I'm very excited about
is peeling back the layers of this story

because somebody's
got to know exactly where

this vehicle's been
and what it's been up to.

What's got me worried, though,
is what Elvis is going to say.

Let's just hope he's
got a big smile on his

face when I rock up
outside that workshop door.

Yes, look at that. I love it.

A proper good old-fashioned Landy.

That's a long way to driving
something that's 70 years old.

You were falling apart before
you left to go and get these.

Very true.

Listen, I'm impressed you went up there

not really knowing
what you were going to

look at, and you've come
back with something.

I have. I sort of still don't
know what I'm looking at.

I'm going to be honest with
you, it's a bit of a gamble,

but let me show you some
of the good stuff, right?

Look at this.

Oh, look at that.

It's good, isn't it?

It's looking good.

It's the authentic,
proper two-litre engine,

and it's leak-free, so you haven't
got to worry too much under there.

Well, that's a great place to start.

What do you recognise about this rear axle?

Well, I do recognise it.

I have worked on a Series 2.
Is that where that's from?

Yeah, so this is a Series 2 rear axle

because on a Series 1, that
wouldn't be there. It'd just be flush.

Mate, if we're going to change that
back to a Series 1, that's a big job.

We are going to change
that back to a Series 1.

That's the point of this
vehicle, is to make it authentic,

and if we are to do it, I know it's
a big job, but it's got to be done.

And you've got to find one.

I've got to find one.
That's the other thing.

OK, so... What about those?

They're not standard, are they?

Eagle Eye.

Well done, mate, yeah.

If you bought a Series 1 Land Rover, an
early one, it wouldn't have had indicators.

So that's what I mean.

If we can undo most of this nonsense

and put it back to the authentic
vehicle it should always have been,

and we investigate where it
really did come from and its history,

I reckon this expensive vehicle
can be even more expensive.

Even Land Rover themselves
are going around the world

sweeping up all the Series 1s they
can get, making them brand new again.

We could turn it into a proper
Series 1 that will attract an enthusiast

that will dig deep in his pocket
as long as we get the jobs right.

Listen, you get it in there,
I'll start picking it apart.

Well, you get it in, my
back is still k*lling me.

I'll get the door.

Mike's bought an old Land Rover,
but we don't know what Series it is.

If we stand a chance of making any money,

we need to find out what we're dealing with

and return this converted
collectible back to its authentic self.

The purists go around these
things with a fine-tooth comb,

a magnifying glass and a tape measure,

just making sure that everything
is exactly as it should be.

And by that, I mean original.

Get one of those details wrong

or take a shortcut by using the
wrong nuts and bolts or screws

and you can genuinely wipe a huge
amount of money off the car's value.

My biggest challenge with this
car is not knowing at this point.

exactly how much of
it is authentic Series 1

and how much of it is, well,
goodness knows what else.

So the first job is
going to be to strip it

down and find the
answer to that question.

I'm potentially opening
up a big can of worms here.

If lots of these parts
prove not to be genuine,

then it could cost us a fortune to
get this car back to factory spec.

The great thing about
these cars is they're just

so simple and everything
comes apart really easily.

These two-part doors
are definitely genuine.

The doors on later Land
Rovers consist of a single panel,

so that's a relief.

If we'd had to buy a pair
of second-hand Series

1 doors, that could have
set us back up to £800.

Unfortunately, there's something
about the wheels that doesn't ring true.

When Mike brought this car back,

I thought the wheel was sitting
a little bit far out from the chassis

and I actually thought it was probably
the axle that was responsible for that,

but looking at it now, it might
even be that it's the wheel itself.

That looks a bit deeper
than I think it should.

And in fact, it's got the size of
the wheel imprinted on it itself, this.

That's going to require
some further investigation.

I need to make sure that this Land
Rovers chassis is structurally sound,

but examining it might also help
to unlock some of the mysteries.

around this car's past.

Removing the tub's a two-person job,

so I've asked one of the mechanics from
the garage next door to give us a hand.

Nathan, give us a hand, mate.

We're ready to lift this off,
see what we've got underneath.

Ready?

So here it is, the
skeleton of our Series 1,

and where all that famous
rugged strength comes from.

There's not a lot to it, is it?

It's a basic ladder chassis that
connects the rear axle to the front axle

and everything else just bolts to that.

What we don't yet know
is exactly which year this is

or whether all the components
that are on it are correct.

So I've downloaded some
information off the Internet,

which should help me to
narrow down exactly that.

The dominant indicator that
this Land Rover will be a Series 1

will be if the wheelbase measures
somewhere between 80 to 86 inches.

So let's see what
Series we're dealing with.

Eighty-six inches.

Now that narrows down
exactly when this was made.

because in 1953 they changed
from an 80-inch wheelbase to 86,

but then in 1956, to
accommodate a diesel engine,

it grew longer to 88
inches even on a Series 1.

So we now know that we're
in that three-year window.

between 1956 and 1953.

Brilliant.

This means I'm 99% sure
that our car is a Series 1,

but I'm not convinced about that rear axle.

While I've got my tape measure
out, I just want to make sure.

Here we go.

It's 1,200 millimetres.

That confirms then that
this is a Series 2 rear axle.

in our Series 1 Land
Rover and that will never do.

Yeah, no worries, mate.

I'll talk to Elvis and I'll be in touch.

All right then, cheers.

Bye-bye.

Bye-bye.

You all right, fella?

That sounds ominous.

Listen, I have confirmed that that
axle on that Land Rover is a Series 2.

Tape measure does not lie.

Have you got anywhere closer to
finding a Series 1 version for us?

Do you have a special fill tool?

I don't know what you're talking about.

It's the thing they use in the Army.

Absolutely no clue, so probably not.

Don't hate me, but you're going
to have to go to Shropshire then.

Why?

Because I've managed to find a company

that can get us a Series
1 Land Rover rear axle.

Good.

But you're going to have
to go over there to pick it up.

Well, can't they just courier it here?

No, because of the special fill tool.

Because they're rare and they
don't want to let it out of their sight,

so they're willing to let us use
their special fill tool to strip it down.

All right, well, look, that's turning to
the right old mission, but fair enough.

I've also ordered a heritage certificate,

and that will give us more information
about a mysterious Land Rover,

so that'll be good.

All right. Well, I better hit
the road then, haven't I?

Yeah, safe journey.
I'll send you the postcode.

Brit parts have been keeping old
Landys on the road for over 35 years.

The authentic rear axle they found us

is unfortunately worn and damaged
from being left outside for over a decade,

so it needs stripping
down and refurbishing,

and that job requires
specialist tools that I don't have,

which is another reason I've
made the long trip to Shropshire.

Hiya.

Hi. I'm Elvis. I think I'm here after that.

Mike sent you, yeah?

He did, indeed.

Yeah, now it is. Help yourself.

Thank you very much.
Blimey, that's been sat around for a while.

Oh, it still turns though. That's a bonus.

Oh, look at that. Absolutely full of oil.

There is no way that those brakes
are stopping anything looking like that.

It's disgusting. The whole thing
has got to be stripped down.

Those brake shoes need changing.

That's going to be a messy job.

With the housing off, I can undo the bolts
that hold the brake shoes to the drum.

Next, I use a tool made out of an old coat
hanger to remove the hard-to-reach spring.

And with the brake shoes out of the
way, I can remove the brake cylinder.

Now, we're dealing with
a very rare vehicle here,

so my instinct is always to refurbish
rather than replace parts wherever possible.

I mean, this brake cylinder, for example,

I would have loved to
have replaced the seals in

here if they're available,
but it's heavily corroded.

The brake nipple itself
has now sheared off in

there, and that could
be a nightmare to get out,

so I think I'm probably
going to have to replace that.

I need to inspect the wheel bearing,

but I can't get to it because it's retained
firmly inside the hub by a metal collar.

The only way to remove that
collar and access the bearing

is to force it off the half-shaft
using a rare special feel tool.

That's Steve.
Can I borrow you for a minute?

I want to use this bad boy.

Okay, so that's the tool
now clamped to the hub.

Steve, if you steady it with that,

I'll wind some pressure on by turning
this giant ACME screw at the top.

And as I do that, it puts
pressure onto the collar

that's retaining the
bearing down in the hub.

It's tight.

The pressure I'm applying should force
the tight-fitting collar up the half-shaft,

freeing the wheel bearing from the hub.

Goodness me.

You can't hold it, can you?

You need so much pressure putting on it.

Well, Chuck it in the vice.

We should be able to get some more
pressure on it then, hold it a bit firmer.

Yeah, okay, let's do that.

That should be the little collar.
There you go.

That's what this enormous tool was doing,

was essentially pushing the half-shaft
through that collar that was pressed onto it.

And now that that's out, we should
be able to get the bearings out.

And to do that, I'm going to
turn it over and drop it to the vice,

give it a little tap from the top,

and the seal and the
bearing should then come out.

So that is the bearing.

Oh yeah, that has got a
fair amount of play in that,

so that definitely needs changing.

Wow, that was a lot of work,
and I'm only halfway there,

but now that I know the process, I
can do the same to the other side.

I want to get the axle
casing shock-blasted and

repainted before I
put it all back together.

Steve has confirmed my
earlier suspicions about

our Landy's wheels not
being genuine Series 1,

and so Mike's going to have to find
us some originals from somewhere.

But then we'll have a genuine
rebuilt Series 1 rear axle.

While Elvis has been away, I've been
digging deeper into our Landy's past,

something that fellow who sold
it to us never got round to doing.

You're back. How was Shropshire?

Check this out.

I was able to replace
the oil seals, I've done

the bearings and given
it a good lick of paint.

So look, our genuine Series
1 rear axle is good to go.

That's really good news.

I've got some good news.

I've been waiting for you to come
back because I've got this envelope.

Oh, what's in there?

This is the Heritage certificate.

How exciting.

I don't even know what it's going to say.

I can't get my hands on it.

It's like being at the awards ceremony,
and the winner is a Lamb Rover.

Ooh, look, proper Series 1, 86 inch.
How good is that?

Brilliant.

Colour, grey. It was grey.

That's an unusual colour, isn't it?

I've seen these in grey.

They look absolutely wicked in
grey, so I'm pleased about that.

Oh, and look where it went.

Porton Downes Salisbury.

That's the chemical weapons
research place, Porton Downes.

Yeah, so I hope you've
been washing your hands.

Well, I'm pretty sure it's
been cleaned once or twice,

since then, so we should be all right.

But, I mean, that's fascinating,
because that kind of Providence,

now knowing what the history of the
vehicle is, must add value to it, right?

It will, and not only that, it
sort of solves the mystery,

doesn't it, because we can now work out
that it left the production line in 1954,

it then went to the chemical
research establishment for ten years,

till 1964, when they
kicked it into Syby Street,

then it gets registered by the DVLA.

That's why it's registered
at the time of Series 2.

Yeah, that's it. Mystery solved, isn't it?

Mystery solved, fantastic.

Well, now we know.

That is brilliant.

But, while we're on
the subject of mysteries,

I've got another one for you.

The wheels on this car, they're not right.

They're five and a half inches deep.

They should be five inches deep.

It's only half an inch.

I know, but it does matter,

so the people that are going to buy this
car, it is going to matter, I'm afraid.

Details matter.

Right, so I've got to go
and find a set of wheels.

You have.

So now we're going to have to paint
it, get wheels, we've done the axle.

We keep spending,
spending, spending on this car.

That's the problem.

I've got a funny feeling with this one,

we could have bitten off
more than we can chew.

We now know for certain that our
old Land Rover is a genuine Series 1,

but it's been fitted with a
lot of parts from later models.

So while Elvis cracks on with
fitting the Series 1 rear axle,

I'm off to track down some period wheels.

We now know that the car
was manufactured in 1954,

so we've got the right chassis,

but now, thanks to Elvis,
we've got the right rear axle.

But now Elvis tells me
we've got the wrong wheels,

so I need to go and get
a set of Series 1 wheels.

I've been ringing around,

and the only place that
I can find a set is Land

Rover themselves and
their classic division.

The classic division in Coventry hand-pick

and meticulously restore Land
Rovers from around the world.

As well as supplying
us with the right wheels,

they'll be able to identify anything else
that isn't genuine Series 1 on our car.

Wow, look at this place.

Looks a bit flash, doesn't
it, to be selling old parts?

I've got a stack of pictures
here of our Land Rover,

and I'm meeting this historian called Mike.

I've known him for years.

Hopefully, he can help me out.

Before we look at our car,

Land Rover's resident historian Mike

takes me for a tour of the
Land Rover Heritage Fleet,

representing over 70 years
of the iconic 4x4's evolution.

Mike, how are you, mate?

I'm really good, mate. How are you?

Yeah, not bad at all.

This is fantastic.

Look at this thing.
This is amazing, isn't it?

Isn't this glorious?

This is Land Rover Reborn Car 1.

First customer restoration.

Right, so this is the first car
you decided as a company

to go and get an old Land
Rover, bring it back to the factory,

do a factory restoration and sell it.

If you do it today, it would be 125 grand.

Oh!

This is beautiful.

Land Rover No. 7 from 1948.

So this is the seventh
one off the production line?

Seventh pre-production.

Wow!

Handmade.

Handmade.
It's beautiful, isn't it? It's lovely.

And then we go on to this one?

This was Spencer Wilkes,
who was the CEO of Rover.

This was his retirement vehicle in 1963.

And that's the Series 2?

Series 2.

Okay.

And this looks like something
the Queen would drive around in?

Yeah, Series 3 109
station wagon, great old bus.

Lovely.

And then we have the sort of latest
incarnation of the Defender, as I know it.

Yeah, so this is actually a 110.

This is pre the name Defender,
which came out in 1990.

So just then they were 90 and 110.

She's a V8, Rover 3.5 litre V8.

She sounds awesome.

And then we bring it back
up to date with the latest one.

This is a pre-production
prototype of the latest vehicle.

When this was being announced,

I thought it was probably one
of the most difficult design jobs

because people obviously are so fond
of the older shape and the older model,

but I think you got it exactly right.

Definitely. Big shoes to follow,
but the DNA's in the vehicle.

Right, now we need
to find the bits for this.

This is our latest restoration,
an 86-inch, same model as yours.

Nice.

It's Mike's job to ensure that the reborn
Land Rovers are nothing less than perfect.

Unfortunately, he's spotted a few things
with our car that don't make the grade.

I've noticed that you've
got a copy part bulkhead.

A copy part bulkhead? What do you mean?

Well, back in the 1980s,
your vehicle, no doubt, being

in the UK, was a rusty,
you know, old Land Rover,

so somebody's put a
copy part bulkhead on it.

They didn't put an
original Land Rover part on,

they put a copy part
and I didn't know that.

How do you know it's a copy part?

It's got little dabs of weld down there
where you can see someone's made it,

you know, half reasonably
in a home workshop.

Okay, right.

Whereas a Land Rover bulkhead's
properly spot welded, properly engineered.

But I don't need to change that.
Do I need a bulkhead?

Well, we're restoring this car or
are we just putting it back together?

See, this is a little path
you're leading me down, isn't it?

Right, so can I get a bulkhead for it?

I can get you one for two and a half grand.

Two and a half grand for a bulkhead?

A genuine one.

Hard to come by.

You can sell your bulkhead.

You would probably
get a grand for it online.

So I could sell me a
bulkhead for like a grand,

so that only cost me 1500 quid.

So if I was to change the
bulkhead in my vehicle,

is that going to interfere with
anything else that I've got in my car?

Well, your other little
challenge is the steering box.

Don't say there's another little challenge.

There's one's good.

So you've got an 88 inch
series one steering box on there.

Right.

Which is a great improvement because we're
a circulating ball, modern style steering.

So it's a better steering box I've got.

But originally they had the
Wurman Nunn, 1930 style steering.

An awful steering box.

Yeah, but this is authenticity.

I don't know.

I think I'm going to have
to talk to Elvis about that.

This is a fine line of restoration.

So around the back here,
you've got a few details to look at.

So you haven't got
your original tail lights.

Right, what should they have had then?

So being a 54 model, you need D lights.

D lights are the ones that
are sort of cupped, aren't they?

They look like a D.

They look like a little D.

Okay, do you see the indicators?

No, D lights cars had trafficators,
little arms that came out.

Right, so semaphores.

Semaphores, yes.

On the side.

Right, so I've got to do away with the
indicators and change the rear lights.

And then, lastly, you've got the
series two era badge on the back.

Oh, come on.

How do you know it's
a series two era badge?

Well, come around here.

I'll show you exactly how I know.

No way.

What's all this here then?

So the guys have grabbed a
few things out of the archive for us.

We've got two badge drawings.

The Sally Holt Warwickshire
version of the badge,

which is on your car, was
created until June 1958.

Right.

And the Birmingham version of the
badge was created in October 1950.

See, you're now telling me that I've got to
change the badge on the back of my car.

It's been brilliant, mate.

Thank you so much.

I really do appreciate it.

Right, let's pay for these wheels
and get them out of your way.

So now I'm paying 350 quid for new
wheels, plus their period colour respray.

Two and a half grand for a bulkhead
and possibly a new steering box.

The costs of making
our series one authentic

are officially
spiralling out of control.

But where do we draw the line?

Mate, how you doing?

Yeah, all good.

We're getting on really well actually.

They look good.

They're nice.

I'm guessing they're genuine series one.

I hope so.

And if they're not, you can take it
up with Lamb Rover themselves.

How'd you get on there?

Well, it was brilliant, but
it wasn't all good news

because I showed him
the pictures of our vehicle

and he's pointed out
quite a few faults in our

car that don't make it
a genuine series one.

How bad?

Well, they're not that bad to begin with.

You know, the rear badge, that's wrong.

It says Lamb Rover Solihull, it
should say Lamb Rover Birmingham.

Okay, that's fine. I can deal with that.
That's an easy one.

Right, then a little bit
tougher for you is the fact

that the indicators on the
rear, they shouldn't be there.

It should have semifors.

And then there's the big one.

There's a big one?

Yes.

We got the wrong bulkhead in the car.

Oh, you're kidding.

Our bulkhead is from the 1980s.

We need a genuine series one, so
I've agreed to buy one of them for £2,500.

Oh, my goodness me.

I mean, that's a huge job
and two and a half grand.

I know.

And then there's the steering box.

Ours would have had a worm and nut
system on it, which is from the 1930s.

For me to replace that steering
box is £500, plus I'd have

to get every single nut
and bolt to make it authentic.

And basically, we'd be putting a
worse steering box than what's on it.

No, I mean, I agree with you, mate.

So what about this for a compromise?

Why don't we change the bulkhead, put the
proper one in so it's nice and authentic,

but just leave the improved
steering box in place.

And if somebody wants to
change it in the future, let them.

All right, we better get started then.

Let's get it finished.

For us, it's the right call not
to replace the steering box.

Land Rover purists might
grumble, but with costs

spiralling, we have to
draw the line somewhere.

The newer box is hidden away and will
give us better performance and road safety,

although it's not without its issues.

One of the problems that Mike
found when he first drove our

series one was how sloppy
and unresponsive the steering is.

The least you can expect
when you turn the steering

wheel is for the road
wheels to do the same.

That is just ridiculous.
But luckily, there's

a quick and simple fix
to this kind of problem.

Now, the solution here is really easy.

It's cracking off a lock
nut on the side of the

steering box, which
loosens this little grub screw.

And with another spanner,
we can simply tighten it up

whilst feeling by hand how
that play feels in the box.

Once you've got to a point where it feels
about right, I say that's about there.

You can simply hold the grub screw in
place and then do the lock nut up again.

Now, it's still got loads of play. On an F1
car, you'd be absolutely horrified at that.

Still, though, we've got about 50mm or
so now, which is much better than it was,

and I think it's going to be a huge
improvement to the way this thing drives.

After discovering that our
Land Rover worked for the

MOD when it first rolled
off the production line,

we've decided to spray the
bodywork Land Rover Grey.

The colour it would have been
when it worked at Porton Down.

First item out of the paint shop is our
very expensive but authentic bulkhead.

The bulkhead is an
essential, structural part of the

Land Rover because it supports
so much of the bodywork.

It goes directly onto the
chassis and is bolted into place.

Well, there's still a huge
amount of work to do, and

this might seem like a
fairly insignificant part,

but actually, it's a really important
piece of this Jigsaw puzzle.

It's cost us a huge
amount of money, but it's

integral, it's structural,
lots of things bolt to it,

and importantly, it's original.

And these details matter,
so when I was at Brit parts,

I also picked up new period
correct seats and a hood.

And at last, we're almost
there. With all the bodywork

resprayed, I can finally start
putting our Landy back together.

So Mike at Land Rover
Heritage, he did suggest

that I get all those
nice authentic parts.

They're going to make the
difference to our Land Rover.

The good news is
there's plenty of people out

there online buying and
selling Land Rover parts.

The community is well
supported, so I've gone and found

all these nice original
details like the semaphores.

Very nice indeed.

The only problem is none
of this stuff comes cheap.

I hope Elvis likes it.

Elvis, mate, that is incredible.

What a transformation, eh?

Wow!

It's amazing, isn't it? I can't believe how
much it's changed when that bulkhead's in.

Huge amount of work, but it's in there,
and what do you think of the paint job?

I love it. I mean, it's not a glamorous
name, is it? It's just Land Rover Grey.

But offset against those
wheels, they look fantastic.

Do you know, I thought
you were being a bit

pedantic when you said we
should change the wheels,

because they're just
half an inch slimmer than

the other ones, but now
I see them on the car.

It looks perfect.

Well, they just look right, don't they?

And it might only
be half an inch, but to

someone, that is going
to make all the difference.

Hopefully, the person is going to buy this.

Of course. It's all about the details.

Talking of which, look
what I've gone and found.

I've gone and found little
semaphores, the correct ones, sea

lights, even the Land Rover
badge with Birmingham written on it.

Perfect. Amazing, mate.

The only problem is with
it, it cost a fortune to buy.

As Series 1 Land Rovers were
designed for easy repair and maintenance,

it means adding those new period
features will be pretty straightforward.

Well, our Series 1 is really
starting to come together.

It's starting to look pretty
much like it did when it

was cruising around Porton
Down way back in the 1950s,

but it won't be completely
right until it's got these on.

Trafficators or semaphores,
as they were known.

Now, I've already installed
a very simple wiring

harness inside the
car that powers this up,

and when you flick the switch
on the steering column, the arm

opens and tells the traffic
around you which way you turn it.

With the trafficators fixed
to the new period-inspired

brackets, all that's left to do
is connect up the basic wiring.

Oh, look at these
little touches. They are

fantastic, the grill, the
proper Land Rover badge.

We've excelled ourselves
this time, haven't we?

Oh, mate, it looks great, and do you know
what? I've loved every single minute of it.

This is now a genuine Series
1, which, when you brought

this into the workshop, we
didn't know what it was, did we?

We didn't.

And check these out. Look.

Oh, Elvis. That's so authentic, isn't it?
Absolutely perfect.

I love them.

I can't wait till it
happens to show it off.

Yeah, all right.
Well, where are we going to test drive it?

I have the perfect
place to test drive this.

Me and you, we have literally shoveled
tons and tons of cash at this vehicle,

and if we don't find the
right buyer with deep pockets,

we could be in a little
bit of trouble with this one.

Yeah.

It's been many, many years,
and I forgot just how awful they are.

We took on a vintage Series 1 Land Rover.

£16,000, please. I'm having it.

With a mysterious past.

What we don't yet know
is exactly which year this is.

Entering us into the painstaking and
pricey world of Land Rover restoration.

I can get you one for two and a half grand.

Two and a half grand for a bulkhead?

Spiralling costs meant difficult choices.

What about this for a compromise?
Why don't we change the bulkhead?

We just need to improve
steering box in place, and

if somebody wants to
change it in the future, Latin.

But have we found the sweet spot
between the cost and what it's now worth?

Will fortune favour the brave?

We paid 16 gram for the car.

Wheels, 350.

Bulkhead, two and a half grand.

Respray, five grand.

Rear axle, £200.

Trafficators and badges, 360.

Blue hood and seat, 900.

Giving us a grand total of £25,310.

And what better way to celebrate
this patrol car's rebirth than

going to Westcott's rocket
testing facility just down the road.

This was the rocket propulsion
establishment, and in 1954 there were 2,000

people here testing rockets that will
eventually end up on nuclear missiles.

Is that right?

So you can imagine a
Land Rover exactly like

this would have been
doing exactly this.

I've got to say, it's a lovely
feeling sat behind the wheel.

It feels like you should be in period
dress in this particular location.

Look at the blast wall here. Do you
know, it was so loud when they were testing

the rockets here, they could be heard
all the way in Oxford, 16 miles away.

Isn't that right?

Well look, we're properly off-roading it.
This is what it was built for, isn't it?

This vehicle, when it rolled
off the production line, it would

have spent the first 10 years of
its life in first and second gear,

just going around that biological research
facility, making sure everything was safe.

And that's exactly what we're doing,
which is running around in second gear.

It feels great.

It feels brilliant, doesn't
it? This is exactly what

this vehicle is meant to
do. It's meant to control.

It's got 70 miles an
hour on the clock. I don't

believe it's ever seen
anything like that.

What a transformation
we've made with this thing.

Yeah, but rather ironically, here
we are around all these decaying

buildings from 70 years ago, and yet
we're in a vehicle from 70 years ago.

This is in a lot better state.

I'm absolutely bowled over, mate, by the
quality of the work that's gone into this.

The beauty of a Series 1
Land Rover really is the fact

they are so simple. They're
really easy to work on.

They're not fearful.
You can get stuck right into them.

And my word, have you
turned that a cracking car?

I'm really pleased with it. I mean, I
genuinely love it. It's absolutely beautiful.

Anyway, let me just report back to base.

Bravo to Kilo Whiskey
Papa. Mike and Elvis can

report that eSight is
clear. Continuing patrol.

It's still got play in the
steering. Of course it has, just as

the Series 1 Land Rover, but
it's definitely better than it was.

And that's what it's all about,
wasn't it? It's about making this

thing usable and keeping the
details that are on show for the purists

and just adding something that I
actually think is going to improve the car.

I like it. I like it a lot.

We've sunk a fair bit of cash
into it, which we need to get back.

So how are we going to go about finding
someone to buy this beautiful thing?

Well, Land Rover themselves said
that if we get it right, we could ask

anywhere around £40,000 for it,
which is an incredible amount of money.

So for that to happen, you
need to find somebody with deep

pockets that wants and really
wants a Series 1 Land Rover.

I'll put it up on social
media. Within seconds of it

going up there, I had
somebody interested in buying it.

Really?

And it's an old friend of
mine I haven't spoke to for

a couple of years, but
he's Land Rover enthusiast.

He lives on the island of Jersey.
And he said, I'll come and have a look

at it. He's going to make no
promises, but you know, fingers crossed.

If we don't get the money
we need to for it, we

could own a quite expensive
Land Rover Series 1.

When I found out Land
Rover Series 1, it really

did start life with us
as a bit of a mystery,

but we unraveled the story, and now we've
created something that is rather special.

Even Land Rover themselves
say we've got a very unique vehicle.

Now, I advertised it out
there online to see what

interest I get, and I knew
immediately it went out there.

I get a call from this guy
behind me. I've known him for

years. He's called Victor,
and this is so up his street.

So he's beaten a path to my door.
Let's see if he's willing to buy it.

That it, Victor?

How are you, mate?

Beautiful, isn't it? Lovely.

It's a gem. It really is
a bit special. It's right

in period. It's even got
the semaphores on it.

It's lovely, isn't it?
Why do you want a Series 1 Land Rover?

I live on Jersey, which you
know has got some tiny little roads.

I need something to tow
a trailer around, something

that will stay valuable.
It's just perfect for me.

Well, we've done a proper Series 1
restoration on it. We have got some

little Series 2 bits on it, one of
them being the steering column.

Well, that only helps it.

It helps it. It makes it turn a lot better. The only
problem for you is the price, Victor, because even the Land

Rover experts themselves say that when this vehicle was
finished to this level, it could be worth over £40,000.

So what do you think?

Well, as I said, you've
got everything right,

apart from the price. You
can do better than that.

Well, I can do better than that
because you're a mate, but you make

me a decent offer, and let's
see if we can put a deal together.

£30,000. I'll take it.

£30,000?

£30,000 ish, yeah.

We've done this so many
times, being over the past.

I know exactly what you're going to say.

Yeah, well, of course,
because we're both

gentlemen. £35,000, I'll
meet you in the middle.

Come on, mate.

Hold out your hand.

You've got a deal.

Nice one. Congratulations, Victor. You
just bought yourself a cracking Series 1.

I don't think I could be
any prouder of the work that

me and Elvis have done
on this Series 1 Land Rover.

We did take quite a few
gambles along the way, but it's

absolutely paid off because
we returned a healthy profit.

And get this, this
vehicle is now going to do

another 70 years on patrol
on the island of Jersey.

We are absolutely delighted.

If you want to see more iconic
vehicles like this being turned

around by me and Elvis, join us
again soon on Wheeler Dealers.

Salut.