1950 Land Rover Series 1

HOT 664 (chassis number R06109563) was built during the first two years of Land Rover production, with the 1.6-litre side-valve Rover engine, lights behind the grille, freewheel gearbox, canvas door flaps, ‘spade’ seat backs and the archetypal dark green coachwork.

In 1977, the current owner, David Leather (then aged 12), travelled to Perthshire in Scotland with his parents to collect the Land Rover which had been bought, unseen, from a listing in the Exchange & Mart.

The original idea was to use its bulkhead to replace the rotten one on his father Geoff’s existing Land Rover. The vendor was selling due to a frost-damaged cylinder block but he explained that it had been previously owned by the nearby Blair Atholl estate and used by the factor (estate manager). Aside from the damaged engine, however, ‘HOT’ was clearly too good to cannibalise, and so it became the Leather family’s second, and favourite, 80in Land Rover. Other Series Is came and went, including a rare ‘Tickford’ Station Wagon restoration, a pre-production chassis, and later Land Rovers too... but ‘HOT’ stayed.

HOT’s first rebuild by the Leathers was completed in May 1982 and centred around the full reconditioning of a July 1951 service-exchange engine (S.0162), together with a general overhaul to bring it up to a smart and roadworthy condition. Although that engine is a later 2.0-litre version, it’s a very early (‘Siamese-bore’) example, outwardly resembling the earlier 1.6-litre engine in most respects, and fitted with hardened exhaust valves supplied by the Series One Club.

Many years of enjoyment followed, including a 1990 adventure to Scotland which included the Corrieyairack Pass – documented in a collection of excellent family photographs which accompanies the car.

In the late 1990s, David embarked on a second restoration. By this time he had read Mechanical Engineering at university then worked for Austin Rover in the powertrain department, later the Rover group after its purchased by BMW, followed by a stint at Land Rover following the sale of the brand to Ford. Perhaps then it was no surprise that his labours on HOT culminated with a Best Restoration award from the Land Rover Register at the 55th Anniversary of Land Rover celebrations at Eastnor Castle in 2003. (David later spent 10 years working in for Bentley, followed by a stint in the Vehicle Certification Agency.)

In August that same year, the Land Rover drove to Scotland again, revisiting Blair Castle and the nearby farm from where it had been purchased in 1977, and traversing of the Corrieyairack Pass for the second time.

HOT then went back to Garstang with Geoff but he felt it was “too good to use”, and the collection of MOT certificates show that fewer than 200 miles were put on during the next four years. The vehicle did make it to the Land Rover 60th anniversary rally at Chepstow in 2008, Geoff being 81 at the time.

After Chepstow, HOT went back to Worcestershire with David and has been, essentially, unused since. David inherited the Land Rover when Geoff passed away in 2010, and has carefully preserved it ever since – but rarely put it to use.

All the paintwork you see today dates from the vehicle’s second restoration, and it survives nearly 20 years later in beautiful condition. A close eye will spot small runs on the bonnet and a few around the bulkhead, which is the same shade as the chassis but slightly different to the surrounding panels. The bulkhead is however, in very solid condition with absolutely no corrosion evident, having had any rust cut out and repaired in 1998.

We believe that any runs you will find are a small price to pay for such straight and original panels. Ask the vendor which of them are original and the answer may be a long one – best to ask which ones aren’t! Past restorative work has involved second-hand outer skins for the front wings, but the bulkhead, bonnet, door tops, front panel, grill, badges, and rear tub are all believed to have been on the vehicle in 1950. The same is true of all the cappings, which were re-galvanised by Shropshire Galvanizers Ltd in December 2002, and today have a pleasingly smart but not-too-garish finish.

The only modern panels are the tailgate, right-hand front inner wing and fuel tank underguard – not that you can tell.

Aficionados may notice that the trafficators are not Solihull-spec Lucas items, but they are at least period. The vendor has also wired the brake lights and the front (dual-filament) sidelights to act as indicators.

An aftermarket tow ball is fitted to the rear crossmember, and a discreet 7-pin electrical socket has been installed rather than the older 3-pin design, but the draw-bar underneath is very much a Series I feature.

The canvas hood is in excellent condition, showing no signs of damage or brittleness, and the Land Rover sits on original-spec Avon Traction Mileage tyres in fine condition.

There can be no denying that this is a beautifully presented vehicle.

If your idea of Land Rover perfection is clean paintwork and period spec, devoid of post-1950s intrusions, you’re in for a treat. (You weren’t expecting an Alcantara dash and Terrain Response buttons, were you?) The vendor tells us that even the front seat cushions are the originals – although they have obviously been retrimmed in correct green vinyl, and are in lovely condition throughout.

Zoom into our photos and you’ll find very clean paintwork all round the interior, with no unsightly galvanic corrosion creeping through. The seat box and floor panels are all original too. Optional extras amount to an additional wiper motor for the passenger side, Clayton heater against the bulkhead, and rear seats – all period-correct. A new, braided wiring loom was fitted for the 2003 restoration and everything electrical is in good working order. The steering wheel has a smart sheen, and no unsightly cracking around the rim.

The vehicle also benefits from a Bearmach overdrive from a later Series vehicle, very much in keeping with the spirit of old Land Rovers but easily removable should the next owner find it not ‘correct’ enough for a Series I. The same can be said for the eminently sensible fire extinguisher.

Lift the bonnet and you’ll find an exceptionally tidy 2.0-litre engine, although ‘all the hardware is 1.6 so no one would know,’ says David, and it comes with all the period features you could ask for (wrapped coolant hose, copper vacuum advance pipe…). You won’t find any leaks or perishing materials. The two shades of paint on the exhaust manifold will draw the eye, but less so than unsightly rust would have done. The SU fuel pump is outwardly original but has electronic internals for better reliability.

It’s clean as a whistle underneath, with no leaks whatsoever – remarkable for an old Land Rover. Corrosion is simply not to be found, not even on the exhaust.

Both the chassis and bulkhead are the original items, restored and wax-injected by David. Both axles are original, with semi-floating rear hubs rather than fully-floating conversions. The steering box and the steering relay are also original. Gaiters are fitted to the front swivels – a non-standard but justifiable addition, and easily removed should the next owner choose to do so.

The suspension is correct to the original specification, with tidy check straps and certainly no splaying on the painted leaf springs. New-old-stock shock absorbers were fitted during the second restoration, and they remain good today.

The gearbox, although not the original to this vehicle, is from around 4 months later in the 1950 production run and is of the correct permanent 4WD type, was sourced as second-hand unit around the same time, and has been recently rebuilt by the owner (more on that later). Peer through the inspection hole in the transmission tunnel (see photo) and you’ll see how cleanly presented it is.

In the late 1990s, for its second restoration the chassis was spray painted with zinc-rich primer and finished with multiple coats of Bronze Green coach enamel. The finish does exhibit paint drips at the chassis edges and is a slightly different shade to that of the aluminium panels, although the overall quality is still very high.

Investigations by Geoff and David have resulted in an impressively complete ownership history, going right back to the initial order by an agent acting on behalf of a Captain W. G. Lowndes through their nearest Rover dealer, Linington Bros. of Portsmouth. Information is about the full chain of owners accompanies the car.

As for the original chassis (number 06109563) David provides this detailed account of the chassis repairs: “No repairs were necessary when the vehicle was first rebuilt in 1978-82. In 1989 there was some corrosion at the extreme front of the chassis in the vicinity of the bumper mounts. This was carefully cut out, bumper reinforcement spacers were re-made and welded repairs completed. The chassis was grit-blasted in 1998 and limited corrosion was found at the extremity of the front fuel tank outrigger and in the under-engine and rear cross members. Again, all corrosion was cut out, replacement sections welded in as necessary. Internally, the chassis was flooded with Waxoyl and rotated in all planes to fully coat the internal surfaces.”

A new-old-stock speedometer was installed along with the rebuilt engine during the initial rebuild in 1982, so today’s indicated mileage of 17,244 relates to mileage since then. A comprehensive MoT history since that year shows that most of its miles were accrued during the first 10 years, and at its last MoT before its recent dormancy the recorded mileage was 16,882.

In 2020 the vendor felt that the time had come to let someone else enjoy this unique vehicle, and carried out a careful programme of recommissioning during lockdown. The focus of the work was the rebuild of the gearbox to replace worn bearings. (“It had been niggling away at me ever since its last restoration,” he tells us.) David also replaced a couple of gears and sourced an ex-WD new old stock, early-spec phosphor bronze bearing – a notorious weakness. The braking system was fully overhauled, including new sleeved liners for the rare wheel cylinders and master cylinder. And under the bonnet, the engine’s cooling system and fuel system were stripped and gaskets were replaced.

It is extremely rare to find any vehicle whose complete history can be so fully described by its owner. David can tell you the origins of almost every single part of this Land Rover. He and his father were enjoying and cherishing HOT 664 when many owners were stripping their Series Is for parts, aggressively modifying them for trialling, or just letting them go to seed.

“It’s the one that we kept, and it’s the last one we’ve got,” says David. “I’ve always taken my time over it, and there have never been any deadlines to meet. It’s more important to me that things are done properly and not rushed.” And it shows.

The continuity of ownership and the depth of preservation are what distinguish this as a particularly special example of the breed. It has character too – more so than might be said of restorations using large quantities of new parts, as is increasingly the case.

How can an accurate valuation be placed on such a vehicle? With difficulty, hence our fairly broad estimate of £29,000 - £49,000. One thing we are certain of, however, is what a very lovely thing this is.

Viewing is always encouraged, and this car is located at our headquarters near Abingdon; we are open Mon-Fri 9am-5pm and to arrange an appointment please use the ‘Contact Seller’ button at the top of the listing to make an appointment. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’