1982 Land Rover 110 Pick-up

Originally registered during December 1982 and retained by Land Rover as a promotional vehicle until 1986, the vehicle was sold at auction to a Game Farm, where it lived for the next 28 years earning an honest living, as its significance at the time was virtually irrelevant. Following these years of hard graft, it passed into the ownership of RCV Land Rovers in Kent, who carried out a sympathetic restoration including stripping, blasting and repairing the chassis where necessary.

The vehicle had also been fitted with an incorrect engine, and a correct 2.25-litre petrol unit and five-speed transmission was sourced and fitted by Black Paw 4x4 of York. Due to the significance of the vehicle, the decision was made to keep the bodywork in its original weather-worn state, to preserve the history as much as possible.

After coming into the vendor’s care, the car was used for many years as a daily driver and commuter vehicle, spending time on both the south coast of England and within the urban environment of London. In this time, it has been serviced regularly and well looked-after, and has proven itself to be a reliable companion.

During one trip to London, the vehicle had a slow-speed collision with a delivery van, which resulted in the front offside wing being replaced with a new item. The original wing is included with the sale of the vehicle, and can be seen in the photographs, should the winning bidder wish to re-fit the item.

The exterior of this Land Rover wears its hard-earned battle scars with pride, though on a vehicle that has been kept as original as possible, patina certainly shouldn’t be seen as a bad thing.

There are numerous dents, dings, scrapes and chips around the body, though all bar a small scuff behind the nearside door were ‘earned’ before coming into the care of the vendor. The patina strangely suits the utilitarian nature of the vehicle, and with so-called ‘sympathetic restorations’ being all the rage at the moment, this preproduction prototype must be one of the best candidates in recent memory!

The wheels are all in good shape with only very minor scoring around the outer lip of the centres, though this is to be expected with a vehicle that was daily driven for a number of years. The pickup bed has been heavily used throughout its life and again proudly wears a number of dents, though thanks to the double-skinned load area none of these dents have progressed to the outer layer.

The unique aluminium window frames, sealed-beam headlight lenses and other rare Series III parts are all present and correct, though the vendor notes that the number plates are not the original items, and are instead a set of period-looking pressed metal items.

Inside, it is clear that this is a vehicle built for a purpose, rather than comfort. The unique ‘soft’ dash without ashtray that was built into these preproduction vehicles remains in place, though the clock is not working. The deluxe trim items and ‘furry’ headliner are present, though the latter has several holes in it from previous owners having apparently mounted a searchlight in the centre between the sun visors, and a gun rack on the rear above the window.

The seats are the correct square-cushioned items, though they would benefit from a re-trim and refurbishment along with the rest of the interior, should you wish to take this 110 HC back to ex-factory condition. There is some wear around the edges of the carpet and insulation where they meet the doors, but this has been documented in the gallery below.

Barring the aforementioned clock, all the instruments work correctly, and the high/low range transfer box, transmission parking brake and gears work as they should.

Thanks to the relatively recent restoration efforts of the previous owners, this Land Rover 110 is in generally very good condition underneath. Like any early Defender, there is plenty of surface corrosion and ‘bloom’ to be seen, though there have been no corrosion-related advisories or notes made during the most recent MOT tests to suggest any more sinister issues.

The vehicle starts well and idles smoothly, with no untoward sounds that we noted during our short trip within the vehicle. The gearbox changes up and down happily and with a surprising smoothness that isn’t expected from an agricultural vehicle, and the 2.25-litre engine pulls well in our experience.

The engine bay itself presents in line with the rest of the vehicle, in the sense that it is mechanically sound but would benefit from a thorough tidying up and detailing to bring it back to its best. There are no signs of any major leaks or seeping that we could see, nor were there any puddles on the floor, or any known mechanical faults with the vehicle.

The history folder with this preproduction 110 Hi-Cap is somewhat spartan, though there is enough to get a feel for the life of the car.

The V5 ownership certificate is present and shows NUMBER previous owners, along with the most recent servicing document detailing a significant number of ‘small’ jobs having been taken care of prior to the sale of the vehicle.

In addition to this, there is also the folder from when the car was invited to be displayed at Dunsfold, a copy of Classic Land Rover magazine which the car was featured in, another magazine explaining the significance of these CWK-Y plate vehicles, an official Heritage certificate, and an invoice detailing the engine change that was carried out prior to the vendor’s ownership.

The most recent MOT took place on 31 March 2020, and showed only one advisory for the offside rear tyre condition.

A significant piece of Land Rover Defender history, this preproduction 110 High-Capacity model is a true collector’s piece, which is ripe for either a full or sympathetic restoration, but is in great shape to be used exactly as it sits.

Presenting in well-used condition but wearing an attractive and genuine patina, this 110 has been featured in a prestigious Land Rover magazine and is in fine mechanical order. Given the condition and the provenance of the vehicle, we estimate it to bring in the region of £10,000 - £20,000 and suggest that it would make a fine addition to any Land Rover collector, history lover or enthusiast’s garage.

This vehicle is not with us at The Market’s HQ, which means we have had to rely on the owner’s description of it, in conjunction with the photographs you see here, to compile the listing. With this in mind, we would encourage potential bidders to contact the owner themselves and arrange to view the car in person, or to arrange a dedicated video call in which they can view the car virtually and ask questions.