how many 48s

[cheerychops]

Met a really nice bloke the other day who's family have been farming the area for 100 years anyhow he knows of this early 80 in which apparently a high ranking army bloke ordered rover to give him the first landy in australia.Going to see him when I get back.Just for interest how many early ones where there and do we know anything of the first ones.Seeya. Thanks for all the info it is good to know new stuff, as the story goes apparently Rover said they could not do it, but the gentleman pushed the envelope saying he wanted one, and they obliged. Apparentlllllllllllllyyyyyyyy just thought I would share a good story I was told. Thought it might have been of some interest to someone.

[russellrovers]

Met a really nice bloke the other day who's family have been farming the area for 100 years anyhow he knows of this early 80 in which apparently a high ranking army bloke ordered rover to give him the first landy in australia.Going to see him when I get back.Just for interest how many early ones where there and do we know anything of the first ones.Seeya
hithe chassi no starts starts at r 860 --- if you get the no it can be traced good luck

[JDNSW]

Met a really nice bloke the other day who's family have been farming the area for 100 years anyhow he knows of this early 80 in which apparently a high ranking army bloke ordered rover to give him the first landy in australia.Going to see him when I get back.Just for interest how many early ones where there and do we know anything of the first ones.Seeya

It is likely that there is uncertainty over exactly which one was the first in Australia, as they were separately imported to each state initially, so there may be several "firsts".

There were a lot of early ones sold in Australia, with the SMHEA at one stage supposed to be the largest single user in the world. But there are not too many very early ones still around in Australia (there never were that many 1948s anyway).

I think that it is fairly unlikely that a "high ranking army bloke" would have requested the first Landrover in the country - it is unlikely that he would have known of its existence before the first one appeared here. It was deliberately designed as a civilian vehicle (c.f. the Jeeps that the Australian army used then) and although Rover pushed to try and sell them to the UK Army from quite early on, there does not appear to have been any Australian army interest for several years. And Rover was unable to meet demand until the 1970s.

John

[andy_d110]

If you are interested in early stuff you should check out www.lrsoc.com (http://www.lrsoc.com)

Here is a link to the first 1500 worldwide despatch records

http://www.lrsoc.com/forum/forum_files/register/Pre1500sorted.pdf

The earliest Land Rover to Australia was R860004 which was despatched to Faulls Motors of Perth. R860005 was despatched to Regent Motors of Melbourne. These were the first two here, the despatch lists note that number R860005 was despatched 9 days before R860004 however it is believed that R860004 was the First Land Rover into the Southern Hemisphere so it must have been the first to Oz. Maybe different Boats or it got to Perth quicker than the other got to Melbourne.

R862994 is listed as the first Land Rover to be trialled by the Australian Army, this is towards the end of 1948 models and would have been built in 1949. Good luck with your search, let us know how you get on.

Cheers,
Andy.

[isuzurover]

If you are interested in early stuff you should check out www.lrsoc.com (http://www.lrsoc.com)

Here is a link to the first 1500 worldwide despatch records

http://www.lrsoc.com/forum/forum_files/register/Pre1500sorted.pdf

The earliest Land Rover to Australia was R860004 which was despatched to Faulls Motors of Perth. R860005 was despatched to Regent Motors of Melbourne. These were the first two here, the despatch lists note that number R860005 was despatched 9 days before R860004 however it is believed that R860004 was the First Land Rover into the Southern Hemisphere so it must have been the first to Oz. Maybe different Boats or it got to Perth quicker than the other got to Melbourne.

R862994 is listed as the first Land Rover to be trialled by the Australian Army, this is towards the end of 1948 models and would have been built in 1949. Good luck with your search, let us know how you get on.

Cheers,
Andy.

Thanks for the great info.

So is R860004 still in existence?

[Lotz-A-Landies]

Thanks for the great info.

So is R860004 still in existence?Yes and still in Perth. But was rebuilt with lots of later parts for a round Australia trip some years ago.

You also have one of the pre-production models in Perth, but that only arrived in the last 5 years.

[andy_d110]

R860004 is still around in Perths southern suburbs, it was modified with later axles for the 50th anniversary trip. The original axles are still with the car locked away.

R860005 is listed as missing on the list of early Australian vehicles, who know where it is or what has happened to it...

As far as early Land Rovers in WA go, preproduction L48 is in Perth and I visit it and it's owner regularly, it's a very interesting vehicle. R860130 is also in Perth undergoing a freshen up, R860583 is in my shed, R860584 exists south of Perth, R860585 is missing, R860588 is missing, R860984 is alive and kicking in Perth also. There are two more later 48's over here somewhere but they have been
Lost and the trail has gone cold...

[isuzurover]

R860004 is still around in Perths southern suburbs, it was modified with later axles for the 50th anniversary trip. The original axles are still with the car locked away.

R860005 is listed as missing on the list of early Australian vehicles, who know where it is or what has happened to it...

As far as early Land Rovers in WA go, preproduction L48 is in Perth and I visit it and it's owner regularly, it's a very interesting vehicle. R860130 is also in Perth undergoing a freshen up, R860583 is in my shed, R860584 exists south of Perth, R860585 is missing, R860588 is missing, R860984 is alive and kicking in Perth also. There are two more later 48's over here somewhere but they have been
Lost and the trail has gone cold...

Thanks. So do these vehicles attend any events where they can be seen (read: drooled over)???

[Lotz-A-Landies]

Met a really nice bloke the other day who's family have been farming the area for 100 years anyhow he knows of this early 80 in which ...<snip>We are still looking for #860005 which was delivered to Regent Motors also #860136 and #860137 from NSW are currently lost.

Unfortunately many of these "first Land Rover in Australia" stories turn out to have a far more mundane origin and later provenance.

However there is always the chance of one of the missing pre-production or early production vehicles will turn up in someone's hay shed. So the effort of looking is well worthwhile.

[andy_d110]

Thanks. So do these vehicles attend any events where they can be seen (read: drooled over)???

Number 984 was at the recent British car day at Gingin if anyone was there. Number 130 is still on the road to licensing, suffering some niggling engine faults at the moment, excessive blow by I believe. Number 4 was inherited by the restorers son when he passed away several years ago. It is hardly seen anymore and is reported to be locked up and very sad. It was for sale a while back, for the price that was wanted I would think it will stay with the current owner. Unless I win Lotto.

My vehicle number 583, is on the road to recovery. Chasing up a few bits to complete its reassembly which will hopefully come from a 1949 I have recently found for parts. Number 584 is also in the restoration phase.

Pre pro L48 is also is nearing completion.

1948's tend to take a while to rebuild as many parts are unique to the first 1500 and can take a while to find. There is also a great responsibility to do them correctly, more so than the later more common Series 1/2/3's.

Attached is a photo of 583, it came from the Gascoyne area of WA and was the 2nd Land Rover to WA. It is very original with matching engine, transmission, rear diff and chassis numbers. The original front diff is long gone. All body work is complete and original paint is visible in some parts. It will be sympathetically restored with all mechanical components overhauled. Chassis and bulkhead are rust free.

Planning to get it done in time for the 70th and then on the train to Cooma.

Cheers,
Andy.

[goingbush]

I just dug out these pics of an early one I spotted over the back fence of a house I was visiting in Eildon about 10 years ago. On a subsequent visit is was gone.

I forgot most of what I knew about early ones, (I restored a 49 model ) but this has the shackles on the front so puts it in the 48-49 years.

anyone know if this one has been rescued or still MIA

http://www.goingbush.com/landy/80b.jpeg


http://www.goingbush.com/landy/80a.jpeg

[Lotz-A-Landies]

I just dug out these pics of an early one I spotted over the back fence of a house I was visiting in Eildon about 10 years ago. On a subsequent visit is was gone.

I forgot most of what I knew about early ones, (I restored a 49 model ) but this has the shackles on the front so puts it in the 48-49 years.

anyone know if this one has been rescued or still MIAIf the grill and lack of fish plates on the chassis are correct it's a mid to late 1950 (but not extra late 1950 with the wide front springs).

Only about 16,000 1950's were made, whereas there were only 3,000 official 1948 (of those there were likely only about 1,500 actually built in 1948) and another 4920 official 1949 models.

Remember that in the 1949 calendar year. The Rover Co. manufactured Land Rovers designated 1948, 1949 and 1950 models. All of those had the headlamps behind the grill and fishplates on the dumbirons to support the bumper bar.

[andy_d110]

The bulkhead looks like the early fabricated type and the housing surrounding the gear lever looks like the early type too...

[Lotz-A-Landies]

The bulkhead looks like the early fabricated type and the housing surrounding the gear lever looks like the early type too...So maybe no# 005 and now a Chinese toaster! :o

Although the wheels aren't the early 4 1/2" ones.

[Summiitt]

When did the ring pull 4wd setup make way for the more common red and yellow levers? The reason I ask is that a contractor who did some work for me said that his father has a series one up on his property in the snowies, when I quized him he said that the lights were behind the grill and that it only had a red lever? This to me would mean it's '48-'50? It might be worn my while getting some further info..

[wrinklearthur]

How many of the 48's imported into Australia had the swivel pin ball housing's and the clutch and brake pedals foot plates made from bronze ?
.

[Lotz-A-Landies]

When did the ring pull 4wd setup make way for the more common red and yellow levers? ...<snip>IIRC (without access to the books here) the ring pull dissappeared around 6,000 vehicles into 1950.

They retained the freewheel unit with a yellow button until about 5,000 vehicles into 1951.

[LRO53]

Also for a list of the 1948 sequence Vehicles to Australia. This was handed out by Michael Bishop (260AC -AULRO Forum Name) at Cooma 2008

http://www.lrsoc.com/forum/forum_files/AUSforum.pdf

For the Article that went with it

http://www.lrsoc.com/forum/forum_files/AUS48SARTICLE.pdf

[digger]

R8664985

R Prefix: Right-hand drive (RHD)
8 Model years: 1948 to 1949
6 Model: Land Rover, Series I, 80in, petrol
6 Body type: Basic 4985 Serial number

firewall has been cut in a few spots, steering column from holden welded in, chassis really bodged up with a holden set of wishbones cut in!!

if i can work out how to get photos from my phone to the computer i'll post them...

cheers
digger

[andy_d110]

How many of the 48's imported into Australia had the swivel pin ball housing's and the clutch and brake pedals foot plates made from bronze ?
.

What have you found?

[JDNSW]

How many of the 48's imported into Australia had the swivel pin ball housing's and the clutch and brake pedals foot plates made from bronze ?
.

I do not think there is any record of that information for any of them, let alone the ones that came to Australia!

John

[wrinklearthur]

What have you found?

Long gone I'm afraid, I did try to chase it up but have lucked out so far, I suspect that it has been squashed and gone to that big furnace in China.

The chap (Les Wells, he died late 70's) that owned this particular 80" Land rover, showed me a couple of interesting differences between the one that he was driving at the time and his later 80" wreck that he had already pulled some parts from to keep his going. He used to like comparing my 86" with his and did like the modern door handles that my Land Rover had.

He had taken off and wired a pair of bronze swivel pin housings together they where hanging on the pole in his lean to.
The pedals foot plates were cast from bronze.
The name badge was bronze and in the form of a folded ribbon, not a oval badge.
The tie down's for the sides straps were the staple type, ( I can't remember now what metal they were made from ).

Everything points to his first one being a prototype, as Les did tell me that it didn't have a chassis serial number, he used the engine number instead.
( I wonder if that engine number could be still retrieved from the Tasmanian Vehicle Registration Details? ).

Did Land rover sell some of their prototypes off as they where completed?

How come there isn't any of the Tasmanian dealers mentioned in that list that LRO53 posted here? sorry, I should add that list that andy_d110 posted as well.
A.G. Webster's and Gorringe's were prominent machinery and car dealers that time and sold Land Rovers, It's possible they imported direct form Britain, as A.G.Websters exported wool and apples at that time.

Another thing I remember about Les's 80", was that he had both the lights hinged so they could shine back into the engine bay, like the military model Jeep had. I don't think it that was built the way on that particular Land rover, but more likely that was something Les would do, as he loved to tinker.

[123rover50]

How many of the 48's imported into Australia had the swivel pin ball housing's and the clutch and brake pedals foot plates made from bronze ?
.

The only one I have heard of is in Perth. The owner imported it when he moved here from overseas.

Keith

[wrinklearthur]

A.G. Webster's and Gorringe's were prominent machinery and car dealers that time and sold Land Rovers, It's possible they imported direct form Britain, as A.G.Websters exported wool and apples at that time.

Interesting advertisement for A. G. WEBSTER & SONS LTD, auction that includes a Land Rover. 1953

12 Dec 1953 - Advertising (http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/27189704)

.

[Lotz-A-Landies]

How many of the 48's imported into Australia had the swivel pin ball housing's and the clutch and brake pedals foot plates made from bronze ?
.I do not think there is any record of that information for any of them, let alone the ones that came to Australia!

JohnRemember the bronze components were pre-production parts but the early production models were being built before some of the late pre-production vehicles were assembled.

It's probably a bit like the early steering relays, (The ones without the spring loading,) the records don't show the change over and it is probably a bit of mix and match as the early vehicles were being built, whatever parts were available were used.

In the U.K. the early relay are a rare sight, but 260 AC seems to have identified vehicles right up to the pressed firewall '48 models that have them in Australia.

Another AULRO member, remembers seeing a pair of the bronze pedals hanging on a wall at Allspares on Silverwater Rd.

[digger]

Another AULRO member, remembers seeing a pair of the bronze pedals hanging on a wall at Allspares on Silverwater Rd.

so the obvious question is... are they still there (and watch the rush to the telephones....)

were these pedals used in any other vehicles or were they exclusively for landies?

[Lotz-A-Landies]

so the obvious question is... are they still there (and watch the rush to the telephones....)

were these pedals used in any other vehicles or were they exclusively for landies?Allspares moved from Silverwater Road more than 20 years ago and folded more than 10 years ago.

We would have already had the parts if they were still open.

[bobslandies]

Long gone I'm afraid, I did try to chase it up but have lucked out so far, I suspect that it has been squashed and gone to that big furnace in China.

The chap (Les Wells, he died late 70's) that owned this particular 80" Land rover, showed me a couple of interesting differences between the one that he was driving at the time and his later 80" wreck that he had already pulled some parts from to keep his going. He used to like comparing my 86" with his and did like the modern door handles that my Land Rover had.

He had taken off and wired a pair of bronze swivel pin housings together they where hanging on the pole in his lean to.
The pedals foot plates were cast from bronze.
The name badge was bronze and in the form of a folded ribbon, not a oval badge.
The tie down's for the sides straps were the staple type, ( I can't remember now what metal they were made from ). They were also brass or bronze.

Everything points to his first one being a prototype, as Les did tell me that it didn't have a chassis serial number, he used the engine number instead.
( I wonder if that engine number could be still retrieved from the Tasmanian Vehicle Registration Details? ). All the pre-production vehicles were numbered

Did Land rover sell some of their prototypes off as they where completed? Yes, many were sold, some went to Rover's R&D department so they may not have been disposed of even though derived from pre-productions. You can easily tell them - they had a galvanised chassis - not silver painted. In fact some production vehicles were completed before the last pre-productions. Did your friend's vehicle have a galvanised chassis?

How come there isn't any of the Tasmanian dealers mentioned in that list that LRO53 posted here? sorry, I should add that list that andy_d110 posted as well. Regent Motors were the distributors for Tasmania as well as the Riverina District including parts of NSW.
A.G. Webster's and Gorringe's were prominent machinery and car dealers that time and sold Land Rovers, It's possible they imported direct form Britain, as A.G.Websters exported wool and apples at that time. Very unlikely.

Another thing I remember about Les's 80", was that he had both the lights hinged so they could shine back into the engine bay, like the military model Jeep had. I don't think it that was built the way on that particular Land rover, but more likely that was something Les would do, as he loved to tinker.

I have seen a bronze oval badge (not a reproduction), the pedals Diana refers to and a few other bits.

Additionally, I have many parts from R860137 - engine 860159, front differential casing No 2 that is quite different to other 1948 casings, 1948 wheels, etc.
Remember these early vehicles were from the first weeks of production so they could easily contain "pre-production" parts.
R860137 was the first Land Rover actually sold to a customer in NSW on 31 December 1948 and is probably lost.

Bob

[260AC]

Did Land rover sell some of their prototypes off as they where completed?

How come there isn't any of the Tasmanian dealers mentioned in that list that LRO53 posted here? sorry, I should add that list that andy_d110 posted as well.
A.G. Webster's and Gorringe's were prominent machinery and car dealers that time and sold Land Rovers, It's possible they imported direct form Britain, as A.G.Websters exported wool and apples at that time.



Hi Arthur,

You have asked a lot of questions on this thread.

With the bronze parts they are actually made out of high tensile brass. The same kind of material a ship propeller.

The thing is with these prototype or pre pro parts and the way Rover moved instantly from Pre Production to Production of the Land Rover we often find that the very late pre pros have some production parts and the early production vehicles have pre pro parts.

The main importer for Victoria, Riverina and Tasmania was Regent Motors of Melbourne. I have always thought that knowing they had R860005 and R860026 that one
would have been to demo to their dealers in Victoria and the other in Tasmania. I have no idea which one stayed in Vic. All we know that one of them was registered in Vic by its engine number which was 860022.

So either of these two could have bronze parts or other pre pro parts. R860004 has a pre pro gearbox for example. R860020 in New Zealand, its chassis is almost an ungalvanized pre pro chassis. You could bolt a pre pro rear body to it in theory!

From one point of view the early production vehicles are more interesting that the pre production vehicles. As you can see the development work that the engineers were doing evolving on the very early production vehicles a lot more plus you often get this sprinkling of very early parts on them.

So the vehicle you came across I would say was either 5 or 26, given how few early vehicles came to Oz and 4 is accounted for. But then sometimes odd parts turn up on later vehicles. R860987 has a capping still drilled for the early pre pro style seats way after they stopped them.

I posted an old add for Donald Goringe on the LRSOC forum a few years ago. It is one of my favorites.

Login (http://www.lrsoc.com/forum/index.php?action=gallery;sa=view;id=917)

Regent Motors being the main importer for Victoria, Riverina and Tasmania had local dealers in many country towns. The same with Grenville Motors in NSW. The Grenville Sales list exists, however the Regent Motors Sales list was said to have been destroyed when they closed.

So of the vehicles sent to Regent Motors we have no idea how many Regents then sent to their dealers in Tasmania.

All the info in the list I made up of Australian delivered 1948 models came straight from the 1948 Factory dispatch book. I then cross referenced it with as much local info I could get my hands on at the time. Obviously the Grenville sales list makes a huge impression on the overall list.

The idea behind this Oz 1948 list that I put together was when I was a teenager in Melbourne and looking for a 1948 LR, it seemed that every 80" was advertised as a '48' and you would go onto find it was a 1950 model or whatever else

Tony Hutchings had been very successful in listing the Pre Production vehicles so people could find them in the UK. So I thought a list like this for Oz would help a great deal for all.

So if anyone did come across an advertisement for a 1948 model 500 Ks away in the bush, you didn't have to waste time chasing around. A simple phone call and confirmation of the chassis number was all you had to do. Disposable cameras had just come on the scene at the time. So I often posted a camera to people with a self addressed envelope so they could send it back which also helped.

It worked a treat when R860997 turned up in the mid 1990s. The vehicle was purchased over the phone. I know others have put it to good use and vehicles have survived which is great.

Cheers

[wrinklearthur]

The main importer for Victoria, Riverina and Tasmania was Regent Motors of Melbourne.
I posted an old add for Donald Goringe on the a few years ago. It is one of my favorites.
I am thinking that dealers in Hobart may have imported some of the first Land Rover's into Tasmania direct, as being after the end of the war and with a concerted push on to supply food to Britain and to boost the British manufacturing economy, they were bringing in Ferguson and Fordson tractors in great numbers.
The Ferguson tractors were shipped in crates without a battery, fuel tank empty, the wheels and tyres removed placed in the crate, but left the lubricants in so the oil's were already in the gearbox and motor. The Chap that was given the job of collecting the tractors from the wharf, opened the crates, filled the tank with fuel , fitted the wheels and put a battery in. The tractor was then started and driven up to a business operating under the name of "British Farm Equipment".---- I digress!! --- Donald Goringe was already in the business of importing British built cars direct from before the war and that did included Rover cars.

Thanks for the link to that Add, I joined the LRSOC forum as well.


The idea behind this Oz 1948 list that I put together was when I was a teenager in Melbourne and looking for a 1948 LR, it seemed that every 80" was advertised as a '48' and you would go onto find it was a 1950 model or whatever else------Tony Hutchings had been very successful in listing the Pre Production vehicles so people could find them in the UK. So I thought a list like this for Oz would help a great deal for all.

I would dearly like to add some more to your list, So a very big thank you for also doing that work.
.

[260AC]

Arthur,

Glad to here your going to do some more research.

Here is an ad for Regent Motors from the Weekly Times and their stand at 1949 Melbourne Royal Show in September 1949.

http://img100.imageshack.us/img100/7801/img0109copy.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/100/img0109copy.jpg/)

For Land Rovers at a major Australian agricultural show we can't get much earlier than this. The Sept 48 Melbourne Royal Show was that touch too early for the Land Rover to appear.

We know from a photo in the Melbourne Argus in November 1948 that Regent Motors had received a Land Rover. This is consistent with R860004 appearing in WA and the early vehicles arriving at Grenville Motors in December 1948.

The June 48 owners manual lists Regent Motors as a major supplier.

Also the Regent Motors Dealer list which has Donald Gorringe and Autocars of Launceston at the bottom of another one of their ads from the Weekly Times in early 1953

http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/9250/img0098copy2.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/207/img0098copy2.jpg/)

I hope you find some more early vehicles

[260AC]

Here is a link to the photo from the Melbourne Argus in late 1948,

Login (http://www.lrsoc.com/forum/index.php?action=gallery;sa=view;id=3577)

I don't believe it made it to the Sept 1948 Royal Show but we are now touching back on the thread a while back on Regent Motors and especially their MD, Lionel Spencers influence on vehicle sales and CKD plants in Australia.

I have been digging a bit more over here in the UK into the setup of Rover Australia by Mr H.A. Francis. All I can say at the moment is the Rover board had a lot of faith and trust in Francis, but when it came to Sales and CKD plants it was Spencer who appears to have called the shots with his interests in both Regent Motors and Grenville Motors.

This brings me to another interesting point. I was recently looking at some of my old files I have collected over the years on Land Rovers in Australia. I was in Adelaide a few years back now looking through old copies of 'South Australian Motor' at the SA state library which had some stats on commercial vehicle sales in around 1950 and the LR, not surprising to us was one of the leaders.

If anyone has or knows of anything like this from the early 1950s do get in touch.

[series1buff]

I think one of the Shackleton brothers owned the earliest 48 LR surviving in Australia..Leo or Barry S.

I met them at the VMVC meetings years ago , I recall talking to them about this topic . I don't know what became of that car ? Mike

[260AC]

I think one of the Shackleton brothers owned the earliest 48 LR surviving in Australia..Leo or Barry S.

I met them at the VMVC meetings years ago , I recall talking to them about this topic . I don't know what became of that car ? Mike

Hi Mike,

You are right in that Leo Shackleton did use to have an early vehicle. It is still about.

The vehicle is a Champions of Adelaide vehicle. Same age roughly as R860997

[wrinklearthur]

Hi All

Interesting snippet of news in 'The Mercury' Tuesday 14 November 1950

14 Nov 1950 - The Mercury - p9 (http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/page/1907868)

Still looking for early Tasmanian Photo's of Land Rovers.
.

[LRO53]

This was published in the West Australian on the 26th May 1949

WA Newspaper Announcement vehicle
Can't be any earlier as it's got trafficator blocks on the windscreen.
R861595 Engine: 861820 3 21/2/49
R861596 Engine: 861799 38 23/2/49




http://img100.imageshack.us/img100/5214/westaustralian26may1949.jpg


New South Wales Announcement vehicle
Published Sydney Morning Herald 12-4-1949
We all know this as R860138 as it was used as the sign written demo.

http://img844.imageshack.us/img844/4220/img0003custom.jpg

http://img684.imageshack.us/img684/3599/sydneymorningherald1241.jpg


Queensland Announcement vehicle
No photo for a unique QLD vehicle but there was an announcement that they arrived. They did publish this roughly the same time as the other states.

Annand and T 25jan 1949 (Would have been R860172 and R860173)
http://img33.imageshack.us/img33/8264/adannandandt25jan1949.jpg

It looks like the courier mail just used a photo of R860138 but i have not put it past Annand and Thompson to sign write there own vehicle they did like sign writing! Only way we would know if we had a rear shot as no point looking at the front as QLD did not fit numbers plates there.

http://img220.imageshack.us/img220/9684/thecouriermail1aug1949.jpg

South Australia Announcement vehicle
Published: The Advertiser 2nd August 1949

Likey R860750 as R860749 did not have a bonnet mounted wheel carrier. Nor did R860194.

http://img842.imageshack.us/img842/2840/theadvertiser2ndaugust1.jpg

Victoria Announcement vehicle
R860005 or R860026
Photo Published 27 October 1948

http://img685.imageshack.us/img685/2451/265120810111311.jpg