Thread: ROYAL VISIT 1954 and landrovers

Well, it may have been an 86,it was 17 years ago.

Originally Posted by 123rover50

That was interesting. What are your updates?
Referring to post 23 by fc110

Attached is a sampler of whats turned up, a lot of stuff wont upload, I'll get around to rewriting if I get some more info.

I perhaps don't make it clear that the 86" 1954 were owned by Rover & were moved to different states at their expense & they then passed them out thru the dealer network. I believe, but don't know for sure, that some were "deconverted" & other(s) sold as is. At any given time during the tour, the Royal Car Company only had a maximium of 6 in their posession. The same design conversion was used in other countries during this trip.

The 6 88" 1958 were owned by CofA (dept supply then dept admin services). DAS were very helpfull.

After the 1992 QE2 tour, they decided that from a security point they were no longer suitable & 2 were sold, although when the 2 in Bandiana migrated I don't know, although the army rego used seems to indicate it received them at the same time possibly as 113800055 was sold.

I have no idea why 113800055 was sold to private hands earlier than the others. It was unfortunately deconverted, tho I have recovered some of the wandering bits, from a previous owner & employee.

Unfortunately the supply of the complete ex-UK 1954s & the conversion of the 1958s in Aus, were very close together timewise & the former employees of Rover/Pressed metal corp that I tracked down tend (as indeed did Admin Services) to mix the two versions up.


As the NLA put more stuff on the net, I might find some more.

You have put a lot of time into this. Thanks for sharing.

Didiman

Originally Posted by UncleHo

Well, it may have been an 86,it was 17 years ago.

17 years ago I could easily drive an 80" now even an 86" with more space behind the wheel would be a squeeze!

On the deconverted ones at Grenville Motors, we know happened because the engineer who did it is still alive in Sydney and kept a screw that Her Majesty may have stepped on. We are trying to get him to write down his memoirs. Like Arthur Goddard, he also worked at the Lode Lane factory, although in this case he completed his time at Grenville Motors, was then seconded to Solihul for journeyman experience. He was there during the 2 litre diesel development and eventually the introduction of the Series 2.

Originally Posted by Lotz-A-Landies

Bobslandies speaks of that same event, or at least one of the doors from one hanging on the wall.

It was there, along with a number of 101's. I was in single figures back then and old George run the place. But I knew what I would be driving for the rest of my days.

Originally Posted by Lotz-A-Landies

Thank you for that article!

As I mentioned before it seems that not all the Land Rovers came through Grenville Motors and there is a possibility that the others were not dissassembled and re-painted.

The vehicles listed for Hobart would have come through Regent Motors in Melbourne and carried Commonwealth plates C*75979 and C*75980 with chassis and engine numbers included in article.

The vehicles for Brisbane would have come through Annand & Thompson and those for Perth through Fauls.

If the REMLR chassis numbers are correct and at least 2 are confirmed by the NAA records for Hobart and there are an additional 4 vehicles in the Grenville Motors records, (which have been confirmed by an engineer manager at Grenville's working there at the time), then the list of 10 different vehicles in Australia are most likely correct.

I have updated the info in my original post with the additional information from the Grenville records.

Originally Posted by Lotz-A-Landies

The 1954 86" Land Rovers for the 1954 Royal Tour were dismantled, re-painted and rebuilt as basic models then sold. The chassis numbers were:

• 47160021 engine 47100175 C*75921 - Sold 31/5/54 to G.A Bailey
• 47160022 engine 47100173 C*75918 - Sold 4/5/54 to Leeton Safety Centre
• 47160023 engine 47100174 C*75919 - Sold 4/5/54 to H Ryves
• 47160024 engine 47100176 C*75920 - Sold 26/5/54 to Genges George

....

Info has arrived from our UK based Aussie ex-pat mate.

Originally Posted by 260AC

The 4 Grenville vehicles:
47160021 engine 47100175 dispatched 'In' and 'Out' 20/8/53,
47160022 engine 47100173 dispatched 'In' and 'Out' 28/08/53,
47160023 engine 47100174 dispatched 'In' and 'Out' 20/8/53,
47160024 engine 47100176 dispatched 'In' and 'Out' 26/8/53, supplied in primer.
... these vehicles were also sent to Hoopers Coach Builders of London, for trimming. They were the Royal Coach builders up to 59.

Now for the other vehicles in question.

Originally Posted by 260AC

The 2 vehicles in Tasmania
47160046 engine 47100532 to Grenvilles 11/09
47160049 engine 47100688 to Faulls 22/10

And finally the other four vehicles also noted in the REMLR list

Originally Posted by 260AC

The 4 vehicles in dispute
47160045 to Grenvilles 10/09
47160047 to A&T 7/10
47160048 to A&T In 7/10 out 8/10
47160050 to Regents 26/10

of interest is that the two vehicles #0045 and #0046 recorded as being dispatched to Grenville's from the UK are not recorded in the allocations books, this may mean that they were not returned to Sydney (and allocated to a customer) but retained in the Royal Car Company or disposed of through other master distributors.

This is all interesting info. Thanks.
I purchased 4760049 and bought her home this weekend.
I will start a thread in the SLOw forum.


Didiman

Thats criminal, better not tell me who let it get to that stage.