Ceremonial Series 1's

**series1buff** · 10th July 2008, 10:26 PM

Going through the 2nd hand books at the Op shop recently, I came across a large volume on the Royal tour of OZ 1954 ? Pictured in various capital cities , is a 86" series 1 with lizzie windsor and phil the greek hanging on .

Now, is it the same car pictured in Hobart, Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane ... it certianly looks to be . They would not have 5 different cars !

It's definately a 86", the doors have the recess for the outside handle and the doors are square backed, not angled . The front wings have the 3 seperate panels.

The book had $10 on it, which I feel is a exhorbitant price for a Op shop to charge.
Mike

**ellard** · 11th July 2008, 06:56 AM

Hi there

Initally it seem a high price for an Op shop - but its for a good cause...

Wayne

**Phoenix** · 22nd July 2008, 11:09 AM

That book would be a good investment, did you buy it series 1 buff, and could we borrow it to scan?

also, i've added the chassis numbers of the 2 army review land rovers as well as 2 numbers of other known australian review rovers of the 6 delivered to australia for the 54 commonwealth tour.

I've also added 6 chassis numbers of UK vehicles, and one of a NZ vehicle.

Series 1 Review Rovers -REMLR

**Lotz-A-Landies** · 22nd July 2008, 01:37 PM

Phoeny

Given a number of factors, like the 86" tubs and the 88" tubs having the same dimensions and fittings as each other, as well as the fact that the 4 Land Rovers specified as "Royal Tour" in Grenville Motors books were sold 2 months after the tour ended.

I wonder if the ceremonial backs were actually removed and stored in 1954, then re-used on other vehicles taken from the local supplies in 1958, then much later being converted into the military ceremonials by RAEME?

Diana

**Phoenix** · 22nd July 2008, 02:12 PM

Being as the army has no series 1's, I doubt they were built from existing vehicles. Also, their registrations are with vehicles which entered service in 1969, muc much later on.

The information above is from james taylor. I've not plugged the chassis numbers through calvin to decypher what year the vehicles are,.

I noticed your comment about them being sold in may 1954 from your e-mail, but none of the australian ones were 86's to the information I was given. So we aren't out of the woods as yet as to their true identity. However one is a single chassis number from one that was sold by shannons in 1996, and a couple of numbers off the other one.

**LSBob** · 22nd July 2008, 02:15 PM

The Australian Army in PNG had one ceremonial Land Rover which was used for Prince Charles at Independence and the opening of the new parliament in 1975. I can remember seeing it getting a mechanical overhaul before the event and it had very low mileage and a top quality paint job which I am fairly certain was not the army green. Cannot now remember whether it was a ser 1 or 2 but it was it was an open vehicle. None of my photos at Independence show the vehicle though. Perhaps it was used to take Charles around the Hubert Murray Stadium.

**Phoenix** · 22nd July 2008, 02:16 PM

I just had another look at the photos that I have, and i'm even more confused now

**Lotz-A-Landies** · 22nd July 2008, 02:31 PM

Originally Posted by Phoenix

I just had another look at the photos that I have, and i'm even more confused now

You should be Phoeny!

All the images of the 1954 I have recently found show an 86" (given that there were no 88" in 1954) although I am sure that I have seen a picture of an 80" Royal Review in a rather poor state of repair. Where was the image and if it were even in Australia I'm no longer sure.

What I am sure about is that there are four 86" Land Rovers in the Grenville books with the notation "Royal Tour" they arrived before the Tour started in early February and yet were not sold to the public until May when all other UK Built vehicles were delivered within days of arrival.

Someone else may have better information than me.

Diana

**Phoenix** · 22nd July 2008, 03:13 PM

I think i've got a photo of that vehicle,. I think it was one of the army converted series 2's.

mm, maybe the vehicles that I have reference to are later built ones for the tour, as James Taylor was veryspecific that 6 were built from kits in australia, he said for the 54 tour.

the Calvin calculator puts the series 1's that I have chassis numbers for (the 2 army ones and the 2 shannons sold) as 1958 models, not 53 or 54 models, just to add to the confustion. the first 8 it pegs as 58, is this wrong, or are we missing a large number of vehicles somewhere later on?

**Lotz-A-Landies** · 22nd July 2008, 03:55 PM

Originally Posted by Phoenix

....mm, maybe the vehicles that I have reference to are later built ones for the tour, as James Taylor was veryspecific that 6 were built from kits in australia, he said for the 54 tour. ...

There is another of those James Taylor references again.

Depending upon whom you talk to there are a number of factual errors in that book. Like the one about 2 serarate 1950 number sequences 06100001 through 06109999 and a second sequence 06110001 onwards. If James had chosen to do his research absolutely correctly he would have found that 06110000 was the last vehicle in the first book. In fact vehicle R06110000 came to Regent Motors in Victoria.

What I can do is ask Mike Bishop to do a little research for us, he is in the U.K for a while and is one of the people who has direct access to the archives at Gaydon.

Cheers
Diana

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