The 80 inch Mulliner estate cars

Mooloolah-Paul · 12th October 2009, 10:39 AM

This is a true story as accurate as I can remember it. If anyone else has any information about the remaining eleven Mulliner cars I would be very pleased to hear about them.

In about 1969, on a Sunday, my brother Phil and I were driving from Harlow to Stevenage in his ex-post office Morris minor van when he stopped suddenly and backed up. Phil claimed he could "smell" a landrover. In a roadside garage through a hole in a fence we could see the distinctive front bumper.

Behind the fence was the weirdest landrover either of us had ever seen and a weird colour too. The next day Phil went back to the garage and heard the owner was fed up with it as it wouldn't start and might sell it.
That evening Phil paid 65 pounds for it knowing it wouldn't start despite a cleaned fuel tank, new battery, fuel pump, fuel lines etc.

We towed it back to Harlow with my old Standard panel van which was a journey in itself. The trouble was that it had a Morris Minor rotor arm and with the correct one fitted it ran like a sewing machine. Phil drove it back to Lancashire and started restoration. He wrote to Rover in Solihull with all the vehicle numbers.

Rover wrote back saying it was a 1950 vehicle and one of twelve prototypes built by Mulliner, the Rolls Royce body builders, but Rover never continued production with Mulliner. It seems they stuck with Tickford for the remainder. The vehicle is KYM 725 and if you want to see pictures of it look here Land Rovers Of The UK. 3 pictures from off roading photos on webshots

Phil sold it to emigrate to Australia and the vehicle was sold at Stratford on Avon on May 12 1977 according to the catalogue for sale on e-bay.

The restoration was interesting. The original grille had been butchered to take the later headlights so Phil had to source the original grille and original headlights which he got from an ex-army store in Doncaster. They were also used on the rear of army trucks and Ferguson tractors.
I recall the car was sage green and I don't think it was 2-tone but not sure. Phil wanted it the "proper" dark green and has been that colour ever since.

We had a lot of fun going caving in the Yorkshire Dales in "Phil's mobile hen hut" as the caving club called it. One dark night with a flat battery we had to remove the spark plugs and wind it about 100 yards up out of a frozen creek bed using the starting handle.

Interestingly most people now think KYM 725 is a 1949 Tickford. But park it next to a Tickford and you can see there's a big difference in shape. It's a 1950 Mulliner and there is no mistaking those beautiful Rolls Royce doors on it with the little silver levers and the soft solid click as they close.

Regards, Mooloolah-Paul

**Scallops** · 12th October 2009, 11:05 AM

Originally Posted by Mooloolah-Paul

..... Phil claimed he could "smell" a landrover. ...

Did it smell like.....oil???

PS - KYM 725 is a very interesting vehicle.....I bet the body panels actually fit on this "Rolls Rover"

**JDNSW** · 12th October 2009, 01:12 PM

According to the recently published book by John Smith on Series 1 Landrovers, the Mulliner station wagons were made as an interim model made to order between when the Tickford was dropped and the introduction of the 86" station wagon in 1954. These were very different, having a traditional "woody" station wagon body rather than the metal exterior of the Tickford. Very few were made, and eleven is a likely figure. It seems that only one now exists and is in the USA. The picture Scallops has posted looks like a Tickford to me.

John

**123rover50** · 12th October 2009, 05:50 PM

James Taylors book shows several pictures of KYM725 as a early 1950 Tickford. Chassis no R06200035, Restored by Ken Wheelwright. The paint shown is two tone, light green on top bronze green lower.

Didiman

**LRO53** · 12th October 2009, 06:23 PM

Here is a photo of a Mulliners Station Wagon and below is a Tickford Station Wagon. The Mulliners above is very different to the Tickford and there is little doubt now days that KYM is a Tickford Station Wagon.

**260AC** · 12th October 2009, 06:58 PM

Hi Paul,

Very interesting story and it is always great to hear these old stories. I hate in many ways to say that Rover in the 70's wasn't really that on top of its history. We know this especially from all the myths about the pre pro's that Tony Hutchings was told from those days and is all well documented. For example R16 which was the well known Service dept vehicle up untill 1980 was at first discribed as R22 in1974, then the vehicle with the chassis cut open and much modified (L09), then it was found and to be R16 and the myths started on its registration. It was used on trade plates at the factory, but currently has HNX 331 as another historic error had been been made.

The same thing even happened to the Tickford station wagons. Someone at Rover told Hutchings in the 70's they were done by Abbey Panels first up and that is what everyone thought for a while. It wasn't until the early 80's that it was really confirmed that Tickford were the coach builders made the 1949 to 1951 model Land Rover Station Wagon.

So that said, KYM since 77 has been owned by big name collectors after your brother. Richard Beadall firstly, then John Smith, then Ken Wheelwright who still has her. Ken has owned and restored a number of the Tickford Wagon's now but has kept KYM and still takes her on runs here and there.

I hope we havn't ruined a family story but there is little doubt that this is the case with KYM and the research that has been done on these vehicles since the early 70's,

Mike Bishop

LR Series One Club
80" Techical Officer

**JDNSW** · 12th October 2009, 08:12 PM

Just as a correction to the title of this thread - despite the fact that the English seem to have been reluctant to use the term, Rover always referred to the vehicles as Station Wagons, not estate cars. I have a copy of their first brochure (in John Smith's book) in front of me as I write.

John

**260AC** · 12th October 2009, 10:06 PM

Originally Posted by JDNSW

Just as a correction to the title of this thread - despite the fact that the English seem to have been reluctant to use the term, Rover always referred to the vehicles as Station Wagons, not estate cars. I have a copy of their first brochure (in John Smith's book) in front of me as I write.

John

The term 'Estate car' was one that Tony Hutchings used in the 70's and the early 80's. He came up with term 'sage green' for the early paint colour and people used it for years. Rover never used these names in the late 40's or 50's. We now have most of the documents from then or can easily go and view this info so all usually say 'Station Wagon'. In the early days of S1 research names like these were coined as nobody knew what the correct terms were.

Tony also used that kind of language in the early Register newsletters. It sounds all so out of date now but thankfully he started building enthusiasm and interest in the early vehicles back then.

Here is a link to the Rover Service Bulletin of 01/12/1948 annoucing the chassis number sequences for the 'Land Rover Station Wagon'

http://www.lrsoc.com/forum/forum_fil...lletin5031.pdf