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

Here is a link to the first 1500 worldwide despatch records

http://www.lrsoc.com/forum/forum_fil...1500sorted.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

Here is a link to the first 1500 worldwide despatch records

http://www.lrsoc.com/forum/forum_fil...1500sorted.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.