S1 Land Rover.
YYB 193 was a Series 1 Land Rover belonging to Adrian's parents in the late 1950s, bought primarily to tow a heavy old Pemberton caravan. The previous towing vehicle - a V8 Ford Pilot - had found it increasingly difficult to tow such a weighty 'van, hence the search for a S1 Land Rover.
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Adrian remembers this about his parents' Landy: "I remember at the age of about nine, sitting in the Land Rover parked on a steep hill in
Cornwall. A creaking noise started and the vehicle rolled gently forward down the hill towards other parked cars. Thankfully I had the presence
of mind to jump across to the driver's side and press all the pedals until it stopped. I'm not sure how long I had to sit there until my
father re-appeared but I'm sure he appreciated the action."
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YYB is a Somerset-area registration, suggesting that this Land Rover was registered some time after June 1957, making it quite a late Series 1. This famous 4x4 made its debut in 1948, and the basic profile remains evident to this day in the modern Defender series. Aluminium panelwork enclosed a steel box section chassis and bulkhead, initially with an 80 inch wheelbase, petrol engine, and four speed gearbox. The earliest Series 1s featured inset headlamps behind the mesh radiator grille, these would be moved outside of the grille in 1950.
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In 1954 the 80in model was replaced by the 86in, and joined by the long wheelbase 107in pickup. Two years later a factory-built Station Wagon version of the 107 would join the range, and the 86in would stretch to become the 88in version. The 107 became the 110 in 1956 also. In 1958 the revised Series 2 would be introduced, as a replacement for the outgoing S1.
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This page shows an early Land Rover ready to be loaded into the back of an RAF Blackburn Beverley.
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Return to classic car photos - Page 11.
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