Getting started

In 2016 the prices being asked of such project Land Rovers varied from $500 to $2,000 depending on rarity, originality and general stage of decay. A series 2 (1957-1961) cab chassis was fairly rare and if ever the time came to sell, an element of rarity wouldn't be a bad thing. It was all original but showing its 56 years, and the seller sent me a sound file of the engine starting and running. I didn't visit the vehicle and took everything at face value in negotiations and am happy to say, I found in due course, to have been dealing with an open and honest seller. The seller undertook to remove the ex-Hi-lux modified, rusted steel tray and to strap on a slightly better roof he had bought to replace the torn and battered original, and to assist loading onto a car transporter for the trip to Adelaide.

At home we had a double garage and a small to modest sized shed so a dismantled Land Rover was going to cause stress on the home front. My employer had a farm around an hour out of Adelaide with spare shed space, so initially I parked my new project there and it was some months before I could fully appraise what I had, what I had to do, and in what order. I decided that progressively removing the panels was my first task.