03/08/2025
Over the past 10 months, between Range Rover Sport body off jobs, Defender re chassis work, cambelts on 300 TDi, MOT preps and general repairs and servicing of all things Land Rover - all the standard fair work for most Land Rover Specialist garages get to do, we at Cambrian 4X4, have been very lucky to work on a very special car - A 1956 Land Rover Series 1 86" - full restoration.
To be fair, this job was no ordinary restoration as the customer had a very special and particular requirement of the vehicle we were given. Firstly, the vehicle came in kit form. It had been assembled several years ago when the project originally started. The chassis had been significantly repaired and galvanised, so we knew all the body was going to fit. Much of the mechanicals were however still in "barn find" condition, so we knew that there was a lot to be overhauled, repaired and in some cases remade. The customer also wanted a very particular power unit for this Series 1 - Rover V8. Back in the day, fitting Rover V8 into series 1 land rovers was very common, however, this one - according to the customer HAD to look like a standard Series 1, with as little modification for the V8 as possible - almost a factory job!!
What was also made very clear by the customer was that the vehicle was not to be concours restored - in fact the direction we had from the customer was that he wanted the vehicle to look as original and aged as possible. The term I would use and several have agreed, was it needed to look like it had just been dragged out of the bushes!
Over the past 10 months, the vehicle has been assembled and re worked, much "hidden" modifications to allow the customer wishes to be fulfilled as close as possible. We used an uprated, series 3 front axle with bigger brakes to cater for the extra power. A non standard Series 1 radiator was made ( due to an original radiator being too big for the engine bay and a V8), very similar to a 300 TDi rad but wider and with different end caps to allow V8 pipework, a bespoke exhaust system, using part number components, to allow replacement in time. A replica Series 1 wiring loom was fitted which allowed an alternator to be fitted. The customer located a modified Series 1 bulkhead which was built for V8 fitment, so it looked as "factory" as possible. All in all we tried to meet the customer's requirements as much as we could whilst still keeping that Series 1 feel - non servo brakes, mechanical clutch linkages, fuel tank under the seat - original style seats and as in 1956 - no creature comforts - no seat belts, no sound insulation and no extra dials, switches and electrics.
The car was MOTed and test driven over the last week to 5 days, bringing to the end of a 10 month resto of a very significant vehicle in my time being interested in Land Rovers - Why? Because the "customer" was my best friend from school - Carl Brown - he, who got me interested in Land Rovers. Why Series 1? Because it is the coolest Land Rover made and why V8? because back in the day, when we were at school, owning a Series 1 with a V8 was a total dream. So as great friends and having had many Land Rovers between us, raced them and gone our separate ways in careers to then return to Land Rovers, Carl saw an opportunity to relive those dream school boy dreams and have a car built that was a total fun car, a car for a trip to the pub, or a blast in the lanes to relieve some work stress - a total enjoyment car which looked completely unpowerful, uncomfortable but does what only Series 1 Land Rovers can do.
We are very, very proud to have built this cool car and I hope the pictures paint just a small flavour of what has been a really great project for a fantastic friend. The noise of a V8, there sheer basic vehicle and the memories of early days of liking Land Rovers are well and truly captured in this car!!!
