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THE ORIGINAL and the subject on its of thousandsof suoerlatives legendarystatus.SeriesOnes are greatfun, havea massivefollowing and are rapidlybecomingvaluable classicsin theirown right. The veryf irst 1948 modelsare extremelysoughtafterand fetch relativelyhigh prices;the surviving pre-productionvehiclesrarely makean appearanceon the open market.and can be expectedto be reassuringly expensive. So let'stake a lookat the more commonSeriesOnes out there.The 80" wheelbasemodelswere built from 1948 until1953,withsome fairlysubstantialchangeshappening alongthe way.This was replacedby the 86" for 1954,and a newcomer to the rangein the shapeof the 107" pick-up- the first long-wheelbase Land Rover- and the Meccanoesque StationWagon of 1956.A year later, the introductionof the 2-litrediesel
.1951 SeriesOne 80 1,997ccfourcylinder petrolengine;52bhp; 101|b/ftof torque.
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18 May2011 tAl{D ROVERmon hly
engine(inthe firstproductiondiesel Land Rovers)calledfor an increase in enginebay clearances,and so the front axlewas movedforwardto createthe 88" and 109" models. Althoughthey are all called'Series Ones',the differencesbetween the diminutive80s and the larger, improved86 are quitemarked.Apart from the increasein lengthand load capacity,the 86 and 107 goi a completelydifferentbulkheadand severalchangesto the runninggear. I'veoftenthoughtthey shouldbe calledSerieslAs. In our photoswe havean 80, for the simoleand selfishreasonthat they are my favourite- not just of SeriesOnes, but of all Land Rovers. Theyaren'tperfectand some parts are veryexpensive,but theyare 'the' typicalSeriesOne. This one is also an examoleof a later80. with wider frontspringsand shacklesat the back of them (ratherthan the other
way round,which on early80s led to bump steer),larger7" headlampsand - in this case - the imoroved2-like versionof the originalRoverpetrol engrne. lf you'veneverdrivena Land Rover with one of these enginesyou could, perhaps,be forgivenfor thinkingit After all, would be prettyunexciting. old SeriesOnes onlydo 40mph, don't they? You'dbe wrong.The littleRover engine- sharedwith the car range, from the dayswhen Roverswere what you'dnow calla'premiumbrand'runsextremelysweetlyand is very quiet;youfindyourselfblippingthe throttleto makesure it hasn'tstalled. Thereisn'tmuch in the cab of a One. An 80 is basic in the extreme - creaturecomfortsare limitedto the (rathergood) paddedseats,a grab railon the dash and a (optional) windscreenwiper for the passenger. For many(including me)this is all part