Immediately after WWII, due to some rather odd attitudes of the UK government of the time (some things never change), import duty and various other taxes had to be paid on Jeeps or other vehicles that were left over from the war before they could be registered and used on the roads. This made them prohibitively expensive for the average motorist. 

This was a time of rationing; some say an even worse time than the war years. Since the government only made usable allocations of various vital materials, such as steel to industries that exported their goods, there were very few new cars for the public to buy on the domestic market. This contributed to another problem in later years, in that usually cars are developed from the feedback of a strong home market. The entire British motor industry tended to lag behind new trends right up to the 1970s and beyond partially because of this. 

In a sane world one would have thought that the regulations on ex-military vehicles such as the jeep would have been relaxed in the immediate post war years. After all a major part of the recovery of the country at that time depended on transport. Nevertheless, according to accounts from this time, many hundreds, perhaps thousands of brand new and serviceable Jeeps were scrapped, buried in landfill or dumped at sea still in the packing cases. All because of muddled thinking by the authorities. 

It is said there is a silver lining to every cloud, in a way for the Rover Company this was true. Maurice and Spencer Wilks, who were Rover's Chairman and Chief Engineer, had noticed that ex-WWII Jeeps were much sought after by farmers. (If the vehicles were used off road on farms etc then they did not need to be registered, and thus the authorities were not “aware” of the existence of these machines.) 

The Wilks purchased an ex-US army jeep. Driving it on their family farm quickly convinced them that a better four-wheel drive machine could be made using the same basic engineering ideas. It was realised that such a vehicle would also have a good export potential and it could provide a stopgap solution to the desperate situation that Rover was in, i.e. trying to get sufficient raw materials to manufacture it’s range of cars. Hopefully it would provide some much needed revenue, and the government would smile on them for their export efforts. 

During the early construction of the prototype, it was decided that using a steel chassis and combining it with a body made from aluminium panels would further eek out the allocation of steel. There were relatively huge amounts of sheet magnesium aluminium alloy left over from wartime aircraft production; this was not rationed, steel was. The alloy panels needed no complex new machinery to press them out, saving more investment. Using an engine, gearbox and other parts from the existing range of cars specially modified to suit the needs of a 4x4 vehicle made the Land Rover something of a kit car; but it also built in some proven reliability. It was said that the famous Land Rover bronze green paint only came about as there was a large quantity left over in a store from WWII! (Actually the early cars were painted with ex-RAF Ascot cockpit green).

 The Prototype Land Rover

When the design of the vehicle began there were many influences carried over from the Jeep on which the concept was based. Some of the body fittings and things like the single sided spring hanger are most noticeable to those familiar with the Jeep. It also borrowed at this stage axels, transfer box, and the steering box from the Jeep. This is why it and the first Land Rovers produced until 1954 also ended up with the Jeep's 80 inch wheelbase. The engine and main gearbox were from the old P2 car and this was mated to the Jeep Spicer transfer box.

Early efforts were based on the same 'U' section type of chassis, but there was some flexing of the chassis and body under arduous off road conditions which was not a factor for the Jeep, (which was designed to be a disposable unit) but would not have been appropriate for the Land Rover. The massively strong box section type was decided on for production. 

Another of the early ideas was to mount the steering wheel in the centre of the vehicle to make it equally suitable for overseas markets as it made no difference if the traffic travelled on the left or right. In practice this idea was not convenient and all production vehicle were either left or right hand drive.

Because there was no money for new tooling, the Company issued a directive to the design team. The Land Rover had to be made from as many existing parts as possible. Anything that could not be used from the range of Rover cars had to be hand made. This directive meant that the chassis, which would normally have been made from components pressed on huge machines that used expensive die tools, was assembled from steel plate cut and welded into box sections rails with the cross members fabricated in the same way. Initial chassis hit a problem. The welding process distorted the rail out of true as the first sides of the box section was welded. The solution was soon found, when the other pieces were welded in, the distortion pulled it true again! A rig or jig was developed for this by Olaffe Poppe called the "Christmas Tree" it had a lot of clamps to hold all the bits in place.

The first production cars had the rear axel from the Rover P3 car which was modified to off set the differential to the right and the track altered slightly. The hub bearings and differential were the same as the car. The front axel casing a modified rear P3, to include swivel joints and special drive shafts for the drive to the front wheels.

The engine and gearbox were straight out of the P3 4 cylinder "60" car. The newly designed transfer box was fitted to the rear of the 4 speed box and the gear lever linkage had to be altered. This left a hole which was covered by a plate, a feature that was still visible on series 3 gearboxes over 20 years later.   

Mounted on the chassis was a steel bulkhead, built by hand along with aluminium body panels. Galvanized steel capping was used on panel tops and corners. Looking at the body it has more than a passing resemblance to the way aircraft were put together, with rivets spot welds body strengtheners etc. The "shadow" factory had produced aircraft parts during the war and there must have been many skilled sheet metal workers  available. 

The Series One

Because a Series I is flat out at around 50mph few people would have one as their sole means of transport. Long journeys are, well very long journeys, and unless you have all day can be very tedious. Not only that, the mechanical noise you will hear will set the ears ringing.

I have been told recently that the reason the original Series 1's top speed of 50mph was not to do with the engines ability, but related to the fact that when they were introduced to the UK Market, they were classified as commercial vehicles, this was to avoid paying the higher rate of tax that was imposed for all none commercial vehicles. The downside to classifying them as commercial was that under the law of the time, the maximum speed of the vehicle could be no greater than 50mph....

Fuel economy for these old vehicles can be in the high 20 MPG area, rather better than their more modern descendants. There were no factory diesel engines until 1957, however it was probably the noisiest diesel engine ever fitted to a small vehicle!

The old wartime Jeep off road, is often considered by many people to be the best small 4x4 vehicle ever made. As small 4x4s go, the 80-inch Land Rover is the only vehicle to match and sometimes exceed the Jeep's capabilities off road. The 86 and 88 are very agile too. The 107 or 109, tended to be something of a disappointment, because although the 2-litre engine was a tough unit, it was not powerful enough to drive the vehicle which is too heavy for it. This also meant poor road performance especially when carrying a full load on the road even by the standards of the 1950s

The Series I was always primarily a utility vehicle, although there were also passenger-carrying variants from the earliest days. Most examples were delivered as soft tops or as truck-cab types; hard tops were much less numerous. The first Station Wagons were the short-lived coach built type on the 80inch chassis between 1948 and 1951. From 1954 there was a seven-seat on the 86-inch chassis, which was continued on the later 88-inch wheelbase. The 107inch chassis had a ten-seat version from 1956, and this remained available on its original wheelbase until 1958.

The originals were 1595cc four cylinder petrol. These were bored out to give 1997cc from 1951; it was basically the same engine with some minor changes which stayed in production till 1958. I have seen one or two series II vehicles made after that date fitted with this engine, so maybe they had some left over in a storeroom.

From 1957 a 2litre (2052cc) overhead-valve diesel was introduced. Dimensionally larger than the petrol type it required two extra inches of space (the wheelbase was extended in preparation for the new engine a year earlier).

 
Numbers

About 218,000 Series Is were built between 1948 and 1958.

Some variants are much rarer than others: the 80inch and 107-inch Station Wagons are among the most uncommon. Others are; fire engines, original prototypes, military vehicles and 4x2 variants (with rear-wheel drive only).

Engines
 

The Series II / IIA

The Series 11 was announced on the l0th anniversary of Land Rover in 1958. Rather than being a totally new vehicle it was an evolution of the final Series Is. 

The Rover styling department had had come up with a barrel-sided styling to cover the wider-track axles, sill panels covered the chassis frame where it had been visible on the Series I, there was also a newly designed truck cab, and a generally tidier overall appearance. The 109-inch Station Wagon arrived a little after the other models, and now looked like an integrated design instead of the Meccano set of the old 107 Station Wagon.

A big step forward for the Series II was the overhead-valve petrol engine. It was very similar to the 2-litre diesel but was 2.25 litres. This improved the road performance and brought with it extra torque for off road use.  

In 1961 the Series IIA model replaced the Series II. There were some slight differences, appearance wise the most noticeable was the loss of the chromed headlight trims. The main change was that the diesel version had a 2.25-litre option instead of the original 2-litre type.  

   * IOE means:- overhead inlet, side exhaust valves.

Numbers

About 110,000 Series Ils and  340,000 Series IIA were produced. 1958-1971.

The Series III

The Series III came in 88 and 109-inch wheelbases. The One Ton, 1.3 tonne with Hi Cap was introduced on the Series III. Otherwise as far as bodywork was concerned it was very much the same as the Series IIA. The main visual difference was flatter bonnet and door hinges and a change to a plastic front grill, instead of the galvanized wire mesh type.

The four-cylinder engines even in the 88 lacked road performance, and in 109 models were simply not able to keep up with modern traffic, especially when fully loaded or towing. Nor were these engines particularly fuel-efficient, another consideration in increasingly environmentally aware times. Towards the end of Series III production, there was a boom in the sales of sale of imported passenger-carrying 4x4 in Britain. Many 109 buyers were switching to Japanese 4x4 pick-ups with their more powerful engines and car like interiors.

Land Rover somewhat belatedly tackled this problem by introducing the V8 3.5 litre engine, which in 1979 replaced the 2.6 6-cylinder option on the 109. The vehicles so treated were generally known as the Stage 1 V8 and was thought to be available on the long wheelbase chassis only, however there were a few special order versions on the 88 chassis. Station Wagon models were sold in much larger numbers towards the end of this period, still unmistakably with its roots as a utility vehicle but with more concessions to passenger comfort.  

Engines

Numbers

There were more Series III built than any other type when the production run finished. About 440,000. 1971-1985.

The 90, 110, Defender.

These vehicles were the most radical change that Land Rover had ever made to its range of models. They were distinguished visually by a one-piece windscreen, a radiator grill that was flush with the front of the wing panels and wheel arch extensions to cover the wider-track axles which were very similar to those used on the Range Rover. Otherwise, they looked much the same as Land Rovers had done since 1958. Bodies were the same selection of soft top, hardtop, HCPU and Station Wagon seen on the Series III. County Station Wagons had "de luxe" fittings. Some extra room in the cab section for the driver and front seat passengers was welcome too.  

The 110 took over from the Series III 109 and was the first to be introduced. The 90 replaced the Series III 88 a year later. They were a huge advance over the Series III because they had coil springs. This gave a more comfortable ride on the road and actually improved off-road ability by increasing suspension articulation. Disc brakes up front meant that a land rover stopped well too, quite an improvement on the old drum arrangement that never felt quite up to the job. 

Phased in over 1983-1984 to take over from the long-serving Series IIIs, the names 90 and 110 lasted just seven years before being replaced by Defender 90 and 110 during 1990. Rather than being a new model it was more like the situation that occurred when the Series II was replaced by the IIA. Mostly minor evolution.
 

Engines 90 / 110

Petrol	2.25	2.5	3.5
Engine type	4-cyl ohv	4-cyl ohv	8-cyl ohv
Capacity	2286	2494	3528
BHP@ rpm	74@4000	83@4000	114@4000 after 1986 134@5000
Torque lbft@ rpm	120@2000	133@2000	185@2500 after 1986 187@2500
Diesel	2.25	2.5	2.5 turbo*
Engine type	4-cyl ohv	4-cyl ohv	4-cyl ohv
Capacity	2286	2494	2494
BHP@ rpm	62@4000	67@4000	85@4000
Torque lbft@ rpm	103@1500	114@1800	150@1800
* Turbo diesel went to:107 bhp@ 3800 and after 1994, 111bhp@ 4000
With corresponding increases in torque. 188@1800 and after 1994, 195@1800

C 2001. From notes collected in the 1960s by my father, and my own addition of later information.

Something that had started as a temporary means of helping to ensure Rover's future became one of the most famous makes in the world. 

 

Daily Mail article from 1993 Daily Mail, Friday, April 23, 1993. NTH Page 23 45 years, and still king off the road   By MICHAEL KEMP Motoring correspondent  LAND ROVER, the world leader born from a farmyard brainwave, is about to pass yet another milestone. The go-anywhere mechanical workhorse will be 45 years old next Friday - and its sales are still climbing. Since its launch on April 30, 1948, the Land Rover has been copied by the Japanese Germans French and Americans. Each would-be competitor has helped make the original even more desirable - imitation is, after all, is the sincerest form of flattery. Land Rovers are used by more than 100 armies 200 police forces world wide, by foresters, hunters, mountaineers and water and electricity authorities. The name is as synonymous with off-road-road driving as Hoover is with vacuum cleaners. Brilliant And it all began on the farm of Maurice Wilks Post war chairman of Rover. His ex-U8. Army deep was wearing out and he decided it should be possible to build a better four-wheel drive machine using basic engineering ideas. He asked his brother Spencer, then Rovers brilliant chief engineer “Can you, will you, do it?” Steel was available only for exports, so Spencer used iron girders he found on a workshop shelf for the chassis and aluminium for the side panels. The brothers chose the name Land Rover “simply to depict its role as an off roader”. The machine followed the design philosophy of the American Jeep Just Every Essential Part. (Not the accepted origin of the name click here) Land Rovers were to be built with minimum components. maximum simplicity, but to have maximum strength and last longest. No one dreamed it would develop into such a major business. The prototype for Maurice’s farm had its steering wheel in the centre - that seemed Practical for climbing rough ground. It had no doors, so Maurice could jump out quickly either side. But the first production model, launched at the Amsterdam Motor Show to win export orders so that the brothers could apply for an allocation of steel, was offered with left or right hand steering. It cost £495 – with doors and seat cushions extra. Success was immediate. Orders flooded in and by the sixties Land Rovers were being assembled in more than 30 countries from kits supplied from the Solihull HQ. Today the Land Rover costs £12,000 to £17,000 in two versions, each with s choice of 2.5 and 3 5 litre petrol power or an outstanding 2.5 direct injection turbocharged diesel engine, for which the company has just won a Queen's Award. Land Rover is a profit making part of Rover Cars and in June the 1.5 millionth model will roll of the production lines, clearly a descendant of the 1948 vehicle. It is easily the longest four-wheel drive production run. The original Land Rover was updated into a Mk II in 1958, and the 25O,OOOth was built the following year. The series III came out in 1971 and the current 110 and 90 models appeared in 1983. in 1990 the Land Rover was renamed Defender to distinguish it from the company name. Its latest achievement is to have been chosen by the US. Army; which bought 45 for parachuting behind enemy lines as instant assault vehicles. “It's almost like full circle,” said a Land Rover executive yesterday. “The Land Rover was built to replace a U.S. Army Jeep and now the U.S. Army is using Land Rovers.”