LAND-ROVER SERIES 1
THE ORIGINAL, and some say the best, Land-Rover ever to roll off the Solihul production lines. It was first shown to the public at the Amsterdam Motor Show in April, 1948, just after Rover had moved to the Solihul factory after running it on behalf of the Air Ministry during the war. At the time it was far to big for the amount of cars that Rover was making, but they hoped that they would be able to expand in the future. It wasn't long, however, until Rover saloon cars had left the factory and it was expanding to make room for Land-Rover production. It is now about twice the size it originally was!
48 pilot-production Series 1's were built in the Spring and Summer of 1948, in both left and right-hand-drive. Most of them were in a light shde of green, but this was changed to a darker green for the first production models. The hedlamps were mounted behind the grille, and the side lights were right back on the bulkhead. Indicators were not fited, but semaphore trafficators were optional, fitted to the windscreen frame. They had the option of a metal truck cab instead of a rag top.
The engine was a 1.6-litre from a Rover saloon car, with permanent four-wheel-drive.
There were no external door handles, so there was a triangular shape of material half way up the door to put your hand through to open it!
The British Army brought a large quantity of the Land-Rovers in 1949-1950, whilst they were waiting for the Austin Champ be built. But the Land-Rover soon took over as the Army's light 4x4.
Station Wagon versions were built from 1948-1951, but they were a big failure. The cost to much to build, so they cost twice as much as the 'standard' Series 1's, and they couldn't be exempted from Purchase Tax because they weren't commercial vehicles.
It had a coachbuilt, 7-seater body which was designed by Tickford, and probably built by 'Abbey Panels' on a standard Series 1 chassis. Only 650 were built in 3 years of production, both at home and abroad. They weren't a big hit abroad because the body wasn't a 'solid' as their customers wanted.
Land-Rover gave the Series 1 a new, more powerful 1997cc engine in 1951, just after giving they selectable 2WD/4WD system in 1950. The gearbox was still the original 4-speed one, with synchromesh only on the 3rd and 4th gears.
External door handels were added. The headlights were moved from behind the grille(1950), and the sidelights were moved onto the ends of the wings(1951).
Due to customer demand, in 1953, the wheelbase was increased by 6 inches to 86 inches. This gave them more space in the load-bed, but the maximum load weight stayed at 1000 lbs.
Also in 1953, a long-wheelbase model was launched. It had a 107-inch wheelbase with a much larger load capacity, in both size and weight(increased to 1500 lbs after about half a year). It was, mechanically the same as the 88-inch, apart from bigger brakes to cope with the extra payload.
In 1954 Land Rover tried again to produce a Station Wagon model. It was based on the 86-inch chassis, with standard Series 1 body panels to reduce production costs and make it more robust. It was less cramped than the earlier 80-inch models in the rear, thanks to the extra 6 inches on the wheelbase. It could seat seven people.
107-inch Station Wagon models followed in 1956, with a 10 seat capacity.
Yet another stretch! This time the 96-inch wheelbase was extended to 88 inches, and the 107-inch was changed to 109 inches. The 107-inch Station Wagons, however, stayed at 107-inches until late 1958.
The extra two inches came just behind the front wheels, not the loadbed. No one could understand this, because it served no purpose. The following year showed the public why. Land Rover introduced a 2052cc diesel engine, which was longer than the petrol equivilant, so needed the extra two inches. It had a OHV layout, but it was prone to crack cylinder heads, and was very noisy.
Land-Rovers were also built in other countries, some of whom based their designs on the Series 1, but changed certain features, such as the body work. One of the variations was the MINERVA.
TOTAL PRODUCTION FROM 1948-58:
218 327