Page created: 1-Nov-09

Series III SWB 2¼ diesel

Year of registration: '77/R

Owned: Mid '88 to mid '89

My first Land Rover, bought at the tender age of nineteen after a brief dabble with a hot hatch. It was great fun and I think I genuinely believed that it could go anywhere. It was incredibly noisy though - I remember a trip to Hungerford along the M4, flat out at about 60mph, after which my ears were ringing!

It was also surprisingly useful for my job at the time, which involved a lot of surveying on farm land. I didn't keep it for very long though, partly because of a planned road trip to Spain but mainly, if I'm honest, because it didn't really impress many girls. Hey, I was young and that sort of thing was important.

I was also broke so modifications, which for me is where the fun is, were kept to a minimum. I think all I managed was a bull bar with some spot lights and some rear fog lights.

Servicing and repairs were also minimal: an oil and filter change, some new tyres and a pair of new door tops to replace the rusted originals were about the lot.

I bought this vehicle from a guy called Stan Tooth, who used to run a company called Turbo Rover in Reading. It all seems pretty mundane now but, at the time, he made quite a name for himself carrying out diesel conversions on Range Rovers.