Welcome Guest [Log In] [Register]

Announcements (Updated: July 11, 2018)

Welcome to Swifty's Garage!


Thanks to all of you for making this board what it is today!


Attention new members: We would like to welcome you personally, so please introduce yourself. Click here: INTRODUCTIONS


For all the latest news and announcements, please click here: PA System



Thank you - The Swifty's Garage Team




This board is best viewed at 1024 x 768 Resolution

Car of the Week:


Matchbox 1968 Ford F-100


Click Here: Matchbox '68 Ford F-100
Welcome to Swifty's Garage. We hope you enjoy your visit.


You're currently viewing our forum as a guest. This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use. If you join our community, you'll be able to access member-only sections, and use many member-only features such as customizing your profile, sending personal messages, and voting in polls. Registration is simple, fast, and completely free.

Thank You,
The Swifty's Garage Team


Join our community!


If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features.

Username:   Password:
Add Reply
Truck Of The Day: May 19, 2017; Oxford '48 Land Rover Series 1
Topic Started: May 19 2017, 10:28 PM (213 Views)
Swifty
Member Avatar
The Mustang II is a Mustang too!
Posted Image

Today's car of the day is Oxford Diecast's Series 1 Land Rover swb HUE 166. The actual vehicle is preserved The model is current and is made to 1/76 scale.(They also make the same model, with more detail, in 1/43 scale)

Posted Image

The model is from Chris.P's collection.

Posted Image

This isn't any old series 1 Land Rover but number 1 pre-production Land Rover. Sold in 1948 to a farmer in Warwickshire and then bought back by Rover and restored. It's well known to Land Rover aficionados. It lives in Gaydon Heritage motor museum.

Posted Image

Wikipedia
 
The Land Rover was conceived by the Rover Company in 1947 during the aftermath of World War II. Before the war Rover had produced luxury cars which were not in demand in the immediate post-war period. Raw materials were strictly rationed to those companies (not) building construction or industrial equipment, or products that could be widely exported to earn crucial foreign exchange for the country.

Rover's original factory in Coventry had been bombed during the war, forcing the company to move into a huge "shadow factory" built just before the war in Solihull near Birmingham, and used to construct Bristol Hercules aircraft engines. This factory was now empty but starting car production there from scratch would not be financially viable. Plans for a small, economical car known as the M Type were drawn up, and a few prototypes made, but would be too expensive to produce.

Maurice Wilks, Rover's chief designer came up with a plan to produce a light agricultural and utility vehicle, of a similar concept to the Willys Jeep used in the war, but with an emphasis on agricultural use.………….
The first prototype had a distinctive feature; the steering wheel was mounted in the middle of the vehicle. It hence became known as the "centre steer". It was built on a Jeep chassis and used the engine and gearbox out of a Rover P3 saloon car. The bodywork was handmade out of an aluminium/magnesium alloy called Birmabright, to save on steel, which was closely rationed. The choice of colour was dictated by military surplus supplies of aircraft cockpit paint, so early vehicles only came in various shades of light green.


It was decided later that the centre driving position offered no real advantages and the idea abandoned.

Posted Image

Posted Image

This being a very early model was on an 80 inch wheelbase and had a; 1.6 litre engine, permanent 4 wheel drive with a free wheel device that was common to Rover saloons. (a more conventional selectable 4wd came later) and headlights behind the grille. Exterior door handles didn’t come until later. Series 1 Land Rovers are both preserved, and sell for a lot, but are also to be found still in use on farms.

Posted Image

For more a video clip of HUE 166, please visit : : Video walk around

For more information and pictures of series Land Rovers, please visit: : Land rover history, series 1, 2 and 3

Posted Image

For more information and pictures of this actual Land Rover, please visit: : First Land Rover HUE 166


The model is made to Oxford Diecast's usual standards. It consists of a plastic base, a metal body(to waist height) and a clear plastic top half. This is then printed to show the canopy in khaki, door tops in green and silver and the frames of the windscreen. The tyres are rubber on plastic wheels. There are 3 different types of wheel on the model - the spare, a front type and a rear type, all slightly different. It has interior detail consisting of seats and a steering wheel.

From the right angle you can see a vague outline of the lights but in 1/76 scale it would have been hard to reproduce a see through grille with the lights behind.

Oxford make other variants of the series 1, a CKD type, fire engine and various military ones.

Posted Image

Shown here with Matchbox station wagon to give a comparative size.

Posted Image
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
ivantt
Member Avatar
New casting? Quick! Take it apart!
Superb. Makes a great addition to those who collect 1/76 military vehicles.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
pjedsel
Member Avatar
Muscle Car
It immediately makes me think of the old Matchbox regular wheels #12 Land Rover - a durable British vehicle. Oxford pretty much hits it out of the park with each of their models - so crisply detailed and a wide variety of subjects. Thanks for the comparison shot with the Matchbox Ford Wagon = perhaps that is part of their charm for me - they fit in so nicely with the early Matchbox models. :thumbup:
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous)
« Previous Topic · Car Of The Day · Next Topic »
Add Reply



March's Picture of The Month Contest



Congratulations DinoMom for winning March's contest!



April's Picture of The Month Contest



Congratulations carsdownunder for winning April's contest!






Powered By

This board is best viewed at 1024 x 768 Resolution


eXTReMe Tracker