1956 SERIES ONE LAND ROVER 2500cc DIESEL.

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1956 SERIES ONE LAND ROVER 2500cc DIESEL.
The exact year of manufacture of this 1956 Series One Land Rover is not known. It started life in the U.K military and was registered in the U.K, when it was retired from service in 1956.
Many of the modifications have been over the recent years, to include the 90's Land Rover Discovery 2.5 litre Diesel engine, without the Turbo as it's "Scary enough without a Turbo", Land Rover Series 2 Gearbox with overdrive, Land Rover Discovery Wheels, New Bulkhead made and Galvanised, Series 2 Hard top fitted to the Truck Cab and removing the rear section to fit, The gear knobs are the Pool Table Balls, momentos from a Legendary Local Biker's Pub "Scally's", which sadly closed it's doors recently after 27 years.
Dave bought the truck from a friend who has since passed away, Elliot Simms, who apparently used to drive this Land Rover to Belgium from the U.K.
When filling up with Fuel you get some strange looks, apparently, as the fuel tank is under the drivers seat and you have to remove the drivers seat pad to remove the petrol cap and fill up.
This Land Rover also has a vehicle parachute, which is a conversation starter !.
The Land Rover series were produced by the Rover Company since 1948, and later by British Leyland. Inspired by the World War II jeep, the Land Rover became Popular with Farmers and Businesses in the U.K.. From launch, it was the first mass-produced civilian four-wheel drive car, with doors on it, available with a hard roof. Unlike conventional car and truck chassis, it used a sturdier fully box-welded frame. Owing to post-war steel shortage, and aluminium surplus, Land Rovers non-rusting aluminium alloy bodies became a factor in their long lasting popularity, as they didn't rust. In 1992, Land Rover claimed that 70% of all the vehicles they had built were still in use.

Most series models feature leaf-spring suspension with selectable two or four-wheel drive (4WD), however series I's produced between 1948 and mid-1951 had constant 4WD via a freewheel mechanism, and the Stage 1 V8 version of the series III featured permanent 4WD. All three models could be started with a front hand crank and had the option of front & rear power take offs for accessories.
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 and raw materials were strictly rationed to those companies building construction or industrial equipment, or products that could be widely exported to earn crucial foreign exchange for the country. Also, 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, previously 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. He may have been inspired by the Standard Motor Company, who faced similar problems and were producing the highly successful Ferguson TE20 tractor in their shadow factory in Coventry. It is believed he used his own experience of using an army-surplus Jeep on his farm in Anglesey, North Wales. His design added a power take-off (PTO) feature since there was a gap in the market between jeeps and tractors . The original Land Rover concept is similar to the Unimog, which was developed in Germany during this period.

In the first prototype the steering wheel was mounted in the middle of the vehicle. Which 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. The first pre-production Land Rovers were being developed in late 1947 by a team led by engineer Arthur Goddard.
There were practical changes for mass production, the steering wheel was mounted off to the side as normal. The bodywork was simplified to reduce production time and costs. A larger engine was fitted, together with a specially designed transfer gearbox to replace the Jeep unit. The result was a vehicle that didn't use a single Jeep component and was slightly shorter than its American inspiration, but wider, heavier, faster but still retained the PTO drives.