Classic Very early Range Rover in Zambia

LincolnSteve · Oct 21, 2016

Hello.
Don't know if this will be of any interest but here goes.
About 1973 my dad worked for Aveling Barford a manufacturer of earth moving equipment in Grantham.
They sold a lot of kit all over the world and dad would occasionally have to go to instruct the local workers on how to use and maintain the machines.
This particular job was in Zambia and it was going to be a long one. The machines had been run into the ground with no proper maintenance and most needed refurbishing.
As it was such a big job mum and I got to go with him.
I believe that Barfords had links to Rover or British Leyland and when he needed to travel to one particular meeting my crafty father somehow managed to blag a Range Rover for the journey.
He also managed to hang onto it long enough to take us on a trip to Victoria Falls.
Here are the few photos we have. I'm the little blond fella with the hose pipe and yes I am still just as cute today!

norseman · Oct 22, 2016

Interestingly in pic #2 the vehicle has converted itself to LHD

I remember AB very well as I was driving sand/ballast in those days & came across lots of their products on construction sites.

LincolnSteve · Oct 22, 2016

norseman said:
Interestingly in pic #2 the vehicle has converted itself to LHD
I remember AB very well as I was driving sand/ballast in those days & came across lots of their products on construction sites.

I wonder if I scanned the slide in back to front? I hadn't even spotted it, you've got a good eye.
I used to love it when dad brought Barfords kit home. I wonder how he got away with it really. When it snowed he would arrive in a shovel or a grader and we would go and dig out the lanes around the village.

Gazbo · Oct 23, 2016

LincolnSteve said:
Hello.
Don't know if this will be of any interest but here goes.
About 1973 my dad worked for Aveling Barford a manufacturer of earth moving equipment in Grantham.
They sold a lot of kit all over the world and dad would occasionally have to go to instruct the local workers on how to use and maintain the machines.
This particular job was in Zambia and it was going to be a long one. The machines had been run into the ground with no proper maintenance and most needed refurbishing.
As it was such a big job mum and I got to go with him.
I believe that Barfords had links to Rover or British Leyland and when he needed to travel to one particular meeting my crafty father somehow managed to blag a Range Rover for the journey.
He also managed to hang onto it long enough to take us on a trip to Victoria Falls.
Here are the few photos we have. I'm the little blond fella with the hose pipe and yes I am still just as cute today!

I would really like to get hold of a RRC 2door just like that these days, that I think is a very early example and a great colour too. I bought one similar but a 1977 model white 2 door from a mate back in 1985, it already had just a shade under 400k kilometres on the clock, we had that RR as our family car until 1997, both our kids learned to drive in it. Sold it to a mates son with just a shade under 1,000,000 klms on it, it had had a relatively cheap engine overhaul and lpg conversion at 600k due to failed head gaskets, other than that it gave faithful service albeit using lots of petrol throughout its former engine life.
One such immaculate, very low mileage and original example RRC in that mustard colour was recently featured in a Sydney prestige car sales showroom for lots of dollars, I still miss the RR even after owning two Discos since, which, don't get me wrong, have been good, but that old RR just put a smile on my face every time I drove it.

tomcat59alan · Oct 23, 2016

LincolnSteve said:
I wonder if I scanned the slide in back to front? I hadn't even spotted it, you've got a good eye.
I used to love it when dad brought Barfords kit home. I wonder how he got away with it really. When it snowed he would arrive in a shovel or a grader and we would go and dig out the lanes around the village.

I bet you still have those rather fetching blue shorts

LincolnSteve · Oct 23, 2016

tomcat59alan said:
I bet you still have those rather fetching blue shorts

They are a bit more snug fitting these days but I wouldn't part with them for the world.

norseman · Oct 24, 2016

Can you remember what make/capacity of engines powered the AB dump-trucks?
At such a young age you probably didn't know though.

LincolnSteve · Oct 24, 2016

norseman said:
Can you remember what make/capacity of engines powered the AB dump-trucks?
At such a young age you probably didn't know though.

Sorry, no recollection of anything like that. I just liked riding in them.

Wazzajnr · Oct 24, 2016

LincolnSteve said:
I wonder if I scanned the slide in back to front? I hadn't even spotted it, you've got a good eye.
I used to love it when dad brought Barfords kit home. I wonder how he got away with it really. When it snowed he would arrive in a shovel or a grader and we would go and dig out the lanes around the village.

That has to be 2 different cars, unless they had filler caps on both sides?

RR Qatar · Oct 25, 2016

Gazbo said:
I would really like to get hold of a RRC 2door just like that these days, that I think is a very early example and a great colour too. I bought one similar but a 1977 model white 2 door from a mate back in 1985, it already had just a shade under 400k kilometres on the clock, we had that RR as our family car until 1997, both our kids learned to drive in it. Sold it to a mates son with just a shade under 1,000,000 klms on it, it had had a relatively cheap engine overhaul and lpg conversion at 600k due to failed head gaskets, other than that it gave faithful service albeit using lots of petrol throughout its former engine life.
One such immaculate, very low mileage and original example RRC in that mustard colour was recently featured in a Sydney prestige car sales showroom for lots of dollars, I still miss the RR even after owning two Discos since, which, don't get me wrong, have been good, but that old RR just put a smile on my face every time I drove it.

If you are willing to part with a lot of dollars check out the link;
http://www.qatarsale.com/showroom_car_e.aspx?carid=127225

LincolnSteve · Oct 25, 2016

QUOTE="Wazzajnr, post: 3846145, member: 129468"]That has to be 2 different cars, unless they had filler caps on both sides?[/QUOTE]
Definitely only one car. It must be a photoshop thing. When I scanned the slides in I also restored them a bit. I must have flipped the image somehow.
Dad was good but even he wouldn't have been able to blag 2 range rovers

pete1987RRC · Oct 25, 2016

2 rangies for sure and some underage driving to boot

LincolnSteve · Oct 25, 2016

pete1987RRC said:
2 rangies for sure and some underage driving to boot

Dad did tell me that he used to let me sit on his knee and steer. This is not as big a deal as it sounds as apparently the roads are very long and straight around where we used to live.
It is also a tradition that I am able to carry on with my boy. He's the fastest 8 year old in Lincoln. We have a lot of old bomber airfields around here

norseman · Oct 26, 2016

LincolnSteve said:
Dad did tell me that he used to let me sit on his knee and steer. This is not as big a deal as it sounds as apparently the roads are very long and straight around where we used to live.
It is also a tradition that I am able to carry on with my boy. He's the fastest 8 year old in Lincoln. We have a lot of old bomber airfields around here

Nice county & people, used to visit at least twice a year but friends we used to stay with have sadly passed on. RAF Scampton is where the Dam-Busters flew from with their 'bouncing bombs'

LincolnSteve · Oct 26, 2016

norseman said:
Nice county & people, used to visit at least twice a year but friends we used to stay with have sadly passed on. RAF Scampton is where the Dam-Busters flew from with their 'bouncing bombs'

A few years ago we took a trip to the Mohne and Eder dams. It was strange to be standing on the dam in the spot where it was breached knowing that the planes had taken off from within a couple of miles of home.

gold rover · Oct 27, 2016

LincolnSteve said:
A few years ago we took a trip to the Mohne and Eder dams. It was strange to be standing on the dam in the spot where it was breached knowing that the planes had taken off from within a couple of miles of home.

I used to go there on most of my days off. It's a really nice area. Never forgot what happened, especially at the Mohne because of how obvious the patch was. Didn't have a range rover but loads of land rovers

Gazbo · Nov 4, 2016

RR Qatar said:
If you are willing to part with a lot of dollars check out the link;
http://www.qatarsale.com/showroom_car_e.aspx?carid=127225

Yes, very pretty, not sure about the exchange rate, but that looks like a lot of dollars.
Also even though it is mint condition, and a beaut example, I'm not particularly a fan of the 80's models. I was thinking a little older model. In the later 70's, I feel they lost their way a bit trying to placate the anti smoggers.
Think that the one for sale here in Sydney was early seventies, I think the first RRs came here in '71, without a/c, power steer and with SU carbs, now that's what I mean, very thin on the ground, anywhere.

norseman · Nov 4, 2016

LincolnSteve said:
A few years ago we took a trip to the Mohne and Eder dams. It was strange to be standing on the dam in the spot where it was breached knowing that the planes had taken off from within a couple of miles of home.

Must have been a sobering thought. I travel to Spalding once a year, early April time, but that's the only connection with the county I have these days. Years back we used to stay at Digby, happy days

LincolnSteve · Nov 4, 2016

norseman said:
Must have been a sobering thought. I travel to Spalding once a year, early April time, but that's the only connection with the county I have these days. Years back we used to stay at Digby, happy days

We used to live in Spalding. Lovely little town. My wife is originally from Metheringham, just across the heath from Digby and home to another bomber station. They now do tours of the old watch tower at RAF Digby.

norseman · Nov 6, 2016

LincolnSteve said:
We used to live in Spalding. Lovely little town. My wife is originally from Metheringham, just across the heath from Digby and home to another bomber station. They now do tours of the old watch tower at RAF Digby.

They say it's a small world Steve, perhaps during my annual visit next April I'll extend my stay & make the time to revisit the area, maybe the airfield as well.

Classic Very early Range Rover in Zambia

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