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http://www.petrolicious.com/load-the-land-rover-and-go?utm_content=buffer2400e&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

 

 

As a car photographer who shoots for many of the big auction houses, Mr. Pawel Litwinski is no stranger to the world of vintage Bugattis, Ferraris, and Porsches–cars defined by their elegant lines and frightening top speeds. On any given day, Pav can be found shooting anything from a 1932 Daimler Double-Six in one corner of the United States to a Jaguar D-Type on the opposite side of the continent. If he’s at home in California, however, odds are you’ll find Pav in the seat of a ride defined by its simplicity: his 1973 Land Rover Series III.

Growing up in Coney Island, New York, Pav saw plenty of sports cars on the city streets but what he really wanted was a vehicle that would go over everything. Oh, and he had one other demand: it had to have a tire on the hood. After a couple decades of waiting and dreaming, Pav now has his Land Rover and the two are inseparable, so much so that even when he found himself in financial straits a few years ago–during which time he even had to sell his primary camera and his Subaru STi–Pav refused to part with his beloved Land Rover.

Nowadays, if Pav isn’t throwing a ladder into the back of the Land Rover and grabbing his Belstaff gear rushing to a photo shoot, he’s bouncing over the dunes at Pismo Beach on the Central California coast. But wherever he goes, be assured that on his face is the biggest smile you’ve ever seen.

 

I can sympathise with him  :)

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So Taz, hand on heart, you are saying that you would sell you other cars before the Landy too?

Well the Landy is quite rare, not many in as nice condition as mine.

 

And Pawel only had a camera and Subaru to fall back on in hard times.

I've still got 2 kidneys and 3 sons , all of whom can do the work of a horse.

 

Seriously , I get into my bumpy,  noisy , thrirsty, hard to steer & brake Landy and I get as much visceral fun out

of the experience as I do driving the P cars. I would get an even bigger thrill if I lived in Toorak or DB and got to drive it around the 'hood whilst Liberals looked through the gate and down their pince-nez and tut-tutted.at the temerity of it all.

 

It's not a problem for me , and as they say , whatever floats your boat! Actually I do have a boat...

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nice!

 

I think my problem was that someone had let the smoke out and I didn't have the appropriate part to put it back

 

smokekit.jpg

English cars in general...

German ones get a pretty bad wrap on forums too!

My LR has been completely rewired with Tasmania wire , so you know it's good  ;) In fact the car was built in Oz as a knockdown (flat pack) job - so again , you know it's good, at least compared to the build quality in socialist England in the 70s.

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Mate of mine has an ex-Army Landy - don;t know the specific model but it is from the '60s.  If I'm a starter for coffee and cars on Saturday I might talk him into bringing it.  He and his old man did a resto on it about two years ago.  It's an interesting vehicle.  His old man has an ex-Air Force 'coffin carrier' Landy which they used for funeral processions.  It's fitted with a 202 + auto and is mint.

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Re the wiring , mine was eaten into very badly by rodents , and any Lucasness left destroyed by rain as the ute sat in the bush for 17 years. The wiring was in fact "all mine" and done properly with a soldering iron. I don't tolerate failure!

 

Re the Army landies , I was warned off them by an ex Army guy, esp the crossply chunky treads which are lethal in the wet. Also , the young fellas who learn to drive in them dont really worry too much about things like clutch depression , as there is a posse of keen young fellas back in the army workshop who love to show off their g'box rebuilding skills. Quite a few of those ex Army buses have been badly shunted and certainly overloaded.

 

Re the 202 , well yes a Holden engine is good for the highway but the original Rover engine is smooth and classy and idles with a manly baritone burble . Slow as , but you don't buy a Porsche sports car to pull stumps out of the ground either. The Holden engines roger the gearboxes too.

 

Very few matching chassis/gearbox/engine LRs around , and I've got one that goes pretty much as it left the factory. 1930s engine notwithstanding.

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The landy was rebuilt from bare chassis upward. It is all matching numbers because it had also been left in the bush for years.

The coffin carrier was a special build for the armed forces - the Holden engine and auto was for low speed cruising in processions. There were only a couple built. Not something for the landy purist, but if you're into military collectibles...

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The coffin carrier was a special build for the armed forces - the Holden engine and auto was for low speed cruising in processions. There were only a couple built. Not something for the landy purist, but if you're into military collectibles...

I wonder if the number of coffins carried adds to the provenance in the same way "number of Le Mans wins" does with race cars?

These military vehicles have a special following but do carry the risk of collectibles taking over your life. I mean,  where to stop - Landies have enough potential add on bits , let alone all the uniforms and weapons stuff. 

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And my problem remains that I covet a Series 1 (the 356 of LRs) , and an open top SWB version to boot.

I have told my better 1/2 they are very small and easy to tuck away in a corner!

I can see you ending up a LANDYHOARDER, The bloke next door to me had over twenty that became Rats nests, and about 1k down the road is another with at least 10 of the things, these all ended up at the recyclers after the council finally stepped in.

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I can see you ending up a LANDYHOARDER, The bloke next door to me had over twenty that became Rats nests, and about 1k down the road is another with at least 10 of the things, these all ended up at the recyclers after the council finally stepped in.

I know that disease and it's rife in Tassy. Which is good , as I won't need to import parts!

I'm a pretty organised person and unfinished projects are not appealing.

Even now I could , but won't , collect more old Porsches than I "need"  ;)

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I wonder if the number of coffins carried adds to the provenance in the same way "number of Le Mans wins" does with race cars?

These military vehicles have a special following but do carry the risk of collectibles taking over your life. I mean,  where to stop - Landies have enough potential add on bits , let alone all the uniforms and weapons stuff. 

 

I think the landy count is at three and holding.  Yes, there are uniforms to go along with the show.

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