introduction and acknowledgements

This book is designed to give guidance on the original ex-factory specifications of the coil-sprung utility Land Rovers built between 1983 and 1990. These were called the Land Rover One Ten, Ninety and (latterly) One Two Seven – they were not called Defenders. The Defender models were updated versions that followed them from autumn 1990, and are not covered in this book. It is very common to get the two types confused, and Land Rover themselves do it as much as anybody else!

It is now nearly forty years since the first One Ten models were introduced, and not surprisingly, enthusiasts have taken an interest in the earliest examples of these and of the companion Ninety. Increasing numbers of people want to know the minute details of the production changes that occurred on these models, typically in order to help with a restoration. Unfortunately, it is now very hard to discover what all the different specifications were (as is very apparent from the questions asked so regularly on the Stage 2 Register Facebook page), so I thought I would do what I can to help.

It has certainly not been easy, and I would not like to claim that this book is a definitive record. It is the first step in detailed research into these vehicles, and by putting together all the known facts in one place, I hope it will prompt others to take that research further. Anybody who discovers inaccuracies or new information is more than welcome to let me know via the publishers. If there is a second edition, I will include as many updates as I am able at the time.

Let me add a few words of warning. Dates and chassis numbers are as accurate as the record allows, which means there may be some errors! Human error often crept into the process of recording changeover points, and it is important to remember that old-stock parts were sometimes used up after a changeover had been made on the lines. This may have been because of shortages of the new parts, or it could have been because a batch of old-stock parts was discovered somewhere, and the best solution to its disposal was to use up its contents on the assembly lines!

I must also point out that this book focuses on civilian-specification models that were built on the assembly lines at Solihull. It does include details of conversions, but it does not include extensive details of military models or of the special models that were built at plants outside the UK. It would be a thankless task to attempt to record them all; besides, in many cases no detailed information exists.

A lot of people have contributed to the store of knowledge that this book contains. This is the place for me to say a big thank you to all of them, and to point out that they cannot be blamed for any interpretation I may have put on what they told me. A few people’s contributions have been very important and I must acknowledge that. So here are special thanks to:

Richard Bacchus
Philip Bashall
Roger Crathorne
Charles Crossman
Dave Harlow
Emrys Kirby
Glenn Smith
Dan Warden
Charles Whitaker

I must also acknowledge that some of the pictures in Chapter 9, Conversions, were originally collected by Richard de Roos, and were absorbed into my own archive about fifteen years ago.

James Taylor,
Oxfordshire,
January 2020