Tracing Series III History and photos of 1982 Series III British Military 109WB

[getesse1]

Hello to all and HELP!
My son bought an ex-British Series III 109" WB a couple years back. He received a bill of sale but the previous owners never sent the title. Although he got it licensed in Virginia as a farm vehicle and did not need a title to do so, he wants to sell the vehicle but needs a title.

Below find my efforts to secure the title for him.
Vehicle Description: LR Series III, 109 Inch Petrol Basic, VIN #:SALLBCAH1AA/160678

We have obtained a certificate from the British Motor Industry Heritage Trust verifying that this vehicle left the factory on 24 February 1982 and was delivered to the Ministry of Defense, Central Army Depot, Ashchurch,UK.

We have been told that the vehicle was surplused to the Canadian Ministry of Defense, no date and we have contacted them to determined if true: where, when and to whom they disposed the vehicle to.

We did receive a bill of sale and have a copy, not a certified copy, of a Montana title belonging to the owners that my son purchased the LR from. From here it gets weird.

The couple who owned the LR and sold it to my son had it titled in Montana as an 1972 LR with a VIN number as follows: 25900682A.

We are in need assistance in helping us trace the history of this vehicle. One question is why was it titled in Montana as a 1972 LR and what is the 25900682A number. Thoughts; could Montana typed in 1972 by mistake? Is the 25900682A a reference number applied to vehicle by the British or Canadian Ministry of Defense?

Does anyone know where we might find pictures of a 1982 LR painted for the British Ministry of Defense?

In advance, thank you all for any assistance you might provide

George

[rigbuilder555]

Hi George.

It sounds like there may be a discrepancy here - both the numbers you quote are valid land rover vin numbers (also known as a "chassis number" in the UK), however they relate to two different vehicles:

SALLBCAH1AA160678 is in the later format and relates to the following vehicle:

SAL Manufacturer code: Land Rover
LB Model: Series III (for early models: Stage One)
C Wheel base: 109 inch (LWB)
A Body type: 2-door: Pickup, hood cab, truck cab, or soft/hard top
H Engine type: 2.25 litre petrol
1 Steering and transmission: Right-hand drive (RHD), 4-speed manual
A Model year: 1979 to 1987 (All models)
A Assembly location: Solihull, UK
160678 Serial number

whereas 25900682A is in the older format and relates to the following vehicle:

259 Model: Land Rover, Series III
Body type: Hard top
Wheel base: 88in
Engine: petrol
Model years: 1971-1974
Destination: Export, left-hand drive (LHD)
00682 Serial number
A Design: Unmodified
Suffix used on SIIA from October 1961 till March 1963, and on SIII from 1971 till 1973

So if your vehicle is a RHD 109 2-door then SALLBCAH1AA/160678 is the correct vin number. If you'd like to check there should be a chassis plate riveted to the vehicle body - this could be on the side of the seat base, on the radiator panel under the hood or on the firewall near the brake pedal box. However given how easy it is to remove and replace this plate, you could check the outside of the front, right hand side dumb iron (above the spring mount) - here the chassis number would have been stamped onto the chassis.

I would suggest that the registration supplied by the couple in Montana relates to another Land Rover - a LHD 88 inch 1972 SIII.

The MOD vehicles were (liberally) painted in green matt paint (though occasionally in a green/black camouflage or in NATO sand)and were usually repainted during their lifetime often with a brush, meaning that the paintwork is quite rough.

With the exception of a few minor details that changed through the lifetime of the SIII (the gutter on the firewall under the hood, the facia top rail, the location of the vin plate, layout of rear lights, color of the headlight surrounds, etc) virtually all MOD 109 vehicles will look the same.

Hope this is of some help.

here is a picture I found on google images which is actually from the RN forum originally. The vehicle has been renovated but it looks largely like the MOD spec. There are a few books on Military Land Rovers - anything written by James Taylor is worth purchasing.

[getesse1]

Rigbuilder555
Since posting this discussion we are sure that the vehicle is a 1982 RHD series III. We now know that the vehicle was one of 89 produced in 24 February 1982 and delivered to the British Ministry of Defense(MOD). We have no information beyond that to determine how the vehicle wound up in the States. We believe the other number was used to Import the vehicle into the state as at that time an 1982 wasn't old enough to be legally into the states.
Have had a correspondence with the wife of the original owner but she is of no help.
If we can't get the Series III titled in Virginia I guess we will have to part it out.
Thanks