When the LandRover entered production in 1948, its manufacturers had designed it as aversatile platform – a basically-equipped vehicle that could be adapted inmultiple ways to meet the needs of its owners. The very first example displayedon a motor show stand, at Amsterdam in April 1948, was not a “standard” vehicleat all but had been adapted to turn it into a mobile welder. In the yearsthat followed, specialist companies flocked to create all kinds ofspecial-purpose adaptations of the basic vehicle, and before long its makerswere having to make major decisions about whether they could honour thestandard warranty on a Land Rover that had been modified by one of theseaftermarket companies. They solved the problem by introducing a Land RoverApproval scheme, under which they would examine and test an example of aconversion and would then agree to honour the vehicle warranty if theconversion met their standards. Even then, someconversions were put on the market without going through the formal approvalscheme, and buyers simply took the associated risk. Between these unauthorisedconversions and the factory-approved ones, a vast array of different types wascreated, and for enthusiasts today these have a very special appeal of theirown. The aim of thisbook is to catalogue those conversions, to provide both helpful backgroundinformation and to help in their identification. It cannot claim to beexhaustive, but it is certainly the most complete illustrated catalogue yetcompiled on the subject. Illustrated with pictures from the originalmanufacturers and with many others showing modern survivors, it is a colourfuland enjoyable guide to this branch of Land Rover history.
