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Main Section => Welcome to our virtual Pub Meeting ... => Topic started by: scottuh1 on December 05, 2020, 03:42:06 PM

Title: Ex Scottish Coast Guard 88”?
Post by: scottuh1 on December 05, 2020, 03:42:06 PM
Hi folks,

I’m busy restoring a 1970 88” S2a, it was in a previous life a Scottish Coastguard vehicle. The colours underneath and a partial build card found under the seat possibly confirm this.

Does anyone know how I could find out what station(s) it was based at?

I’ve tried getting info from the DVLA but they won’t help.  ???

Thanks,

Scott.
Title: Re: Ex Scottish Coast Guard 88”?
Post by: Manxcat on December 05, 2020, 05:07:10 PM
Her Majesties Coast Guard is UK wide rather than there being a separate one in Scotland.
It is now part of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency.
You could try contacting the MCA to see if they have anything in their archive.
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/maritime-and-coastguard-agency (https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/maritime-and-coastguard-agency)

Do you know the original registration of the Land Rover?
It gives the area of the country and some registration indexes were reserved for certain parts of Government.
So that would provide a clue.
If you don't want to put the full registration up on here for whatever reason
Tell me the letters in it and I'll look it up.

You could also contact British Motor Museum at Gaydon Archive where the surviving Land Rover records are
https://www.britishmotormuseum.co.uk/archive (https://www.britishmotormuseum.co.uk/archive)
Sometimes where the Land Rover was despatched to is in the record.


 :photos
Title: Re: Ex Scottish Coast Guard 88”?
Post by: scottuh1 on December 06, 2020, 03:09:13 PM
Her Majesties Coast Guard is UK wide rather than there being a separate one in Scotland.
It is now part of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency.
You could try contacting the MCA to see if they have anything in their archive.
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/maritime-and-coastguard-agency (https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/maritime-and-coastguard-agency)

Do you know the original registration of the Land Rover?
It gives the area of the country and some registration indexes were reserved for certain parts of Government.
So that would provide a clue.
If you don't want to put the full registration up on here for whatever reason
Tell me the letters in it and I'll look it up.

You could also contact British Motor Museum at Gaydon Archive where the surviving Land Rover records are
https://www.britishmotormuseum.co.uk/archive (https://www.britishmotormuseum.co.uk/archive)
Sometimes where the Land Rover was despatched to is in the record.


 :photos

Thanks for the info.

I have Yellow paint on the roof and bonnet under various layers.
Title: Re: Ex Scottish Coast Guard 88”?
Post by: Manxcat on December 06, 2020, 04:27:23 PM
That's a West Ham, London registration.
It was not a registration series reserved for HM Government.
(But that's not to say it couldn't be ex Coast Guard as all sort of odd things happened).

Where does the Scotland connection come in?
Was it old documentation?

Do you know about the DVLA V888 vehicle enquiry ?
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/v888-request-by-an-individual-for-information-about-a-vehicle (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/v888-request-by-an-individual-for-information-about-a-vehicle)
Or was that when the DVLA wouldn't help?
They have become very hit and miss on what they will provide under the scheme.
Seems to be at the whim of each individual DVLA operative what information they will or won't provide.
If so I suggest that you have another go and make it clear you are only interested in the History of your car
and do not want to know names or address of previous owners.
Some people have had success that way.

The build card mentions bonnet mounted spare and lock and a plain bonnet lock so that Deluxe bonnet might not be the original.
Title: Re: Ex Scottish Coast Guard 88”?
Post by: autorover1 on December 06, 2020, 07:13:04 PM
I see it had fixed side windows on the hard top, the government departments didn't have to pay the  Purchase tax  that the rest of us would have had to  at the time !
Title: Re: Ex Scottish Coast Guard 88”?
Post by: scottuh1 on December 06, 2020, 07:27:54 PM
That's a West Ham, London registration.
It was not a registration series reserved for HM Government.
(But that's not to say it couldn't be ex Coast Guard as all sort of odd things happened).

Where does the Scotland connection come in?
Was it old documentation?

Do you know about the DVLA V888 vehicle enquiry ?
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/v888-request-by-an-individual-for-information-about-a-vehicle (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/v888-request-by-an-individual-for-information-about-a-vehicle)
Or was that when the DVLA wouldn't help?
They have become very hit and miss on what they will provide under the scheme.
Seems to be at the whim of each individual DVLA operative what information they will or won't provide.
If so I suggest that you have another go and make it clear you are only interested in the History of your car
and do not want to know names or address of previous owners.
Some people have had success that way.

The build card mentions bonnet mounted spare and lock and a plain bonnet lock so that Deluxe bonnet might not be the original.

The V888 got sent back with nothing and the postal order which I can’t cash in. I asked for info as part of a historical restoration.

I know the PO (from Aberdeenshire), his wife’s Dad apparently bought it from the Scottish Coast Guard up in the Elgin area of Scotland.

So do you think the Bonnet should be a Razor?
Title: Re: Ex Scottish Coast Guard 88”?
Post by: 22900013A on December 06, 2020, 07:34:33 PM
It certainly looks like a coastguard vehicle, they usually had fixed side windows. Odd that the bonnet would be yellow though. I doubt the bonnet would be a razor type, especially considering the matching paint.
Title: Re: Ex Scottish Coast Guard 88”?
Post by: martinthefirst on December 06, 2020, 07:35:44 PM
As an ex Post Office worker I can tell you that you can definitely cash the Postal Order in even if it's out of date date , if you need advice PM me.
Title: Re: Ex Scottish Coast Guard 88”?
Post by: 22900013A on December 06, 2020, 07:39:24 PM
A quick google shows some did indeed have yellow bonnets.
Title: Re: Ex Scottish Coast Guard 88”?
Post by: scottuh1 on December 06, 2020, 08:08:00 PM
As an ex Post Office worker I can tell you that you can definitely cash the Postal Order in even if it's out of date date , if you need advice PM me.

Even if it’s made out to the DVLA?
Title: Re: Ex Scottish Coast Guard 88”?
Post by: Manxcat on December 06, 2020, 08:26:57 PM
The V888 got sent back with nothing and the postal order which I can’t cash in. I asked for info as part of a historical restoration.

I know the PO (from Aberdeenshire), his wife’s Dad apparently bought it from the Scottish Coast Guard up in the Elgin area of Scotland.

So do you think the Bonnet should be a Razor?

As I said, it is the luck of the draw with V888 since the DVLA discovered GPDR as an excuse for not doing their job.

There was a major Coast Guard location at Elgin, now closed.
 
Bonnet; I was going on the basis of what the build card shows
"E.1107 Whl Carrier & Lock Pilr on Bont
E.1119 Lock for Plain Bonnet"
and that your photo shows a De-lux bonnet without a spare carrier or lock.
Can you find evidence on the bonnet of a spare carrier ?

Title: Re: Ex Scottish Coast Guard 88”?
Post by: 22900013A on December 06, 2020, 08:47:52 PM
Yes I saw that too. The other vehicles in the photos all have dished bonnets with spare wheel mounts. I think a plain bonnet means an undished bonnet. I have a plain deluxe bonnet on my 109" and I don't recall it being mentioned on the build card. The fact the one fitted is the right colour suggests it could be original. 🤷‍♂️
Title: Re: Ex Scottish Coast Guard 88”?
Post by: twomokes on December 06, 2020, 08:50:04 PM
In the Ludvigen Library series book on Land Rover there is a picture of EAN 745J on exercise, it has a plain (razor edge) bonnet fitted with the spare wheel mount but no wheel attached. The bonnet is body colour.
Title: Re: Ex Scottish Coast Guard 88”?
Post by: scottuh1 on December 06, 2020, 08:55:20 PM
As I said, it is the luck of the draw with V888 since the DVLA discovered GPDR as an excuse for not doing their job.

There was a major Coast Guard location at Elgin, now closed.
 
Bonnet; I was going on the basis of what the build card shows
"E.1107 Whl Carrier & Lock Pilr on Bont
E.1119 Lock for Plain Bonnet"
and that your photo shows a De-lux bonnet without a spare carrier or lock.
Can you find evidence on the bonnet of a spare carrier ?

The bonnet on the vehicle has no evidence of a spare wheel carrier. So I assume it has been changed at some point.
As I said, it is the luck of the draw with V888 since the DVLA discovered GPDR as an excuse for not doing their job.

There was a major Coast Guard location at Elgin, now closed.
 
Bonnet; I was going on the basis of what the build card shows
"E.1107 Whl Carrier & Lock Pilr on Bont
E.1119 Lock for Plain Bonnet"
and that your photo shows a De-lux bonnet without a spare carrier or lock.
Can you find evidence on the bonnet of a spare carrier ?


Title: Re: Ex Scottish Coast Guard 88”?
Post by: scottuh1 on December 06, 2020, 08:57:31 PM
In the Ludvigen Library series book on Land Rover there is a picture of EAN 745J on exercise, it has a plain (radar edge) bonnet fitted with the spare wheel mount but no wheel attached. The bonnet is body colour.

Brilliant, what book?
Title: Re: Ex Scottish Coast Guard 88”?
Post by: 22900013A on December 06, 2020, 08:58:55 PM
Brilliant, what book?

Its landrover the incomparable 4x4, doesnt look too easy to get hold of unfortunately.
Title: Re: Ex Scottish Coast Guard 88”?
Post by: twomokes on December 06, 2020, 09:20:53 PM
Brilliant, what book?

As Dan says The Incomparable 4x4 by Paul Woods. I think I saw a copy on Abe Books website a few weeks ago.  Alternatively the library holds the negative for the image and could supply a copy, now whilst the version in the book is black and white it could be possible the negative is a colour one, I don't know but it may be worth asking. PM me if you want their contact details.
Title: Re: Ex Scottish Coast Guard 88”?
Post by: scottuh1 on December 07, 2020, 08:14:53 AM
Managed to get one on Amazon.  :first

Land Rover: The Incomparable 4x4 from Series 1 to Defender (Ludvigsen Library) (Ludvigsen Library Series)
More information:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1583881794/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_.mEZFb11Y3JTJ (https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1583881794/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_.mEZFb11Y3JTJ)
Title: Re: Ex Scottish Coast Guard 88”?
Post by: martinthefirst on December 07, 2020, 08:23:50 AM
Have PM'd you re the postal order.
Title: Re: Ex Scottish Coast Guard 88”?
Post by: gatekrash on December 09, 2020, 08:41:10 PM
If it helps, I will ask around our team because we definitely have pictures of our old S3, and someone in our team I know has a few pics of our old 2a.

Our S3 didn't have a yellow bonnet, we didn't get one of those until our Defender. Future Mrs Gatekrash stood by the driver's door...

Title: Re: Ex Scottish Coast Guard 88”?
Post by: gatekrash on December 09, 2020, 09:11:28 PM
A quick google shows some did indeed have yellow bonnets.

That second picture is a "restoration" that someone's had a go at by picking up pictures of CG 90's or Defenders. We didn't get the small side battenburgs until the 1990's (our D-reg 90 didn't look much different from the S2a's / S3 paint jobs), the light bar is a premier hazard one and it should have been a single beacon on a S3, and there are a couple of other bits that aren't right.

scottuh ref the yellow bonnet, although we didn't get a yellow bonnet on our vehicle until our 1996 Defender, it could depend on how long the vehicle remained in service for. Even if it was originally delivered with a blue one, Coastguard Landies tended to remain in service for a long time, as they generally cover quite low mileage, so it could well have been either repainted or even completely replaced as manxcat stated above. The bonnet would have been a great flat surface for dropping things on when using the front winch on cliff operations, so I wouldn't have been surprised if it's been dinged and bashed over its time in service. It almost certainly would have been delivered with a bonnet mounted spare, I don't know of any of the CG Series vehicles that didn't have one.

The number plate could have come from any part of the UK as you've discovered. We used to buy in vehicles in bulk and they got allocated all over the place, often a vehicle from one place would be re-allocated to another station if it was deemed to be necessary. For example, our old Defender got moved on to another station when we got allocated an L200, as it was still newer than their vehicle but their station was too small to garage anything bigger than a Landy.
Nowadays the vehicles are all sourced from a lease company and sent back there when released from service. For a short time we even got to pick the letters - you will find a lot of (ex) Coastguard Defenders running around with *CG suffixes.

Unfortunately gone are the days of CG Landy's. they deemed them unsuitable a few years ago due to lack of airbags etc and as far as I know there are now less than a handfull in the organisation.
Title: Re: Ex Scottish Coast Guard 88”?
Post by: scottuh1 on December 09, 2020, 09:33:35 PM
If it helps, I will ask around our team because we definitely have pictures of our old S3, and someone in our team I know has a few pics of our old 2a.

Our S3 didn't have a yellow bonnet, we didn't get one of those until our Defender. Future Mrs Gatekrash stood by the driver's door...

Great photo Gatekrash and thanks for the info. Any more info from your contacts would be appreciated. Thanks again. Scott.
Title: Re: Ex Scottish Coast Guard 88”?
Post by: 22900013A on December 09, 2020, 10:03:06 PM
Found this photo in a James Taylor book today.
Title: Re: Ex Scottish Coast Guard 88”?
Post by: gatekrash on December 09, 2020, 10:21:03 PM
Interestingly no capstan winch on it. Although if it was stationed at a mud or search only team and not a cliff team then I guess it wouldn't have been required and therefore not fitted.

Our 2a was an "H" plated one as well.

Another s3 pic from a contact on another team, some of the kit laid out.

Title: Re: Ex Scottish Coast Guard 88”?
Post by: scottuh1 on December 12, 2020, 12:05:18 PM
As Dan says The Incomparable 4x4 by Paul Woods. I think I saw a copy on Abe Books website a few weeks ago.  Alternatively the library holds the negative for the image and could supply a copy, now whilst the version in the book is black and white it could be possible the negative is a colour one, I don't know but it may be worth asking. PM me if you want their contact details.

Apparently The Ludvigsen Library has been sold to Collier Collection/Revs Institute. I’ve searched through their archive but can’t find the image on page 60 of the book.
Title: Re: Ex Scottish Coast Guard 88”?
Post by: 22900013A on December 12, 2020, 01:14:01 PM
I got the book, lots of great photos, but sadly the captions are riddled with errors. The author seems to have little more than a general understanding of Land Rovers, for example he seems to think lamps in grille = series II, lamps in wings = Series IIA, and other little oversights...although written in 2006 they claim HUE166 is the first *production* Land-Rover, an idea I thought went out the of the window decades ago!
Title: Re: Ex Scottish Coast Guard 88”?
Post by: scottuh1 on December 23, 2020, 02:28:00 PM
Hi Folks,

First of all Merry Christmas!  :xmas_wreath :wine3

I have the Heritage Certificate from BMIHT.

All as expected apart from:

3. Engine Number: Not Recorded.
9. Destination (Dealer): Board of Trade, Belfast Airport.

Can anyone suggest why it would have gone to NI with a UK mainland reg? And why did Land Rover not record engines numbers?
Title: Re: Ex Scottish Coast Guard 88”?
Post by: 22900013A on December 23, 2020, 02:36:31 PM
Land Rover never recorded engine numbers or any other component numbers. Exceptions were factory registered vehicles which were logged in a big book and sometimes had the engine number recorded.
Title: Re: Ex Scottish Coast Guard 88”?
Post by: diffwhine on December 23, 2020, 03:30:14 PM
Land Rover never recorded engine numbers or any other component numbers. Exceptions were factory registered vehicles which were logged in a big book and sometimes had the engine number recorded.
I know I scored a result on a Series 1 once...
I was asked to get the original factory records for a 1949 Series 1 80" station wagon as part of a total restoration in about 1995. John Riley at LR Traceability pulled out all the stops and came back with:
Build order number
All major unit numbers (chassis, engine, gearbox and axles)
Key numbers
Destination dealer
Despatch date
I'm pretty sure he was even were able to confirm the build colour as well.

I remember being a bit smug given that a colleague at the time had an almost new XR3i and Ford didn't even have the key number stored in their records.

I know some record keeping was poor, but at Solihull (certainly during my time and obviously far more now) every component has / had some form of traceability. I wonder if something got lost in the transfer of records from original Solihull build information to the Gaydon BMH records? It does seem as though there are some glaring gaps in what data is available now compared to what we were able to pull 20+ years ago.