"Big" isn't quite the right work, but Classic sure is.
She is a 1952 Land Rover. Back in '52 there was the only model made so it was just called "The Land Rover" . Today this model is known as Land Rover Series 1-80".
I found it sitting under a tree where it had been for 23yrs. Paid $100 for it and dragged her home. I named her "Runcle" (run-sil) and 10 months and mucho dinero, and she was back on the road. I kept one thing in mind, she earned the dents, so she kept them.
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A fantastic beastie, she is used regularly in the bush and is often called on to pull much newer and bigger trucks out of the mud. Top speed around 60mph, but lots of complaining. Much happier at 45-50mph. Also, her drum brakes were barely adequate in 1952 traffic. today they are... "challenging". Definitely not a highway or big city commuter.
Here she is with one of her friends a mid '60s Unimog, shortly after pulling her friend 30 miles out of the bush (broken fuel pump).
You may have noticed the winch on the front of Runcle. It is an old Warn mechanical that was given to me. (One day this guy ran out onto the road as I was passing by and stopped me. He said, "You need a winch for that truck. I have an old one in the basement I want you to have." Those days don't happen often enough for me...
) After much head scratching I decided not to mount it via a dog clutch to the front of the crankshaft, the way the original capstan accessory winches did, but to convert it to run hydraulically via a transmission pto. Had to learn about hydraulics to do that. Oh my aching head. Works great. Based on what I've dragged out of the mud, I figure it is now good for at least 12000 lb. Have to tie Runcle to a very big tree for that kind of pull, mind you.
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Martin