1979 Stage 1 Acquisition - Major Project
Posted: Fri Jun 05, 2020 10:06 pm
Hi all,
I'm in the process of acquiring this early stage 1, which I'm rescuing having sat in the elements in a field for over a decade. There isn't really a chassis or bulkhead to speak of as they are all but dust, to the point you can see the car has snapped in half. This will prove to be a bit of an issue in the recovery as moving it in one piece onto a trailer or transporter will just damage the body further. It'll be a case of dismantling in situ and trailering the parts back to my workshop.
A bit of investigation into the chassis number indicates that it started life as an export left hand drive vehicle and was then registered in the UK the following year in 1980, however it is quite clearly a right hand drive car. I've been told this may have been a bit of a tax dodge by the UK to export and immediately reimport the cars (not sure how that works but it wouldnt surprise me). Can anyone shed any light on this & whether being one of the early stage 1s is desirable or not?
I'm in two minds as to whether or not I should restore the car as a stage 1 or use the body on a modern coil sprung discovery 1 chassis I have along with the 3.9 auto box it had. I worry it would be sacrilege not to restore as a stage 1 but it wasnt initially what my build was going to be before finding this! Although, I do think I'm edging towards restoring it as a stage 1.
Suggestions welcomed
Cheers!
I'm in the process of acquiring this early stage 1, which I'm rescuing having sat in the elements in a field for over a decade. There isn't really a chassis or bulkhead to speak of as they are all but dust, to the point you can see the car has snapped in half. This will prove to be a bit of an issue in the recovery as moving it in one piece onto a trailer or transporter will just damage the body further. It'll be a case of dismantling in situ and trailering the parts back to my workshop.
A bit of investigation into the chassis number indicates that it started life as an export left hand drive vehicle and was then registered in the UK the following year in 1980, however it is quite clearly a right hand drive car. I've been told this may have been a bit of a tax dodge by the UK to export and immediately reimport the cars (not sure how that works but it wouldnt surprise me). Can anyone shed any light on this & whether being one of the early stage 1s is desirable or not?
I'm in two minds as to whether or not I should restore the car as a stage 1 or use the body on a modern coil sprung discovery 1 chassis I have along with the 3.9 auto box it had. I worry it would be sacrilege not to restore as a stage 1 but it wasnt initially what my build was going to be before finding this! Although, I do think I'm edging towards restoring it as a stage 1.
Suggestions welcomed
Cheers!