Founded by Tony Hutchings in 1974 in order to discover the whereabouts of the 48 Pre-Production prototype models, the Land-Rover Register now caters for all models produced between 1948 and 1953, i.e. all 80 inch wheelbase vehicles, fitted with the Rover inlet over exhaust P3 engine (and 81 inch Rolls B40 engined prototypes).

The Land-Rover Register continues the task of tracking down Pre-Production models (the remains of L48 being found only in 2004) and is equally enthusiastic about the authentic restoration of 80 inch models. The Register also encourages their continued use today, particularly for overseas adventures, something for which the Land-Rover is ideally suited having been specifically designed for use in far distant lands (over 75% of factory output went abroad).

The Land-Rover Register has available for reference some historical literature concerning the early models and all their variants, and sound technical advice is available from our long standing members whose practical knowledge and experience goes back, in some cases, over several decades.

The Register also sources rare and otherwise unavailable parts for early vehicles and has organised the manufacture and supply of components such as the correct pattern bump stops and the side-entry DVXH4 distributor cap.

A number of research projects on Land-Rover history and development are usually in progress and findings are published in the Register’s Newsletter, Full Grille.

The Register is also a supporter of the Forum, owned and administered by the Land Rover Series One Club. Members have full access to the Forum and its archives including the Register’s newsletters up to 2011 and Register members have uploaded several databases with early vehicle records and articles with specific 80 inch interest, all of which may be viewed on line.

Although the Land-Rover Register remains a relatively small group, it is very international in character with at least 20% of members overseas, with the largest proportion in Australia where a great many early Land-Rovers were exported. This world-wide spread of members means there are few regular local meets, but there is always a good turn-out at the larger gatherings such as the Dunsfold Weekend, shows at Eastnor Castle, the ALRC International Rally, Billing, Peterborough and others. Many members communicate regularly with one another on a one to one basis after an initial contact at these meetings.