1964 Series IIa Forest Rover by Roadless Traction, Hounslow

Chassis number: 25201678A

Registration number: BNB 615B

Engine type: 2.25 Petrol

Gearbox type: 4 Speed

Vehicle spec:

This Land Rover was built by Roadless Traction Ltd of Hounslow (they mainly converted tractors to four-wheel drive) for companies needing a vehicle with superb traction and ground clearance. The original concept came from development carried out by the Forestry Commission.

The model was known as the ‘Forest Rover’ and it is believed that nine were built, of which five are known to survive including one that went to the Falkland Islands in 1962, with the remains of a sixth example in the hands of a collector in the USA who hopes to rebuild it.

Our example was purchased new by the Central Electricity Generating Board and collected from Hounslow in 1964 and driven 200 miles to its work site at Rheidol in Wales, were it spent its life on dam maintenance work and was known as ‘The Rheidol Bug’.

It remained in use until 1987. In 1989 the CEGB offered to loan it to the Collection and it arrived with a rather tatty bright orange paint job. We gave it a partial rebuild in 2004 with the support of the REME workshops at Bordon and we are grateful to them for their help, together with Marsland who provided a chassis to replace the original, which was broken in two!