New Zealand Army Stage 1 V8
Thursday 9th July 2020
This vehicle is number 560 of around 566 assembled as CKD kits to fulfil an order from the New Zealand Army. All were 24-volt and fitted with sturdy brush bars, Jerry can mountings and many had mesh roof racks mounted on tubular supports that were designed to support camouflage netting. The electrical system gave endless problems and was only finally resolved when electronic ignition was installed. The vehicle was attached to the New Zealand Army’s T2 unit at Upper Hutt, which is near Wellington on the North Island. The vehicle was released in 2000 and spent some time in the Auckland area before its owner returned to the UK and brough the vehicle with him in 2010.
It had been painted it in a UK-style camouflage scheme that made it look like a run-of-the-mill ex-military vehicle, which probably explains why no-one took much interest in it when it appeared on eBay in July 2015. We acquired it in 2020.
It still has its 24-volt electrical system and the in-service modification to replace the alternator, distributor, and screened leads. There is a multi-gauge unit and an engine hours hour meter mounted on the dash. It is in very sound condition and all we had to do was remove a few non-original parts that had been fitted and reinstall the Jerry can stowage racks. We also repainted it in the correct semi-matt green.
We'd like to offer our thanks to the New Zealand Army V8 Land Rover Owners Group in NZ for helping us learn more about the history of this wonderful vehicle.
