The record
Brian Bashall, founder of what became the Dunsfold Collection, bought this 1959 Series II in 1970 and turned it into a competition car. The Hillrally was a new kind of event — a multi-stage off-road rally for four-wheel-drives, run over hill country against the clock — and the inaugural events were held in 1971. Bashall and Frank Smith drove the Land Rover in the first; Smith and his wife competed in the second.
The conversion was thorough for its day: a bespoke square-section roll cage, heavy-duty springs and dampers, strengthened axle cases, seat belts, multiple washer jets, a waterproofed engine, stops to locate the Elephant Hide sprung seats, a single wiper switch, large Hella horns and 6.00-16 knobbly tyres, finished with a repaint into Old English White and Westminster Blue and competition number 13. Mechanically it kept the 2.25-litre petrol four and four-speed gearbox.
The roll cage came off in the mid-1970s and the car was sold. It was rediscovered on eBay in the hands of a Lincolnshire paragliding school and bought back by Bashall's son Philip, who restored it to its 1971 specification. It was originally registered VAA 123 and now carries VAA 999; the chassis number is 141901474.
