The record
FXC 863L was built in 1972 as a Motor Show vehicle, which is why it still carries a dual colour scheme on its wheels. After the show it was modified at Solihull for use installing winch cables on 101-inch Forward Control vehicles: the rear body was removed and a large mesh cage fitted over the chassis, inside which a hydraulic winch, driven from the centre power take-off, tensioned the winch cable while it was being wound onto the drum of the 101 being built. The large tank on the front bumper holds the hydraulic fluid. Known at the factory as 'The Birdcage', it covered a very low mileage, spending most of its life parked in a corner of a yard at Solihull, and it is preserved by the Dunsfold Collection.
The registry's model keeps the Series III 88 cab and front with the bonnet spare, strips the rear body back to the chassis rails, and adds the tube-framed mesh cage, the winch and its cable reel (which can be released as cargo), the bumper tank, blue-centred wheels and the plate.
