CST873 Land Rover Series 1 1948

I found the above image in a collection by Fryske from the 2010 Kington Vintage show on Flickr - https://www.flickr.com/photos/fryske/albums/72157624658332819/

This image shows it to have been fully restored.
I am grateful to Fryske for his consent to use the image here.

I would greatly appreciate learning of the subsequent history of this vehicle
email to Peter Lawrie

The Land Rover was used for many years on a Sutherland croft. I understand that it was sold in 1976 and replaced by a Series II

On the right is an image of a Land Rover at a Sutherland Croft - "Reidchalmai" - near Pittentrail, Rogart. The image has quite poor resolution as it has has been cropped from an aerial photograph. The date is uncertain but may have been as late as 2000. Feedback from my posts to the Land Rover forum advised that this is a much later vehicle, an 88" truck cab, SII or later (so not earlier than 1958). The proportions are completely different to a SI vehicle (most obviously the height of the tailgate)

I discovered from Andrew's diary that the blue Series II Land Rover pictured had been acquired for the family by my uncle Duncan MacLeod in January 1974.

The Green series I had been giving trouble. It was mentioned in the diary, that Andrew had managed to start it in May 1976, after a period stored in barn. My uncle advised that he arranged the sale of the green Land Rover to a man in Strathpeffer, possibly in 1976 or shortly afterwards, for £300

This Series I Land Rover 1595cc was originally sold by Macrae & Dick, Inverness on 10/11/1948 to the Lentran Estates Ltd.
Lentran is a small settlment on the South shore of the Beauly Firth around 5 miles west of Inverness.

From LRSOC files, it was despatched by Land Rover to MacRae & Dick on: 6/9/1948. Chassis no: 860110 and engine no: 06100350

On 1st April 1970 it was purchased for £25 by a distant cousin of mine, Andrew Sutherland, Craigton, Rogart, Sutherland.
My Uncle Duncan MacLeod, who made the purchase for Andrew, informed me that the immediate previous owner was in Abriachan, overlooking the North side of Loch Ness.

Andrew's croft at Craigton was reached by a 2-mile unpaved track which climbed to over 1000 feet. The Land Rover made it a little easier for the family to get through during winter weather when snow drifts at the top could be up to 3 feet deep. Sometimes even their tractors could not get through.

The Land Rover was MOT'd at the Evelix Service Station, Dornoch in October 12th 1970. At that time the recorded mileage was 28,956. I suspect it may have already been around the clock by then!

Andrew noted that the Land Rover was lacking in power and had poor compression on two of the cylinders. During December 1970, he took the engine apart, replacing the pistons and the bearings.

Andrew died in 1988, and his son Bertie in 2008. I am slowly working through their diaries (1919-2008) Having reached 1970 I found the purchase of CST873 but I am keen to learn of its subsequent history.

The Sutherlands purchased the second vehicle pictured in January1974 and sold the old one on in 1976. CST873 was later listed for sale in the Feb 1986 Land Rover Register newsletter. It then appeared with the name of another new owner in the Jun 1988 LRSOC Newsletter, and was again listed for sale in the Jun 1989 LRSOC newsletter. There is an unusually extensive history of the truck in a letter in the Nov 1990 Land Rover Register newsletter written by the sixth owner, and a response to this adding even more detail from the second owner. It's then listed in the Jul 1991 LRSOC Newsletter under a seventh owner.

I note from the DVLA website that it is currently taxed (at zero rate as a historic vehicle) until May 2025. The requirement to obtain MOT certificates for historic vehicles ceased in 2013. DVLA MOT certificates are shown online between 11th March 2008 and 24th July 2012. In 2008, the recorded mileage was 62,492 and in 2012, 62,876. This low usage suggests little more than driving to and from Car Shows.

Andrew Sutherland building a haystack at Craigton

The farmhouse at Craigton, Strath Brora
built by Andrew and his father