My ground-up rebuilds include stripping the vehicle right back to the chassis before media-blasting, repairing and building it back up with a combination of new and reconditioned components. As part of this exercise all seals and gaskets are replaced with new. Yet they may still leak? In most cases, absolutely!

Classic Land Rovers are pretty basic vehicles and really they were designed as uncompromising workhorses. By today’s standards they are slow, noisy and not entirely comfortable. Creature comforts? You’ll be lucky if you get a heater.

Going from a modern car to an old Land Rover can be a bit of a culture shock although it must be said that this is also a huge part of their charm.

Take gear changes, try and execute a swift change in a Series’ and it will result in crunching (especially so in Series I and II vehicles which do not have synchromesh in first and second). Instead, a more delicate approach is needed – you feel your way into each gear. Same with steering and brakes, neither happens rapidly in a classic Land Rover (unless you opt for these to be updated as part of your build).

This rugged, uncompromising utilitarian nature is part of the Land Rover’s enduring appeal and getting to grips with the controls and learning to smoothly transition through the gears is hugely satisfying. Every trip is an adventure. Carry tools and a drip tray.