Last of the Series Is
LIKE many Land Rover enthusiasts, I have a bit of a soft spot for Series One 107in Station Wagons. If you like no-nonsense functionality, quirky design and utilitarian charm, then it’s hard to resist the Station Wagon’s homespun appearance. The extraordinary number of exposed rivets on the body shows that it was made in an era when metal reinforcements and galvanised cappings were added where needed, rather than hidden away or placed where they might look nice. This ‘on show’ arrangement makes the vehicle look a little bit like the motoring equivalent of the Forth Rail Bridge, but if you love things that are a bit different, then the 107 Station Wagon is undoubtedly the Land Rover for you.
The 107 Station Wagon was in production from early 1956 to late 1958, but from 1957 onwards Solihull’s people carrier was a bit of an outlier. The new 2.0-litre diesel engine announced by Land Rover the same year had necessitated a two-inch extension of the front chassis just before the bulkhead, and this meant that the LWB Land Rover had a 109-inch wheelbase from 1957 onwards. However, as there were no plans to put the agricultural diesel engine in the Station Wagon,
