Katy (KTA 939V) mil reg 20 HF 77

I had wanted a Land Rover for many years but funds would always be used for something more important just when I had got enough money together, this went on for about 10 years, Then in may 2005, after being messed about on two occasions over military Land Rovers I decided to book into a show with a Land Rover I didn't have, This was a great incentive, I searched the internet, Autotrader, freeads and any other vehicle sales magazines and papers I could find, after a couple of weeks and with only 2 weeks until the show I found Katy in the Autotrader.

Katy as she is affectionately known is a 1979 Air Portable series 3 Land Rover FFR (fitted for radio) AKA a light weight, I purchased Katy in june 2005 for £700, she was advertised at £1200 but after some hard bargaining got her for the £700, I got a great deal for my money as I also got 1.5 engines, 4 newish tyres and several boxes of spare parts, Katy was in a poor state when I purchased her, The paint was flaking off in chunks, and she looked terrible, My wife's words were " oh my god what have you done?"  Katy looked a lot worse than she actually was, Once preasure washed underneath she appeared to be very solid.

It took 4 of us 2 days to strip back the paint and respray her, Sounds quick when you say it but it was 2 long days, Day 1 was the worst, We were scraping off the paint with woodworking chisels, They were the only tool in the box that actually made a difference, Day 2 was much easier as all I did was mask up and mix paint, My son did the spraying.

For the MOT she needed a few minor electrical faults sorting out, a new brake light switch, wheel bearings, shock absorber bushes, hand brake adjustment, 2 indicator lenses and a couple of bulbs.

I later replaced the grill and changed a couple of tyres, The tyres that were taken off were put onto the sankey, The bumper was a bit bent and buckled but I managed to straighten it out with the portapower.

It wasn't until I had begun to show Katy that I discovered she had a very interesting history, She was sent out to Hong Kong in 1980 where she remained in storage until 1985, she was issued to the 7th Gurkha rifles and was with them for 8 months then went back into storage, she stayed there until 1990 when she was issued to the Queens Gurkha Signals, Later in 1990 the QGS went to the Gulf taking Katy with them, I don't have anymore info until 1994 when she entered Warminster in Wiltshire, She remained with the Land Warfare Training Centre Battle group Light Aid Detachment REME until 1997 when she was put up for auction, Katy went to work on a farm carrying animal feed, She developed a problem in 1999 and was sold off, She went to a more adventurous person who spent quite some time and money getting Katy sorted out, The owner off roaded her for a short time before she was laid up in 2002.

Armed with this new information I decided to restore Katy to her former glory as a war veteran, So off I went again for another tin of paint, This time we were going desert, My son had just finished his first year at college doing car body repairs and spraying, He earned his keep during the summer holidays, Not only did he spray the Land Rover twice I had him spray a sankey trailer too.

Sankey before

Sankey after.

The pictures below were taken at Okehampton camp in september, It was a great weekend with displays from the regular army as well as our civvi displays of militaria, We ate our meals in the cookhouse along with the regulars and spent the evenings in the NAAFI, There was so much going on all day on both saturday and sunday, If you have a military vehicle and fancy a good weekend then I would suggest you go to the next open day.

Katy was treated to an original unissued tilt in October along with a new door and sill panel and a second hand fuel tank.

below are pictures of Katy with the following work carried out:

Both number plates have been relocated to their original positions, I made up the number plate mounting plate until I can find an original,  the light lenses have been changed from bug eye to glass lenses, a NATO hitch has been fitted, a bridge plate has been fitted to the grill and 2 TUAAM (ATU) boxes complete with antenna mounts have also been fitted, I stripped down a couple of old fibreglass fishing rods as antennae for everyday use, I'm keeping the original antennae for shows, I'm not too bothered if someone pinches a fishing rod as they can be replaced for a couple of quid.

I have just completed the interior, I've cleaned the cab and repainted, I've cleaned and repainted the load space, I've re-covered one of the rear seats that had gone way beyond repair, I've also restored the rifle clips, the leather was perished and just crumbling, I took them completely to bits, repainted them and replaced the leather and refitted them,  At some point I'd like to fit a radio cage and kit it out with all the clansman gear, it's a little expensive so I'm in no hurry.

Well here it is, the radio cage & radio gear.

 

Katy has a very low mileage, In fact she only has 16000 on the clock and only about 3000 on the new engine fitted by the previous owner along with a Turner unleaded head, once finished and because she is in such good condition & she is fully kitted out I would estimate her value at around £4000.

I have had to do all this on a very tight budget, I have been out of work for a very long time with severe health problems, I've  had to sell most of my militaria collection to fund this project, as I sell more I buy another part for Katy, I have to look after her as she is probably my one and only chance of owning a military Land Rover.

Katy has brought the family together, we all get involved with the restoration, since Katy has been on the road we have taken her to shows, we are doing more together and it gets us out and about meeting others during the summer.

 

LINKS

LRUK   http://www.landrovernet.com/forum/

Phils Land Rover Lightweight site http://www.landroverlightweight.info/  serious lightweight fanatic

RA museum http://www.firepower.org.uk/

Military vehicle web forum  www.mvwf.co.uk for all military vehicles, this is a forum that I have started for all military vehicle enthusiasts, I hope it will become a great resource for infomation and help you to keep your military vehicle on the road.

contact me tsw367@aol.com

 

Military vehicle register

add your vehicle to the register here http://mvregister.bravehost.com/

view the register   http://sharpo.co.uk/tinc?key=lMJgrzPf&formname=mvwf_reg