The Land Rover was a huge success for its makers right from the start in 1948, when it was introduced as a product to keep the Rover factories busy in the difficult economic times that followed the Second World War. Developed with a speed that was remarkable even for the relatively unsophisticated vehicles of those days, it was regularly updated in both major and minor ways over the next five years as improvements be-came necessary or suggested themselves.

It is the minutiae of those improvements - some intended to simplify build procedures and others to give the customers a better product - that lie at the heart of this book. For owners and enthusiasts who aim to restore an 80-inch model to its original, ex-factory specification, its pages aim to demystify the huge succession of changes that were made on the assembly lines, wherever possible not only recording what happened but also why.

With the aid of Simon Clay's photography of some superb examples of the marque, correct details are shown on both complete vehicles and on some under restoration to give the dedicated enthusiast the knowledge needed for an accurate and satisfying restoration. In this book, enthusiast and leading Land Rover historian James Taylor is your guide to the multiple changes in specification that affected the 80-inch Land Rovers built between 1948 and 1953 and continue to excite debate among restorers today.