The Best 4 X 4 X Far

by Sam Barer

While many young boys fall in love with sports cars, a 13-year-old Charles Kellogg became mystified with a friend’s 1957 Land Rover. Decades later, Kellogg‘s Olympia-based British Northwest Land-Rover Company is considered one of the world’s experts on these go-anywhere-do-anything utility vehicles.

Long before GM and Ford realized that they could market highly profitable truck-based utility vehicles to suburban-trapped soccer moms, Land Rover was making four-wheel-drive vehicles for people requiring rugged and reliable transportation to get off-the-beaten-track. As the story goes, the owners of the British Rover car company retreated to their family farm after World War II, using US Army Jeeps left in England for agricultural work. When spare parts disappeared, they decided to build a Rover version of the Jeep for personal farm use. The first prototype was even built on a Jeep platform. As requests from friends for similar vehicles mounted, the owners decided to put their Land Rover into full production.

Rover’s cars had long been considered the “poor-man’s Rolls Royce,” due mostly to high-quality engineering. Similarly, its first Land Rovers released at the 1948 Amsterdam Motor Show gained almost immediate notoriety for bulletproof construction. The Series I featured a box section steel chassis, and due to shortages of steel, rustproof all-aluminum bodywork. Under the hood was a four-cylinder, overhead valve gas engine that drove all four wheels.

Land Rover’s popularity also ignited due to its versatility. The Land Rover became available in wagon and pick-up forms with short and long wheelbases. A diesel engine also emerged. Other optional equipment could be added based on need, from dual-plane roof panels to aid cabin heating and cooling, to snow plows. Some vehicles were equipped with periscopic carburetor air-intake snorkels to allow vehicles to cross rivers almost completely submerged. In the field, a Land Rover could even operate multiple transmission-driven winches, welders or generators.

It was purity of design and versatility that attracted Kellogg, who purchased his first Land Rover with a girlfriend back in the 60s. When they later broke-up, his girlfriend kept the vehicle, leading to a greater feeling of heartache for losing the Land Rover than the girl.

Kellogg, then a sandal-maker, began buying Land Rovers, some running, some wrecked. He learned to fix them, and started servicing friends’ vehicles. Soon, he was known as a good source for Land Rover parts and service. 32 years later, he is known around the world for his expertise.

So it seems perfect that this expert is showing me around the different Land Rovers currently calling his now Olympia-based shop home.

It’s getting late in the rainy evening, and while that might stop some classic vehicles, it won’t faze a 1964 Land Rover wagon.

We hop into the spartan, yet fairly comfortable cabin. Seats are flat, but well padded. The steering wheel is a standard period banjo type. Instrumentation comes courtesy of stylish Jaeger gauges. Five levers sprout from the floor, including the standard shifter and those for lower-range transfer gears. Wipers are automatic, but knobs allow manual operation.

The starter engages and quickly brings the 2.3 liter four cylinder engine to life. The idle is smooth and fairly quiet given its rugged nature. The long shifter slots up into first and we’re off. Acceleration seems brisk, and Kellogg quickly admits to improving the engine a tad. While a stock engine is rated at 77 horsepower, our test vehicle exhibits closer to 125.

With the media focused on modern SUVs’ tendencies towards rollover accidents, one would expect a Land Rover to be somewhat tippy in cornering. This is certainly not the case. Stiff springs and telescoping dampers promote confident and almost totally flat cornering. Driving a Land Rover is engaging, and would even be considered easy, if it weren’t for the lack of synchromesh in first and second gears. Double-clutching is an art forgotten or never learned by most current drivers.

Kellogg points out that fads have come and gone, but the honest and pure Land Rover has not only survived, but also has continue to maintain its title as the “Best 4 By 4 By Far.” Due to sound engineering and quality workmanship, original Series I examples are not only collected, but actually still used as primary commuting, work and military vehicles all over the world.

Sam Barer writes for Apex, an Olympia, WA based freelance writing company. To submit a car for a future “Sound Classics” story, email soundclassics@apexstrategy.com

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