Topic: Djetset #367

[pnegyesi]

hmm, is it being used at the Goodwood Estate?

[Djetset]

hmm, is it being used at the Goodwood Estate?

Yes 

[Wendax]

It is a 2003 Land Rover Defender 110 TD5 used by the Goodwood Farm Shop, but no idea about the builder.

[Djetset]

It is a 2003 Land Rover Defender 110 TD5 used by the Goodwood Farm Shop, but no idea about the builder.

Very good detective work Pal as this machine is used by Goodwood's in-house catering team to transport refrigerated food and drink around the Estate (it's own organic meat, vegetable, milk, etc.). I think you should get a point for your top sleuthing, so now awarded.

However, the vehicle is not a Land Rover Defender, but rather a Land Rover Series 2-inspired wagon, based on a Nissan Cabstar (Atlas in Japan) so that it can be used at the pre-1966 Revival and won't look too out of place. So, the Puzzle continues to identify who made it? 

[Wendax]

However, the vehicle is not a Land Rover Defender, but rather a Land Rover Series 2-inspired wagon, based on a Nissan Cabstar (Atlas in Japan) so that it can be used at the pre-1966 Revival and won't look too out of place.

DVLA must have been fooled by the looks then. 

[Djetset]

However, the vehicle is not a Land Rover Defender, but rather a Land Rover Series 2-inspired wagon, based on a Nissan Cabstar (Atlas in Japan) so that it can be used at the pre-1966 Revival and won't look too out of place.

DVLA must have been fooled by the looks then. 

Hmm, it's definitely a Nissan as I've driven it, and it still has the Cabstar interior!

[Wendax]

 

[Djetset]

Thanks Wendax, and very interesting. Originally more than one example of the Puzzle car was going be made, but to the best of my knowledge this didn't happen, and this vehicle remains unique.

As a clue to help get this old Puzzle solved, the builder of the fake Land Rover has been featured in Auto Puzzles before, although I just did a search on the maker's name, and nothing is showing up!

[Oguerrerob]

I've found this picture, no new info

[gte4289]

A couple of things about this puzzle were troubling me:

• the near impossibility of reconciling what is shown in the photographs of this vehicle with the chassis of a Nissan Cabstar; and
• the unlikelihood of registering a Nissan Cabstar-based replica as a Land Rover Defender.

Points or no points (Djetset hasn't logged in since July 2021), I had to satisfy my curiosity as an amateur automotive historian, and so I reached out to Goodwood for clarification. Here's the response I received from the Goodwood Estate Office:

It was built from a Defender in around 2004 by Modeltec, (no longer trading), who also made our Wacky Racers cars.  It was handmade in plywood and fibreglass and used as a mobile farm shop for several years.  Unfortunately, the bodywork was not durable and began to disintegrate, and the mobile shop was not being used as much as planned.  In around 2009 the vehicle was rebodied into a flatbed, with the original Defender front end put back on.

This vehicle is still in use at Goodwood Motor Circuit as a general purpose service vehicle.  I’ve attached a couple of photos for you as it is now.

The Estate Office provided three photos, which I've cropped, resized, and attached below, along with another photo that I found online. I've also included close-ups of each to show the interior as best as possible in an attempt to address the following comment:

Hmm, it's definitely a Nissan as I've driven it, and it still has the Cabstar interior!

In my opinion, what little can be seen of the interior in these photos more closely resembles that of a 2003 Defender 110 than of any Nissan Cabstar.

I don't know how to explain the inconsistencies with Djetset's statements about the vehicle, but I want to make it unquestionably clear that I am in no way suggesting that he intentionally provided false information about it. Perhaps he was remembering a different vehicle than the one shown in the puzzle photo (similar to what happened in this thread)?

[gte4289]

As far as the builder is concerned, Djetset had this to say:

It was built by a small and moderately established builder...

...the builder of the fake Land Rover has been featured in Auto Puzzles before, although I just did a search on the maker's name, and nothing is showing up!

This makes me doubt that he had ModelTec in mind. ModelTec was described as a "local company" (local to Goodwood), and I've found no mention of any vehicles built and/or modified by ModelTec that were unrelated to Goodwood. (Online search results are dominated by a U.S.-based machinists' hobby magazine of the same name.) In addition to rebodying the puzzle vehicle for Goodwood, ModelTec built:

• Goodwood's Wacky Racers;
• Goodwood's Golf Woodies (a fleet of 40 Yamaha golfcarts modified to resemble the 1938 Ford Prefect 'Brakenvan', a design by Charles March's grandfather); and
• real-life versions of the winning entries in Goodwood's 2003 and 2004 Create-A-Car Competition.

[Carnut]

I'd be very surprised if Djetset is wrong..
He knows an astonishing amount about rarities such as this and of course works at Goodwood. A lot of the other guys there are nowhere near as knowledgeable as he is and if there is conflicting information I would guess Djetset's info is probably right about 99% of the time!

[gte4289]

I'd be very surprised if Djetset is wrong..
He knows an astonishing amount about rarities such as this and of course works at Goodwood. A lot of the other guys there are nowhere near as knowledgeable as he is and if there is conflicting information I would guess Djetset's info is probably right about 99% of the time!

Everybody makes mistakes. Based on the communication from Goodwood (they still own, use, and maintain this thing ), the DVLA record, and the photos themselves, I'm inclined to believe Djetset was mistaken about this one. But if all of these are somehow wrong, and the vehicle was actually built on a Nissan Cabstar chassis, I would really like to see where the engine is how it's accessed.