History
Some people put pictures of their cats on their personal websites. I haven't got a cat, but I do have a Land Rover, so here's a picture of it instead.
It's pictured pretty much as I bought it in Autumn 1998, basking in the afternoon sunshine. I got it from Military Vehicle Spares, who at the time had about 3,500 of the things parked on an old airfield: the ultimate car supermarket. You can have any colour you like as long as it's green.
I don't know much about its history, but I do know that its original military registration number was 51 AJ 82, which according to a magazine article I read means it started life with the RAF. However, the release form which came with it, which I forgot to take a copy of before handing it in to the DVLA, indicates that it finished its service with the Army, REME in Preston. Intriguingly, under the rather tatty camouflage paintwork, there is clearly a layer of gloss NATO green, so it must have looked much smarter once. Most interestingly of all there are the remains of decals on the doors depicting the REME crest. You can only see them when the sunlight shines across them at an oblique angle revealing the contours. One of these days I'll contact the Ex-Military Land Rover Association or the Museum of Army Transport and trace its history in more detail.
Having spent 17 years serving Queen and country, it's now been serving me for more than 4 years and 30,000 miles, and shows no signs of stopping any time soon. As long as I keep screwing the bits that fall off back on and welding the chassis together it trundles doggedly on.
There's a lot more I could write, but that'll have to do for now. There are a couple of more detailed articles on the site, all about rebuilding the gearbox and modifying the transfer box.