Mystery grab handles

[Darren]

Hello folks, I wondered if anybody could identify these grab handles and point me at a source? Many moons ago I picked a pair up at Sodbury and fitted them to the rear of my Stage 1. Now, I quite fancy the same on the rear of my 110 but can't find any.

[FridgeFreezer]

They're standard Series ones.

[Darren]

No, they're not. Standard ones have both fixing tabs on the outside as shown below. I also STR that I had to re-drill one of the tabs on the ones I fitted previously as the two holes were the wrong way around.

[FridgeFreezer]

OK no they're not, and there's definitely not a pair bolted to the back of my Series from the factory

And being so rare the part numbers almost certainly aren't NRC 5606 (Right) and NRC 5607 (left) as opposed to 300816 which your second picture shows.

We can only hope that one day the government de-classify the information on whether this was a CSW thing due to the rear-mounted spare or just a random change-point, although with the current levels of national security I doubt we'll find out any time soon.

[Darren]

Hmm, ok. I'm afraid you'll have to excuse me for not having a Series parts catalogue to hand, and it also seems that I must apologise for not having clairvoyance enough to know either what your vehicle looks like or its' build history

Still, the part numbers are useful, so thanks for those. I still can't see how they qualify as standard, though. I can't recall seeing them fitted to other Series vehicles (obviously, or I wouldn't have had to ask) and they certainly weren't fitted as standard to any of the several Series vehicles that I've owned over the years. The only CSW I've seen them on were the ones I fitted myself, which hardly counts. On the listings I could find with a quick Google it seems that they were superceded by the other type quite some time ago. Perhaps you'd be kind enough to narrow it down a bit for me by saying what year and model yours' is.

On the plus side, I see Dunsfold list them so I know that they are still available, albeit at a price. Ho hum.

[LandyManLuke]

Oh dear

any use?

[western]

Oi play nicely or step away from the handbags, don't want any argy bargy in here, this is a happy forum

[FridgeFreezer]

Did you mean...

All I said was they are standard Series handles

I have two sets, one on the back of my 109 (1978 CSW) and another set that were on the back of my replacement chassis (1980-something 109 pickup), the parts book doesn't give details of which were fitted to what but my guess is that the type you are after were maybe a a CSW thing because of the back door mounted spare, hence the handles being further out. Could be a 109 thing due to length or general superior quality

[discojmz]

those handles on the pink, are also as found on the rear of my 1986 2.5td (19j) NINETY (with door mounted spare for what it matters) and so by my thinking, if the ones in question are 'earlier' then you can be pretty darned sure that means theyre factory equipment series just like the ever chilly one says lol

[Darren]

Ok, thanks for the extra detail. I really would be interested to know when and where these handles were originally used as I've just had a scan back through my own pictures for the last ten years or so and I can only find one other vehicle with them fitted - the red prototype 90 in the Dunsfold Collection!

I can't see that they're anything particularly clever to do with the spare wheel on station wagons, even if the wheel came down that low, which I don't believe it does. This design doesn't move the handle over as such - it just extends it outwards to the end of the crossmember. The 'other' type is clearly easier to manufacture as it's just a pressing rather than parts welded together so I wonder if originally it was for some special purpose? As I said earlier, I actually had to drill new holes to fit them to my Stage 1.

[Darren]

those handles on the pink, are also as found on the rear of my 1986 2.5td (19j) NINETY (with door mounted spare for what it matters) and so by my thinking, if the ones in question are 'earlier' then you can be pretty darned sure that means theyre factory equipment series just like the ever chilly one says lol

My point was that those on the pink are also the ones found on pretty much every Series LR I've ever seen, or indeed owned. I don't doubt that the ones I'm after are earlier than '86, nor that they're a factory part as Mr Freezer has given me the part number. They're clearly not 'standard' though, and I'm trying to find out what they would have been originally specified for.

[Darren]

Ha! Forget all I've said about having to drill new holes to fit these things. It's just struck me whilst studying Dunsfolds' parts listing that I must have bought two of the same side all those years ago. Duh

[JimAttrill]

Ok, but what are they FOR? I was asked this the other day and couldn't think of an answer that made sense. They are too weak to stand on or pull the Landy with. I do notice that recent Defenders do not have them at last.

One theory is that someone at Solihull ordered about a million of them back in 1948 and they've been trying to get rid of them ever since

[FridgeFreezer]

I can stand on mine

[Darren]

Absolutely. You couldn't tow with them but they are certianly sturdy enough to stand on. They're bigger too, which helps with that.

Basically, though, as they go right out to the edge of the bodywork they provide a degree of protection to the rear lights - like a bumperette, only nicer IMHO When I had them on my Stage 1, they also protected the towing electrics, which can just bee seen in the pic in my first post.

[Happyoldgit]

Maybe a vestige left over from the grab handles on the MB & GPW Jeeps that were carried over to the Land Rover prototypes and then through the Series trucks etc.

[Dev]

just to put my twopenny worth in I had them on my1959 series, I had a few years ago ,dont know for sure but I would say they were there from new, it had been standing for about 20 years, and pretty bog standard.

HTH ??