‘‘I’VE got a serious thing for these early coilers. My dad used to take me to school in a Trident Green Ninety, so I’ve been around them a long time and I absolutely love them. In fact, since taking on this Ninety, I’ve gone and bought my own C-reg station wagon in the same colour as a project,’’ laughs Ed Harvey, Service Manager at Jaguar Land Rover Classic, his enthusiasm infectious.
Walking around Jaguar Land Rover Classic’s immaculate Ryton showroom, you’d be forgiven for thinking that the workshop side of the business only deals with massive budget full restorations of 80in Series Is and Jaguar E-Types. But that’s not the case, as Ed is keen to explain.
He leads me into a room with a single four-post ramp in it. The walls are decorated with technical drawings and prints of projects from years gone by, and in the centre sits the Arizona Tan Ninety you see here.
‘‘This one has gone through the Classic service department as a recommission rather than the Reborn restoration programme,’’ Ed explains. ‘‘Our client bought it from Manor Park Classics as an original, low-mileage Ninety hard top that needed work, and it definitely needed work,’’ smiles Ed. ‘‘But the bones of the vehicle were there, and it was well worth saving. In fairness, all Land Rovers from this vintage are worth the time and money investing now, as so many have beenRover he can jump in and drive at any time, but keeping the originality was key. He wanted it to run and perform like new, but not look like it.’’
