#9 - TRT

Some vehicles come to us with a story written across decades and dog-eared logbooks. TRT is not one of those. A 1968 Series IIA 88" petrol, her early life remains something of a mystery — eleven previous owners are recorded, but the details of her journey through their hands have been lost to time. She was acquired for her client as a donor car in March 2021, arriving at The Mill with little fanfare but plenty of potential.

What TRT lacked in provenance, however, she would more than make up for in purpose.

California dreaming, in the truest sense. Brian Bolton, a British expat living in Montecito, is no stranger to fine motor cars — his collection of classic Aston Martins and Porsches would quicken the pulse of any enthusiast. Yet there was always something missing, a gap that no amount of horsepower could fill. Brian had always wanted a Land Rover. The inspiration was deeply personal: his father had owned a bright red Series Land Rover, and it was behind that wheel that a young Brian had his very first experience of driving a car. TRT was to be a homecoming of sorts — a return to where it all began.

After extensive research into restoration companies on both sides of the Atlantic, Brian commissioned Windsor Classics to source and build his dream Land Rover. A daily driver that could cruise the boulevards of Malibu on a Saturday morning and climb the mountain roads above Santa Barbara by the afternoon. Rugged, durable, endlessly capable — yet retaining the honest originality that had first captured his imagination all those years ago. And she would be finished in Pillar Box Red, a loving nod to his father's car.

• Full nut and bolt rebuild, faithful to original factory specification

• Full engine, gearbox and differential rebuilds

• New wiring loom

• Paintwork in Pillar Box Red

• Original size wheels with period style tyres

• Original Bakelite steering wheel retained and restored

• Signature Windsor Classics seats

• Soft top

• US import compliance