Victoria the Land Rover

1963 Swiss Army knife Victorinox

Essential among essentials

Victoria being first registered and still located in Switzerland, it is obviously a must have.

Virtually all current Victorinox pocket knives are manufactured and assembled in Switzerland, mainly in Ibach (SZ). The blades, springs, liners, scissors, saws and most components are produced there as part of the manufacturing process. Victorinox itself states that it sources stainless steel from suppliers across Europe. The steel is then processed into knife components in Switzerland.

But why buying a new knife, when you find hundred of them second-hand ? Their patina and lack of modern functions blend nicely into a classic Land Rover. You avoid the plastic sides if you choose one the aluminium body model. The year of manufacture is stamped at the base of the main blade.

70's MEKO Tankkontrolle Kilometerzähler

From ex-DDR (not exactly british, we agree)

Any driver of a classic Land Rover will tell you: never trust the petrol gauge ! Victoria's gauge has the most bizzare behaviour. When you fill-in petrol, the gauge plunges far under its "empty" level mark. After driving around 150 km, it very slowly goes up, reaching around mid-tank level... then doesn't move much, until it suddendly goes south shortly before the tank is fully empty. Not exactly reliable !

As a backup to the gauge's unconstant opinion, we found this old kilometers counter, with a cute metalic body. After filling-up the tank, the digits can be manually turned to indicate the next estimated milestone that would require refilling. In our case, 300km is a reasonnable range for 45 liters of fresh petrol.

Easily fitted in place thanks to its magnetic back, no drilling is even required. Some people use similar devices for oil change services.

60's SNAIL brand tool kit roll

Lucky find out of an autojumble

Any generation of Land Rover is not only susceptible to the occasional British mechanical quirk, as a utilitarian vehicle designed to work in harsh conditions, it is also more likely than other cars to experience the occasional breakdown.

For that reason, carrying a basic selection of tools on board is highly advisable: it can make the difference between a minor roadside repair and an inconvenient recovery.

In this respect, nothing quite matches the charm of the original Land Rover Snail Brand tool kit. Sets can often be found for only a few dozen pounds and restored with a little care. They offer a far more authentic and often more robust solution than many modern tools, which tend to be either prohibitively expensive or, at the cheaper end of the market, of questionable quality. Steel produced in Europe in these years was of the highest durability, but slowly compromised to always weaker and cheaper "good enough" quality levels.

1962 SWISS ARMY Militärrucksack

Widely available for less than 50 bucks.

To collect your belongings while driving and camping, you of course need a backpack. In the 60s, materials were of natural origins: cotton, leather, steel. As you are not on for hiking, the inconvenience of these heavy and uncomfortable designs make them acceptable.

The canvas "Salz Pfeffer" (salt and pepper) of this Swiss army backpack is of an amazing quality: thick and dense, it has gone through the decades without any sign of wear. The stinging nettle (Urtica dioica) is a remarkable high-performance natural bast fiber with a long history in Swiss manufacturing. Historically utilized during wartime blockades, nettle fiber is valued for a breaking strain and tensile strength that can outperform many synthetic modern alternatives.
The leather straps may be dry and cracked at some places, but remain in good working order. The aluminium securing brackets are in "as new" condition !
The factory stamp "A. TRUFFER - Sattler - ERNEN" states the built production year: "62".
Quite ironically, the fabric pattern is an exact match to the latest trend of modern backpacks faking the "vintage" aspect... at 10x this price, minus the quality.

Crank shaft handle

When battery or starter go dark

This is not exactly a vintage accessory as such, but a quite funny and rare sight. Before cars were equipped with electric starters relying on batteries, engines had to be manually cranked to fire. Once cars could start on the push of a button, these handles quickly desapeared, having become obsolete. But because of their utilitarian vocation, Land Rovers kept the hole in the front bumper and, aligned to it, a specific starting dog bolt in the front of the engine.

The high torque of the 2.25L engine is certainly requiring a fair amount of kick to be set alive !

On a side note: the model displayed here is a shortened model for capstan installed models, as it stands in the way. It requires a specific safety pin on its own shaft to allow the higher torque to be transmitted while cranking the engine.

Ochsenkopf axe

Historically very common in Switzerland

The Land Rover was a working companion used by farmers, foresters and surveyors, among other professions. For them, an axe was as natural as carrying a spare wheel.

The Ochsenkopf brand dates back to the late 18th century and became one of Europe's most respected axe manufacturers. In the 60's, Switzerland had a large forestry industry. German-made tools were commonly available, which means that this Ochsenkopf axe would not have looked out of place in the back of a Swiss Land Rover.

In fact, it is probably more historically believable than any premium modern bushcraft axe, at a fraction of the cost...

60's LUCAS inspection lamp FV157949

Lovely interior lamp with adhoc plug right on the dash.

The Lucas (Prince of Darkness) inspection lamp was the roadside companion of english cars' owners long before chinese LED torches existed.

Powered directly from the vehicle's 12v battery through crocodile clips, or from the Land Rover dash's specific plug, it provides the light to field repair a blown fuse, investigate a breakdown on a dark country lane or simply unload the car at night.

Made from a beige coated ferrous metal (steel), the lamp is factory equiped with a steel hook that allows to suspend it anywhere, as breakdowns on a Land Rover might, as we all know, occure at any location.

60's SWISS Military wool blanket

A common sight in any swiss household !

The typical design of these military wool blankets has become iconic, so much that many are now being up-cycled into fashionable bags and home décor items.

In a classic Land Rover, however, their original purpose remains just as relevant today as it was sixty years ago. During a winter breakdown, a wool blanket can provide welcome warmth to passengers waiting for the driver to fix the issue, can serve as an improvised bed for a field-nap "quicky", or a picnic blanket, on a sunny countryside excursion. In desperate circumstances, it could even be placed under a spinning wheel to regain traction and help recover the vehicle... although many Swiss citizens may consider such treatment a sacrilege!

It was common for Land Rover owners and military personnel to keep a wool blanket permanently stowed in their Land Rover, seeing it as one of the simplest yet most versatile pieces of equipment to carry around.

60's Picnic table and seats

Light, comfy and designed in a smart way

You can find plenty of vintage camping equipment on second-hand websites. The fact that it has survived for decades (often needing minor repairs) is proof of its robust design and durable materials. Better still, it can usually be bought for a fraction of the cost of modern alternatives, made from plastic that are often discarded when they break because they cannot be repaired.

The four chairs had their canvas seats replaced at some point in their lives, but the aluminium frames remain in excellent condition. They are remarkably lightweight, making them easy to carry and use.

The folding table is particularly clever: once opened, it provides a voluminous storage compartment that can be "zipped up" to keep insects and curious pets away. Yet the entire unit folds completely flat for transport. It remains surprisingly stable and sturdy. Children love it !

1966 LAND ROVER genuine owner's manual

The cutest piece of reading

Each Land Rover, as with today's cars, was delivered with a couple of books: the "instruction manual", the "maintenance manual" and the "service log book" registering the regular maintenance work.

Sadly, after 60 years of various adventures, these books are seldom to be found into their original car. Actually, the pictured items do not belong to Victoria, being printed in 1966.

Many are for sale on the internet, but they come at a price. These books being easily damaged, lost or separated from their original car, become always more expensive, especially if you want to find a year matching edition. So grab one before they are definitvely out of reach (if not too late: one book requires between 40$ to 100$, each!). Positive note though: their reading is very instructive for the Land Rover enthusiast.

1936 KERN AARAU Militärfeldstecher Schweizer Armee

The real adventure starts looking beyond

Founded in 1819, Kern Aarau became one of Switzerland's most respected manufacturers of precision optical and surveying instruments. Victoria's pair of 6×24 binoculars dates from 1936 and is still housed in its original leather case.

Compact and lightweight, they are easy to keep permanently in a Land Rover. While their modest 6x magnification cannot compete with modern high-powered binoculars, they remain perfectly adequate for spotting wildlife, checking a distant forest edge, scouting a potential campsite, identifying landmarks or simply admiring the surrounding landscape.

Like many well-designed tools from the period, they do just what is needed and they do it remarkably well nearly a century later.

1950 Swiss flashlight Taschenlampe

When Lucas, Prince of Darkness, strikes again !

For many Swiss families, the schweizer armee flashlight was more than just a torch: it was a familiar household companion. Powered by the classic 4.5-volt flat battery (type 3LR12), it still can be found in countless kitchen drawers and utility cupboards throughout the country.

With its sturdy metal body and iconic Swiss cross, it became a symbol of practical engineering.

As a child, I remember it as a fascinating tool: the sliding red and green filters, the hinged front cover, the massive dual switch, the leather strap... that's quite something for just a flashlight !

Today, the REUGE, or ELVES, torches give a sense of nostalgia reminding us of a time when reliability, simplicity and purposeful design were valued above all else.