Learning to drive in a Land Rover on his dad and grandad's farm, at just ten years old a young Tony Cable had no idea how important Land Rovers would be to him before he was old enough to vote or legally watch the Exorcist. How could he? Now the owner of a successful, specialised independent Land Rover business that has as its trademark the ability to transform bits of assorted Land Rovers into genuine one offs, things could have been so very different.

"I'd left school in '88, my grades were good enough to get me accepted into the Navy as an engineering officer, and with that as my chosen career I was at college studying," he recalls. "My grandad, who I was really close to, died in the September of '88. It affected my studying, I bunked off college for the last three months of the year and by the December had given up on joining the Navy, opting instead for a local electrical/mechanical engineering apprenticeship."

Tony acquired his first Land Rover, a Series One, while still at college and it wasn't long before the urge to improve things took over, the following months seeing a V8, coil springs, Salisbury back axle, and loads of other goodies fitted. He remembers; "it did 14mpg at a time when petrol was around £2 gallon and I was earning £27 .50 a week." In '94 he sold it to his now brother-in-law, who then sold it on.

Says Tony, "It's a Land Rover thing I suppose, but I would like to know where SXF 593 is now, or what happened to it. I'd like to have it back." Not that Tony is a great fan of older Land Rovers. He isn't. "Land Rovers are a passion for me," he says, "but there's a difference between being passionate about something and being an anorak. I'm not an anorak."

Admitting to always having had a liking for Series Ones, and that any genuine old Land Rover is always worthy of interest, Tony's adamant you'll not find him driving around in a Series vehicle. "Why should I want to drive around in something that, by design, is drafty, noisy and rattles? I'll work on a Series vehicle with the same enthusiasm I'd work on any other Land Rover, but as for driving around, I'm quite happy with my Discovery Commercial, thank you."

That Discovery took a few years of hard graft to get though, and before it and following SXF 593 came a Series II and a second Series One, before coil springs arrived in the shape of a One Ten.

"I'd decided to do a bit of off-roading/playing around but couldn't afford a tidy One Ten, so bought a damaged one and set about putting it back on the road, using bits from a wreck I then went out and bought. With mine back on the road, I got more for the bits I'd left over than I'd paid for the two motors," he says. "I then bought a Ninety; did it up and sold it, the profits going into the One Ten. It was good money, I enjoyed what I was doing and things really started from there."

All of this was done in Tony's parents drive, much to the neighbours displeasure. It wasn't long though before he was renting a barn. "I was doing well, both in and out of work. I was established in a large food processing factory and had got a raft of mechanical/electrical qualifications and was on course to have made a nice living in that profession, but doing more and more Land Rover stuff made me realise I wanted to do even more. I'd been bitten by the bug," recalls Tony.

Official business

Things got to the stage where, when on alternating 6-2/2-10 shifts, it'd be either mornings or evenings in the barn, plus weekends and holidays. "I'd even book holidays around Land Rovers," says Tony, who by this time was busy enough to have somebody working for him part-time.

The business became official in August '96, although Tony retained his 'day job' until the December. "I started in a small (900sq ft) indus- trial unit at Heacham; three Land Rovers and it was full," he says. Ever expanding and needing somewhere bigger, TJC Landrovers moved to their new premises in January this year. The eight-bay 8000sq ft workshop makes TJC one of a small number of country-biased businesses trading from a surplus-to-requirements farmyard at Weasenham on the A 1065 between Fakenham and Swaffham. Drive out that way and you'll not miss it as heading from Swaffham -sitting in a roadside field -there's a 110 logo'd TJC, while heading towards Swaffham there's a sizeable sign-board. "I was thinking people would have difficulty finding us," says Tony. "The farm manager was great, and on mentioning that to him he suggested putting something out to advertise. They're both on wheels -so no problems with planning -and have certainly done the trick." The 1065 is a busy road, becoming even busier during the tourist season, being one of the main routes to the North Norfolk coast. A third technician has just been taken on and Tony's father-in-Iaw (an ex-bank manager) now deals with accountancy matters. Tony jokes, "the way things are going I'll soon need even bigger premises."

TJC specialise in Land Rovers, but Tony says he's happy to take in pretty much any 4x4. "It's a rural area, we do a lot of farm vehicles and a lot of farms run mixed fleets. There's also a bit of a trend. to move away from Defenders to 4x4s like the Isuzu Trooper. It'd be stupid of me to turn that work away. Something like a Trooper will run for a few years and probably cost nothing more than routine servicing. Your average Defender on the other hand will likely have gone through bushes, shocks, UJs and all manner of other stuff during that time. The leveller though is that Land Rover parts, even Genuine Parts, are dirt cheap compared to Japanese stuff. Keeping the likes of a Defender up to scratch may be a continuous process, but it's an affordable one. When something Japanese starts to need work, and it will, the parts cost the earth and when it does begin to go wrong, it's usually falling apart around you"

The one thing you won't find in TJCs workshop is a car. " A lot of so-called Land Rover or 4x4 specialists have workshops half full of cars," says Tony. "We don't. Of course, I wouldn't turn away a passing motorist in difficulty, but that's as far as it goes." TJC do all the regular Land Rover stuff like gas conversions -or to diesel for those not keen on gas, they'll service and have full bodyshop facilities to restore, rebuild or refurbish as required. They've a sealed environment for engine rebuilds, will fit air-conditioning, offer a parts service -both new and salvaged, and thanks to Tony's off-road pedigree (from Transylvania to Webster Trophies) even offer off-road preparation and advice.

"Whatever we do, we do it well, " he says. "I really do believe in offering a service and am happy to invite new, or potential customers, over to have a look around and a chat. It's always nice as most Land Rover people are talkative and will have a story or two to tell." And these customers are anything but local.

super saving

"Just next week I've a customer with a Discovery coming up from somewhere near Watford. His local franchised dealer, for a 72,000 mile service with cam belt, had quoted £950. On the advice of a friend who's a customer of mine, he called for a quote. At £325 he queried what the extras were. There were none, my labour rate is £23.50 an hour. There is simply no getting away from the fact that somebody has to pay for the suits, the birds, the coffee and all that other 'atmospheric' stuff you get at main dealers. And we also throw in all those little extra 'Land Rover things' that aren't covered by the service schedule, and that a main dealer working on a timed job basis can't do (even if they knew about them) without productivity suffering. We'll always squirt a bit of copper grease on wheel studs or brake pipe sections we know to be prone. And take this Discovery, there's no sump gasket on a 300Tdi so we'll check the tightness of the sump bolts as a matter of course. Maybe a little thing, but it shows that we know our Land Rovers and that we care."

And Tony's quick to make the point that TJC do not cut corners with materials either. "There's a huge difference between good value and cheap, and we simply won't use inferior materials. We use quality lubricants and a fair percentage of Genuine Parts. Not everything is Genuine Parts as like any good independent we know that many Genuine Parts can also be bought at a fraction of the Genuine price, but just branded by their respective manufacturer. Brake pads are a great example; £40 retail Genuine, £18 retail branded."

And while the farmyard premises of TJC are particularly spacious and well-suited to forecourt sales, you'll not find row upon row of used Land Rovers for sale. "I'm not too keen on selling run of the mill vehicles," says Tony. "I've got to put my reputation on every motor I sell. How can I do that on a ten- year-old hard-worked Defender? I'd rather have a few vehicles that we're satisfied with and that have had a good going over and that I'm be happy to put my reputation on. On the other hand, I'd be happy to sell and put my name on the rebuilds we do, all day long."

These rebuilds, like many of the best ideas, came about by chance really, but now take up around 70 percent of TJCs workshop time. Having collected up a vast quantity of parts over the course of time, Tony put together a number of Q-plate rebuilds. People weren't keen on Q-plates and things changed direc- tion slightly when, late in '95, TJC did the first of the custom rebuilds they are rapidly developing an enviable reputation for producing. "G147 MNW basically started as a mechanically clapped- out 90 truck cab, but finished up a very tidy 90 CSW," says Tony. "I think its owner moved to Wales. I'd love to know how it's still going."

thinking behind

Tony's thinking behind TJC's custom rebuilds is simple; "People buy themselves a Land Rover that's as close to what they ideally want as they can find, to then spend a fortune on the huge variety of 'I wish' after- market add-ons. Why not buy your Land Rover with the things you want on it, on it when you buy it?"

Around 40 percent of TJC's rebuild customers are word of mouth referrals. "Land Rover people talk to each other and if one sees something they like, they'll ask questions," says Tony. The other 60 percent are converts from potential forecourt sales. "Yes, if I've got exactly what they want, or know that I can get it, that's fine," says Tony. "On the other hand, once you've explained what a custom rebuild actually entails, what you get for your money and the choices you have, people very often warm to the idea. They like the idea of being able to say 'this Land Rover was built for me'. Not that I believe in rushing anybody, be it a straight sale or a rebuild. I'd rather they went away to think things over, and then come back to me. They can do that as often as they like. I'd rather somebody is happy about what they're doing, after all, what's the point of taking a deposit to give it back two days later?"

So just what do you get with a TJC custom rebuild?

everybody wants...

"The right vehicle for your needs, for a start," says Tony. "Everybody wants a 90. But do they really? They're easier to handle, something husbands use a lot as a persuasion 'tool' with the wife, but if they happen to be looking to carry bales of straw, saddles or other horsey things, or simply just the 2.4 children and the dog, maybe they'd be better off with a 110. I can't just sell somebody what they think they want if it doesn't suit their needs. I have to tell them, even if I end up losing the sale. It's that reputation thing again.

If it's a 110 the customer decides on, most of my 110 custom rebuilds have a chassis that started its life as an army V8, soft top, left hand drive. Not the most popular 110 for obvious reasons, so they can be picked up at reasonable prices. I won't touch an ex-military 90 though, they're too expensive and have a far harder life than the 110s. Most of my 90 chassis are hand-picked from other dealers, or they may come as trade-ins. I won't buy just anything though and while ideally the mechanicals will be good, it's the rolling chassis I'm after, and just like on the 110s, this has to be in A1 condition." Once in TJC's workshop the donor chassis is stripped, inspected, repaired (if necessary), shot-blasted and then galvanised. Both axles are stripped and de-Carbon shocks and (to customer requirements) new springs and Polybushes are fitted. The brake and fuel lines are also replaced, as is the fuel tank. If the chassis selected didn't come with mechanicals good enough -or of the type required by the customer - alternatives will be fitted. Body panels to match the customers configuration are then sourced and fitted, and these can come from one or more salvaged vehicles, but can also include some new panels. "We couldn't use all new panels though, it'd make the price sky high," says Tony.

The interior of the vehicle is strictly to customer requirements, but even a very basic rebuild will have carpeting and soundproofing at least the equal of a CSW. " As it's a custom rebuild the customer has the freedom to pretty much have whatever they like in the way of seating, carpeting, sound-proofing and trim," says Tony. "Things like air-con or central locking can also be included in the spec." As for paint finish, wheels/tyres and bodywork, again it's whatever the customer wants.

"They're also more than welcome to pop in at any time during the rebuild, and each rebuild is assigned a technician who keeps all the records and will liaise with the customer as required. That's important as a lot of my customers do come from a long way away, so if they phone with a question or query, they need to know they'll be talking to somebody who's actually involved with 'their vehicle' and can give them the answers they require."

With customers being so widespread, Tony often sees little ofTJC's handywork after it leaves the workshops. "We hear little from our customers, something that tells me they must be satisfied, and while I'd like to know how some of our rebuilds are getting on, quiet but happy customers have to be good for TJC's reputation. To hopefully catch up with some of those previous customers I am looking to arrange an auto jumble style event at some stage in the near future. All of my customers will get an invitation and I'm looking forward to catching up with them and seeing a nice long line of immaculate 'one-off' TJC custom rebuild Land Rovers."