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Restorer, Converter, Restomod builder · Sowerby, Thirsk, North Yorkshire, United Kingdom · 2004–present

John Brown 4x4

Classic Land Rover restorer and dealer founded in 2004 by John Brown Snr and now working from Sowerby, near Thirsk in North Yorkshire, claiming the largest indoor collection of classic Land Rovers for sale in Britain. Its restorations range from light refurbishment to full bespoke Series rebuilds and electric conversions; it restored the Gastrowagon, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's 109 mobile kitchen.

History

John Brown 4x4 Ltd was established in 2004 by John Brown Snr, who had by then some thirty years in classic Land Rovers and had trained under one of the country's better-known vintage Land Rover specialists. The business began as a spare-time enthusiasm and grew into a full dealership and workshop, always centred on the Series marques: Series I, II and III, alongside Range Rover Classics, Defenders and ex-military vehicles from 1948 to the late 1990s.

The firm works from Unit 3, Thorpefield Business Park, Topcliffe Road, Sowerby, Thirsk, in North Yorkshire, a showroom and working workshop a few minutes from the A1(M), and bills itself as the home of the largest indoor collection of classic Land Rovers for sale anywhere in the UK. Restoration work runs from mechanical refurbishment to complete bespoke rebuilds; every vehicle sold carries a 3,000-mile mechanical warranty, and the company exports and delivers worldwide. It has also moved into electric conversions of Series Land Rovers, announced in 2022. The team grew with John Brown Jnr, who joined in 2015, and Lisa Brown, appointed a director in 2024, alongside mechanics, bodyshop technicians and auto electricians.

Its most publicly visible job is the Gastrowagon — the 109-inch Land Rover built into a mobile kitchen, complete with an upturned boat on the roof for sleeping, for Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's Channel 4 series A Cook on the Wild Side. The truck was rediscovered in poor condition; John Brown 4x4 studied the television footage to get the conversion right, replaced or refurbished every part to a 'like new' standard while improving seals and fit, and had Fearnley-Whittingstall sign the bulkhead at a River Cottage event afterwards. It sold at Bonhams' MPH auction at Bicester Heritage in December 2020 for £28,125 and is now displayed with the Land Rover Heritage Collection.

Vehicles in this registry (1)

Sources & citations

Maker record updated 2026-09-10T05:17:07.280Z · status: researched