Hemsby Beach Ice Cream Van FVG 31J
The Hemsby Beach Land Rover ice cream van FVG 31J: a 1971 Series IIA 109 with a tall box ice cream body behind its standard cab, serving hatch and menu boards on the side and Rossi Super Ice Cream signs, photographed working the sands at Hemsby, Norfolk, in August 1993 and reported still on the road in 2021.
History
Beach ice cream concessions on the soft sands of the Norfolk coast have long favoured Land Rovers, whose four-wheel drive can reach the beach where an ordinary van cannot. FVG 31J is a Series IIA 109 built new in 1971 but, according to the photographer's note, not registered in the UK until 1984, which suggests it spent its early years abroad or with a non-registering user before being converted with a tall box ice cream body behind the cab, a serving hatch and menu boards on the nearside, lolly decals and Rossi Super Ice Cream signs. It was photographed on Ilford FP4 film with a Pentax K1000 serving Hemsby Beach in August 1993, and the photographer added in 2021 that it was still on the road. The converter and the concession's name are not recorded.
The registry's model keeps a Series 109 cab with the wing-mounted headlamps of a late IIA, adds the box body rising above the cab roof, the hatch and boards, signs and plates from the photograph; as the reference is black and white, the cream and red livery is an assumption.
Imagery
Registry record
- Manufacturer
- Land Rover (Series IIA 109 chassis-cab); ice cream body by an unrecorded converter
- Manufactured
- New in 1971, UK-registered 1984, still on the road in 2021
- Modifier / coachbuilder
- Unrecorded ice cream van converter
- Engine type
- Rover 2.25 L four-cylinder petrol (Series IIA 109 of the period; not stated in the source)
- Production run
- 1
- Country of origin
- United Kingdom
- Operated in
- United Kingdom
- Status
- in service
Catalogue data
- Record kind
- Named model
- Model line
- Series IIA
- Wheels
- 4
- Nominal wheelbase
- 109″
Catalogue fields describe the vehicle's structure and body as this registry records it. They are not certified factory measurements, and no performance figures are published here.
Sources & citations
Researched sources
- Hemsby Beach — Land Rover ice cream van FVG31J, August 1993 (Flickr; new in 1971, first UK-registered 1984, still on the road in 2021) ↗ — Flickr (accessed 2026-09-11)
Catalogue references
- https://www.flickr.com/photos/28083135@N06/51151607122/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/28083135@N06/51151607122/ ↗
Registry record updated 2026-09-11T10:25:44.835Z · status: researched