Shop Truck

History

Jack Oliver Dobson is a British-born Land Rover specialist based in Brisbane, Australia, who has spent over 25 years rescuing, rebuilding and recommissioning classic Land Rovers, from the earliest 1948 models through to 2015. His interest began with his parents' 1970s Series III, named 'Prue'; he rebuilt his own Series III at sixteen and still owns it more than two decades later. He is Australian ambassador for several automotive brands and a columnist for Land Rover Monthly. He posts his workshop work as @jackoliverdobson and his own vehicles and travels as @dobbo_down_under — the nickname that gives this record its name.

His personal fleet includes 'Old Girl', a 109-inch Series IIIA; a 1950 80-inch that he rebuilt and that took Best 4x4 and Car of the Show at the 2024 Brisbane All British Day before being invited to the 2025 Noosa Concours d'Elegance; and 'Tray-back', a 109 ute. The tray-back is the vehicle behind the Difflocked model.

Dobson describes buying the truck with pristine bodywork sitting on a severely corroded chassis, and treating it to what he calls a patina restoration: the weathered exterior was deliberately preserved while the chassis and running gear beneath it were renewed. In 2024 the truck was updated again with a fully rebuilt Rover V8, an installation he notes was made awkward by the vehicle's six-cylinder-style chassis and bulkhead — the arrangement used on the six-cylinder long-wheelbase Land Rovers rather than the four-cylinder cars. Alongside the engine it runs a vented disc brake conversion and 265/75 R16 Maxxis Mud Terrain tyres on 16x8-inch zero-offset One Tonne replica steel wheels.

The truck's exact model year and its original factory paint are not stated in the sources consulted, and the workshop's 'Shop Truck' and the 'Tray-back' in his personal fleet are described in separate places on his site rather than explicitly identified with one another, though the descriptions match. No factory colours are recorded here for that reason.

Imagery

Registry record

Manufacturer

Land Rover (Rover Company / British Leyland) — 109-inch long-wheelbase

Manufactured

109-inch six-cylinder-type donor, year not documented; patina restoration by Jack Oliver Dobson, Rover V8 fitted 2024

Modifier / coachbuilder

Jack Oliver Dobson ↗

Engine type

Rover V8, fully rebuilt and installed in 2024 (replacing the original engine)

Current owner

Jack Oliver Dobson ↗

Country of origin

United Kingdom (built); restored and operated in Australia

Status

in use; privately owned by Jack Oliver Dobson, Brisbane

Catalogue data

Record kind

Named model

Model line

Series II

Wheels

4

Base catalogue fields are exported from the Difflocked game. In-game physics values are arcade tuning, not certified historical measurements, and are deliberately not shown as specifications here.

Sources & citations

Researched sources

• Projects — 'Shop Truck', 'Old Girl', the 1950 80-inch and 'The Patina Build' ↗ — jackoliverdobson.com (accessed 2026-09-10)
• The Company — Brisbane workshop; 'Old Girl' 109 Series IIIA, 'Tray-back' 109 ute, 1950 80-inch ↗ — jackoliverdobson.com (accessed 2026-09-10)
• Jack Oliver Dobson (@dobbo_down_under) — 'British expat in Brisbane preserving and daily-driving classic Land Rovers' ↗ — Instagram (accessed 2026-09-10)
• Reel — Rover V8, vented disc brakes, 265/75 R16 Maxxis Mud Terrain on One Tonne replica steels ↗ — Instagram (accessed 2026-09-10)
• Jack | Land Rover Restoration (@jackoliverdobson) ↗ — Instagram (accessed 2026-09-10)