VORIZO is named for the postal code on Hornby Island British Columbia.
The vehicle was imported to Canada through Vancouver in 1959 and sent immediately to a small oil field in Northern Alberta operated by Shell Oil. Although you cannot see it, there are patches of the Shell Yellow still adhering under the coast of house paint and whatever that the next two owners put on it.
After leaving Shell, VORIZO was driven to New Brunswick where it sat for many years unmoving. It was then bought and driven to Ottawa where once again it sat. We bought it in 1996 and rail transported it to Calgary where it has been running ever since.
Although the speedometer is highly inaccurate the odometer appears to be somewhat reliable so I have little doubt that the 34 thousand miles on the clock is close to being accurate. this is born out by the general state of the mechanicals, but certainly not the state of the paint.
This particular vehicle had a starring role in a docudrama called "The Roughnecks" produced by the National Film Board of Canada in 1960. The bad guy drove VORIZO in his various attempts to spy on the good guy oil workers.
VORIZO is very much a Border Collie vehicle. Two Border Collies in the back of a Series Land Rover generate a lot of head turning as we drive around.
If you look really really closely you can just make out the two border collies, Tina and Tilly, in the back.