Insurance men, nice people (not). First against the wall come the glorious revolution me thinks.
Anyway, have you enquired about a discount for pass plus or advanced driver training? In your first year it can often more than pay for the course by knocking your premium down. Let me give you an example, 19 year old lad, passes test, buys Corsa 1.4sport (never mind) insurance man wants £3,000. Lad does pass plus (£20/hour, 6 or more hours) insurance man wants £1400. Colour returns to lad's face.
Not convinced? ok then how much will it cost to insure a modified 2.25 Land-Rover against a standard Series 2?
Remeber the series chassis is stronger than the RR, especially if yours is a 1-tonner.