I picked this Land Rover up probably 4 years ago now, and I’ve done precisely nothing to it so far. Hey, I’ve been busy…
I bought it thinking it was a ’63 Series IIa, but as I’ve learned more about the build features I’ve noticed more and more things that point to it being an earlier Series II model. Judging by the chassis number, this one is a 1960 model, so made between summer ’59 and summer ’60 (the factory used to have a summer shutdown, when they started up again they were building the next model year).
This one has a 2.5 petrol engine fitted. It’s similar to the 2.25 it would have had originally, but it’s a much later engine from a 1980’s 90 or 110. I had it running briefly, but the clutch is seized for now so it certainly isn’t driveable.
Judging by the old tax discs, it hasn’t been on the road since the early 2000’s.
I think the ‘distressed’ look is ace. 50+ years of use (and no doubt abuse) went into achieving that. When I do have the time and space to do the work necessary to get her back on the road, I’ll be trying to keep the look unchanged. I’m not really into ‘shiny’ restorations, it’s not a very honest look for an old Land Rover.
There has evidently been a bit of jiggery pokery with the ID of this one over the years, as the V5c states that she’s a ’63. It was pretty common back in the day to chop and change ID’s on Land Rovers, this one probably had a valuable or desirable registration plate which someone wanted.
The change from II to IIa occurred in 1961, so the II was only made for 3 years or so, having started production in 1958. The IIa was in production from ’61 to ’71, which makes the II a much rarer beast. While it doesn’t really matter in terms of functionality, I’d like to get the proper II identity back on this one.
I sent some info off to the DVLA to try and get the proper ID back recently, so we’ll see how that goes. All I’ll need then is some time and space and I can get started!
