My oddball Land Rover Series II (1959 - Series 2)

I bought this 1959 Land Rover Series II that has had some modifications to it, with the intention of doing some work to it, having some fun in it, and then selling it on. Follow my journey with it, to see how it goes!

[@Pinzpilot101]

well well.....I wondered where it went......I owned it in the early 90's...not for long though, it was solid, but I went off Landrovers for a few years about that time, owned 7 x Series Landrovers altogether and did a nut and bolt on one of them. I do have a pic of it somewhere in green paint.

[@Rich_Runs_Cars]

Brilliant! Was it modified when you had it? Interesting....I can see a few colours of paint, but not green yet 🙂

[@Pinzpilot101]

@@Rich_Runs_Cars It had that very distinctive Roll over Bar.....It was green, but the guy who bought it from me had a business that included sand blasting, so he could in theory have changed it to any colour. It started and ran well....oh and it had those Discovery one steel wheels....he wanted them for a discovery that he was refurbishing. (so he said).

[@Rich_Runs_Cars]

Thanks very much, really interesting! She still starts and runs pretty well, so hopefully I can keep her going a while longer yet.

[@kevinbodnar448]

Nice landy, if it were mine I'd restore it back to its original state, I have a 1973 series 3 petrol 👍. Thanks for sharing

[@Rich_Runs_Cars]

Thanks @kevinbodnar448 🙏 I'd love to be able to return to original, but I'll have to settle for a few bits back to original.... Returning the roll cage, bonnet, fuel tank etc back to original is beyond my skills unfortunately! Very nice...I actually have a video on my petrol Series 3 coming very soon 🙂

[@PillSharks]

Still has the original early series 2 ventilation flap knobs which are rare now! Moved over late 1959/1960s to the lever ones!

[@Rich_Runs_Cars]

Very interesting, thanks - I hadn't actaully realised the knobs were produced so briefly on the Series 2!

[@gavinralph2910]

I have an original galvanised Land Rover Series 2 closing panel for the rear of your truckcab. (Came off my 1959 S2 when I converted it from Truckcab to full hardtop. It would close that massive gap you have where the truckcab bolts to the body.

[@Rich_Runs_Cars]

@gavinralph2910 Fantastic, thank you! Whereabouts are you?

[@BrianM0OAB]

You would be better off getting new door tops that are glazed, not cheapest way but much easier than repairing the ones you have, ( probably rotten under the channel anyway ) new front grill panel is £250 you can source grill panel, rear tub and wings from any of the Land Rover shows, final note, that lane did not require low range 4 wheel drive to be engaged it was just puddles, I suggest you try in 2 wheel drive to feel what the limitations are, I'm not trying to push buttons but giving advice from experience.

[@Rich_Runs_Cars]

Thanks a lot for the advice, Brian, much appreciated. I have actually been thinking along the same lines for the door tops. Good to know those parts should be straightforward to source. And yes, you're right regarding the 4wd..... especially with the tyres that are on!

[@simonevans343]

Reminds me of my first truck although mine was a series one. I think I called the colour Thatcher Blue, I dont think the colour was original. Grind your window off

[@Rich_Runs_Cars]

Very nice, I've always wanted a series 1... Maybe one day I was thinking I'll have to grind the door top off, but haven't quite worked out how I'd remove the residual part of the bolt... And I don't have a welder to fit a fix a replacement one in...

[@robt2151]

My first Landy in 1971 was a Series 1 swb with a Rover 2.6 six-pot, colour Victoria (purple), reg OWV834. I now have a 1984 '127' V8 auto.

[@highloughsdrifter1629]

Nice. You won't be "not mechanically minded" for long owning that. I'm probably in the minority (of 1?) here, but I wouldn't restore it. Let it keep it's history, which includes modifications, there's plenty of restored to factory examples about. That early Series 2 is better than a Series 1 , most parts are common all the way through to the last Series 3s so obtainable, which Series 1 parts certainly aren't. It's also got some notable improvements like the fully floating rear half-shafts. Series 1 are seriously overpriced today. Yes, I do wish I hadn't sold mine, but I couldn't afford to maintain it properly. I was making do with Series 3 parts because the right ones were either unobtainable or massively expensive and that was 30 years ago.

[@Rich_Runs_Cars]

Thank you 🙏 Well I hope I improve mechanically! There are quite a few things I will definitely do to start with but, to be honest, how far I go down the "restoration road" will probably depend on time and skill..... watch this space! I'm not averse to modifications if they're tasteful. I actually prefer the S2 over the S1 anyway, and as you say parts are probably a bit easier to obtain for the S2.

[@lowen74s]

7:54 it's unlikely to have syncromesh on 1st and 2nd due to it's age. For something that's been built for doing trials it looks quite smart

[@Rich_Runs_Cars]

Thank you....I think the camera was kind 😂 That's right, no syncro and I guess 2nd gear is usually the most likely to wear. I actually think high engine idle speed might have been exacerbating the bad change. I've adjusted the idle speed and think the change is less bad now... maybe! I'll post a video soon...

[@ReevesRovers]

Nice little 88", and with that plate it could be an ex-factory vehicle as AC is Warwickshire and many Rover factory vehicles carried an AC plate. Personally I'd start looking for the parts required to return it to original, rebuilding the front end is a fiddle but not difficult. You'll probably have to cut the door top off, it's a later Series Three one anyway so no loss (btw your tailgate is S3 as well). To establish the original colour and whether it is a factory vehicle you can get a heritage certificate from Gaydon achieves. Lastly on the gearchange, are you double declutching when going from 1st to 2nd, and down from 2nd to 1st?

[@Rich_Runs_Cars]

Thanks very much, incredibly helpful info! I have to admit I'm not exactly sure what you mean by an ex-factory vehicle. I was wondering about the door tops and tailgate, so thanks for confirming those are S3. And yes I have been double de-clutching but the change still isn't great... Thanks for the info re. Gaydon archives...I have no info on this S2 compared with the folder for my S3!

[@ReevesRovers]

By factory vehicle I mean one registered by the company for their own use, for example a press demonstrator, show vehicle or one to be modified for a specific use. If you have a look at some of the Land Rover archive films on here covering the Series II you'll see several with an AC plate. @@Rich_Runs_Cars

[@Rich_Runs_Cars]

Thanks.... I thought that's what was meant. I'll do some digging and see what I can find 👍

[@ReevesRovers]

Good luck, it's a worthwhile project and honestly wouldn't take too much to return to original. Please do post updates and any issues, I've got 12 of the things! @@Rich_Runs_Cars

[@Rich_Runs_Cars]

Thanks very much. It'll probably take me a while and there will undoubtedly be many issues, but I'll definitely post update videos 👍

[@jimh3362]

interesting Rover, but the wind noise was too annoying to finish listening.

[@Rich_Runs_Cars]

Thanks Jim. Yes sorry about that, I realise it was bad, as I didn't have my microphone working. I'll be posting another video on this very soon, and I'll do my best to make sure the sound quality is good 🙂

[@vido4x4]

You’re right, it wont win any awards for originality, unless its for the prior owner’s attempts at being a mechanic.

[@Rich_Runs_Cars]

😂

[@returnofthenative]

Grief, 45 seconds in & I know the story. Another self admitted know nought, who says he will have some fun with it, ruin what there is in his ignorance, & then flog it on.

[@Rich_Runs_Cars]

Thanks for the feedback! I expect to keep the car for many years, and I hope to learn in the process. I'm a car enthusiast who has wanted a Series Land Rover for a long time, so I will do my best not to ruin it! I'll be posting videos on what I do, so feel free to keep me in check. I can understand your point, but I also think it would be a real shame if ownership of cars was limited to those with deep specialist knowledge of them, rather than open to all enthusiasts.

[@returnofthenative]

@@Rich_Runs_Cars Sorry, but I've seen so many enthusiastic ruins. I'm an old Cat mech who ran roadtrains in Western Australia, & the worst I ever saw occurred in 2015 when I took an immaculate, totally original S1 petrol from Perth, up to its new owner in Broome, 2200 kms north & in the tropics. It had 800 miles on it, untouched & had been stored clean, dry, & dark on a farm in the south west after Granpa died, & forgotten. It really was museum grade as it stood. When I saw the new owner, I knew, & then I saw it again hardly a year later. It had been used as a beach/fishing/party hack, parked outside in a climate with 120% humidity, caught by a tidal inundation & it had a broken axle. But as I said, I've seen many enthusiast restorations, & many that look fantastic but here's the point, they very seldom run right, in the way the factory intended, simply because they lack a mechanical enthusiast.

[@Rich_Runs_Cars]

Well I wish I had your mechanical skills 🙂 I totally understand; I do my best to look after my cars though. The slight difference with mine is that it's already been "ruined" in some people's eyes, with its non standard, crude modifications! Although I wouldn't do that to it myself, I quite like its quirkiness! It had been sitting for years unused in a shipping container, so I'm pleased to having back being used. The humidity of that part of Australia coupled with the sea water is as bad as it gets for a car!

[@returnofthenative]

@@Rich_Runs_Cars That you do look after, is sufficient, as to mods, who can deny the benefits of carefully chosen modern aftermarket improvements, electronic ignition, nitriding, loads of things really. As to modification for fitness to purpose, if the factory didn't offer it, it has to be done, or the machine useless. Yes the coastal tropical north is brutal, salty, monsoonal, 40 to 50C, 120% humidity, did I mention that the tide range there is 14 feet? & lasts 12hours. BTW there are crocodiles everywhere, the saltwater croc grows to 30ft. Anything bigger than you, & you're food.

[@Rich_Runs_Cars]

Yes, true on the mods - though mine has some hacked bodywork, etc. from decades ago! I feel very safe here in England :-) I spent a while in far north Queensland, so know what a crazy place tropical Australia is - I love it!

[@muhammadnawaz5039]

This is a good car. If it can be worked back to original.

[@Rich_Runs_Cars]

Thank you 🙏