Lovely rare Series 2a Half-ton military lightweight Land Rover that is all completely sorted and ready to enjoy. Wonderfully patinated original military paint farm used survivor, ex-royal navy (contract WV9753 / one of 38 according to the bible) Fitted for radio (removed). Interesting military history (B card present) with both 59 indep commando sqn Grenadier gds, 1 Gordons cdo bde air sqn and also 9 para sqn re, believed originally deployed NI, still has bullet proof kit vpk fitting holes in the aluminium body panels (VPK). Existing holes in bed potentially for an LMG rig (obvs not whilst in NI but maybe further afield). Of course with limited numbers of less than 3000 total being produced (1968-1970) the series 2a military lightweight is a much rarer vehicle than even its series 3 based Military Half-tonne successor which in itself is a rare sight.
Invoices for thousands spent in last few years refreshing and updates!
Recently sympathetically mechanically overhauled with lots of virtually invisible remedial work done to make this old girl totally usable and reliable without detracting from the patina - refurbished 3:54 range rover diffs fitted (original diffs retained and supplied) along with mint refurbished fairey overdrive unit (have inspection pics). Brakes all rebuilt, new clutch, new prop shaft joints, new correct hd military spec shock absorbers, halogen headlights fitted, new extra security tyres on 1 ton wider rim refurbished wheels, just had a service and grease up + much more...
Superbly solid original chassis, a couple of small localised repairs to the outriggers only. Chassis inspected and is confirmed original and rust-free, actual shiny original black paint underneath, preserved by layers of what i believe was a mixture of old motor oil and some kind of tar or wax, painted on liberally whilst in service, could be steam cleaned off if you wanted to make it a show quality vehicle. Original vent panel fully and invisibly repaired with repair section from the welding rod. Doors have recently had new steel frames which were refitted with the original patinated door skins. This truck wears its history proudly, the ally body panels could be easily rubbed down and repainted to make her look like new, as many other Lwt’s have, but why cover up all that patina. They dont get much cooler than this rare vehicle, especially when you consider this particular vehicle has been assigned to both royal marine commando and army para regiments! A lot of time and effort spent carefully bringing this truck back to its current standard and character. She is 50+ years old and as such has some some great age related wear here and there, as you would expect.
2 engine options - Currently has a perkins 4203 3. 3 litre diesel (possibly milner conversion kit) this was fitted to her in period while converting the farm to running on all diesel. A nice job and non-butcher operation, you would swear it were factory fitted. Still runs the original twin fuel tanks via the correct (refurbished) selector tap in the cabin. The best guess when purchased was after the conversion it would have been lucky to have done 5000 miles. The perkins engine has huge torque and runs like clockwork, much more Torque than petrol with a heady 60mph+ cruising speed achievable (see below). Option for easy conversion back to petrol - comes with complete and correct 236 number range, fully running, military 3 bearing / 8. 1 high comp head petrol engine (will require a rebuild i can recommend someone) supplied with both 12 and 24 volt ancillaries.
