Behind The Barn Find: 1964 Land Rover Series IIA
When it comes to 4x4s, Land Rover’s Series of trucks is an icon around the globe. They are simple, rugged, and seriously capable off-roads. Unfortunately, they are prone to serious rust issues and getting difficult to find here in the States. This example is a stalled restoration project that we parked behind the seller’s barn 11 years ago. It’s still waiting to be finished, but appears to be solid throughout. You can find it here on eBay in Plainfield, New Jersey with a current bid of $4,750.
While the Series IIA was a significant improvement over previous Series trucks, it isn’t known for being particularly quick. The 2.25 liter inline-4 offered a healthy boost in performance over previous engines though, with 72 horsepower over the 2.0 liters 52 horses. This boost in power made the IIA most usable on and off-road.
Much like a Jeep, these Land Rovers are quite basic. You won’t find any of the excessive features you’ll find in a modern Land Rover. What you will find are just the bare necessities to get you from point A to point B. This means restoring this truck should be a fairly simple task.
This Landy is definitely a project, but there aren’t any of the usual signs of serious corrosion found on these rigs. Given how desirable these have become over the past few years, this one looks like a worthwhile project for anyone into 4x4s!
Comments
What do you mean slow?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hoF3kl5dXac&t=362s
Ive only seen 3 of these in person, and they all had engine swaps. They are apparently very capable off road vehicles and I always liked their bizarre looks
Marlin Perkins, your truck is waiting.
IIA’s really capture the Landy-look.
Any of these are a study in dissimilar metals…
I was thinking Bob Hope in Call Me Bwana…
Series I and II Land Rovers are some of the only classics I know of that are worth appreciably more with a replacement frame than original. Post-war British steel was of poor quality and they had no corrosion protection. Probably aluminum body to steel frame galvanic action might have also contributed. New frames are easily sourced. A decent Series II driver is around $30K these days, so there is some room for a backyard restoration if the drivetrain isn’t shot.
John Gage( Randolph Mantooth) drove a “Landy” in the TV show Emergency. It was said it was his personal vehicle off camera. The Land Rover has the distinction of being the most filmed 4×4 in Hollywood. Any scene that had a desert, had a Landy. Again, in Beer City, never saw one. At the time( 60s), Jeep and IH, and Dodge had the 4 wheel drive market set. There was no need for another, especially a foreign one. A poorly timed vehicle, that the Asians made a killing on some 10 years later. While the Landy is superior in every way, it never had a chance. People were too bamboozled by the Asian offerings to even care. At probably 3 times the price and 1/4 the dealers, most went with the Asian trucks. These look a bit quirky, but rest assured, these are some of the best trucks, made by who I consider the best engineers, the British. Aside from my Jeep, a Landy is about the only other 4×4 I’d ever consider.
When I was a kid my dad bought a new 1964 LR serious llA soft top and trading it in on a new 1965 ventilated (I think the salesman called it a station wagon top) hard top the next year. The 64 seemed to of had more power than the 65 maybe due to more weight of the top. They both did OK off road but would run out of power on steep climbs. I remember we broke a number of axles and springs for some reason. The 65 came with a Belview electric 6000 pound winch on the front bumper. These were the predecessor of the Warn winch. They were a cool rig but extremely spartan much like the Jeeps of the same era. I have a lot of good memories of those days. As for me buying one they aren’t on my hit list but still a cool old vehicle that brought me great memories with my family.
We had one over 50 years ago, engine blew a piston about 8 miles from home. Still ran to get it home but when I had to rebuild the engine the wait for parts was long. I needed new bearings and Atlantic British was going to take months to get them. I found some bearings from a Massey Ferguson tractor that were a match and the engine ran great for many years until we sold the Rover..
Anyone have the eBay link?
Yep
The boxed frame on these has a tendency to trap moisture which leads to rust. Check the frame and outriggers carefully.
Hmmm, I used to live in Plainfield, NJ, many many years ago. 210 E Front Street, 1 block from Macys. But enough about me, let’s talk about me! Ha!
Seriously, these are very cool trucks. I used to hate the because they were so basic and kinda ugly. Over the years I’ve learned to appreciate their simplicity. Even the looks have grown on me. You see these a lot on the plains of Africa, not just in movies but venues like National Geographic. They now have a “cool” factor.
The chassis, bulkhead (firewall), door frames and parts of the footwells are steel and subject to rust. everything else is aluminium or galvanized. Parts are readily available and not unreasonable.
You can throw a Chevy straight 6 in theses the driveabilty improves 3000%. I put one in my Land Rover 90 the change was amazing and cheap