1965 Land Rover 109” 5 door station wagon, Series IIA,  Blue/Grey interior.

2.25 liter 4 cylinder engine has not been run in quite some time. I picked this truck up in northern New Hampshire this fall and met the second owner who had purchased this truck in 1966 in Cambridge, MA., where he enjoyed using this truck for many years until he found he was just not using it enough to keep up the maintenance. A great candidate for restoration.

Most Land Rovers look pretty much the same. While some are longer than others and some have tops, they all look like, well, Land Rovers. The earliest models came out in the United States in 1950. Later referred to as Series I’s, these were only available in a very short 80” wheelbase and came with a 1600cc four cylinder engine that could barely pull the skin off a grape. In 1954, the wheelbase was increased to 86” and a longer 107” verion was introduced.  Both were powered by a new 2000cc F-head four. The Series II debuted in 1958 with longer wheelbases (88” and 109”) and a new 2286cc OHV power plant. To add even more confusion, the longer wheelbase chassis were put on some of the last Series I Rovers when they ran out of old frames.
The Series IIA version was built between 1961 and 1971 and featured some minor engine improvements, while a better dual line braking system was added in 1968. The Series II model, sold in the US between 1972 and 1974, had additional mechanical upgrades including an all syncro gearbox but also got all of the smog and plasticky things that the government required. The Series III went on all world markets until 1985 but the US did not see any officially-imported Land Rovers again until 500 3.9 liter, V8 powered Defenders were brought in in 1993. Any Land Rover that is not in this range is a gray market private import and this can make a difference in the value and parts availability. (c/r British Car Oct/Nov 1998)