Description
Offered for sale is an exceptionally clean, entirely solid and mechanically excellent final-year 1971 Land Rover Series IIA 88” Station Wagon finished in ever-striking Marine Blue with a Limestone hard top over a black vinyl interior. The Series IIA is widely regarded as the most enduring Series model constructed, both in terms of its mechanical and physical ruggedness and the perception the public has of the Land Rover marque in general. In the 1960s dozens of films and documentaries showed the western world far away locales for the first time, almost always made accessible by someone driving a Series IIA. In many ways, it was during this period that Land Rover built its continuing legacy in the public’s mind and this IIA is the perfect representation of that.
The IIA retains its original tried, true and battle tested (in many cases, literally) 2.25 Litre Petrol 4 cylinder engine, which was fully rebuilt when the car was sympathetically restored some four years and 2,000 miles ago. The clutch was replaced at the same time, the 4-speed manual transmission shifts crisply through each of the gears and the high, neutral and low ranges all function properly. The truck had both the front and rear brakes fully gone through 500 miles ago, the tires are nearly new and the suspension functions exactly as it should, all ensuring excellent road (and off-road) manners. The rebuilt engine starts easily, idles consistently and pulls strongly and smoothly. Compression is excellent and ride quality is everything you’d expect of a fully sorted Series IIA – rugged, visceral and grin-inducing. It’s almost as though you expect Sir David Attenborough to begin narration as soon as you get behind the wheel, whether for a water run in Kenya or a quick trip down to the beach for a weekend surfing expedition.
Aesthetically the truck is in excellent condition. Part of the refurbishing that occurred a few years ago included a repaint in the original Marine Blue with a Limestone top and while not entirely flawless, the finish is in excellent condition, marred only by a handful of minor imperfections, none of which are significant enough to appear in any of the pictures. The galvanized steel trim beautifully defines the entirely straight and rust-free body, which retains factory correct panel fits and gaps. All of the glass and rubber is in good shape, as is the front bumper and rear tow hook-up platform, and the truck’s undercarriage is extremely original and entirely solid and free of harmful corrosion.
The interior is also in great shape, the front black vinyl seats showing only minimal wear, which is also true of the rear bench seats, however there are two minor nicks in them which are hard to see in the pictures. The dash is clean and straight forward with working gauges and switches, the rubber floor mats are new, and the headliner and black vinyl interior panels are excellent.
This is an excellent opportunity to acquire an iconic, beautiful, entirely solid, mechanically sound and very original LHD Series IIA 88 Station Wagon. While not a fully restored example (but in reality, do you really want that in a Series IIA?), this IIA is an exceptionally well-cared for, mechanically excellent and entirely solid example that has been sympathetically refurbished as needed to keep it in top weekend driver condition. Unmolested examples are quite rare here in the States and the collector car community is finally beginning to give them the credence they deserve, with values appreciating dramatically over the past couple years. Turn-key and reasonably priced, this fantastic example is ready to provide another 40+ years of trusty service and enjoyment for its next owner.
