Background
If someone had told you in 1948 that the new Land Rover would still be in production 68 years later, you’d have laughed your head off. Nonetheless, despite myriad differences the last of the line 2016 Defender was essentially the same vehicle – an astonishing record that will surely stand forever.
It’s hard to believe the Land Rover Series 2 was launched more than 60 years ago. Launched in 1958 and in production for three years until the arrival of the 2a, it was a massive improvement over the previous model thanks to its (relatively) curvaceous and more accommodating body, features that made it a welcome update for the sort of folk for whom Solihull’s finest provided the only viable transport to get them across vast swathes of the Developing World.
Initially available with either the 2-litre petrol or diesel engine from the Series 1, a move to larger and more powerful engines was inevitable; tectonic plates move faster than an early Series 2, even with your foot flat to the floor.
And while the 2.25-litre diesel engine that joined the lineup with the introduction of the Series 2a in 1961 isn’t the last word in power or refinement, it is hugely reliable and will run forever on the merest whiff of an oily rag. It is, therefore, utterly in keeping with the rest of the vehicle, which is distinctly agricultural but as tough as a miner’s steel-toe-capped boots.
The 72bhp petrol engine, on the other hand, might displace the same as its diesel stablemate but it is a completely different animal being silky smooth and a joy to rev. Not so much of a joy when it is time to fill up of course but then everything in life has a cost and most agree that the moderate increase in fuel consumption is a small price to pay for what is indisputably a much nicer driving experience.
A 2.6-litre, straight-six diesel was also offered in the long wheelbase models, but it was never a popular option when new and is even rarer now.
Other than the matching 2.25-litre engines, the Series 2a is very similar to the Series 2 to look at and the move to wing-mounted headlamps from grille-mounted is really the only way to distinguish them at a distance.
It was available with either an 88in wheelbase (the short wheelbase model, or SWB) or a 109in, the long wheelbase or LWB. Other factory options included a soft-top as well as a fixed-roof, and the latter was available with the much prized Safari roof, a double-skinned arrangement that is said to reduce the ambient temperature inside the cab thanks to a cooling flow of air betwixt the two.
You could choose your new LWB Land Rover as a Station Wagon with either ten or 12 seats (the latter was classed as a minibus, so was very tax-efficient…), a van or pickup. The nifty, ultra-manoeuvrable SWB could be had in the same configurations albeit seating fewer people.
But, no matter which engine you choose, the Series II and IIA were never about refinement, power, or handling; they were built to conquer the world using brute force and stubbornness and were the latest in a long line of Land Rovers that helped civil engineers, explorers and the military get to where they needed to be.
Oh, and they can be repaired and maintained by anyone competent with an adjustable spanner and a pocketful of loose change, which makes them ideal as a starter classic, especially when you consider their rock-solid residuals and the low cost of insurance.
