1965 Land Rover SERIES II

This Land Rover strikes an ideal balance between original looks and sensible upgrades. Its appearance is dead right for a mid-1960s Series IIA, perched on narrow 600x16 tyres and free from any unnecessary extras like winches, bull bars or (God forbid!) chequer plate.

It spent the first 45 years of its life as a diesel-powered example with a hard-top roof. It was bought as a project around nine years ago by a gentleman who expended a good deal of effort and lots of money in restoring it to a condition that probably exceeds anything seen in a showroom back in 1965.

The vendor, Colin, is a good friend of the restorer and has known this vehicle since his friend bought it. Colin had a 2.5-litre petrol ‘90’ at the time, which he was converting to V8 power, and did a deal to sell the 2.5-litre unit to his friend. These changes are correctly recorded on the V5C. This engine had fewer than 40,000 miles on it at the time and has only done 1700 since the installation.

The chassis was replaced with a brand new galvanized item, which came with the car when the restorer bought it, and the gearbox is a more user-friendly reconditioned Series III unit with synchromesh throughout, rather than only on third and top. Parabolic springs replaced the standard items. The hard top was discarded in favour of a new khaki canvas top from Exmoor Trim.

The restoration has clearly been extremely thorough and has now settled very nicely. Colin bought the vehicle earlier this year, the second time his friend had offered it to him, but quickly found that at the age of 76, he prefers coil springs and comfort – and needs something the grand-kids can crash their bikes into without anyone yelling at them. Hence a tatty ‘90’ has replaced this as the family 4x4, and the Series IIA must find a new home.

There’s something almost paradoxical about a shiny old Land Rover, but it doesn’t feel over-restored. The paint is Deep Bronze Green, applied throughout at a cost of £3000 by the body shop at the VW dealer in Perth. In the eight years since, it’s held up incredibly well, with just a few spidery blemishes forming in the way typical of Land Rover ‘Birmabright’ bodywork. The nearside front wing has a couple of them, there are some on the windscreen frame, there’s the odd paint wrinkle on the tail gate too. They’re visible in the photos, but in the flesh you’d have to hunt pretty carefully to spot them. The driver’s door has a minor dent on the beltline – perhaps left in during restoration, in case things looked too perfect…

The doors open and close beautifully against new seals, with no drop or flop about them. The tailgate’s latches are also co-operative and the chains suspending the tailgate have sound sheathing to stop them tangling or biting the paint. Both the front bumper and the rear corner ‘grab handles’ are unmarked and have clearly never been used to push a broken tractor. M.A.P. free-wheeling front hubs mean on-road use can be rear-wheel drive without having to stir the front propshaft and half-shafts round too. There is a tow-bar.

The tyres appear as good as new, having covered only 1700 miles. The canvas top is equally excellent over its tubular frame, and Colin points out how all the fastenings and straps are tucked in and stowed properly, so nothing lashes about in the breeze and gets damaged. There are two wing mirrors and one driver’s side door mirror; handy with the reduced three-quarter vision created by the canvas. The front sidelights also incorporate flashers, keeping a cleaner look.

Inside we find a lot more shiny green paint and all-new seats, three of them in the front with hinging backs, and two fresh benches in the rear over an anti-slip rubber mat. Lift this mat and the shiny, un-harmed green floor is almost comical – this Land Rover hasn’t seen a drop of mud since the restoration was finished.

Under the front left passenger seat is a compartment in which Colin keeps a sturdy period screw jack with a long two-piece handle and a cunningly-whittled piece of wood to turn the handle and raise the jack. There’s also a wheel brace, a length of very Land Rover-ish rope and a useful but incongruous warning triangle from a Saab.

The dash is original bar the addition of an electrical cut-off down below the instruments, while the all-important bulkhead and floors are of course rust-free. The floors are protected by fitted rubber mats. The spare wheel is fixed to the back of the front seat bench, and wearing a new tyre matching the other four.

It starts very well (see the video below) and performs with surprising vigour – your photographer/writer had to make a conscious effort in his modern Mercedes to keep up with Colin along the Perthshire B-roads. The extra 250cc and the much more youthful condition of the ex-90 petrol engine stir this old Land Rover along in a spritely fashion. At idle, it’s remarkably smooth and quiet – very far from sounding like a rough farm truck. The ride is firm but well-controlled thanks to new dampers on each corner.

The brake pedal is currently a little spongey following the installation of new brake shoes all round, with fresh fluid; it probably just needs adjusting and a quick bleed. The engine bay is very smart with only the brake fluid reservoir and the radiator failing to pass for new. The battery looks the part and is held secure with a canvas strap. The wiring loom was renewed during restoration, as was the fuel tank. Both wiper motors were reconditioned too.

Peer underneath and once again it almost seems wrong – no rust anywhere, no gobs of underseal to hide horrors in the chassis. The decision to leave the galvanised finish on show seems a good one; it’s very reassuring.

Steering spheres are bright and unmarked, the exhaust is new and in perfect nick, the engine sheds no more than a light misting of oil and the new springs and shackles look like they’ve barely left the garage. The axles are sound and oil-tight and perhaps the only scruffy area on the whole car is the front inner wheel-arch area on the nearside, where patches of damping material have started to peel here and there.

There isn’t much in the way of printed history, but there are a few large bills from the restoration including those for paint, for a huge but un-itemised supply of parts, and for chassis supply. There is an impressive record of MoT passes including some from before the restoration, showing a mileage of 72,000 or so before the instruments were refurbished, along with everything else, and the mileage zeroed.

A grubby Haynes manual may well pre-date the restoration…we can’t imagine anyone having to resort to using it in the foreseeable future.

Series Land Rovers, especially Series I and II / IIA, have a huge cult following these days, but are unique in being equally at home at a classic car show or a working farmyard. Restoring them is not particularly cheap or easy as there’s some heavy labour involved…you really do end up building the vehicle from a bare chassis.

As such, really nice restored examples that someone else has spent the money on achieve good prices. We expect this one to sell between £12,000 and £18,000.

This particular example is not quite the Land Rover for rivet-counting originality freaks, but neither is it some ageless resto-mod with a modern TD5 engine and high-backed seats. It is, however, a beautifully-restored & upgraded ‘minter’ and also an incredibly practical proposition with all of the charm and character it was born with, fifty-five years ago.

In this case, the vendor is based in Perth, Scotland and is prepared to deliver the vehicle up to a distance of 250 miles - think roughly Scotch Corner on the A1 or Lancaster Services on the M6.

This vehicle is not with us at The Market’s HQ, which means we have had to rely on the owner’s description of it, in conjunction with the photographs you see here, to compile the listing.

With this in mind, we would encourage potential bidders to contact the owner themselves and arrange to view the car in person, or to arrange a dedicated video call in which they can view the car virtually and ask questions.