North America Overland
Observer
1970 Land Rover Series IIa $16,500 Sold
I am selling this Rover for a customer, in the least year I've done all the maintenance and some upgrades on it, feel free to give me a call to talk about the Rover.
Mike Sandone 203-996-5008
You can also can the owner who will be happy to talk about his ownership of this Rover over the last couple decades.
Dr. Fred Bader 203-445-9569
History
The current owner has been a Land Rover enthusiast since the early 70s. Back then he had owned a couple of Series IIIs that served as his daily transportation both around town and across the country. In the mid 90s he began searching for what he had envisioned as the perfect Land Rover; a Series IIa with its iconic wire mesh grill and all metal dash, yet with a more modern engine. His search took him all the way to Alberta, Canada where the Rover you see here today had been restored. Having spent its life on the Northern Great Plains it was virtually free of the rust that plagues so many eastern Rovers. It had been fitted with the German engineered V6 from a 1977 Mercury Capri, a compact motor that fit well in the Rovers engine bay. The restoration was extensive and included a full body off, bare metal repaint in the desirable Land Rover color, Coniston Green. In other words it was perfect! A deal was made, it was imported into the US and it was driven back to Connecticut. Over the last couple of decades the Rover has been treated exceptionally well; stored indoors during the winters and driven occasionally during good weather and not used off road at all. It has been meticulously maintained, I personally serviced this Rover extensively over the last year. Now the owner has taken a new direction with the purchase of a 1947 Greyhound bus converted into a camper. So the time has come to find a new owner for his well loved Land Rover.
Body
The body is exceptionally straight, with some dings mostly on the doors, there is a scratch on the right front fender and very minor scratches elsewhere. The Coniston Green paint is nearly perfect, with no fading, checking or bubbling; the only exception is the tailgate where some of the paint has a rough texture. There does not appear to be any body filler used at all. There is no rust on the bulkhead, grill, door frames or door tops, there is no corrosion on the aluminum body panels at all. The weather stripping, seals and window felts are in great shape. The canvas top is only 1 year old and in perfect shape. Soft top Land Rovers did not come with any form of roll over protection but this one has had a roll cage fitted, a really big improvement in safety. All the galvanized trim was either replaced with NOS Land Rover parts or properly regalvanized. The door latches work perfectly, there is no sag in the door hinges and all body panels are nicely aligned. The only slight amount of surface rust on the entire Rover is on the headlight and taillight guards.
Engine
The engine is a 2.8 liter v6 from a 1977 Mercury Capri. This is a German designed engine with characteristics well suited to the Land Rover. The Rover is a pleasure to drive with this engine. It is one of the factors that the current owner had to have after having owned Rovers with the stock 2.25 liter engine. The motor runs great with no knocking or smoking and is fitted with dual exhaust. The carburetor has been recently rebuilt so the motor runs smooth and efficient. Also a new high torque starter has been recently installed. There is a very small amount of coolant leaking from possibly the thermostat housing, there are really no oil leaks to speak of.
Transmission and Transfer Case
The transmission is a fully synchronized unit from a series III, normally Series IIa Rovers have a non synchronized first and second gear which requires double clutching. This one shifts just like any manual transmission car. The Series IIa shifter and shift knob have been retained. The transmission was rebuilt about 5 years ago and a new clutch was added at the same time. The transfer case works as it should and 4x4 and low range engage smoothly. The oil in the transmission and transfer case was changed last year.
Axles
The axles have had their oil changed last year as well as the drive shafts and u-joints greased.
Suspension
The Rover retains its original leaf springs, the rear spring bushings and some shock bushings have been recently replaced. The BF Goodrich tires are in great shape with lots of tread and no dry rot. They are size 7.50-16, which is a couple inches taller than the original tire size. The taller tires coupled with the more powerful engine allows the Rover to cruise at a higher speed than an originally equipped one.
Frame
The frame is in excellent condition with no rust or rot, even the highly rust susceptible rear crossmember and outriggers are original and rust free!
Interior
The interior is great shape, the seats have no rips at all and there are genuine land Rover rubber mats front and back. The dash is just beautiful, and is in its original configuration with the exception of some addition gauges to monitor oil pressure, voltage and engine temperature. The original heater and defroster work great. Also included with the Rover are 2 rear jump seats in excellent condition, these will provide seating for 4 in the back bringing the total seating to 7.
Brakes
The Rover has power brakes with a dual circuit master cylinder, this is a big improvement from earlier Land Rover braking systems. The brakes have recently been overhauled with new rear wheel cylinders and brake shoes as well as all new brake drums and new master cylinder.
Electrical
Everything works in the Rover including high and low beam headlights, parking lights, taillights, brake lights, horn, wipers, dash lights and gauges.
An Alpine stereo and CD changer have been tastefully installed so as not to detract from the original look of the dash. The heavy duty battery is only a couple years old.
I am selling this Rover for a customer, in the least year I've done all the maintenance and some upgrades on it, feel free to give me a call to talk about the Rover.
Mike Sandone 203-996-5008
You can also can the owner who will be happy to talk about his ownership of this Rover over the last couple decades.
Dr. Fred Bader 203-445-9569
History
The current owner has been a Land Rover enthusiast since the early 70s. Back then he had owned a couple of Series IIIs that served as his daily transportation both around town and across the country. In the mid 90s he began searching for what he had envisioned as the perfect Land Rover; a Series IIa with its iconic wire mesh grill and all metal dash, yet with a more modern engine. His search took him all the way to Alberta, Canada where the Rover you see here today had been restored. Having spent its life on the Northern Great Plains it was virtually free of the rust that plagues so many eastern Rovers. It had been fitted with the German engineered V6 from a 1977 Mercury Capri, a compact motor that fit well in the Rovers engine bay. The restoration was extensive and included a full body off, bare metal repaint in the desirable Land Rover color, Coniston Green. In other words it was perfect! A deal was made, it was imported into the US and it was driven back to Connecticut. Over the last couple of decades the Rover has been treated exceptionally well; stored indoors during the winters and driven occasionally during good weather and not used off road at all. It has been meticulously maintained, I personally serviced this Rover extensively over the last year. Now the owner has taken a new direction with the purchase of a 1947 Greyhound bus converted into a camper. So the time has come to find a new owner for his well loved Land Rover.
Body
The body is exceptionally straight, with some dings mostly on the doors, there is a scratch on the right front fender and very minor scratches elsewhere. The Coniston Green paint is nearly perfect, with no fading, checking or bubbling; the only exception is the tailgate where some of the paint has a rough texture. There does not appear to be any body filler used at all. There is no rust on the bulkhead, grill, door frames or door tops, there is no corrosion on the aluminum body panels at all. The weather stripping, seals and window felts are in great shape. The canvas top is only 1 year old and in perfect shape. Soft top Land Rovers did not come with any form of roll over protection but this one has had a roll cage fitted, a really big improvement in safety. All the galvanized trim was either replaced with NOS Land Rover parts or properly regalvanized. The door latches work perfectly, there is no sag in the door hinges and all body panels are nicely aligned. The only slight amount of surface rust on the entire Rover is on the headlight and taillight guards.
Engine
The engine is a 2.8 liter v6 from a 1977 Mercury Capri. This is a German designed engine with characteristics well suited to the Land Rover. The Rover is a pleasure to drive with this engine. It is one of the factors that the current owner had to have after having owned Rovers with the stock 2.25 liter engine. The motor runs great with no knocking or smoking and is fitted with dual exhaust. The carburetor has been recently rebuilt so the motor runs smooth and efficient. Also a new high torque starter has been recently installed. There is a very small amount of coolant leaking from possibly the thermostat housing, there are really no oil leaks to speak of.
Transmission and Transfer Case
The transmission is a fully synchronized unit from a series III, normally Series IIa Rovers have a non synchronized first and second gear which requires double clutching. This one shifts just like any manual transmission car. The Series IIa shifter and shift knob have been retained. The transmission was rebuilt about 5 years ago and a new clutch was added at the same time. The transfer case works as it should and 4x4 and low range engage smoothly. The oil in the transmission and transfer case was changed last year.
Axles
The axles have had their oil changed last year as well as the drive shafts and u-joints greased.
Suspension
The Rover retains its original leaf springs, the rear spring bushings and some shock bushings have been recently replaced. The BF Goodrich tires are in great shape with lots of tread and no dry rot. They are size 7.50-16, which is a couple inches taller than the original tire size. The taller tires coupled with the more powerful engine allows the Rover to cruise at a higher speed than an originally equipped one.
Frame
The frame is in excellent condition with no rust or rot, even the highly rust susceptible rear crossmember and outriggers are original and rust free!
Interior
The interior is great shape, the seats have no rips at all and there are genuine land Rover rubber mats front and back. The dash is just beautiful, and is in its original configuration with the exception of some addition gauges to monitor oil pressure, voltage and engine temperature. The original heater and defroster work great. Also included with the Rover are 2 rear jump seats in excellent condition, these will provide seating for 4 in the back bringing the total seating to 7.
Brakes
The Rover has power brakes with a dual circuit master cylinder, this is a big improvement from earlier Land Rover braking systems. The brakes have recently been overhauled with new rear wheel cylinders and brake shoes as well as all new brake drums and new master cylinder.
Electrical
Everything works in the Rover including high and low beam headlights, parking lights, taillights, brake lights, horn, wipers, dash lights and gauges.
An Alpine stereo and CD changer have been tastefully installed so as not to detract from the original look of the dash. The heavy duty battery is only a couple years old.
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