Military 109

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JJ6 said:
Sorry the military one was this one

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.co.uk/ulk/itm/273789859025

I just thought from the info I read above that it was maybe best to move on and just find a more whole one like the previous two I posted as I was going to paint it original Land Rover colours and make it not military.
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That is a series 3, the only thing I can see that is off a series 2a is the number plate. The tub is a very late (83-85) series 3 one with the indicators in the bottom corner. I would be interested to see if I could see the chassis number stamped on the front dumb iron and see what that says...
Its a shame as its not a bad ex military series 3 really
 
Rodeo Joe said:
I like the look of that one!
The trouble is with ex mil vehicles is the dates of registration might not match anything you might think that's logical..
If it was me I'd have a close look at it and see if the vin plates and army plates are on it (there should be one on the drivers side of the seat box and another one under the bonnet, maybe on the slam panel)....match that with the chassis number and take somebody along who's not emotionally attached to it for a second opinion.
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I doubt if the military nomenclature plate ('chassis' plate with contract number and military reg number on it) is still on the seatbox.
 
JJ6 said:
From what you’ve all said these are 2 that appear to be more original.

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.co.uk/ulk/itm/283678795442

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.co.uk/ulk/itm/223744023486

The first from the photos looks more together, but on a military chassis the second has quite a scabby bulkhead and who knows what underneath. From what I’ve seen over the last months quite a few like the second are being advertised for around £4000. S2as seem to be more popular and rarer so I guess can get the higher prices but with most looking like they need new chassis and bulkheads is £4000 in your opinions too much to be paying when it’ll need £1000’s on top, or just is that price just part of the territory?
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eyewatering prices for very average vehicles IMHO
 
wireman said:
That is a series 3, the only thing I can see that is off a series 2a is the number plate
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I agree. The rear cross member doesn't look military either.
The days of getting an old series for a few hundred quid are long gone, they are only going to get rarer (especially ones without whistles and bells bolted to them)......what happened to the thousands of series 3's that Withams had a few years ago?
 
The advert and descripton say Series 3 but at 66 it can't be. It also says 24 v which is military, but the axles don't have the reinforcment and the rear cross-member is wrong.
 
rob1miles said:
The advert and descripton say Series 3 but at 66 it can't be. It also says 24 v which is military, but the axles don't have the reinforcment and the rear cross-member is wrong.
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The axles actually look just like the ones on my series 3 and I'm pretty sure they are original, it hasn't been registered with the DVLA yet and still has all the plates and id. I got a cert from Gaydon which seems to agree with that so I should get an age related plate when I get it sorted and on the road again.
 
I know you are looking for ex-mil but the green S2A is quite nice, being pre-66 opens up a few more classic events. I wanted and found a cheap ex-mil LWB 5 years ago and it was cheap because it didn't look very military but most of the key bits were on it just painted over. It needed a few £100s in chassis welding, a rewire and a full brake overhaul but from other's experience paying for a better looking vehicle more does not necessarily get a better chassis (unless its a galv replacment) and I would budget for taking all the brakes off and checking them regardless and expect a re-wire at some stage as all the wiring is getting on for 50 years old now.
 
rob1miles said:
The advert and descripton say Series 3 but at 66 it can't be. It also says 24 v which is military, but the axles don't have the reinforcment and the rear cross-member is wrong.
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I think it is something of a bitsa. There are definitely parts on that are typically military such as the spring hangers, extra chassis bracing, bodywork and switchgear. The reinforced axles were not fitted to all military 109's. The rear crossmember could well be a later replacement for a rotten one. It is difficult to say with this one. It could be a good military replica or a genuine military one that has been repaired with civilian pattern parts.
 
rob1miles said:
I know you are looking for ex-mil but the green S2A is quite nice, being pre-66 opens up a few more classic events. I wanted and found a cheap ex-mil LWB 5 years ago and it was cheap because it didn't look very military but most of the key bits were on it just painted over. It needed a few £100s in chassis welding, a rewire and a full brake overhaul but from other's experience paying for a better looking vehicle more does not necessarily get a better chassis (unless its a galv replacment) and I would budget for taking all the brakes off and checking them regardless and expect a re-wire at some stage as all the wiring is getting on for 50 years old now.
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It wasn’t 100% ex military I needed, I was going to make mine look as original as possible (I’m not too fussed about if the tub matches the year. I’m just a big fan of the S2 front end) the look I was going for was something like Brooklyn coach works land rovers. It just happens that most available are military or military looking. The bonus I see with the military ones if I convert it to a civilian one is they’re not as expensive as the more original looking ones and I thought you could get a bit of money out of selling the military bits and bobs like the wing radio boxes etc.

Good point about the breaks I’ll bare that in mind
 
Rodeo Joe said:
If you want a series 2/2a front end then you'd be best getting it already attached to the rest of a 2/2a!
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As rob mentioned the green one I posted earlier do you think for a first timer this ones got potential , it looks mostly there but a bit corroded, or a bit too much work to be taking on?
 
JJ6 said:
As rob mentioned the green one I posted earlier do you think for a first timer this ones got potential , it looks mostly there but a bit corroded, or a bit too much work to be taking on?
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I'd take it on for the right price its a lot better than my latest one but it depends what you think you can do.
With a parts book and workshop manual you can do most if it easily (if fiddly some of it).
What I wouldn't do though is spend a lot of money then bastardise it.
 
The value and the genuine vehicles, where the main bits match, it can be fun to build a special but you'll never get your money back and now with the historic vehiles MOT and tax rules you could store up a lot of trouble. The ex-mil vehiles command a premium because they get you into a lot of militaray vehicle rallys. That's quite a big hobby for some and they are prepared to pay for an ex-army vehicle with a proper military record. The army bits don't really come off, its things like the chassis, springs, axles and you can't really make an ex-army Landrover without an army record.
 
JJ6 said:
It wasn’t 100% ex military I needed, I was going to make mine look as original as possible (I’m not too fussed about if the tub matches the year. I’m just a big fan of the S2 front end) the look I was going for was something like Brooklyn coach works land rovers. It just happens that most available are military or military looking. The bonus I see with the military ones if I convert it to a civilian one is they’re not as expensive as the more original looking ones and I thought you could get a bit of money out of selling the military bits and bobs like the wing radio boxes etc.

Good point about the breaks I’ll bare that in mind
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Having read the thread, I am not exactly sure what you are looking for, and I am not sure if you are either.

A few general points from someone who has bought, and sold, more Series than I can count over the years, the last one being a 2a in June this year.
For a start, I would ignore ebay, and dealers, altogether. Ebay is a well known source of stolen Land Rovers, bitsas, and trouble of other kinds.
Dealers always want to make a profit, and usually do this by concentrating on improving the cosmetic appearance of a vehicle, without worrying too much about originality or mechanics.
Also, I get the impression that you haven't owned or driven Land Rovers much before. So familiarise yourself with the subject by reading up on the history of the different vehicles, what the different variants did, and what was fitted to them.
And look at plenty of vehicles, both online, and in person. Test drive as many as you can, so you get a feel of what they should drive and sound like.

For starters, have a look at these. I have already filtered out the dealers, they are all private sales. There is a wide variety of prices and conditions. Ignore the one that is obviously a One Ten. Best of luck.

https://forsale.lro.com/land+rover/series+2/seller-private
 
WTF is going on with that supposed 2A on that list? Leaf sprung chassis on parabolics with mercedes brakes. 19J engine. Defender/110 gearbox and dash. **** knows what is from 1965 but that is dodgy as **** and he is asking nearly 5 grand for ito_O
 
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I feel I haven’t gone about this in a great way, I jumped in with an idea/option without fully explaining it. So I'll just explain myself and what it is I was looking for baring in mind it is optimistic to say the least (but hey you gotta start somewhere)

1963-Land-Rover-SIIA-109-Front-940x636.jpg


My dream land rover is an S2/2A 109" with the inboard headlights and plain S2 dash (like the pic above but I bet we all wish we could have that). I have done quite a bit of looking into all the differences between all the versions (once you find one thing it seems to lead to about a million other questions) and I know I'm only scratching the surface with what there is to learn. I've seen quite a few in person and my friend had explained what to look for (he's had a very tidy 88" 60's S2 for ages) although he's said he's by no means an expert. My budget is relatively low in respect to the astronomical prices I've seen over the last months so, I was trying to find a way into this club without breaking my wallet, and military/military looking 109's tend to be what comes up (even though it's not my ideal car I'm keen to do the work and paint it up to look civilian).

I thought I'd ask about that initial military one really to see if it had any legs in terms of getting it looking like the pic above, which from the replies I've seen maybe isn't the best starting place.

So I guess what this whole post started with was trying to figure out which old Landy would be a good one to buy or maybe none are and I'll just keep looking and saving. I just thought I'd put it out to people that are realistic and know all the problems that will inevitably come up, sorry for the all over the place thread I've caused and this big essay, and I appreciate all the knowledge and insight so far :)

Cheers,

Johnny
 
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