1955 series II

title says it all

a 1955 88 inch series II - at least thats what is on all the paperwork. how do you guys explain it. i have been scratching my head over this for hours, as has the current owner. im going to have a look at it with a view to buying on tuesday. but i cant for the life of me work out how it can be a series II from 1955

Series 1 chassis with a series 2 body?

nope the chassis points to it being a series II. supposedly on calling up the dvla with the chassis number the reply was in a 1955 series II. im not the most clued up on series, but i know the first II's came in in 1958.

the only thing i can think of without having the vehicle and attempting to trace it myself is that there is either a cock up somewhere along the lines, or something odd is going on. i cant see it being a cock up if the various vehicle identification numbers correlate with the build date of 1955. annoyingly it has had series 3 front wings put in, so dont know whether the original sills were series II or possibly I

the only thing i can think of is that it was some sort of very early prototype, but i cant possibly imagine that such a vehicle owuld exist 3 years prior to production - or even unveiling

bit of a result finding it though, an early series 2 with a great bulkhead and chassis, 12 months mot with no advisories, in good overall condition, good bodywork and so forth. 8 wheels and tyres, 4 original 7.50's and 4 aftermarket colways on new 8 spokes, and the original series II wings so i can get the look back to the original

all that for 950 - get in!

sappy75 said:

Series 1 chassis with a series 2 body?

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oh - its an 88 chassis, so that would mean it would have to be a very late 57 or 58 series one, which still doesnt link up with the 55 production date.

maybe a series 1 88 inch prototype, used for that purpose and then stored. realised a requirement for series II prototypes and converted the old series 1 into a series II prototype

i dont know, im clueless!

pics would be nice of bulkhead panels and chassis cus there is a 88'' series 1 but the production date is still confusing so post pics

will get photo's when its mine!

the series 1 88 is 1957 - 1958 so its still 2 years earlier than that

to make matters worse the front wings are series 3. the bulkhead is definitely series II. the wings by all accounts could have been series 1 originally - but the bulkhead is of a series II

the chassis number is a 9 digit late 1955 number - meaning it should be an 85 or 107 chassis - yet it is an 88 chassis

the serial number is also relatively low (<500)

so the diferent wings and body jsut mean a front body swap whats the rear tub like

right the chassis number makes it the following

1706***** 1956 86 Basic Petrol Home RHD I 4,807

a 1956 86 inch wheelbase petrol series 1 - not an 88 inch series 2.

there were 88 inch series 1's produced in 1956 - which now looks like the production year - but not with correlating chassis numbers

swapped chassis is my guess but they have swapped the platess thinking no1 would notice, if the dvla are happy dnt shout would be my advice

reg is 1961 which would be right for series 2 and explains the series 2 chassis without the rear power take off

Its one of them bitsa cars

109party said:

swapped chassis is my guess but they have swapped the platess thinking no1 would notice, if the dvla are happy dnt shout would be my advice

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right - the chassis number is actually from the log book - not the front right spring hangar - so on collection on tuesday i will get it ack, attack it with white spirit to get rid of the paint, and see what that digs up. the dvla are happy with it being a 1955 series IIa - which makes no sense at all

it has a series 1 hand brake as well

until i get the chassis number from the chassis i wont do any more guessing - but my guess is its a later series I 88 masquarading as a series II, or an early series II with an identity crisis

109party said:

reg is 1961 which would be right for series 2 and explains the series 2 chassis without the rear power take off

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nope - plates been swapped, as always. bodywork indicated early series 2 so would further make sense. LAH XXX A was designated to a load of series II's - supposedly because a number plate salesman or whatever purchased the originals - which are obviously worth alot.

D O D G Y,

Its plainly wrong can you get the right reg for the chassis?

It looks like a bitsa, lights etc, If the DVLA are happy go for it but be warned if they get anal you could end up with nothing. Jai

the right reg for the chassis should be easy enough to trace - but obviously if it is non age related it will have been transferred and used as a private plate on a modern car - they are usually worth a great deal.

once i work out the proper chassis number - and whether or not its the one in the log book - i will trace the numberplate - and the history

either way - it was a barn find about 6 years ago, and was then rebuilt 2 years ago. something is not right - but i dont think anything particularly dodgy is going on at the moment! will take a closer than usual look on tuesday though

jai_landrover said:

It looks like a bitsa, lights etc, If the DVLA are happy go for it but be warned if they get anal you could end up with nothing. Jai

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a what?

Bitsa -this, bitsa - that, pic and mix, built from pieces. ringer whatever you want to call it lol Jai

ahh right

yes it does have various bits in it - i think its predominantly early series II - sentiments shared by the series II forum.

hopefully will make more sense on tuesday