1959 Series 2 Question

Good afternoon,

I am interested in a 1959 Series 2 that is for sale in Portugal (where I live).

I have spent a decent amount of time with newer Defenders, but never a Series. So I was wondering if anyone could have a glance at the listing and see if anything nasty jumps out at them.

https://www.standvirtual.com/anunci...-short-wheel-base-88-ID8Jr36m.html#ec44274789

My untrained eye can see that it has had a respray and rustproof coating (Waxoyl?), which could be hiding something. Although rust is not a big problem in this part of the world.

Is the engine original (picture attached), or is it from a later model?



What has been painted over in front of the gear stick (picture attached)? Is it an old VIN plate?




The blurb roughly translates to:

09/1959
Diesel
2285cc
61cv
85,000km (unlikely to be true)


Sandblasted chassis with protective paint.
Exmoor Trim Canvas Hood imported from England.
New upholstery.
It is advisable to replace the side door rubbers.
Vehicle without accidents.
Functional vehicle, engine and gearbox.
Maintained by the same mechanic for several years.

Approved for seven (7) passengers.
Civil Documents (Booklet and Property Register).
Registration starting with HI -... ..
Vehicle was not military.
Owned the vehicle since 1996.
MOT valid until September 29 2017.


Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks very much.

looks good to me going by pics on show,engine from what can be seen looks to be correct, plate painted over will have transmisson use info

Painted plate looks to have something stuck on it to protect when it was painted.

Looks very smart, but old diesels are very slow, I reckon the old petrol engine was much more usable.

Looks very original,only rear tail gate [ home made ? ] and front valance,the bit blow the grill [from a later model that is rounded not flat ] are not. Nice

If the chassis and bulkhead are as good as the overall 'look' from the pictures I'd jump at that if the price looked reasonable.

Thanks for the help.

Everyone seems quite positive about it. I understand that you can only glean so much from photos, so I appreciate the help.

Cars are very expensive in Portugal, and as a result they hold their value much better than in the UK. So although the price is probably quite high for a UK car, it is pretty good for here. The upside is that, due to the climate, there tends to be very little rust about.

I'll certainly go and have a look at it then.

Does anyone know exactly what engine it is? 2.0L or 2.25L, etc..? The listing says 2285cc, but I don't know if that is accurate.

Thanks again.

Tom591 said:

Thanks for the help.

Everyone seems quite positive about it. I understand that you can only glean so much from photos, so I appreciate the help.

Cars are very expensive in Portugal, and as a result they hold their value much better than in the UK. So although the price is probably quite high for a UK car, it is pretty good for here. The upside is that, due to the climate, there tends to be very little rust about.

I'll certainly go and have a look at it then.

Does anyone know exactly what engine it is? 2.0L or 2.25L, etc..? The listing says 2285cc, but I don't know if that is accurate.

Thanks again.

Click to expand...

its a 2.25 which is 2.285

If it is as good as it looks, I don't think the price is too high even for here 10k euros is about £8000 give or take a couple of hundred and pre 1960 landrovers are fetching more than that in really good condition.

Col

Thanks again for your help.

I should be going to see the car this weekend.

Is there anything particular I should be looking out for in a Series 2 of this age?

Are the rust prone areas (footwells, hinges, rear crossmember, etc..) similar to a Defender?

What should I be listening out for when test driving?

Cheers.

Foot wells can be replaced easily enough. Chassis and bulkhead are the obvious places to check for rust. Door pillars, around the vent flaps and below the windscreen. Out riggers on the chassis, dumb irons and the back end of the chassis. Look out for a smoky engine and a clattering noise over and above what a diesel should sound like. If you can get a test drive, find a big hill if possible and see how well it goes up it, again, looking for smoking exhaust. A landy that old will need double declutching but should change smoothly enough. Good luck.

Col

Just took the car for a test drive.

The car ran very nicely. There is little rust apart from some patches on the rear crossmember, which have been painted over with black anti-rust paint. I imagine they might need some attention?

Took it for a good run (the owner was driving). He did not hold back, and at one point we were bombing along a dirt road at about 40kph! So it seems he is very confident in it.

In regards to Col's hill test recommendation, it went up a relatively steep hill from an almost standing start very comfortably (with four people on board).

My only real concern was quite a bit of exhaust smoke. I would not describe it as blue, but it was white with maybe a tinge of blue.

We met at a local car park, so the Land Rover had already had a run of at least 10 minutes, but when he started it up and left it idling while we looked at the engine bay there was a steady stream of white smoke (not very thick) from the exhaust.

It was quite hard to tell, but it was certainly not smoking badly during our test run. But I noticed it again when we had finished, and he was driving away.

The engine was installed in 1996. He found the car with a Datsun engine, and the original petrol was nowhere to be found.

I would make sure to get the car looked at by the local Landy man, but I wondered what your initial thoughts might be?

Thanks.

If it pulled up a steepish hill at a reasonable speed there can't be much wrong with it. Diesels will always give a chug of dark smoke on gear changes especially on old engines. If it pulled ok and it sounded ok, there isn't going to be much wrong with it. You have to expect some wear in the engine which would show as bluish white smoke. If it was me, I think I'd go for it providing the price is right but remember, a landy this old will always need some money spending on it.

Col

Have a look on youtube for 2 and 2a and see if they smoke.
Non original engine will affect price and a good point for haggling.
Will a smokey engine pass any test in Portugal, here there is no test.

Thanks everyone for all your help.

Sadly I was not able to get the Series 2 as it was sold to the first viewer (I was the second).

Long story short, I managed to find a mint condition TD5 so I will move over to the relevant forum.

Cheers.