Frequent readers will know the preference here is for classic cars, as opposed to trucks. While classic trucks have a cool aesthetic, the slant here is towards cars whose full abilities you can approach on the road (and let’s face it, for classics those limits often aren’t very high!). With trucks, it always feels like you’re leaving something on the table – be it their load-carrying capability, their off-road ability, or the sacrifice of comfort in favor of those two strengths. Sometimes though, the allure of trying something different is too hard to resist, as in the case of this 1967 Land Rover Series IIa for sale for $4000 in SeaTac, WA.
Yes, that’s SeaTac as in the Seattle-Tacoma airport, so you could fly in and drive out, right? Well, there’s just one thing – the truck is said to have been parked for several years, and needs a carburetor rebuild to be brought back to running condition. And knowing that, it’s likely other parts of the fuel system need attention, so grab a hotel for a couple nights if you want to drive and see if it will tolerate a trip back to your home. The seller calls it a mild project – do you have any friends in Seattle who are willing to put you and a derelict truck up for a couple nights?
The body is straight and worn in an appealing way, and the red color is quite unusual – perhaps it was used for fire fighting? The truck appears to be missing its rear-mounted spare, though the one on the hood is still present. Remarkably, this truck with its two benches and rear jump seats looks to have a capacity of about 10 people, so if you’re full-up you might as well not bother with freeways. Or hills. Unfortunately, the frame is said to have some rust near the spring hangers, which can be the death blow, particularly for long wheelbase trucks as it requires removal of the fuel tank to replace the frame. If needed, frames are said to run just under $4000 new, so perhaps working through the math with the seller would give good results.
And here’s the great news – the truck has been equipped with a Ford 302 V8 by the seller’s grandfather in the 1970s, using an adapter kit. Further, it’s got a manual transmission, and the side pipes in the rear shot above suggest you’ll hear some nice noises when you ask the engine to work. And you won’t have to worry about pulling 10 people along a freeway or up a hill. The clutch is said to be newer, so hopefully it hasn’t been exposed to any oil and will be usable while you sort out the other details.
The seller shot the interior through the window, so it’s hard to see much detail, but what’s visible seems to match the exterior – faded red paint, worn passenger arm rest, and more. While the truck is left hand drive and seems to have a speedometer measuring miles per hour, it’s not clear if this is one of the 811 NADA (North American Dollar Area) trucks, or if it’s a rest-of-world vehicle brought to the US at a later date. While this truck has a major area of concern in the frame, its looks and drivetrain mean it’s worth further investigation.
Tags: 109, british, defender, Feature, land rover, series 2a, series IIa, suv
Rusty But Trusty 
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