Land Rover Series II/IIA 109" 2.6 Petrol Six Cylinder

For many, it's the archetypal Land Rover. They look cute, too. Be almost obsessive in your quest to find one with a rust-free chassis.

Dimensions H2070mm; W1680mm; L4440mm

Max Load Capacity 1553lb-2611lb Insurance Group 4-6

The successor to the successful Series I was the Series II, which saw a production run from 1958 to 1961. It came in 88 in (2235 mm) and 109 in (2769 mm) wheelbases. This was the first Land Rover to adopt a relatively modern shape, and used the well-known 2.25-litre petrol engine, although early short wheelbase (SWB) models retained the 2.0-litre petrol engine from the Series I for the first 1500 or so vehicles. This larger petrol engine produced 72 hp and was closely related to the 2.0-litre diesel unit still in use. This engine became the standard Land Rover unit until the mid-1980s when diesel engines became more popular.

The Series IIA is considered by many the most hardy Series model constructed. It is also the type of classic Land Rover that features strongly in the general public's perception of the Land Rover, from its many appearances in popular films and television documentaries set in Africa throughout the 1960s, such as Born Free. Certainly it was whilst the Series IIA was in production that sales of utility Land Rovers reached their peak, in 1969-70, when sales of over 60,000 Land Rovers a year were recorded (for comparison, the sales of the Defender in recent years have been around the 25,000 level since the 1990s). As well as record sales, the Land Rover dominated many world markets- in Australia in the 1960s Land Rover held 90% of the 4x4 market. This figure was repeated in many countries in Africa and the Middle East.

To the eye the SII and the SIIA are very difficult to distinguish. The configurations available from the factory ranged from short wheelbase soft top to the top of the line five-door Station Wagon. The Rover V8 3.5-litre engine was first tested in 1965 in a short wheel base SIIA but not introduced to a Land Rover until the first-generation three-door Range Rovers in 1970 and then later to the Series vehicles in the last of the SIII 109s in 1979. From February 1969 (home market) the headlamps moved into the wings on all models, and the sill panels were redesigned to be shallower a few months afterwards. The series IIa 109 was also the first bonneted Land-Rover to get the 2.6 straight six engine, and to be upgraded to "One Ton" Specification.