1966 Land Rover series iia

well. my wife said either the old land rover goes
or she goes.    she has a job. is working. and makes a
good salary. so i am selling.   now. the white rover is
up for sale.


BACKGROUND:  it is a long story. but. i flat-towed this
old. white 66 short wheel base rover in from aspen. colorado
behind my 93 range rover classic.   that was january of
1999. per the issue date on the missouri title.   i had
bought it for $1000usd sight unseen and it had been sitting
for the past 6 or 7 years.   all 4 tires were flat.   i
heard about it from a friend of a friend -- and it was
a private sale. full asking price.

she had bought it new and she was a realtor in aspen.
that is all i knew. no pictures. but i was committed -- oh. br>and its name was RITA.   my son-in-law and i drove west
in an ice storm with 4 tires mounted on land rover rims and
a towbar.    they actually closed the interstate in
western kansas due to the storm. but we went around the
blockade (range rover. remember) and continued west.  
by mid morning. the sun was shining. and the interstate
clear.   we swapped the rims and tires and bolted on the
towbar. i had bought a towing light set. so we were
ready. we were 20 miles or so from aspen on the north
fork of the frying pan river. it seemed like a good
rover acquisition. so we were stoked.

it was snowing hard when we towed it through denver in
rush hour traffic.    later. i was sleeping; my son-in-law
was driving; when we got stopped by the kansas highway
patrol at about 3am in the morning.    he said he had
locked us at 80 mph (kansas in a range rover. remember)
but stated he really wanted to look at what we were
towing.    once he said that. we had a good discussion
in the early morning by the side of the road.

the white 66 series land rover was left-hand drive and
had a kodiak heater.   original paint and all the same
color -- arctic white.   a few body flaws. but very
straight compared to the other rovers i had purchased
before.   i guess it gets extremely cold in the
mountains of western colorado. because the prior owner
had sprayed 2-3 inches of styrofoam on the inside of the
doors. the inside of the back tub. the inside of the sides
and top.   it was a colorado vehicle so i knew it had not
suffered from weather related deterioration.
(i have mostly stored it in a garage).   the first few
years. i replaced many of the aged rubber parts and had
a lot of the components rebuilt.

up to about 2009. i was interested and active in land
rover activities including 2 colorado club rally trips
in this series rover. it was ebay sourced spares. the
land rover mailing list. lots of work and lots of fun.
 because it was a rover. during that time. i rebuilt the
generator. starter. re-cored the radiator and kodiak
heater radiator. replaced waterpump. and maybe other
things.

but since the 2009 leadville. colorado land rover rally. br>it has sat mostly unused.   for that rally. i had put
on new tires. and had repair work done. including brakes. br>axle seals. and a new battery.   i then drove the about
2500 miles to leadville and back. state inspections. br>insurance. and licensing was always a hassle -- i finally
got historic plates about 1 year ago. the wife then
made her statement. and i relented.   i drained the old
fuel. put in non-ethanol fuel. and it started and it runs.
not being used causes problems. too. and i am tinkering
on them as i get it ready to sell.


THE GOOD: the old rover patina is there and all panels
are the same arctic white color. even the motor
compartment. there is very modest rusting on the frame
and steel body panels. but they appear strong. it has
galvanized 16-inch rims instead of the stock 15-inch.   i
added a spin-on oil filter adapter. the origional back
seat assemblies are included and could be reinstalled.
it starts and runs and i drive it to and from its garage
to tinker on it.   for the leadville trip. my buddy and i
installed a roverdrive brand of overdrive from wiseowl
in vancouver. bc. i had put on 4 bf goodrich MT tires
on it and they now have about 2500 miles -- that was
$1250usd.   for that trip. my mechanic had worked on the
brakes and axles.   new pinion seal and wheel seals on
the back. new swivelball seals and wheel seals on the
front.   brake repair including new drums. shoes. &
cylinders.   he also welded a rear crossmember replacement
onto the frame. his bill was $1750usd and i supplied about
$600usd of parts.   i think the current battery is about 5
years old.

the carburetor story is as follows:  in the 70's. rover
parts in the usa were hard to come by and owners at that time
did the best they could.    it was common to have a bolt-on
rochester carb on series rovers (like from 60's 6 cylinder
chevy trucks).   this one does.   a simple
carb cleaning was all that was necessary.    anyway. it runs
well at missouri 660 foot above sea level.   idles like a
cadillac. maybe lower altitude jets might be a
consideration.

ok. it has a hoopset and canvas top.   it has been
parked inside and the canvas is still good. but about
10-12 years old.   this rover has a utility top which
 means sides with fixed windows and a tailgate and
liftdoor.   that hardtop is included but not mounted.
the body color is consistant and the patina is origional. br>with only minor damage to the body panels.   it has
a galvanized front radiator breakfast and a galvanized
transmission panel.   i think they look cool. but the
origional painted ones are included with the parts.

DISCLAIMERS:  1) the roverdrive overdrive or the transmission
has a howl that starts about 50 mph.   i don't know whether
it is the overdrive or transmission and it is easy to defer.
perhaps some slick additive would help.   2) the front
blinkers have some sort of ground loop problem and are
disconnected.   3) i have included some of the parts necessary
to solve minor details like mirrors. mirror mounts. door shocks. br>floor screws. hardtop mounting. 4) the vin number says it is
a 66 by rover history logs. and the prior owner said that. br>but the title shows a 67.   likely sold late cause of lack
of demand and high price and colorado did that.
5) there is still some foam residue on the interior.   i
should have and could have. but i didn't.   some quality time
with some nylon brushes and solvent should be scheduled.  
6) the vin is 24423093b and the speedo shows 71170. but i
don't think the speedo works.


RAMBLINGS:  i will work with buyers.    you can pick it up
at my house in columbia. missouri.   driving it
home is probably a bit risky. but hey.   bring a
trailer or flat tow it.    i don't know the ins
and outs of auto shipping. but maybe you do.  
i will work with you if shipping is your choice. br>but you need to make the arrangements and pay the
shipping costs.   it is not just the rover. but also the
second utility top and other related parts.   some could
fit into the inside. but the top might be a problem.

i have a paypal account.   i set the starting bid
at $8500. no reserve. and a seven day sale.

what else?  it was a great 15 years or so. and a fun 15k
miles or so. but that was then and this is now.
email me thru ebay or harderr@missouri. edu. or call me at
573-424-7446 and i can answer your questions.    i am
including some of the pictures.

ray

Also published at eBay.com

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