Lot Ended
Description
Current enthusiast owner 15 years; meticulously maintained with
various upgrades; drives beautifully with remarkably light steering and
a super-smooth S3 engine; power winch; driven 80 miles to the
sale; a well-sorted S2a with bags of character
Built in 1965,
this Series 2a Land Rover SWB was first registered in July 1982 so we suspect
that it was probably in service with the British Army for the first 17 years of
its life.
It comes with a large file of invoices
extending back to 1992 to show regular upkeep over the last 33 years during
which time it has had just three owners. The first kept it from 1992 – 2007 and
looked after it well, judging by all the bills on file.
Our vendor acquired ‘Gypsy’, as she is affectionately known, back in
2009. A proper Land Rover enthusiast, he has spent much time and money over the
last 15 years to keep her in tip-top running order, preserving as much character
and originality as practical, while also incorporating various mods to improve
braking and general driveability.
There are lots
of invoices to show work carried out and new parts fitted, the vendor also
keeping a detailed log of the mileage covered and the maintenance performed
during his long ownership (see last two photos for a brief
summary).
In August 2019 the original engine was
swapped for a low mileage S3 2,286cc petrol engine and a reconditioned S2a
gearbox was fitted, supplied by Simmonites of Bradford, along with a new clutch
kit. The mileage at this point was c.71,300 and it has only covered 4,000 miles
since, the odometer currently showing 75,350 miles.
Other recent expenditure includes uprated front brakes with servo;
new fuel tank; new exhaust; new Exmoor Trim canvas tilt; new front seats with
new seat belts. A useful Warrior 12v electric winch has also been fitted to the
bumper with a 90ft ‘soft’ cable and 8,550lb pull, powered by its own 100ah
leisure battery under the front passenger seat (instructions on how to use it
are included in the file). There is also a spotlamp by the driver's door mirror
to aid working in the dark.
In regular use as a
runabout to carry logs and perform some light farm duties, we are told that
Gypsy has always been a reliable workhorse. Driven 80 miles to the sale, she has
been starting promptly and running incredibly sweetly as we have moved her
around on site, with healthy oil pressure. The steering is so amazingly light
for a Series Land Rover that we were sure it must be power assisted but no, it
is just properly set up and well-maintained.
Only reluctantly for sale due to our vendor’s health issues, Gypsy is
still fighting fit and will no doubt continue to provide sterling service for
many years to come.
Consigned by James
Dennison – 07970 309907 – james.dennison@brightwells.com