Series III ½ Ton Air Portable (aka “Lightweight”) - Restored

[jac04]

SOLD!! as of 4/16/14.



UPDATED 1-23-14:

After a lot of thought, I have decided to sell my restored Lightweight. This particular vehicle is a LHD version with 12 volt electrical system. This is a military vehicle that was developed by Land Rover in conjunction with the British Fighting Vehicles Research & Development Establishment. It fulfilled the requirement of an air portable vehicle with a 1/2 ton payload capacity. The body panels are easily detachable to reduce weight, allowing the vehicle to be lifted by helicopter utilizing the lifting rings located on the front & rear of the chassis.

I have restored/refurbished several Series Land Rovers over the past 25 years and this vehicle is my favorite restoration project. It drives beautifully and cruises well on the highway due to the Roverdrive overdrive. The Michelin XZLtires may look like off-road only tires, but they are very quiet, ride nice, and wear like iron. Range is excellent due to the twin fuel tanks. Braking is superb, as this vehicle is fitted with the late style larger brakes. Shifting is smooth & easy with the full-synchro gearbox, and the factory inertia seat belts are about as safe as you can get in an old stock Series soft-top Land Rover.

Asking price is now $29,900.

You simply could not build this same vehicle to the same quality level for anywhere near what I am willing to sell it for. I have $35k invested in the vehicle & parts alone and approximately 1000 hours invested in labor. From what I understand, Marsland no longer makes galvanized chassis for the Lightweight, so this vehicle would be almost impossible to duplicate due to the chassis alone (not taking into account all the other rare parts that I was able to source for the restoration).

I just finished the restoration of my 1968 Camaro convertible, and I have come to the realization that this vehicle will be getting very little use. It spends most of its time tucked away in a corner of the garage.

Serious buyers can PM me to arrange for inspection of the vehicle. I am near Bradley Int'l Airport in Windsor Locks, CT (BDL), and I can meet & pick up anyone at the airport.

Details of the restoration are in the next post below.