New Rover: 1971 Series IIA 88"

[roverjohn]

New to me but not new to Rovers: a 1971 88" I have been out of Rovers for almost 2 years now. I came across this 1971 88" that is in pretty good shape. It is a western US truck so there is no rust. Originally came from Arizona and has been in Colorado since 1995.

I was actually looking for a 109" and this 88" kind of fell into my lap. It has not been driven much in 3 years. The previous owner drove it from 1995 to 2007 and did not renew the registration since 2006. He used it around his property occasionally but not much. I had to replace the rear wheel cylinders and run some good clean gas through it. It is running great with new gas. Has Weber carb.

Not sure what I want to do with it. I spent all of Sunday cleaning it. It was full of crap in the back and caked with mud underneath. However, it is the cleanest Rover I have ever owned. The floor boards still have all the paint on them. I might just drive it for awhile and continue looking for a 109" My 3 year old daughter loves it. It is HER Land Rover.

The PO could not tell me why it has an early style breakfast and wings on it. He said he bought it that way and for all he knew, it was original. I need a new passenger side fender, anyone have anything? I might consider going with the proper late model fenders and having the 4 headlight configuration.

Thanks for looking.

[rwollschlager]

109 not too far from you: http://omaha.craigslist.org/cto/1964802267.html
Keep the early style breakfast and wings on it. Even though they are not correct, they do look the part on a series IIA, and are getting harder and harder to find. nice truck!

-Rob

[Rineheitzgabot]

Nice find. Ahh, cars that don't come from the rust belt, are truly amazing.

Is it possible that it's not a '71? What tells you that it's a '71? Look up the VIN on LRFAQ, to find out.

Let us know.

-Gary

[Andrew IIA]

Is it possible that it's not a '71? What tells you that it's a '71? Look up the VIN on LRFAQ, to find out.

Very nice looking truck. I'm going to guess that it is not a '71.

[J!m]

It does have the late II-A NA side marker lights on the sides of the tub...

[Andrew IIA]

It does have the late II-A NA side marker lights on the sides of the tub...
Good observation... something got changed on this truck :confused:

[J!m]

Probably the entire nose.

I suspect a front collision with something, as the front fender sides do not have the side markers on them...

[TedW]

Is that a steering wheel cozy I see???

[I Leak Oil]

....Look up the VIN on LRFAQ, to find out.

Simple answer right there. Lights, fenders and everything else can be changed so you can't tell what year it is based on what parts are hung on it.

Whatever year it is, it looks like a nice solid truck.

[amcordo]

My name is John, and I have been out of Rovers for almost 2 years now.


Hi John! Welcome to Rovers Annonymous!

[stonefox]

Welcome John,
God grant us the serenity to fix the rust that can be fixed and except what can not.:D

[roverjohn]

Thanks everyone for the warm welcome. It's nice to have a Rover again. I bought my first one in 1996 and owned at least one through 2008. The last one I had was a 1956 Series 1 107" pickup that I kick myself for selling.

I assume this is a 1971. The door tag says 11/70 and the title says 1971. I assume it was made in 11/70 and then sold as a 1971 here in the States.

This is the newest Rover I have owned so it is neat to see the subtle changes, like a key that actually turns the starter over. Prior to this, the newest Rover I had owned was a 1968 109" SW. Should not have sold that one either.

I kind of want to accessorize and replace the fenders on this thing immediately but I am holding myself back. I would like to replace the front seats, add some rear seats, set of 5 16" rims, rh fender, and maybe a set of parabolic springs. However, I think it is wiser for me to just go through the thing and make sure everything is working properly.

Oh....one of the previous owners added a brake booster or at least I think they added a booster. Was this stock on this year or did it come later. Either way, the brakes are a helluva lot better than the other Rovers I have had.

And that is NOT a steering wheel cover that you see in the picture. Good eye, though. It was a towel that I was using to clean the many years of grime from inside the vehicle.

Thanks everyone.

[Rineheitzgabot]

If you go to: http://www.lrfaq.org/Series/FAQ.S.chassis_numbering.244.html

Scroll through the list. If you don't find your exact number listed, you'll still be able to tell what year yours is.

These vehicles are so easy to change that nothing really matters except the VIN, and even that is suspect sometimes. Hint: Look at the VIN that is stamped on the front frame horn, instead of the VIN plate. This should be a "better" way to determine the VIN, although at this point, it starts getting philosophical. Like, what is the "soul" of a vehicle? Is it the frame? In a Series' case, the bulkhead? The engine? Who knows?

I am curious now, so let us know.

-Gary

[artpeck]

Thanks for the link. Having done a little poking around on the Lrfaq.org website I am amazed at the wealth of information contained there.

On a side note I went through all the bits of paper and materials that came with mine which I recently purchased from the original owner. Included is a manifest from Land Rover that indicates the ports of debarkation and embarkation and the vessel on which the truck made it's journey which I found to be pretty cool.

[roverjohn]

If you go to: http://www.lrfaq.org/Series/FAQ.S.chassis_numbering.244.html

Scroll through the list. If you don't find your exact number listed, you'll still be able to tell what year yours is.

These vehicles are so easy to change that nothing really matters except the VIN, and even that is suspect sometimes. Hint: Look at the VIN that is stamped on the front frame horn, instead of the VIN plate. This should be a "better" way to determine the VIN, although at this point, it starts getting philosophical. Like, what is the "soul" of a vehicle? Is it the frame? In a Series' case, the bulkhead? The engine? Who knows?

I am curious now, so let us know.

-Gary
So.....I was under the impression that the frame VIN is on the front right hand side spring hanger. Is this correct? I am not finding a number here unless it is on top and it is under my winch. Is there any other place a frame number could be?

My other Series IIA's had a tag on the fire wall inside under the dash near the starter button. There is no such tag here on this 88" The only tag I have is on the driver's side door jamb where it has the VIN and the date.

So I looked up my door jamb VIN (same as title) on the lrfaq.org VIN section and my number is not in there. There is a gap from July 1970 to December 1970. My door tag says November 1970 so my number must fall somewhere between these 2 dates.

Also, the last digit in my VIN has a "G" Anybody know what this means? All the other VIN's before and after mine, don't have any letters. They are just straight numbers. Any ideas?

Thanks in advance.

[Rineheitzgabot]

G, means about 1970.

This is where your VIN should be found on the frame rail.

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_7flfIKKMkt0/TACBQIXscgI/AAAAAAAABPs/rxH3mmEfPm4/s400/IMG_1323.jpg

[czenkov]

Welcome to the group. My name is Andrew and I have two of them. Its been 1.5 months since my last Land Rover purchase...

You aren't kidding. Its a slippery slope. Weird thing is for me Defenders (have one) don't make me want more. But I see a Series and I would own 30 of them if I could. Be careful, be very careful!

[roverjohn]

Thanks for the picture of the VIN. It greatly helped with finding mine on the frame. I had to scrape some grime and some paint off of the frame to find it but the number is there. My frame number is stamped with the same number that is on my door tag. So....I guess it is a 11/70 like the door tag says?

Now, I need to get a list together of things to do to it. For starters, I desperately need some new seats.

[Rineheitzgabot]

You're right, brother. Looks like someone has changed some body parts, etc.

Good luck, and have fun. Life's too short for anything else.

-Gary