Series 2A Santana ??

[o2batsea]

Frankly, unless you have a contact in Spain or some South American country where there is a possibility of getting parts from a dealership, I would stay away. There is a very real possibility that you could be broken down for MONTHS waiting for some part to come from somewhere in Spain. At least with Rovers there is a fairly good parts supply here in the USA even if it is an older one.
Santanas certainly aren't bad vehicles, but it would be like buying a SEAT Ibiza from 1985 and bringing it here to the USA and thinking it won't be a problem to maintain.
It is NOT A LAND ROVER even tho it looks like one a lot.

[REDrum]

The word Santana is less scary to me than the word Restored.

I have a few buddies in Costa Rica who own Santanas, spanish made with square top rear door trucks; both 88 and 109. While certainly not a BL product, they are a very good product; some argue an improvement/refinement of the UK version. I've explored them a bit but have not bought one, yet....

My buddies who own them in CR have found 90% compatability of Santana with UK or CR build series truck parts. Body panels/hardward, brakes, gearboxes, seem to be the most trouble for non compatibility, (however thats second hand info from freinds). But keep in mind thats due to non availability of parts for Santana in CR, In the US parts availability from EU will no doubt be better than CR; but not w/o lead time.

All that said, I would not dismiss the Santana, because its a Santana. I would be much more skeptical of the trucks level of "Restored", who did it, and with what parts. Would highly recommend you hire someone who knows Series trucks to inspect it. If it is well sorted, truly restored, and you can look past the Santana badge, it could be a good find.

[jackxter]

The word Santana is less scary to me than the word Restored.

I have a few buddies in Costa Rica who own Santanas, spanish made with square top rear door trucks; both 88 and 109. While certainly not a BL product, they are a very good product; some argue an improvement/refinement of the UK version. I've explored them a bit but have not bought one, yet....

My buddies who own them in CR have found 90% compatability of Santana with UK or CR build series truck parts. Body panels/hardward, brakes, gearboxes, seem to be the most trouble for non compatibility, (however thats second hand info from freinds). But keep in mind thats due to non availability of parts for Santana in CR, In the US parts availability from EU will no doubt be better than CR; but not w/o lead time.

All that said, I would not dismiss the Santana, because its a Santana. I would be much more skeptical of the trucks level of "Restored", who did it, and with what parts. Would highly recommend you hire someone who knows Series trucks to inspect it. If it is well sorted, truly restored, and you can look past the Santana badge, it could be a good find.

Thanks - one downside is that it was on eBay and located far away. The second downside is that the seller failed to reply to a few basic questions. I'd be willing to hop on a plane and eyeball it but since there was no reply, I'll take it as a sign. The parts are the 3rd downside...so I'll concentrate on a LR.

[patrick68]

There is a 1969 Series IIA 88 for sale on Craiglist in Boston right now .... This is just 4 hours drive from NYC.

[cnfowler]

I'm thinking this is the one Patrick is speaking of.

https://boston.craigslist.org/sob/cto/5561513228.html

Colin

[patrick68]

Yes , this is the one .

I'm thinking this is the one Patrick is speaking of.

https://boston.craigslist.org/sob/cto/5561513228.html

Colin

[REDrum]

Thanks - one downside is that it was on eBay and located far away. The second downside is that the seller failed to reply to a few basic questions. I'd be willing to hop on a plane and eyeball it but since there was no reply, I'll take it as a sign. The parts are the 3rd downside...so I'll concentrate on a LR.

Agreed. Ya gotta get up close and personal with it.

I'm thinking this is the one Patrick is speaking of.
https://boston.craigslist.org/sob/cto/5561513228.html

.

That, if in your budget, could be a good find. Based on pictures it epitomizes a Series truck. Well worth having a 3rd party investigate for you. I can refer you to a couple people in area Boston area if you like.

[jackxter]

Thanks - I appreciate it. Waiting for some more pics of this one...and trying to see one in Maine. Not easy making time. The one that got me hooked was 1.5 hours away so I jumped out of the office and ran to see it. Unfortunately, the ad wasn't very truthful. So, I really need to see what I'm getting into. Perhaps when I have a better idea of when I can make it out, I'd like another set of eyes with me.

[REDrum]

Unfortunately, the ad wasn't very truthful

LOL, come shop for Landy's in central america some time....

[jackxter]

LOL, come shop for Landy's in central america some time....

[ATTACH=CONFIG]11580[/ATTACH]

Unfortunately, this isn't too far off as what was described as "restored". The photos were actually good. I blame myself for not asking the right questions prior to going to see it. At least I knew enough to look in the right places.

[ValenciaCV]

Frankly, unless you have a contact in Spain or some South American country where there is a possibility of getting parts from a dealership, I would stay away. There is a very real possibility that you could be broken down for MONTHS waiting for some part to come from somewhere in Spain. At least with Rovers there is a fairly good parts supply here in the USA even if it is an older one.
Santanas certainly aren't bad vehicles, but it would be like buying a SEAT Ibiza from 1985 and bringing it here to the USA and thinking it won't be a problem to maintain.
It is NOT A LAND ROVER even tho it looks like one a lot.

With due respect, this is categorically untrue. I honestly have no idea where this started, but I suspect it stems from some very late (1988-1990) Santanas, long after the relationship with Solihull ended. For Series III and earlier vehicles, the idea that parts are unavailable, or that the vehicles themselves "aren't Land Rovers" is totally absurd.

I live in Spain and I buy, restore and sell Land Rover Santanas here all the time. For anything 1983 and earlier, 99% of what I need I buy from Paddock Spares, John Craddock Limited, etc. If the vehicles are in the USA, we buy from Rovers North. We have never had a problem with anything. Engine parts, brake parts, master cylinders, belts and hoses, clutches, springs, ball joints, electricals, switchgear, filters, glow plugs, prop shafts... EVERYTHING. Even accessories like roof racks and mud flaps. From seat upholstery to valves, and from main bearings to radiators, you just buy the part you need for your Land Rover and you're fine.

I stress again, I am not speculating here. I do this all day, every day. I am speaking from years of personal experience, restoring perhaps two dozen Series IIA and Series III Land Rover Santanas. But this prejudice is so widespread that I don't even tell the supplier I am working on a Santana, because I am tried of listening to them tell me how nothing will fit. I just say it's a Solihull truck and everything works perfectly.

Now, are there a FEW exceptions? Yes. Santana built a model in the late 1970's called the "Especial," for example, which had different tail lamps. But they are readily available online. Some 1983's had slightly different seat frames, so if you happen to have a 1983 Land Rover Santana and need a seat frame (which, let's face it, is rare) you just buy a Solihull part and drill four new holes to replace it. But the guts and even most of the details of the truck? All the same. And if you're talking about a Series IIA, as in this particular case? It is identical except for a couple badges.

Which makes sense if you stop and think about it, because they were built under license from Solihull, with tooling, stamping equipment and everything from England. Santana didn't reinvent the wheel and build different trucks. They had no motivation to do so, and neither did Solihull, who had licensed the whole operation in the first place. For everything built in 1983 and earlier, these were not badged as Santanas. They were badged as Land Rover Santanas. And with good reason.

Bill and I are in the very early stages of working on an article with Rovers Magazine about the history of Santana, which will hopefully put some of these issues to rest once and for all. But probably not, because when people get something in their heads it's sometimes very difficult to get it out again, regardless of evidence to the contrary.

But if anyone has any questions, I'm always happy to answer them.

- Paul
paulmisencik@gmail.com

[o2batsea]

The number of pre-83 "Land Rover Santanas" in the USA is super super small. I would venture to say fewer than a hundred. Probably even way less than that. I have seen ONE here in my life and it's owned by my friend Freddy. It has a LOT of differences from a Land Rover 2A. He brought it here from Honduras or someplace like that about 5 years ago. Customs guy stepped on the sun sheet and bent the crap out of it. Idiots. I digress.
The later Santanas are surely not Land Rovers. They have steel bodies, leaf suspensions, different engines, blah blah blah....and certainly do not carry the Land Rover mystique.
Good luck importing and selling these. I'm sure you'll get a lot more traffic if you call them Land Rover Santanas than just plain old Santana. There are a couple of these floating around the DC area, and they are not selling.