1958 Land Rover Series I, 88
I am selling my 1958 Land Rover Series I. I imported it from Costa Rica from an enthusiast as they are extremely rare in the U.S. (I even left the CR custom electric oscillating fan mounted on the dash). 1958 was the last year for the Series I cars, and is the second year of the 88's. 1958 is a crossiver year from the SeriesI to SeriesII & this truck was a later production '58 so while it is a Series1, it has a 2.25L motor. It is a 3 owner car and was very well maintained after and garage kept most of its life from what I am told. I had all of the fluids changed & service done. It had 67,000 original KM on it when it arrived and I put a new water pump and fan belt on it, then drove it 150 miles from NJ to Eastern LI for its first drive in the U.S. While it is not an ideal highway machine, it drove flawlessly the entire way. It only has ~70hp and has a top speed that varies from 54 to 67mph depending on whether you're going uphill or down . I was far more impressed with how it handled off-road when I took it on the beach for the photo shoot. It has locking hubs for 4WD, and a low range where 3rd gear was great for driving on the sand. No need to bother deflating the tires, this Series I is a truly capable off-road machine. While the tires are good with plenty of tread, these would not be my first choice, however they easily got the job done, even in the soft stuff going uphill.
This car is unrestored, but is a very honest example that runs flawlessly. It fires the 1/2 crank with the starter even in freezing weather. The paint is good, there is some chipping in the rear tub, some cracking around the side mirrors on the front fenders. There is a little bubbling on the bottom of the doors, I chose leave it as is to keep its patina. I have a bikini top for it & am contemplating the full camvas top and folding benches for the rear. It even comes with the original owners manuals, but unless you read in Spanish, you won't get too much out of them.
The bulkhead is solid and the chassis is in very good shape as well. It turns lots of heads wherever it goes.
The import process is tedious and stressful, but having done this once before, I worked out all the kinks in the process previously. This car is now fully U.S. legal and currently registered in NY. Call me and make an offer!!
You will love this truck!!
-Dave
dmaher830 at G mail
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