Land Rover Santana - Series 2a

[TodoTerreno]

Hey,

as my story with this vehicle seems to continue, I´d like to give a view of my past 10 years of being the custodian of the eternal overland 4x4.

In the beginning, i didn´t look for a project. Just looked for a go everywhere vehicle, old enough to not car about dents and scratches. So I bought this dodgy car for about 1,-€/kg out of boredom on a November day like this.



Gave it a decent steam clean



and some paint remover to discover the original paint, which was LRC006, Marine Blue.



pulled it further apart



welded the entire chassis



pulled the 2.25D 3 main bearing engine



bought a 2.5D n/a engine from some dutch guy







So i had a blown 2.25D block and a broken 2.5 distributor pump...why not putting the working remains together and build a chain driven 2.5D with the pump and set up of the 2.25D?

so pulled the cambelt gear and fittet the chain gears just to check



and rebuilt and painted the engine













fitted a Rosenbauer fire hose roof rack and off we went....

Wissant, France, for the french beauties


Sardinia, Italy











Spain









Alps










143.500km driven like a rental since rebuilt...to be continued...

[Turbofurball]

Nice, and with the original width tyres too! There aren't many Santana Landies left in these parts, but the ones that are around generally look like they would be write-offs in most of the rest of Europe, so yours is exceptional in comparison

[TodoTerreno]

Hola

Thanxalot for the compliments. But mine is also very denty and has been pulled through some hedges since the repaint.

Since the british originals became very expensive (after the end of the classic Defender) and people searched more for Santanas, the spanish market for good cars is mostly cleared. Many were shipped to Germany to get a second life after restauration or became pin ups at cool&vintage *, Portugal...

Adios

*

[Turbofurball]

C'est la vie, the 80s / 90s Nissan Patrols (and of course Suzukis) are more popular with the serious offroaders here, mostly due to the local terrain being more suited to rock crawling, so I guess it's win-win

[TodoTerreno]

Especially the Nissan Patrol LWB 6Pots with the slightly raised roof (spanish speciality?) are very nice cars and sought after. A friend who imported Santanas just missed to buy one.

By means of transportation comfort, every car is much more suitable for long distance travel, than a Series Diesel. But as soon as one reached destination with rural roads and off road short cuts, it´s the perfect tool for two people, IMHO. Narrow outside, full size 140x200cm bed in the rear, walkable roof to carry all sorts of toys for winter and summer sports, reasonable consumption (even runs on used & filtered frying oil), easy to fix* and cleaned with a hose even inside. At the end, it´s the most photogenic ;-).

The charme of that old leafer, that brings up memories, daydreams and conversations of all sorts in many people is a great opener to get in touch with locals and other travelers (and is a built in burglar alarm by social controll, too) Which sometimes is a bit annoying, when having a nap in the rear and some bored tourist ist slapping the aluminum body by saying:"boy, that was still thick steel in the days back then, they don´t build them anymore like this, but say: you didn´t come all the way from Germany in that old car? Did you?" "no we came on that flying carpet I´m trying to have a sleep on, mate"
But most of the time it is really an enrichment to the journey. i.e. parked the car on an autumn sunday morning in front of a Sardinian tavern full of boar hunters who later gathered around it and used it to place their stuff on the bonnet, thinking it was one of their´s. I was offered a , didn´t stop after three, went with them days later on a funny 4x4 excursion including mushroom dinner and the full heartwarming atmosphere of an italian table full of people. At the end i rented a tiny house from one of the guys for a winter stay for a bargain (as my neapolitanian coworker said: this rent from a Sardo would be a steal for a mainland italian but it is unseen for a teutonic tourist. He was joking, my landlord might have a crossed eyed daughter he desperatly wants to get rid off. I´m still sure, it was because the car just blended in perfectly and just joined)

Even the close service intervalls and the legendary unreliabilty of these leafers lead to long lasting friendships with locals, who openly offered their bar´s adress as postal adress, living room and bathroom while we were camping in the parking lot, waiting 5 days for a valve spring to arrive.





fixed it on the spot



and went off surfing



Just this single break down got me introduced into a very closed circle of soulmate wind- & kitesurfers, who barely share their local knowledge (which spot works best at given conditions and which spot isn´t worth the travel across the island) but became life long friends since then. I wouldn´t need to lock this car any more at any of their beaches and wouldn´t have surfed the best and most terrifying wave spots in the mediterranian sea without their guidance and back up. Priceless and worth every ear bleeding and back bending highway leg in this ancient tractor.

Wanted to continue travelling this winter around Spain. Spent unforgettable days and nights up the Sierra Nevada for skiing and night photos of Granada.... this year´s trip unfortunately postponed due to C19.





Hasta luego


Edit remembers another encounter with like minded classic car enthusiasts, which lead to the invitation into the service area of a classic car rally in Palau.

[Turbofurball]

The boar hunters here like the LWB Patrols, the rock crawlers like the SWB 2-doors ... I've seen a couple of the LWB ones turtled, lol.

It's awesome that the right type of vehicle has opened so many doors for you, and you're right about it being photogenic!