At $8500 it must be in really good shape. On the other hand, when I was shopping, it wasn't a case of which one would 'do' or be 'good enough', it was more like "Is it sold yet?", then if the answer was no, I'd have to say "I'll take it." You have to admit, there aren't too many Land Rover Series vehicles for sale on this continent. I picked up a 1970 109 SW 7 years ago and am happy with it. I had 30 years of poor service work to catch up with and, of course, damage I did myself on & off road. I've put 100,000 miles on it in that time. You have to expect to do the repairs yourself or you will go broke, because whatever mechanic you take it to, has probably never seen one before (this includes brake shops, muffler joints and tire shops) so the mechanic will have to do the "green bible" reading and trial and error learning, all on your pocket book. They are made very simple (the Land Rovers is what I'm talking about here) and are easy to work on for the novice BUT they don't meet all the rules other cars used when being put together so trained mechanics are driven nuts trying to figure them out. They usually are too proud to listen to the owner or read the manual too. ("I' bin fixing cars fur 30 years! I ain't gunna read no manual, and who are you to tell me how tu do it?")
If you buy it, and I think it is a great idea, make sure you buy a factory workshop manual and plan on getting your hands dirty. For $8500 the motor should be flawless as should the transmission. Remember, It likely will have NON-syncro in 1st & 2nd gears. Watch your knee when getting in or you'll be putting an ice-pack and bandage on your knee from it hitting the turn signal bracket. When driving, you'll learn REALLY quickly to keep your elbows close to your rib-cage, or else you'll be using that ice pack on your left elbow because it will have been trying to dent the door when you were turning.
Truely a wonderful machine and a 1970 is the best of the best. It still has the metal dash and simple lay-out. The late 2A transmission is considered more robust than the early series 3 or earlier series 2 and 2a units, it has the more conventional (to you and I) ignition key and starter. It will have mounts for shoulder harnesses for the seat belts and probably door mounted mirrors.
Keep in touch! Any questions you need to ask will have people ALL OVER THE WORLD answering them, and all for free, not like on some automotive web forums.
Greg S
