The combination of being rugged and somewhat lightweight was the goal of the British Military in the early 1960s when they modified the short-wheelbase Series IIA Land Rover to be light enough for transport by helicopter. This 1976 Land Rover Half-Ton, or Lightweight, is listed here on eBay in Miami, Florida and the seller is asking $12,000 or you can make an offer.
The Series IIA Air-Transportable Lightweight was introduced and that was 1968, it had been in development and testing for a few years prior to that, but most sources say 1968 was the go date. The end-of-production date is harder to pin down. Most sources say somewhere around 1984 or 1985 is when the company quit producing them and most were retired from service by the late-1990s. The Series III Lightweight was introduced in 1972.
The “Lightweight” part isn’t exactly what it seems, as they weren’t a lot lighter fully-assembled than the other short-wheelbase Land Rover models. The military wanted the “medium-lift” helicopter, the Westland Wessex, to transport these trucks but its payload was limited to 1,134 kg, or around 2,500 pounds. The Land Rover in question was well over 3,000 pounds so that wasn’t going to work. They devised a plan to make most of the bodywork removable and transportable separately and that did the trick – along with lift improvements for the helicopter which made the weight 1,274 kg, or 2,808 pounds, so it was approved by the military. They were also transported by the Armstrong-Whitworth Argosy plane so they had to be narrowed to 60-inches maximum so two could be placed side-to-side.
This is a 24-volt FFR (fitted for radio) model and there was also a 12-volt version. You can see that it looks like it’s been through a few wars, having been “NATO green all its life”, according to the seller, but it appears to have been painted tan at some point. Or I think that’s paint? They mention that it has a branded title due to being in Tampa, Florida during a hurricane, so that’s a question for the seller. There’s seating for seven inside this rig in a pinch.
The engine should be a Rover 2.25-liter OHV inline-four with 70 horsepower and 120 lb-ft of torque. The seller says it runs and drives well and it sends power through a four-speed manual (with synchromesh on all four gears) and a transfer case to the rear wheels or to all four when needed. If the title checks out and there are no flood issues, this could be a fun project to slowly restore to how it would have looked, it could be a show stopper. Are any of you into military vehicles?
I used to subscribe to several British Land Rover magazines back in the late 80s when I had a Series IIA. With the end of the Cold War, British forces in Germany (BAOR- British Army of the Rhine) sent hundreds of Land Rovers to surplus dealers in England. There were lines of these Lightweights available at really reasonable prices at that time, as well as Defenders, 101 Forward Control gun tractors and construction equipment. I always wanted a 101 Forward Control radio intercept truck (“Vampire”), but after I got a chance to sit in a 101 FC ambulance, it was obvious that it was not a good idea (too small). This vehicle is not that rare.
Now this is a Land Rover. These helped tame Africa. They could chase animals all around the Serengeti all day, drive through a nuclear holocaust at night, and then come back for more. Then you look at the poser Land Rovers built today, you shed a tear and cry, “what happened?’
They could drive through a nuclear holocaust? Hyperbole rules!
As cool as these are in theory and design, I’d still rather have a Mighty Mite.
I found a Mighty Mite in the woods here in Greensboro, next to an abandoned house. Managed to track down the owner, and discussed buying it to restore. He said he wasn’t selling, but would call if he changed his mind. I found an ad for it later for more than I was willing to pay. Probably a good thing I missed out on it… it would’ve been a daunting restoration with the quirks of that little AMC V4. The only other one I’ve seen is the one at the Lane Museum in Nashville.
A neighbor of mine had one of these back in the day. I believe it was the 24V model. It had a hand throttle so you could park it, run up the idle, and use it as a generator. It was pretty cool.
I bought a used Series 2 from the St. Johnsbury VT VW dealer. Fortunately the LR dealer was right down the street to repair the bad rod knock that the VW dealer tried to get past us. Yes, only sync’ed in 3rd and 4th but timing the gearshift movement worked well while double-clutching was more of a challenge.
There were a couple exciting events though: I dropped the left wheels off the pavement and, with no locking diff, needed a little pull, but the gearing let me pull out several friends’ vehicles during mud season. Also, stepping on thigh beam switch became a surprise event when it went through the steel floorboard, and dealing with a 6 volt positive ground needed attention if a jump start was needed. I would put a later 2a in my imaginary Jay Leno-type garage, spare tire on the hood and maybe sneak in a/c.
I had to see my doctor about my thigh beam last week- it was killing me. 😉
Auction update: the seller lowered their asking price to $11,750 and the auction ended with no takers. It was relisted and a best offer was accepted, but now it’s been relisted again with an $11,500 or best offer asking price.