Series II/III - daily driver or not ?
 

Howdy !

Briefly: I live in North Carolina and commute less than 20 miles daily round trip. I've had an LR3 and an LR4. I've been wanting something for years that I can use to do light off-roading but take to work every day, is mechanically straightforward and has no fancy electronics (seats, locks, GPS, etc.). I've been eyeing Series II/III Land Rovers (and the MB G-Class 1982-1990 before they went upmarket).

Concerns:

--I've driven no more than 2,000 miles of stickshift in my life and I hear the series II LRs aren't synchronized in all gears. Is that hard to learn to drive?

--The car would be parked outside for 10 hours a day and I wonder how waterproof they are (it gets humid here and we have some pretty hefty summer storms).

--I'm not a gearhead, so engine and transmission work would be done by my local auto shop (we have some good ones locally).

Should I scratch this off my list, or start looking in earnest ?

Any practical advice is greatly appreciated. Many thanks !

--Volker

You can swap the SII tranny for a SIII tranny I believe. Then you'd be syncro in all forward gears. I've never driven a SII, so I have know idea how hard it would be to drive. A buddy of mine has a 1965 Mustang, that his mother bought in 1967, and the transmission they put behind they six cylinder were not synchronized for 1st gear. They said you either had to be at a complete stop or rev match to downshift to 1st. They also said they broke a few transmissions over the years by forgetting to do this.

The eventually swapped to a V8 with an automatic. :)

Probably too slow for a daily driver unless you get a Stage One V-8 or an overdrive. Mine are both happy cruising at about 40 mph. They'll go faster but will run hot. The series 2 gear box is stronger but you either need to double clutch or get the speed right to downshift to first and second, but not a big deal. They do leak when it rains unless you redo all of the seals, which is not too difficult to do. I lived in NC before moving to Central America and your summers might be tough. No AC and the series can get warm inside. So if you are not in a hurry and not concerned about being comfortable I say go for it!

Double de-clutching is a fun skill to learn. I actually drove a SIIA 10 miles home with no clutch once, after the master seal failed.

I think your bigger issue will be getting into a Series vehicle for the first time and thinking you're in low range when actually no, that's how it is... ;) I've done plenty of commuting in series vehicles both II and III and love them to bits, but if your benchmark is an LR3 or LR4 I'd strongly suggest finding a friend who'll let you try driving one before you commit.

Cheers
Luke

Sounds like an early 90 or 110 might be a better idea for you with a 5 speed. I've commuted a few times with a series and its certainly not point and go, but can be fun and really enjoyable when the weather is nice, you're not in a hurry, and you don't get stuck in NJ/NYC traffic, but certainly not for everyone.

For reference I am daily driving a 30min commute in a 1972 FJ55 right now, its a 3 speed manual, tops 50mph, and no synchro in 1st.

I have a early 110 with the LT95 4 speed she can do highway speeds but it happier staying at 55mph as a max.

I daily drove it for quite some time. 80 miles round trip in chicago stop and go. I also warmed up the motor, replacing it with a 3.9 with a cam intake and carb.

It is doable but you are going to be hot in the summer