It’s said that almost three quarters of all the Land Rovers ever built are still operational, and anyone who’s ever spent time with one will know why – they’re essentially four-wheel drive Meccano sets, and their aluminium bodies don’t rust. Although to be fair, the same can’t be said for their bulkheads or chassis.
The Series 3 Land Rover was the final iteration of the original Series 1 model released in 1948, it was also the most highly evolved of the Series model family, as well as the most mass produced – meaning that spare parts are typically easy to come by.
Land Rover initially offered the Series 3 with a 2.25 litre petrol or diesel engine, or a 2.6 litre petrol unit. These engines were designed to mechanically simple, and engineers took great care to make them as easy to work on as possible – well aware of the fact that many of them would need to be repaired or fixed in deepest darkest Africa, or the jungles of India.
In the Series 3 these engines were all paired with a 4-speed all synchromesh transmission, and they could be ordered with an optional overdrive in some markets to make highway driving a feasible option.
There 1979 Land Rover Series 3 long wheelbase you see here has been through a nut and bolt restoration, and it’s now in condition so immaculate you’d almost be reticent to take it off road and get it muddy. Almost.
The two-door LWB model gives the owner the option to either sleep in the back, or fold down the side seats and take friends along for the adventure. With its original diesel 2.25 litre 4-cylinder engine, 4-speed all-synchromesh transmission, high and low range options, new canvas soft top, and spectacularly clean presentation throughout, this is likely one of the best examples of the LWB Series 3 for sale anywhere in the world at the moment.
If you’d like to enquire after it or read more, you can click here to visit Cool n’ Vintage where you’ll find more images, and some more information.
Articles that Ben has written have been covered on CNN, Popular Mechanics, Smithsonian Magazine, Road & Track Magazine, the official Pinterest blog, the official eBay Motors blog, BuzzFeed, Autoweek Magazine, Wired Magazine, Autoblog, Gear Patrol, Jalopnik, The Verge, and many more.
Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with well over a million monthly readers from around the world and many hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
