1978 Land Rover Military Series 109 Lightweight (not Defender) with 8400 Miles

This is my 1978 Land Rover Santana 109 Militar which I have owned for 5 years as part of my 11 vehicle British vehicle collection. The vehicle has a clear Minnesota title. The reason the Land Rover is now being sold. is I am not using the vehicle enough and the vehicle needs to be used and admired. This vehicle was built in 1978 and used by Land Rover in the UK as an evaluation vehicle. The vehicle was licensed in the UK as CHP 912T and was named by the development team as “Miss Piggy”. The original label with this name is still located below the hood. Interestingly this Land Rover has constant 4 Wheel Drive and Diff locks. Land Rover did not have this until the Land Rover 110 model came along in 1983. One could speculate that this vehicle was therefore used as a comparison vehicle. but this cannot be confirmed. After 3 years as an evaluation vehicle. it was then purchased by the Dunsfold Collection. See http://www. dunsfoldcollection. co. uk/ The Dunsfold collection is the largest collection known of Land Rovers in the world with a collection of 117 vehicles under the stewardship of Phil Bashall. following in his father footsteps that who started the collection (I now own several other Land Rovers that I purchased from Phil). In the next 21 years the vehicle was used rarely. attending open days and Land Rover shows. It is the actual vehicle that was used in James Taylor’s book “The Land Rover 1948-1988” with pages dedicated to this actual vehicle (See Photo) The overall mileage in 2004 was 7500 Miles. In 2004 the vehicle was purchased by a collector in Tennessee. who stored the vehicle and used the Land Rover very sparingly. During that time though for a period of a year it was stored outside. and I have included the photos of some areas of very minor surface rust. which I have never attended. as I believe it is part of the history and patina of the vehicle. In October 2009 I purchased the vehicle with 8000 Miles on the speedometer. Since this the truck has been used occasionally in the summer to drive to the lake. The total mileage now is 8400 Miles (13463 KM). The speedometer is in km. Last year the Land Rover did less than 45 miles. When I purchased the truck. due to the long storage the following jobs were carried out by Expedition Autoworks in Minneapolis who specialize in Land Rovers: Replace original hoses and many gaskets which were perished Replaced all brakes and a new master cylinder were fitted. Steering damper replaced as the rubbers had turned into a horrible sticky mess. The middle muffler was replaced as it had rotted through (I was tempted to leave as it sounded amazing. but my wife stepped in on that one) New Batteries. Full service Also the original tires which have full tread were replaced as they were badly cracked after 30 years on the vehicle. When I purchased the Land Rover it came with a very rotten full canvas that I have replaced with an Exmoor Trim truck cab canvas as we only use the truck in the summer. and also with the rear canvas hoops on. it would not fit in a standard garage. The original canvas and roof hoops are with the vehicle. The underside of the Land Rover has not been touched as it has military spec underseal everywhere. which means it is very thick. I have included photos of the usual rust spots on a Land Rover which are the outriggers and read cross members. which as you can see are solid. Also I have replaced the door tops. as all the rubbers had perished. and they were starting to rust at the bottom. The cab areas has been repainted. interestingly when the dash panel was removed. it was full of sand. There is slight surface rust on the back of the rear seats and original seat covers could do with cleaning or replacing. I have the service manuals and part catalogue on CD which will come with the vehicle This vehicle was designed as a lightweight Dessert Patrol vehicle with a good towing capacity with two fuel tanks (The rear fuel tank was disconnected when I bought it and still is as we never go very far in it). It also comes with two Jerry can holders and 2 x 5 gallon NATO jerry cans for even longer range. They are more for looks and I have never put fuel in them. It was also designed to be lifted by Helicopter or tied down easily on ships hence the hooking points in the middle of the wheel hubs. I have banged my legs on them several times. much to the amusement of my wife. As this is desert vehicle it never came with a heater. which is not a problem for me as we only use it the summer. Cold air is provided by opening the flaps on the firewall. The engine is a 3495cc straight six gas engine. developed by Santana. What is like to drive. it has tremendous torque. and will sit comfortable at 55 MPH. The Dimensions are: Length 180 Inches Width 67 Inches Height 78 Inches