Hello all. I have just bought a series 2a light weight and am trying to find forums that may be able to help as I follow a path of discovery on the vehicle. I was pointed to this forum. Are there many light weight owners who may be able to share their stories and woes and help a new owner? Thanks
Welcome to the Forum. There will be many similarities that folk will help with.
And lots of differences that will get you answers also.
(https://www.series2club.co.uk/2023_new_forum/Smileys/wittsends/hello.gif) & (https://www.series2club.co.uk/2023_new_forum/Smileys/wittsends/welcome.gif) to the Forum.
Quite a few LWTs are in the club and we have a few owners on this forum.
I for one, own a good restored 2A LWT (1969) from the 1st MoD contract batch :gold-cup
(https://www.wittsend.co.uk/wittsend_technical/images/LWT%20in%20the%20snow.jpg)
(Snow from 2022 winter)
(https://www.series2club.co.uk/2023_new_forum/Smileys/wittsends/39FG93.gif)
Thanks both. Mine is a 1969 in need of a good degree of tlc to get it back to something like, but hopefully with the help of guys like you I can find info I may require.
Lovely example Wittsend.
Worth looking on here then join their forum.
https://www.militarylightweight.co.uk
Thanks. I have posted a message on that forum but it doesn't seem that active. May be I wait and ask more specific questions
Sean I am a mod on there but I assume you are using a different name as I can't find you. I've looked through the unanswered posts for the last year but can't see a post that looks like it might be you.
Bear in mind new member's posts are moderated as we get heavily spammed. So sometimes there can be a delay before a post appears. Did your post actually appear as a thread?
A good way to attract attention is to post some photos and yes a specific question rather than just "looking for help". Giving your location & asking if any members nearby because you want to photo or measure something might get a response.
It's not as active as here, but there is a lot of useful knowledge there.
There are quite a few 2A Lightweight owners in this club and on here. I had one which I had to sell as a project last year. The knowledge is here as well and I kept extensive photos of my one in strip down and partial rebuild.
I think you will find that between the Land Rover Series 2 Club and the Military Lightweight forum, you will be well served.
Also, if you haven't already got it, Mark Cook's book on the Half Ton Air Portable is considered the authority on this model and well worth getting.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Half-Ton-Military-Land-Rover/dp/1903706963
Yes agreed well worth getting as the authoritative reference. I supplied some info & photos, in fact I took the photo on the front cover. Strangely the publishers obscured the registration plate, but it was an in-service vehicle I spotted at Bovington.
An adjunct to this is good fun that also covers some Sankey trailers. A batch were bought for Military Lightweight members. Rather expensive to import as a single copy. But you might find a second-hand copy. It is dual language as it was written by an Italian (and me).
https://shop.duccieditore.com/index.php?id_product=24&rewrite=land-rover-half-ton-sankey-trailer&controller=product&id_lang=3
43GF83 01.jpg
If you're looking for research there's also some bits and pieces on https://hmvf.co.uk/, especially by a user named Ruxley, very friendly and helped me a lot.
They don't focus on Land Rovers though and it's best if you know what you're looking for.
Thank you all. I am pleased to be in the right place.
I shall certainly be looking at getting as much literature as possible. It's still nice to thumb a book.
SV1620. I am not sure what you mean by different name. I only registered yesterday.
I hope to get the vehicle to mine next week. Here's poor photo with also a chassis number albeit psrtly obscured.
Quote from: Seanlandy on Mar 29, 2024, 07:07 AMI have posted a message on that forum but it doesn't seem that active. May be I wait and ask more specific questions
Sorry Sean if I misunderstood but from what you said above I assumed you had posted a message and were disappointed that you had no response.
Am I being thick? How do I attach photos. I cant see an option. Not on my phone anyway. Thanks
Make sure your using reply not quick reply to attach photo's.
Should be a box where you can add photos by dragging them there or click the box and select.as in image
I will try on my laptop. Can't even see the reply option.
It's hidden in the box called USER ACTION. Bottom right
On your phone, click on "User Actions" and it should give you a reply option.
Brill. Thank you. Some photos for starters
Welcome. I also have a 1969 Lightweight which I am in the process of rebuilding and I find the Series 2 Club and Forum very helpful. My vehicle is very close to yours 23601121A - 42FG92. If you are interested you should be able to find the service history of your vehicle from the Royal Logistic Corps Archive (https://www.rlcarchive.org/VehicleSrch2),if your chassis number is 23601134A there is a fair chance the registration number is 43FG05.
Richard
Thanks Richard. I don't suppose one is allowed to have the original reg number back on? I believe the vendor has done some homework already, so when I pick it up this week, I shall have more of an idea.
Thanks
That'll be the military reg, not one used once it was released. You can't drive around with it on, but that's what you should look for when tracking down pics of it in service or looking for your B card. It's good for shows too, people like an FG, it's a good sign the vehicle is early.
If the seller hasn't got your b card we can probably help, but you'll need to decipher what the last digit of your chassis number is - 4 or 7 maybe?
There's probably enough 2A lightweight owners on this forum for us to have our own section!
If you can get your B card there will be some interesting stuff on it - below is the one for mine. It spent it's whole life in Northern Ireland being passed on to incoming regiments for their tour.
That's very interesting. Thanks for sharing your B card. Yours seems to have been just down the road from me in Stafford. I am hoping the vendor has already done this homework, but if not I shall be sure to try and track it down.
Does the 4 or 7 tell us some vital information or just another piece in the overall jigsaw. I shall have a look once wire brushed it.
Quote from: Seanlandy on Mar 30, 2024, 11:49 AMDoes the 4 or 7 tell us some vital information or just another piece in the overall jigsaw. I shall have a look once wire brushed it.
I reckon it's a 4 looking at an enlarged picture.
That would have been my guess doing the same. So is that complete to be able to some homework?
Looking at the Royal Logistic Corp website it seems it is easier to get a B card using the army registration (using only the chassis number might not produce a result). Hopefully when you get the truck it'll have the original dataplate on the dash (in front of your right knee when driving a RHD).
Ah right. Thanks
As I mentioned in an earlier post assuming it is 23601134A I would suggest it's original army VRN was 43FG05. After comparing a few chassis numbers to army VRN's they seem to run in sequence. (So starting from my vehicle 23601121A which is 42FG92 your vehicle is 13 vehicles later so adding 13 to 42FG92 gives you 43FG05). I think your build date is likely to be very early January 1969.
That's some great information. Thank you for looking into it for me.
The vendor has sent me this which dhows the chassis number but not much else at the moment.
That's about all mine showed.
Interestingly, it appears as though not all the data about build history was transferred to Gaydon from the factory. I was lucky enough to dig deeper with somebody I knew from my LR days who is sadly no longer on this mortal coil. Through factory records, we were able to extract all the major unit numbers for my December 1968 build Rover 1 and to confirm that the axles and engine were original to the vehicle. Sadly the gearbox had been replaced with a Series 3 box, but thanks to great help on here and through the Club, I was able to source another age appropriate 236 prefix gearbox casing and build it correctly.
With JLR's propensity for ignoring their history these days, I suspect that even those records dug out only a few years ago are probably long gone now.
Thank you for your eloquent reply. You seem to have been both lucky and determined to have yours as original as possible. Mine (hopefully to receive this week) already has 300 tdi engine in and has been messed with, so a steady road of replacement lies ahead, albeit I want to try and keep it on the road whilst doing most jobs, starting with a few chassis holes. It already looks like a mosaic sheet of patches but in most cases, seem quite substantial. Bump starts being the first to sort.
As regards the history. Hopefully the previous owner has done some digging too.
It's interesting that your chassis number is 10 less than the build number (mine is the same). I wonder what causes this discrepency?
Mines on an XJW plate as well (307T), Craddocks bought it from the MOD on 05/09/1978 and must of registered it before selling it on. I did ask if they had any history of the sale but unfortunately not.
Interesting indeed. Let's see what turns up if I get any paperwork.
Well after a few diesel woes. ( stood for a while with old jelly like diesel in filter) I actually managed to drive it home. When I say drive. I mean steering correction from kerb to kerb. Now I know from my other Landies, that steering is an art form but.....
Still. It's home to properly assess. My wife says it's an expensive pile of rust so I need some quick wins. Lol.
So you tacked it home rather than steered it... Well done. Lets see some photos and then at the very least we can provide moral support.
Actually tacking is exactly right, although a sailing dinghy would have been more predictable with no parked cars.
I will send some more photos later.
After a bit of a clean.
I went by the chassis number we thought and got a B Card. Not a lot of information, but it's a start.
Snap! Same contract :cheers
looks like ours sat together at Ashchurch for a while.
My own LWT is 23600805A built on 27th Jan 1969 and dispatched to Ashchurch on 3rd Feb.
(https://www.series2club.co.uk/2023_new_forum/Smileys/wittsends/39FG93.gif)
Ah. Brothers in arms it would seem. They probably drove the same roads and tracks. Quite poetic nesrly 60 years on.
Quote from: Wittsend on Apr 08, 2024, 03:07 PMMy own LWT is 23600805A built on 27th Jan 1969 and dispatched to Ashchurch on 3rd Feb.
Interesting, mine was built on the 27th as well, but dispatched on the 5th (chassis 822).