I had the ’59 109 pickup at the British Invasion in Stowe, VT last weekend and was asked this question………..what makes it a Series 2? The following is a quick list & photos of Series 2 features, certainly not comprehensive, but hopefully it helps answer the question of what makes it a 2, and may help folks looking to buy or maybe even identify their own truck.
We’ll start with some exterior give aways, the first being the flat front apron panel vs the curved of the later 2A’s and 3’s.
On the three door / pickup models the two short bed strips in between the rear tool boxes and the spare tire well or cover.
A closer view of the strips.
Trucks equipped with a tailgate had three bolt hinge plates instead of the S2A & 3 two bolt versions.
One piece doors with built in drains………I’m unsure if these made it all the way to the end of S2 production………..but I do know they’re rare as hens teeth!
Close-up of the drains and the decorative galvanized strip.
Inside look at the door frame and continuous alloy skin.
Steering arms located on top of the swivel housings.
Marque plate is labeled Birmingham…………not Solihull.
Moving inside the truck the most noticeable give aways are the rotary knob vent openers.
Good old banjo steering wheel………these made it into Series 2A production for quite a few years.
Horn button is on a stalk mounted to the steering column.
Ok, this is a Series 2 oil bath blinker switch on a home made steering column mount that I like, so it’s staying. I added the R/L labels just for my own lack of memory (sucks getting old). This switch is usually mounted to the left of the steering column on a dash plate about the same size as your dual gauge plate.
Steering check tubes are bolted instead of spot welded to the bottoms of the parcel trays.
Two unique features of a S2 seat box are one, it’s all aluminum, and two, the tool box tray lid is hinged instead of a slide in arrangement.
Hope this helps with the what makes it a 2 question, and maybe give those folks that may be looking for a Series 2 some parts and features to look for.
Man, found this site looking for extra horn button for my series II I’m in the process of rebuilding. Great photos! Looking for some odd parts and wasn’t sure if you’d have some leads… looking for some steering check parts, the “horn on a stalk” button, and extra dash plates ( since the wooden ones I made back on Sanibel in the 80s are looking kinda outta place. I’m trying not to bring the vehicle up to too nice of a spec, as I’d like ppl to be able to enjoy it. If you’re interested, I’ll send you the photos of what the owner before me did in the 70s; flip down upper windows…. can you say “rusty”?
Hi Bill, horn button can be found here, Rogers Motors (http://jollyrogersmotors.com/store/p/654-Lucas-SPB160-Horn-Push-Land-Rover-MGA-New.html), dash plates from Bits4Landys (https://www.bits4landys.co.uk/series/dash/switch-panels.htm), not sure what you’re looking for as far as steering check parts but I would recommend Ike Goss/Pangolin 4×4 (https://pangolin4x4.com/home) or Rovers North (https://www.roversnorth.com/Land-Rover-Parts/10).
Good luck with the project.