Land Rover S2 Pickup

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Designed by Maurice Wilks, the charismatically spartan Series I Land Rover was launched at the Amsterdam Motor Show in 1948 and has remained in production ever since, getting ever more grand and fancy as the years rolled by.

Until 1951 it was only offered with an 80-inch wheelbase and a 1.6-litre petrol engine. In 1950, the lights moved from a position behind the grille to protruding through the grille. 1954 saw a big change as the 80-inch was replaced by an 86-inch, and a 107-inch pick up version was also introduced, all models sharing a sturdy box-section ladder-frame steel chassis. A diesel engine option had also become available.

The early vehicles were replaced by the very similar Series II which ran from 1958 to 1961. It came in SWB (88-inch) and LWB (109-inch) chassis forms, and used the well-known 2.25-litre petrol engine, although early SWB models retained the 2-litre petrol engine from the Series I for the first 1500 or so vehicles. This larger petrol engine produced 72hp and was closely related to the 2-litre diesel unit still in use.

This particular S2 88” 2,250cc petrol-engined model was first registered in Hertfordshire in September 1959 and was long ago converted for use as an airfield fire tender, possibly from new. Stored in various hangars for most of its life, it is said to be in very sound and highly original condition throughout, with only surface rust on the chassis and bulkhead, although it has lost all its fire fighting equipment at some point, with the exception of the fire bell and the capstan winch. The tailgate is also not present, having long since been removed to make way for the emergency equipment.

Used in recent times as a runabout at Shobdon Airfield in Herefordshire, it has always been well maintained and is said to run and drive well. The vendor believes that it would not take much to get it roadworthy, the main jobs appearing to be related to the lights and the electrics. It comes with a few spares including the original seats and some extra wheels and has a modern V5C.