1963 Land Rover Series IIA Pick-Up

Believed to have been used by the Ford dealership in Reading as a recovery truck from new, this incredibly cool 109” pickup has been in the care of its owner since 1994.

Being offered with no reserve on behalf of a classic car collector’s estate, the Harvey Frost Pick-up Crane in the load space makes this genuine working vehicle suitable for trackside recoveries, bringing home more classic cars for your collection, or even recreating your very own Highway Thru’ Hell moments when the snow arrives.

Sure to be the coolest vehicle at your local classic meet, this will be a cost-effective way of out-shining all those resto-modded Defenders none of us can afford anymore…

Heavily patinated and a bit rough around the edges, the SIIa might not be in line for any concours awards but it is exactly what you want to see ambling out of a storm when you’ve stuffed your car into a snow-filled ditch.

So, don’t judge it by normal standards. Ask yourself instead: “will it keep me dry and warm?” To which the answer is yes and that’s all that matters when you boil it down, right?

Everything else is hard-won battle scars, wounds from a life lived helping others. It’s battle-field injuries in metal and its patina deserves your salute not your condemnation.

And yet, when you look more closely, it’s actually not too bad at all. If you can look past the cracking paint and dents, you’ll see a square front bumper and straight panels and a better shutlines than you have every right to hope for.

Good numberplates too, and bright and clear rear lights. Two hazard lights on a pair of roof bars, hefty mirrors on both front wings and a ‘Towing’ plate on the front.

The fabric roof isn’t too bad either, and nor are the wheels, which are shod with 7.50-16 Security tyres within whose tread you could lose a fair-sized marmot.

We will never get tired of telling you that experience shows that matching high-quality tyres are an infallible sign of a caring and mechanically sympathetic owner who is prepared to spend the appropriate amount in maintaining their car properly. Their presence does not, of course, preclude the need for a thorough inspection - something the vendor would welcome, by the way – but it does perhaps give you a shortcut into their attitude towards maintenance.

The paint colour might vary a little from panel to panel and the headlamps might be full of algae but a quick machine polish would help the former while a few pounds spent on replacements would sort the latter. The roof could also do with washing.

The interior is grubby, messy and painted in a myriad of colours. It’s stark and unforgiving and absolutely bloomin’ wonderful and we wouldn’t change a thing.

The seats are the flat slab design Land Rover fitted sixty years ago. They’re as tough as old boots and just as worn but they’ll probably outlast us all. There’s room for three in there too, as long as the person in the middle can dodge the plethora of proper, old school levers that sprout from the floor.

The antithesis of the modern push-button, touchscreen culture that’s being foisted on us by cost-conscious manufacturers, they need muscling into position – but if they develop a fault, WD40 and grease will sort it out; no more relying on a 12-year-old with a laptop at £80 an hour to keep you on the road.

It’s got good rubber mats on the floor, and red oxide paint on the doors to guard against rust plus a solar charging panel to, presumably, deliver a trickle charge to the battery.

Despite first impressions, a deeper delve gives the reassurance it’s been well looked after over the years.

The petrol engine fires into life effortlessly but then these things would survive a direct nuclear strike and still come out running sweetly. The engine bay might be scruffy but it’s fundamentally sound.

The load space and rear end feature more ways to tow a stricken vehicle than we can count. If you’re in the business you’ll recognize it all and if you’re not then this would be a good way to start. That and binge-watching a few series of Heavy Rescue.

There are cones in there and a dolly. More chains and shackles, too. Two spare wheels plus other stuff, stuff that’s heavy and dirty and, in inexperienced hands, as dangerous as hell.

Does the crane work? It all looks well-maintained to our inexperienced eyes but the reality is we have no idea and are too lily-livered to find out.

If you want to come and inspect it all then please feel free to make an appointment; just don’t expect any help from us because we don’t want to risk chipping a nail or spilling our soya milk latte…

We did send our tame photographer underneath to take some photos. This wasn’t as much of a hardship as you might think because he’s not a big fella and the Landy’s ground clearance is such that we thought we might have to hand the poor chap a step ladder at one point. He did a good job and, as you can see for yourselves.

As you can see from the paperwork, it’s been well fettled over the years, with invoices dated as recently as 2015.

The Land Rover doesn’t have a current MoT certificate, and while it is exempt by virtue of its age, we would strongly encourage the new owner to have it MoT’d at the earliest opportunity.

That said, it was MoT’d until 2018 and picked up far fewer advisories than we’d expect, so it’s clear someone loved it. We’d advise you take a look for yourself online because what’s there tells a nice story.

It also comes with more keys than your average jailer carries.

Being offered with no reserve, this charming old Land Rover deserves an owner who’s going to continue to pamper and treasure it – and by “pamper and treasure” we actually mean “slather in grease and work like a rented mule”.

It’s too nice, and too original, to have anything cosmetic done to it; conservation and curation is the name of the game here, not refurbishment and restoration.

If that sounds like you then why not pop in a cheeky bid and see what happens? After all, there are many, many worse things to have to explain to your other half than the fact you’ve stepped in to help preserve a bit of Britain’s industrial heritage, aren’t there?

Viewing is strongly encouraged, and this lot is located at Bonhams|Cars Online HQ. Viewings are strictly by appointment. To make a booking, please use the Contact Seller button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, and read our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.