The One That Got Away
A shot in the dark in search of a particular ’62 Land Rover Series 2a 109" Station Wagon.
I attend a lot of classic Land Rover events across Europe, but I greatly enjoyed seeing all the online activity surrounding the ANARC 75th event at Greek Peak (an old skiing destination of mine when I was a teen). I sincerely wish I could have attended, as it looked to have really been a top-notch event.
Those teenage memories made me think of the '62 Series 2a 109" Station Wagon I owned before I left for college 1982-83. I spotted it at a high school cross-country season's-end party parked in the woods with a sapling growing through the hood. It had been on family adventures across North America, but needed some TLC. I bought it, and showed up a few days later with some friends and a cunning plan to use a grandfather's V8 Plymouth Fury to tow it uphill with a chain, after which then we'd roll it down the downhills; we quickly bent the front cross-member on the Fury, and then had it towed (using a chunk of my restoration budget on day one, with the stuck transfer case spinning the front tires), and then began tinkering with it. We discovered that were *way* over our heads mechanically, but we had a lot of fun, if not street-legal. Before I left for college, I called up Bennett's in Allentown and asked in a squeaky 18-year-old's voice "how much would it cost to have the engine on a 1962 Land Rover Series 2a 109" overhauled?" and the guy literally said "kid, how much you got?". But they recognized the magnificence of said vehicle and drove down and took it off my hands, which paid for some books and living expenses.
As I am now retired, and will spend more time back in the States, I am looking into buying a Land Rover Series or Defender to keep in my folks' barn for use on extended visits home. My search is already underway, but I would love to track down "the one that got away" and buy it back if possible. Again, a '62 Series 2a 109" NADA-spec LHD Station Wagon, most likely purchased in the mid-Atlantic states and definitely sold to Bennett's in Allentown, Pennsylvania in 1983; I have attempted to contact Bennett's, which is still in business, but did not elicit a response.
It was an early part of what turned out to be a lifelong Land Rover obsession. I know it's an extremely long shot after 40 years, but any help locating it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
