To expand on the above....
From its inception in 1948, Rover made "continuous improvement" changes to their models. a few of these were marked by changes in name, but the name changes do not always coincide with changes in the vehicles. The change from Series 2 to 2a is probably the most obvious of these name changes that did not coincide with major changes. The only changes to the vehicle that actually coincided with the change from 2 to 2a was the that the diesel changed from 2.0 to 2.25l and the chassis numbering system changed.
The major changes that you refer to in your post are ones that came with the change from chassis suffix 'b' to 'c' in 1967. These included the change from positive earth electrics to negative earth, which brought cable operated wipers instead of separate motors, new fuel gauge and sender (not interchangeable), combined ignition/light rotary switch replaced by separate toggle light switch and key start to replace direct pushbutton start. Also changed were the wire spoked steering wheel to solid spoked (with change to steering column and steering box) and a number of other less obvious changes such as the bulkhead changes resulting from the wiper changes.
Of course, with the newest Series 2a almost fifty today, and parts or assemblies interchangeable all the way from Series 2 through to Series 3 (and even from Series 1 to Defender for some parts) it is hard to identify the age of the vehicle except by the chassis number actually stamped on the chassis. Also complicating the situation is the fact that changes in parts often depend on where the vehicle was built. In particular, changes to Australian built vehicles tended to lag compared to UK built vehicles, especially as local content was increased.
John
JDNSW
1986 110 County 3.9 diesel
1970 2a 109 2.25 petrol
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