This is our new LR Series 2A.

For our projects and tests, in addition to a few operational Land Rover Santanas in Spain, we have one in Hong Kong—a former British Army Gurkha regiment 109" FFR vehicle. However, it’s in disastrous condition after spending 30 years in the jungle, and not road capable.

We wanted one closer to us, in drivable condition, to test more things on it, and the best we could find was in Indonesia, on Java. It’s not as far as Spain, and it’s in the same time zone, so we embarked on the adventure.

We knew it would be in bad shape and that it hadn’t been well-maintained... Truth be told, the paint isn’t bad, the seats aren’t original but they’re not terrible either, and there isn’t too much rust. But aside from that, it’s in a disastrous state when it comes to the gearbox, engine, electrical system, brakes...

In any case, since our goal was to give it an MLU (Mid-Life Upgrade), this was exactly what we were looking for—as an example, it couldn’t be better. Still, before starting to dismantle it and make improvements, we decided to put it to the test. And I must say, my admiration for these old machines has grown. With almost 60 years on its back and poor maintenance, it was able to tackle roads and obstacles that many modern off-road vehicles could never handle.

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