1962? Series II 88" 3 Door Station Wagon
The MonkeyCar is the second LandRover Da
and I ever purchased and the only car bought as a parts-car to be a parts-car.
We found it with our usual "LandRovers Wanted" advertisement, "any year,
any condition." (This was before RangeRovers and Discovery's were
present in the U.S. so there was little ambiguity regarding specifying
a particular age or type.) Our goal was to find a better LandRover
than LittleCar and preferably a perfect late '60's original Series IIA
88" Deluxe Safari Station Wagon. Instead our "shaking the trees"
as we call it turned up the MonkeyCar.
We estimate that the MonkeyCar is an early
'60's Series II 88' Safari Station Wagon that had the crap beat out of
it in the dark 1970's--a time when Roverlovers were far and few between,
and hunters used the cars as off road buggies. The MonkeyCar was
found in a nice, ideal, middle-class area of suburban Santa Rosa.
The owner had sold his LandRover retaining only his parts car and a high
lift jack, both of which we purchased from him. He claimed to have
found the car in a junkyard and brought it home – but now he was under
strict orders from his wife to get “the damn eye sore” out of the yard.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, isn't it?
The MonkeyCar is called the MonkeyCar because
of the funky murals painted down each side. The car is a frightening
red-brown color with cream roof sides and top. But down each side,
in a large 6" tall pinstripe, someone has carefully painted a jungle mural.
Why we call it the MonkeyCar and not the zebracar or palmtreecar is unknown
since all these elements are artistically depicted. The cute little
distinctive monkeys were so attractive that it became the MonkeyCar.
Almost every body panel is whacked and
bondoed in some way underneath the paint job. Wide custom welded
15" rims are attached and the dashboard has been richly appointed with
wood-paneled gages and wall-to-wall carpeted with orange long shag carpet.
The car came with one-piece welded doors. We purchased the car as
an organ donor for LittleCar who's non-original roof did not come with
a tailgate top. MonkeyCar provided a back door and safari roof (a
roof that has been removed but never completely restored).