This little gem came along whilst I working on 114-194, I snapped it up very quickly as they are super rare, only 45 S2A gunbuggies/sportscars were ever made, so I had to have it, it was listed on ebay and it went begging, move along 11 years and it would have been a fight to get it, anyway it has been in my care since, I bought it from the chap who purchased it whilst still serving with the Aust/Army, he used it as his personal transport until he retired.
It didn't need a full restoration as I didn't want to destroy it's 'patina', it needed some remedial work to get it registered
the brakes were ordinary so I had them sleeved in stainless steel.
These little machines served with troops in Sth Vietnam as convoy escorts, here is an image of my mate Wayne R standing in the back of a Series 2
gunbuggy fitted with a GPMG M60, at the gate in Nui Dat Sth Vietnam circa 1968, note the International trucks in the background, these were designed by the ADE (army defense establishment)our answer to the WW2 'Blitz', a very desirable vehicle, sadly now I'm too old to even contemplate one.
note the front wings as the S2A is different in shape, the 106mm RCL was removed from the vehicles whilst O/seas and deployed as perimeter defence
weapon, very effective when firing anti-personnel rounds
This is what they looked like when being deployed as anti tank weapon
they carried 5 HEAT rounds 1 anti-personnel round and a heap of kit, here is an image of 2 of the 4 empty 106 shell cases that I own
sadly in this country (NSW in particular) I can't have a de-activated weapon or anything that looks like a weapon without the express permission of the Minister of Police what utter bullshit that is, the Gov't has no idea, just for interest sake, the primer in the 106 shell case is the size of a 20 gauge shotgun
cartridge, the propellant is gun cotton, yeah sure you can get it at any corner shop LOL, raant over.
Here is a look around the vehicle
not a great of change from the usual dash, but fire ext mounted top left dash, medical kit to the right of S/wheel (held in by the strap visible, no kit insitu)
barrel clamp between small aero screens, start button choke etc have been moved as well,
storage space for 4 day ration packs on the bulkhead, and provision for spare ammunition in lhs footwell space
radio bracket for a PRC 10 can be seen as well, I have a PRC 10 radio, but no gear is left on the vehicle, it is stored away from thieves.
The front wings were cut away even more than the usual S2A cutwings were, this was to eliminate damage caused by the air pressure
blast from the muzzle
the rear was also modified to accommodate the 6 rounds that it carried along with 'gardening tools' Pick/shovel/axe as
well as other gear that had to be stowed in the back
and another view, other than not having a 106, the only item missing from the vehicle is a ramp that allows the wheel on the106 to travel up
and be locked into place between the front seats, you can also see the cover plate for the barrel brush
the right side rear
the front area was crammed with gear, I only have a tow rope in place, the small tube is the mount for the muzzle of the passenger's
SLR 7.62mm L1A1 rifle, the driver had a 9mm SMG and it mounted vertically next to his right shoulder
the vehicle during it's early development utilised a crew of 4, but that changed at some point and it was crewed with 3, anyway
this is what they sat on with a small cushion, very rudimentary at the least
The only other issues that I have had with it in the 12 years or so that I have owned it, I have replaced the clutch M/cyl & slave cylinders
the Solex got a complete overhaul about 2 years ago
you get an awful lot of funny looks when out n about in it, as not many people would have seen one, my thoughts are if you could drive to
Monte Carlo like Steve P and his mates did in their S1's mixing it with all the fancy cars, but the amount of people who took pix of their Land Rovers
LOL, this out at Broke, not Monte Carlo
and along a quiet bush track deep in the 'Pokolbin State Forest NSW'
here is a short utube clip, my son Kyle driving just to let you all have a run in him
anyway cheers Dennis