LAND ROVER SANTANA 2500 - What is it NOW?! 

Bueno por fín los he encontrado y se ajustan perfectamente a los asientos. El aspecto del coche cambia completamente. Me han costado 60 € en Aliexpress pero sin duda ha merecido la pena la espera.

Hola puedes poner el link?

This is a Defender grille, so they can be used, but they do not directly bolt on. The headlamps of the Santana are in a slightly different location, so there is quite a bit of sheet metal work needed to relocate the headlamps and make them fit with the Defender grille.

That's why I'm in business. Every buyer can spec the cars out the way they want them, with the colors and detailing that make them happy. Speaking on a purely personal level, I find the original styling of the Santana 2500's uninspired and heavy-handed to say the least, and quite clearly a budget-minded effort to pound a Series III shaped peg into a Defender-shaped hole. The basic shape is great, and the functionality of the vehicle is woefully underrated, but the details are a mishmash of tacked-on things seemingly required to make them look different enough to not enrage Solihull. I don't like the original grille as you don't, which looks like it was designed for a different vehicle. I abhor the front bumper, which is cheaply stamped and grotesquely oversized for the shape. I don't like the rear end treatment, with oddly placed lamps that could have been bought from a generic caravan supply company. So much of the original detailing is heavy-handed and random to my eyes. But I admit that my tastes are not everyone else's tastes, and that's fine. It's what makes the world go around!

@@paulmisencik Santana was on the edge of bankruptcy and getting by with heavy subsidies of the Spanish govn't...so yes, they cut corners on the styling dept as in some other areas. That said, the product was an honest 4x4 hard to beat offroad.

Hi Tony, and thanks for watching. Yes, we need to make new holes for the headlamps and repair the sheet metal around the old locations. It's a ton of work.

Hi Andy! Which parts are you referring to? In most cases, I'm buying parts from places like Paddock Spares in the UK (although Brexit has put the kibosh on that for the time being, with all orders to the EU suspended. Don't get me started...) and in most cases I have the option of OE or aftermarket parts. What I buy depends on the part in question. Things like injectors and brake master cylinders and alternators and things? Almost always OE. Things like bumpers and lamps and filters and shock absorbers? Almost always aftermarket. In most cases, aftermarket parts are FINE. These old Land Rover are, not to put too fine a point on it, rather... "agricultural." It's not like a Porsche 928 or something where tolerances are so fine little machine differences typically makes a massive difference. But it depends. And it also depends on price.

Hi Eric. With the caveat that anything is possible, I am not aware of any kits to convert the Santana 2500 to coils, so any conversion would require fabrication and a lot of work. I am often asked about converting a 2500 to coils, or about swapping in a 300Tdi engine and transmission, things like this. But the inevitable question always starts to arise, which is "instead of busting your hump to convert a Santana 2500 into a Defender, why not sell it, save your money and buy a Defender to begin with?" Generally it's a much better way to go. I have done many 5-doors, yes, and you can see a handful of them on my web site - www.autologymotors.com As for the Anibel and PS-10? I am not a fan. The Iveco motor is good, but the rest of the truck is pretty much an ever more bastardized and Santana-ized 2500, and that means it's still a hellishly dated and agricultural analog of a contemporary Defender, built during a period when Santana was failing as a company. A kind of desperate last gasp to stay relevant. For me personally? The Defender is out there. There is no serious shortage of them. For people who want a more modern, more capable off roader that is easy to service and find parts for? The Defender already exists. The 2500 is something else entirely, and is never going to be a serious analog of the Defender. It's more of an evolved Series III, so if someone wants to convert something to coil springs and fit an engine with more power and so forth? Considering the work and hassle involved I would always rather do that to a Series III. Then at least you have the classic look and charm of the old vehicle. But anything is possible, and I also understand the appeal of a personal and involved "project." So anything can be done.

No. The Defender is a 90” wheelbase and the Santana rides on an evolved version of the Series III 88” chassis. In almost all ways, if what you want is a Defender, buy a Defender.

Thanks for watching! I am not sure I am a good person to ask about the Anibal, because my daily drivers include an early Porsche 928S and a Lancia Beta. I am, to put it charitably, a lover of... "unloved" cars. So to me, the Anibal is an interesting vehicle and has a lot going for it. The Iveco engine is a big upgrade on the 12J Rover diesel, and parts availability (at least for mechanical bits) remains good, as the vehicles are still in active duty with the Spanish military and civil defense forces. But is it a beautifully engineered vehicle? Meh... not really. It is a fairly hacky combination of an aged leaf-spring Land Rover Series III chassis and a more modern, but hardly universal, power plant. Much like the old Cazorla 6-cylinder diesels, the much improved engine was not properly utilized by the rest of the drivetrain or chassis.

In the rear, I just removed the old lights and fit the Defender ones, drilling holes where necessary. The front is more complicated, because the width between the headlamps is different in the Santana 2500 than the Defender. So fitting the Defender front grille and lights is more major surgery. I fit Defender front wings and cut and modify the radiator support to allow the Defender grille and lights to mount correctly.

@@paulmisencik thank you, i asked this cause im gonna restore a 2500, your video was amazing!

Hi Steve, yes, it's stamped onto the outside of the front longitudinal frame rail, on the left or right side depending on which type of Santana you have . It should be visible if you look at the very front part of the frame rail, in front of the front tire, by peeking through the wheel opening.

I do, and they are NOT the same. Thanks so much for watching!

No, the originals are 16x5.5, and the Wolfs are 16x6.5. Also, the original wheels require inner tubes and the Wolfs are tubeless. I do not fit 235/85-16 tires on the original wheels.

There are none, normally, but we can fit lap belts without much issue. Three-pointers, no, because there is nothing solid at the upper part of the roof to mount an anchor to. There are forward facing seats available, but they are expensive and, well... kind of silly. When deployed they block the entire rear door opening, so there is no dignified way to get INTO the forward facing rear seats. Bottom line? Rear seating in a SWB Land Rover are called jump seats for reason. If you need to carry people around with any semblance of comfort and safety, you want a LWB 5-door station wagon. That’s the people hauler.

Great answer, thanks!

@@mfreidberg Thanks for watching!

No lift is necessary with these tires, but clearance is tight at full steering lock, and some very square-shouldered tires will catch just a TINY bit at full lock. I find that Cooper Discoverer STT Pros and Goodyear Wrangler MT/R's are the best, because both have a more rounded shoulder.

Paul Misencik what size tires and rims are on yours? Thanks again great looking truck

@@PedroRodriguez-zp7yv 16x6.5 with 235/85-16

Hola hermano! For 80% of what you need, you can get it at a regular Land Rover parts supplier, but you need to know what to order. It's trickier, but most of the hard parts are, actually, the same as on one Land Rover model or another. But for Santana specific parts, my go-to is rec4x4.com

Hola Juan! No, este color es Alfa Romeo "Bluette".

@@paulmisencik gracias !

235/85-16 Toyo Open Country MT's.

@@paulmisencik they really look good, love the custom cast badge as well!

@@ChristianBorrman Thanks for the kind words, and thanks for watching!

Hi Paul, how about the wheels? Did you paint the originals or are they some other kind?

@@MotoBull 2:16

Gracias Victor! Tanto tú como tu padre sois partes orgullosas de la historia de España.

@@paulmisencik Gracias, me encanta seguir viendo vivo el Santana, y los apasionados, en mí familia tenemos 3, gracias por contestarme y más en español 👍👏

Hola qué precio?

Yes, a significant chunk of people feel this way, and the number has grown over the the last three years or so. Ten years ago, Santana was a bad word in. some circles (mostly in the USA) due to misinformation and a misunderstanding of what the company had built over the years. But now people are more educated and there is more Santana pride in ownership. That makes me happy, because Santanas are great vehicles. But at the end of the day, I build what my customers request. They are the designers, and they get to choose colors, materials, details, wheels, grilles, everything. This customer wanted a Defender look. But it will make you happy to know I just delivered a fully-built-out-but-proudly-Santana-badged-and-detailed-rig for a super nice guy in the USA. It's happening more and more.

I am not a restorer who obsesses about the history of what is, to my mind, a fairly insignificant footnote in Land Rover history. I am a custom vehicle builder, and as such I build and modify vehicles - not just Land Rovers - into what I want them to look and feel like. Maybe in this case it is a Santana 2500. In another case it is in UMM Alter. Or a Citroën Mehari or a Lancia Beta. These are my... canvases, if you will. You can approve of the paint I put on my canvas or you can disapprove of it. That is the nature of any creative endeavor, but it's not something that worries me. In fact, if I am building vehicles that absolutely EVERYONE loves? I start to worry. I like pushing the boundaries of car building, and I like doing things that are unique and different. I like trying new things and breaking new ground. And someone who obsesses about 100% originality, in whatever vehicle I am talking about, is not typically my client. You apparently find modifying vehicles sacrilege. I find a slavish devotion to originality boring. And I champion the right of each of us to chart the path that works for us. Fortunately, there is no shortage of original 2500's for you to buy, so feel free to do yours any way you want YOURS to look and feel like. And I will continue to build mine the way I want mine to look and feel like. That's the kind of variety that makes the world go around. Thanks for watching!

@@paulmisencik Fair point..., You can convert the Santana trucks in to the way you want them to appear: Like a Land Rover just as long as your customers are able to make up their mind based on the facts you provide them with about the conversion, then this can never be a problem. ;-)

@@dutchyjhome My cars are built to order. Every one of my clients chooses the car they want, the colors they want, the interior materials they want, the wheels and tires they want, the detailing they want, and I build it for them.

@@dutchyjhomeNot a fair point but a financial gain creation or Frankenstein . To be fair a rip off to begin with now gender confused