WHAT IS A LAND ROVER SANTANA? How's it different from any other Land Rover, and should you buy one? 

Good morning. First, sorry for my english. My father (now he is dead) works about 40 years in the Santana Factory, in the axes production. The city vere all the Land Rover Santana, all the Santana Anibal, Suzuky Samurais and Suzuky Vitara is called Linares. I live in the city and there is an exworker from Santana Factory Asociation. Today the Factory exits and is possible came to see. For fanatics of the car, there too many old photos and videos and comercials in the Asotiation. I can help fanatics, and you must know that there are original parts still y this city, were many Santana Anibal still driving here. Excuse my english, please. I am pride of my father work and the car named Santana. Thanks you for your time.

Best complete knowledge based explanation I have seen.

You should also discuss the 4th era of the Santana. When Santana revived the Defender look alike in 2002, and called it the Santana PS-10 Anibal, still an evolution of the Santana 2500. Also add to that the Iveco Massif, which is a further evolution of the Santana PS-10 Anibal. Maybe this is for another video to give you an idea.

The six people who gave this video a thumbs down own Freelanders. 😏

VERY HELPFUL. Explains why the rear tub of a Santana fit perfectly on my ex-swiss army 2a with no modifications...Thanks for the insight!

Hi Paul, as I live in Argentina, i ve owned 5 Land Rover Santanas Series III (1978 to 1980 models). I ve completely rebuit 2 of them using british parts (OEM, Britpart, All Makes) and the vehicles are identical. There are spanish vehicles with Lucas electric parts, and spanish vehicles with FEMSA electric parts. Engine, Gearboxes, differentials, brakes, etc are identical. Since 1983 they (spain) start to build "better" vehicles with original power steering, front disk brakes, parabolics springs, and diesels TURBO engines. Santana also built a bigger overdrive called "Toro" more rugged version (Toro is spanish word for Bull).

Great video with accurate information! Learned a lot. Thank you.

Great explanatory video, well worth the watch. Thank you.😊

Really insightful and informative. Thanks!

Thanks for a very good insight into the history of the Santana.

Thanks Paul for a well documented review.

Wow great job ! very informative- Was anticipating a pop quiz near the end.

Excellent video. Thank you for clarifying. Very educational

Thanks Paul, really interesting and informative!

Great explanation! Thanks a lot

Thank you Sir for taking the time to make this video and share us your beautiful work. God bless.

Damn good info, thanks so much for sharing your knowledge!

Very well explained. Thanx!

Excellent video. I'm greatly impressed. You certainly know your Land Rovers! Although your business is in Spain, I suspect you are an American. I worked for several Land Rover dealerships in Salt Lake City and Missoula, Montana starting in 1965 and ending in 1970 (when I went into the Navy). From 1974 to 1986, I owned a business called McKane's Rover Imports of San Diego, California. With few exceptions (such as shock absorber bushings and Auto Press repair manuals), we sold only genuine Land Rover parts. Inasmuch as I knew nothing about the Santana Land Rovers other than the fact they were built in Spain, I never thought much of them. To be honest with you, I was prejudiced against them. Just within the past several weeks I was reading one of James Taylor's books. His book filled me in more than I had previously known about Santana Land Rovers. Now, in less than twenty minutes, you've greatly increased my knowledge of what Santana Land Rovers were all about, so thank you very much! I've been driving a Jeep JK Wrangler Rubicon Unlimited since 2012. At seventy-two years of age, I still have a strong love for Land Rover's (read the original Series vehicles and also the later Defender models). Some day, I will probably buy another Land Rover. I'll have to bring it into this country to make certain I get just the Land Rover I want. I have a hunch that your business, Autology, may well export Land Rovers to North America??? If so, one of these days I'll have to talk with you. (The above having been said, in the late 1970's, I noticed a near constant erosion of assembly quality with numerous Land Rover parts. For instance, p/n 272922, the double lockers that held the ten bolts between the differential "casing" and the ring gear itself, were often not properly installed at the Solihull factory. These bolts would loosen inside of their lockers, and back out a bit. At some point after that, the bolts would break. Once in awhile a bolt would get shot through the axle casing. I've seen probably close to 100 cases of diff failure such as I write about here. I've also seen timing chain tensioners loosen up on a number of 1969 through 1971 Series IIA Solihull built vehicles. And rear axle shafts, 591378 & 591379. These factory shafts seemed to get worse and worse as time progressed. The Smith's speedometers were also highly prone to failure. Having watched your video very carefully, I'll have to see if I can get in touch with you via the Internet. I now live in Hawaii on the Island of Molokai. I will get in contact with you one way or another. Living on a small island, the "new Defender" does not interest me at all. If I still lived in Montana or Utah, perhaps I'd have more interest in it, but I've no interest in the "new Defender" here in Hawaii. Thank you very much for this excellent video and for your interest in Land Rovers! Andy McKane, PO Box 166, Maunaloa, Hawaii 96770.

Thanks for the information.

Well that cleared things up. Cheers appreciated

Thank you - many questions answered!

So glad I found this channel.

Thanks mate. Great vid !

A lot infos I did not know about. Very good review about santana

Nice work- this is a good video 😊

Hi from the uk, for year I didn't think much about Land Rover Santana I always thought the were copies of Land Rover mind you I've never seen the old series Santana I've only seen the newer one but watching your video you've changed my mind and now I know more about them I've started to like them more, thank you I'll keep my eye on one from now on 😁👍

Nice information. Thanks :)

Today I have learnt something new! - Thanks :)

Nice video, I agree with you 90%. Just add that the quality of the chassis of a Santana was generally better than those manufactured in Solihull, if you dedicate yourself to the restoration of both you will have seen that it is true. Also here it was possible that it was galvanized (optional). Regards from Linares.

A great video, that's a surprise wih what's on RU-vid nowadays!

Thanks for the explanation

Thank you very much, I had no idea!

thanks, many thanks from Spain!!!!

I have a land rover santana 109 1979 from spain nice vehicle very strong and beautyfull 4x4 made in linares jaen spain thanks for the video

Great video, provided the exact information I was looking for.

Thank-you for this, it was a very interesting video.

Is the first time I saw this channel, I found this video very accurate, I think you do a wonderful job, explaining everything important about Santana and it´s relationship with LR. If you allow me is interesting, even when is not the subject of this video, that there is a 4th period of Santana "Land-Roverized" vehicles: is the PS-10 project, know also as Santana Anibal in it´s military version (it is supposed than the name came from Anibal Barca the north-african general that lead a rebellion against the Roman Empire, and was married with an Spanish girl, native of Linares region, the same place where Santana company was establish... a bit of history rumble, sorry). Anyway, the thing is that Santana (after break the deal with LR) became controlled by Suzuki, and under that influence, they decide to develop an utterly re-version (a re-born, in fact) of the 2500, but with mayor exterior changes (basically the front), and new power plant (IVECO engine). Was launch in 2003, and bult until 2006 (wasn´t very successful, even among military, although it was nominated in 2005 as "Best 4x4 of the year" by British 4x4 Magazine...). But (in some way like we seems to be happening now between the Defender and Grenadier), there was a new re-born yet to come: IVECO take the project and re-launch it as IVECO "Massif", and from 2006 to 2011 was sold under IVECO brand, but was produced in Spain, at Santana Factory. Cheers!

very interesting report. Cheers from Barcelona

I have a 1986 109 LWB I brought home from Colombia. Love my truck and you are totally right Sir. Best complete knowledge of these vehicles. Thank you.

Good info!

This is really good, I have owned 4 series lll's whilst in the UK. Now I live in Asturias and have seen a few Santana's and have wondered about any differences.

If you see a Santana out in the wild somewhere it just looks a little 'different' and you can't quite put your finger on it. Great video explaining why. Love the 'ribbed' roof that we also had on our first Land Rover 90 (1985).

Good video. Thank you!

Best explanation, 6 Land Rover's until today and a 77 RRC CKD Venezuela, 2 Santana's as good and reliable as British Land Rover's, my first car at 17 years old was a 1955 SWB Series I, currently I'm restoring a 1978 SWB Santana.

Very interesting thank you. I live inland Andalucia where there is a mix of Satana and LR. They are all in very good condition and still valued by their owners. The Santana is noticeably quieter and appear more powerful with less revving. Great upload appreciated:)

I'm a Land Rover enthusiast. Thanks for the very informative video!

Dear Paul, Many thaks for yr informative video. I live in NL and a few weeks ago I saw a Santana 1990 2500D for sale at a farm and just recenty my wife surprised me by having bought it for me. What a gift! The car is a real "donkey" and she huffs and puffs like a champ. According to the seller the car originaly came from Malaga where she worked in the harbour for a boating company. I picture moving and towing boats around. But thats probably my romantic view. The truth might be far off. In any case, she´s in good shape for a 30+ years beast. But plenty to be done. I am not an experienced car mechaninc but the build of the car makes it ideal for starters I recon. If it´s build to be able to fix it in the bush or next to the road with a hammer and spanner, then I should be able to do it as well. Your informative videos certainly helps! Thanks again. Would you know if there are any illustrated part books available (those books with blown up drawings of parts). I would realy like to get hold of those but can´t find any on the interweb. Once again many thanks and if you wish I could sent you a picture of the donkey I´m so proud of.

Excellent explanation.

Excellent video! I just bought a 1988 2500 and feel much more informed having watched this. Very appreciated!

Great video, presentation style and contentam based in Aragon, Spain. Many Santanas still round here. Filling the gap between tractors and cars. No corrosion issues here, even with Land Rovers and Range Rover Classics! The Santana costs a lot less than anything with a Land Rover badge, and more fit for purpose, imho.For some reason, Spaniards assume Santana are inferior to LR, but clearly not cut and dried. For my money, a locally owned Range Rover Classic TDi hots the spot!

For more information, they were built in Linares, a village in Jaén, Andalusia. Nowadays you can see plenty of these cars in every single village of Jaén and their prize, still, is not cheap at all. You cannot buy a good Santana for less than 3000 euros and that would be a great prize. They never break, cheap to fix and unforgettable if you ever drive one of these. Great video!

Thumbs up for doing such a good job of clarifying this confusing business! I had hoped that you might mention the differences between the Series "Lightweight" and the Santana "Lijera".There used to be quite a few British Lightweights, which had been stationed in Gibraltar, chugging around in Andalucia. I remember attending a 4x4 meet in one of these in 1994, and meeting a chap in a Lijera. We parked them side by side and clambered all over them to note the similarities and differences - perhaps yoyu might do a video on the Lijera, if you ever get one in your shop!

Well put.

Hello Paul. until today 7 Land Rovers in my life, yesterday I bought my second Santana, several years abandoned and came home driving it, my first car at 17 years old still without a driver's license Land Rover Series I 1954, then a Series III 1977, Series IIa 1964, Series III 1980, Santana 1980, Range Rover 1977 CKD in Venezuela, the best I have personally are the Series I, and the two Santana's, very reliable car.

Really helpful

I don't know what one of those is but I know in the 1980's there was the LT85 "Santana" main gearbox, very heavy compared to say an LT77, were fitted to the LWB variants IIRC.

Very good

miss my 2500.. good times it was my first car it held up my crazy teen years like a champ later sold it for a sportscar regreted it my whole life.. i wonder where they all have gone in the mid 2010 they dissapeared from the roads seems they are exporting them to usa... hope mine is in good hands.. now i got an old 70 serias landcruiser becouse i cant find afordable santanas anymore but loving it so much

I wasn't even aware of these :)

Such a pity that LR did not use the 3.3 diesel that was developed by Santana from the 2.25 diesel. Regards from South Africa.

Amazing knowledge and explanation. I feel santana it's beautiful vehicle like it's.

Minute 6:45 absolutely right 1978 Santana is better than my 1977 Series III.

very good explanation about Land Rover Santana. Do you know other countries that have licensed to produce Land Rover?

Paul, this is by far the most informative detailed information on the topic. I found you for being in the market and finding a 1988 Santana, however, i'm not sure how to distinguish if it's a 2500 model? That information is not forthcoming in the sale description although it indicates by your breakdown of differences particularly in the fenders being a sharp drop and rounded not flared out like Defender. It is a 2.5 Liter 4 cylinder diesel engine and LT77 (not sure what that is) manual transmission that i'm considering. Oddly enough, the 1978 Santana series III you have posted is cheaper than the 1988 i'm looking at now. I wouldn't want to assume even this year base model is a 2500, can you assist with how to distinguish between just a 1988 Santana LR base model if there is such thing to a 2500 model? greatly appreciated and becoming a follower of your site. thank you for your clear presentation! all the best from an active off road LR fanatic! Mary

Poco fabricó Santana en ckd. Para los primeros 1500 vehículos las leyes españolas ya exigían un 75% de nacionalización de componentes, y un 95% a partir de los 2500 vehículos fabricados. De 1983 a 1987 Santana fabricó la serie IIIa (exclusiva de Santana), todavía bajo la marca land Rover, y motores 2.25 4 cilindros y 3.42 6 cilindros. Fue a partir de 1987 hasta 1992 aproximadamente cuando fabricó los 2500/2.5 y 3500/3.5

What are your thoughts on the 6-cylinder diesel? I'm thinking of buying one and shipping it to the UK as a project to turn it into a camper (probably send it to Dormobile for a roof conversion) for my expeditions. Also, many countries don't allow right-hand drive vehicles in, which is a pain as the UK is a right-hand drive country, so the fact they're all left-hand drive is quite appealing.

Muy interesante!

Thank you for the history. Do you have similar history of the Santana through a more current period? I own a 2006 PS10 Anabel, purchased in Costa Rica. I currently have only 94k kilometers and am interested in selling it and would like to have the background story.

SUPER informative video! It's been my mother's dream to have an old Series or Defender-based safari type truck & I'm trying to make it happen for her. I've currently got my eye on an '88 Santana 2500 wagon and this really helped me with what to expect if I go thru with it. The forums online are basically just hate-infused venom that serves no purpose but to feed the collective egos of a bunch of over-compensating d-bags! The drivetrain on the truck I'm considering runs great, it's a 2.5 diesel but NA (sloooow), no frame rust & the body is solid but somewhat beat-up looking, especially around the front fenders (wings in LR speak lol). He want's 15K for it. Thoughts anyone? I'm relatively new to values in the LR world & could use some solid advice.

Hi thank for the informative video. Can you comment as to how the 4 door santana (post 1983) is different to a defender 110 concerning the exterior look and interchangeability of body panels? Thanks

Thank you, very clear exposition.

Hello Paul, I just bought Land Rover Santana after watching your video several times, Your presentation was awesome, I would love to share pictures Please let me know. Thanks Bud

This is very helpful. I'm currently looking at a 1979 Land Rover Santana Series 3. Any warnings/considerations? should I look away.

@Paul Misencik Excellent information. Thanks. Is it possible to add air conditioning to a Series 3 or a Santana (it's hot in south Florida)?

Bonjour et merci pour ces explications concernant l'histoire de la collaboration entre Santana et British Leyland. Qu'en est il de celle entre Santana et Iveco, qui construit le Massif à la suite, lorsque Santana a arrêté sa production ?

And what are the starting prices of the Defender 110 or a 130?? Would these be considered as "new" with your companies VIN plate or art you using existing VIN plates from LR or Santanna?

Ok, where is the real Ricky Gervais and what have you done with his body?

Hi Paul, thanks for Sharing your Knowledge. Very helpfull for those of us driving a Santana Land Rover. What do you think will be a good option if you have to renew the starter on a 1982 109 6cyl Diesel engine? Thanks Dean

I’d never heard of Sant Ana or Land Rover Santana before catching this video. Very interesting and informative It makes me wish that they’d got the production line from Land Rover UK when they stopped mainstream production of the Old Defender in 2016 It would be great to see it being built under licence or independently in Spain for folk who don’t need or can’t afford the New 2020 Defender 🇪🇸🇬🇧 Let’s hope this can happen one day 🙏🏻

Thank you. This was very informative. I have a Santana series 3 88 1976 for 5 years. I cannot find any information on breaks. I have disc brakes on the front and drums on the rear. I am not sure where to start looking for parts. I am sure the drums are stock series 3, but the discs are the question. Do you have any insight as to what they are? Can I retro fit drums? I am at a loss. Thank you for any comments in advance.

How come you don’t have thousands of subscribers?!?

I have a Santana 2005 ps10 its a series landrover you say what diesel fuel tank do i need? i have a leak.

Useful and interesting knowledge about the Land Rover Santana. I had a question on my mind about this topic for some time: Why is the back door top shape of the Santana Series different to the British Land Rovers and its hinges too? Was it redesigned for some reason?

Great video, thank you! I just bought a 109 a few days ago on the island of La Palma (Canarias). It's quite a road block going up the steep mountain roads with its 62 hp Diesel, but what's really killing me is the steering. Is there a reasonably economical (and street-legal) way of converting it to power steering?

Hi. I purchased a Santana 1977 from Poland to San Diego CA. Have been having issues with preheater and would like to buy the manual for the vehicle and start working on it. Thank you

What freewheeling hubs might fit a 1983 Santana 2500 Especial?

hi paul, interesting that you picked up this subject. as a santana owner i also "investigated" a bit of the history of our santanas and i must say you got some points of the history completly wrong. for example between solihull and linares have been long negotiation before production how it would be posible to produce the car in spain. it was the time of franco and strictly prohibeted to import anything. all had to be produced in spain. so actualy about 90% of the car was produced in spain, but there you are right - under land rover licensed. that fitted solihull anyway because they were overwhelmed with their never expected success of the car. --- the success of santa ana was, that they treated the cars for bananas, coffee, rice whatever spain needed and couldnt or dificult buy because missing currency. it was post war times and the whole world was broke. and that came to the goodwill of franco - so he made the exception of the import of keyparts. ... and so on, and so on ... very interesting, you should investigate a bit more. always good to have something to tell to buyers. anyway, santana is a great car, spare parts fits, happy days. if there are better than original land rovers? well they all got there "souls". much more important is how the owner will treat and mantain the car. cheers

Dear Paul First of all thank you very much for this very informative and interesting video. It has cleared many questions for me towards Santana. I know very little about any off road trucks so I hope I dont sound too stupid. Right now I am looking forward to get myself a Santana Ps-10 produced in 2006. Since you haven't mentioned much about this specific model of the Santana's production line, I would love to hear a short opinion of yourself since you seem to have a lot of knowledge about these trucks. Some main questions which concern me, since I am planing to spend most of my savings for this car is the reliability of this model. I wont be able to spend too much money on reperations, since I am still a student and dont have any earnings, but the Ps-10 which I am looking foward to buy seems to be in very good shape and has only 100000km on it (which I thinks isn't too much?) I hope my english was understandable since I am from Switzerland. kind regards Pius

I'm a Toyota Tool but I'd have a 2500 any day... thanks for the info . Can they be modded to right hand drive ? (AUS)

Do you have a way to get information about the history of a Santana via the VIN? I cannot find much about Santana in the US. My truck is a Series 3 109 station wagon.

Heck, I'll take one 😆👍👍👍

Hi Paul,i have a santana 1979 series III short wheel base. Can I put and ac on this car,will i loose alot of power and if I can do you know of an ac that I can install

Always been a fan of the Santana as i found them far more reliable than a lot of the english one's I've owned. My question is with regard to converting the 2500 to coil springs and other such accessories is how do you manage to pass it through the Spanish ITV because with my own experience if nothing is original it's a right royal pain, even had to change tyres once because they weren't company spech.

I know almost nothing about Land Rover anything, but I recently purchased a 1974 Land Rover Santana in Colombia. When looking for parts, should I be looking for Land Rover series III?

In fact - dammit Ill subscribe to that!

This gentleman is highly intelligent and American

Thank you for the information. I have a 1983 Santana SWB. It was sold to me as a S3. It has a one piece screen and no vents. I love it but for various reasons I would like to part exchange it for a LWB. The dealer is saying it is not a S3 . How do I confirm it is or is not. Vehicle plate is no help. Thank you

Back in the early 90's I had a series 2 landrover repowered with a 5 cylinder engine from a VW Santana. Smooth, quiet, powerful and reliable ! ... So technically I owned a Landrover Santana ? 🤔 👍

I have a Santana 2500.Pretty much all the axle seals and gaskets need replacement. Can you offer any advice on what part numbers to buy?