Rover P5b

Author
Discussion

na

7,898 posts

233 months

Monday 21st January 2013
quotequote all
singlecoil said:
it seems weird to see all the silver on black number plates on cars that would mostly have had reflective plates when they fist came out.
that's what I keep saying especially if they used at night (not that many P5s will be) as even on a big car like this the rear lights are very small

P5Nij

675 posts

171 months

Monday 21st January 2013
quotequote all
jamesatcandsc said:
This was mine. Sold six years ago and regretted pretty much every day since (even though it was a bit of a snotter, it was the best that I could afford).
Have desperately wanted another ever since and this thread really isn't helping at all. Thanks a lot.

That is effin' gorgeous James... apologies in advance if it hurts too much to even contemplate looking forlornly at pics of your dearly departed Coupe, but I would love to see some more photos of it!

na - I see your point about the reflective plates being better for night use, but to me they can sometimes look a bit tacky, almost like an afterthought on a car as classy as a P5B, particularly so when the large rear yellow plates clash with certain body colours. Each to their own, mind..!


Edited by P5Nij on Monday 21st January 16:32


Edited by P5Nij on Monday 21st January 16:34

na

7,898 posts

233 months

Monday 21st January 2013
quotequote all
P5Nij said:
na - I see your point about the reflective plates being better for night use, but to me they can sometimes look a bit tacky, almost like an afterthought on a car as classy as a P5B, particularly so when the large rear yellow plates clash with certain body colours. Each to their own, mind..!
blimey, that's three of us against the rest of the would then smile

I agree a big plastic yellow rear plate on a P5 doesn't look that good

a lot of cars with B&W plates can also look tacky especially depending on their colour and decade (or even century) of build

as you put each to their own

ETA: next time I'll try to add a photo of Bob's P5B in the snow if I hear the sports exhaust burble in time
and missed off some words

Edited by na on Monday 21st January 20:43

singlecoil

33,315 posts

245 months

Monday 21st January 2013
quotequote all
P5Nij said:
na - I see your point about the reflective plates being better for night use, but to me they can sometimes look a bit tacky, almost like an afterthought on a car as classy as a P5B, particularly so when the large rear yellow plates clash with certain body colours. Each to their own, mind..!
My main objection is that they are anachronistic, it's a bit like watching a drama set in the 60s, with the characters wearing 50s fashions.

felixlighter

228 posts

146 months

Monday 21st January 2013
quotequote all
P5Nij said:
I was about £1800 short at the time, the Coupe was going for £5k. Currently got my eye on three good (but not cheap!) ones.... hoping to buy the best I can afford this time round.
Make sure you have a good look before you buy, as you may know rusty bodies can be botched up with all sorts of stuff to look lovely and these cars do suffer with corrosion. Invest in one of these http://www.merlinlazer.com/Borescopes?gclid=CO3z9O... and remove some trim and have a good look around inside the cavities that this model has a lot of to discover the truth of what you buying. The owner won't mind if he has nothing to hide.
You may discover this sort of corosion if you don't, and have to repair it at your cost.


Good luck

Tyre Tread

10,525 posts

215 months

Monday 21st January 2013
quotequote all
felixlighter said:
P5Nij said:
I was about £1800 short at the time, the Coupe was going for £5k. Currently got my eye on three good (but not cheap!) ones.... hoping to buy the best I can afford this time round.
Make sure you have a good look before you buy, as you may know rusty bodies can be botched up with all sorts of stuff to look lovely and these cars do suffer with corrosion. Invest in one of these http://www.merlinlazer.com/Borescopes?gclid=CO3z9O... and remove some trim and have a good look around inside the cavities that this model has a lot of to discover the truth of what you buying. The owner won't mind if he has nothing to hide.
You may discover this sort of corosion if you don't, and have to repair it at your cost.


Good luck
He knows, trust me. smile

P5Nij

675 posts

171 months

Monday 21st January 2013
quotequote all
Duly noted, thanks chaps ;O)

Having seen where my last one rusted, I know where to look....

felixlighter

228 posts

146 months

Saturday 26th January 2013
quotequote all


Looks interesting

Tyre Tread

10,525 posts

215 months

Sunday 27th January 2013
quotequote all
That's one way of putting it.

Big KW

5 posts

135 months

Monday 28th January 2013
quotequote all
DBSV8 said:
anyone remember the grey P5B that was featured in the movie Lock Stock and two smoking barrels

any owner on here ?
Hi, yeah the Lock Stock car is still about, the guys had it for years & lives a mile away from me & i remember it being used in the film just about the time i purchased mine.
I think all it really needs now is a lick of paint.

Big KW

Big KW

5 posts

135 months

Monday 28th January 2013
quotequote all
[quote=Tyre_Tread]hed_Jensen]Get one!



quote]

Love the Jensen wheels on that. I'd love a set.[/quote

It was seeing Steve's car way back that made me want a set for my coupe, i hunted & finally found 8 wheels, picked the best,sold on the others & Steve was kind enough to point me in the direction of a friendly wheel refurbisher. They came out a treat.

Big KW.

SteveinTurkey

117 posts

134 months

Monday 28th January 2013
quotequote all
Hi all

This is a post I made a couple of weeks ago and a respondent advised that I should move it to this thread. I sought advise from the webmasters and got no response so I have just copied it to this thread. I hope it is helpful.

  • *****************************

[report] [news] Thursday 17th January
Hi all

I have just discovered this forum and am keen to share my knowlege of owning a P5B for 20 years. Unfortunately I had to sell it before moving to retire in Turkey - shame I loved that car!

From the top of my head here are some tips that owners or prospective owners should know.

1. If the engine is not started for around 6 months (or maybe sooner) then the oil drains from the oil pump and as the pump is above the level of the oil in the sump the pump will not self-prime. Make sure that when the engine starts that the oil pressure light goes out within a couple of seconds. If the light does not go out then you need to remove the pump and pack it with "Vaseline" or some other petrolium jelly and refit it with a new gasket. The pump is not too bad to get to if you can raise the car as it is located on the outside of the right side of the engine. The mounting screws and oil pipe connection are a little tricky to move due to restricted space.

2. Don't try to change the fuel pump (mechanical) with fuel in the tank as the pump is located on the side of the engine and is below the level of the tank. I had the very frightening experience of changing the pump on a garage forecourt on a blisteringly hot day with gallons of fuel spilling everywhere under the very hot engine. To be honest I thought I was in danger of dying but could not stop trying to reconnect the pipe nuts to the pump as all the fuel kept coming out. I am still here to tell the tale but I hope that this may prevent someone making the same mistake.

3. If you are losing coolant and having to top up then get the radiator serviced as the gearbox cooler is located within the bottom part of the main radiator and it is not unknown for coolant to get into the gearbox and wreck the gearbox.

4. The P5B can suffer from fuel starvation due to vapourization in the fuel line. It is worth insulating the fuel line using something like some slit hose pipe and installing it along the line.

5. It is most worthwhile installing electronic ignition. I used a unit that goes inside the distributor instead of the points and capacitor. It keeps the period look and makes starting and running so much better. http://www.pertronix.com/prod/ig/ignitor/default.a...

6. The wing mirrors are useless and are just oranaments! Install a pair of the small mirrors that clip to the edge of the door swivelling vent window. At the time I could only get ones that were suitable for the drivers door, so for the passenger side I had to bend the mirror mounting arm in a vice to suit the correct viewing angle. These mirrors were stainless so the finish was not marred by this treatment. I regarded this modification as absolutely essential ad driving this car without mirrors was very hazardous.

7. If the front brake calipers need rebuilding then my advice is to definately buy exchange calipers. This is due to the extreme difficulty of getting the rubber weather boot to fit into the caliper's internal groove and install the retaining ring with the piston in place at the same time! This is not to be undertaken lightly and most likely you will damage the rubber boot and it could take all day! The exchange calipers come with new pistons and the excess cost is not too bad and will most certainly prevent you throwing the calipers through the window. It is a good idea to replace flexible brake pipes as these tend to get somewhat contaminated by the oil leaking from the steering box and pump.

8. As others have said, the power steering pumps and steering boxes ALWAYS leak, so keep an eye on the fluid level as to lose power steering is a very scary experience. I was once in heavy traffic on a steep hill and had been stationary for a while so stopped the engine and each time the traffic moved I just coasted but after a few pushes on the brake pedal and just approaching a sharp corner I found I had no brakes and almost no steering - I just could not press the pedal hard enough to stop the car! I only just made it around the corner by starting the engine in time!!!

9. Periodically remove the rear brake drums
to remove the dust and inspect for oil contamination of the linings. The axle shaft wheel bearing can wear and lead to the oil seal leaking axle oil into the drum. Bearings and seals are not expensive but you will require specialist help to press the bearing off and on the shaft. If there is a wear ridge on the outer part of lining to drum interface then use a grinder to remove the ridge on the drum. If you do not do this then it is possible for the drum to get stuck on the linings and you will have difficulty removing the drum. If the drum wear is too much then the brake efficiency falls greatly. The solution is to buy new drums and linings and be amazed how much better the brakes become!! Note that the brake drums, linings and associated axle hardware are similar to the P5 3-Litre but the axle shafts are shorter on the P5B (due to the larger differential).

10. You should run the car on Super Unleaded - of the best quality you can get. I mistakenly put in some normal unleaded one day and it ran like a pig until I topped up with better fuel. Bear in mind that originally these engines were designed to use 101 octane fuel but later in production the compression ratio was dropped so that they could use lower octane fuel.

11. As the Borg-Warner 35 gearbox has no front oil pump, these cars cannot be tow started (or towed any distance with the rear wheels turning) it is perhaps good practice to carry a spare starter motor with you. Of course I never needed mine but you never know?

11. Modify the screen washer pump by installing a modern pump inside the old Lucas pump housing. The old Lucas pumps never worked properly and you can install a modern one and keep the period look.

12. If you install a stainless steel exhaust then make sure that the twin tail pipes extend just past the rear bumber overrider. My pipes were too short and I had to install chrome trims to extend the pipes. If you do not do this then the exhaust gasses will corrode the chrome on the overrider. I have seen many cars like this. It seems like the original pipes were too short and the remanufacturers just copy the original with its faults!

13. Should your boot handle lock fall apart like mine did (whilst locked) then all is not lost! Remove the spare wheel and mounting tray from under the car. Locate the round bung in the boot floor and push it the into the boot. With a lot of fiddling and blood loss it is possible to get a hand in to loosen the handle mounting screws and so open the boot. To fix the lock I rerivetted the laminations of the claw back together. PLan B was to cut a hole in the lid behind the number plate.

14. As others have said on this forum the Rover P5B suffers from rust everywhere, so in particular be beware of the inner sills and the internal strengthening, rear spring hangers and everywhere you cannot see.


That is all for now.


Steve


P5Nij

675 posts

171 months

Monday 28th January 2013
quotequote all
Big KW]yre_Tread]hed_Jensen said:
Get one!



quote]

Love the Jensen wheels on that. I'd love a set.[/quote

It was seeing Steve's car way back that made me want a set for my coupe, i hunted & finally found 8 wheels, picked the best,sold on the others & Steve was kind enough to point me in the direction of a friendly wheel refurbisher. They came out a treat.

Big KW.
Kev - I got your email and tried to reply to it just now but it's stuck in my outbox for some reason... anyway thanks for that - I'm hoping to get a Coupe sooner rather than later, so let me know how things go your end ;-)

Cheers, N ;o)

Tyre Tread

10,525 posts

215 months

Monday 28th January 2013
quotequote all
Big KW]yre_Tread]hed_Jensen said:
Get one!



quote]

Love the Jensen wheels on that. I'd love a set.[/quote

It was seeing Steve's car way back that made me want a set for my coupe, i hunted & finally found 8 wheels, picked the best,sold on the others & Steve was kind enough to point me in the direction of a friendly wheel refurbisher. They came out a treat.

Big KW.
Did I buy the other wheel from you? Were they collected by 2 guys in a Chrysler 300?

humbermad

16 posts

134 months

Wednesday 30th January 2013
quotequote all
One of my favourite cars ever, there´s one six in line coupe 3 litres near my office lhd in stunning nick... but I only thinking about the coupe V8, somebody knows about one on lhd???? for good price...

A very very scarce car here in Spain, I have been thinking about one lhd in Italy in very good condition, but the vendor don´t contact me at all...

I always put it side by side with the Iso Rivolta for unknow reasons...

SteveinTurkey

117 posts

134 months

Thursday 31st January 2013
quotequote all
SteveinTurkey said:
Hi all

This is a post I made a couple of weeks ago and a respondent advised that I should move it to this thread. I sought advise from the webmasters and got no response so I have just copied it to this thread. I hope it is helpful.

  • *****************************

[report] [news] Thursday 17th January
Hi all

I have just discovered this forum and am keen to share my knowlege of owning a P5B for 20 years. Unfortunately I had to sell it before moving to retire in Turkey - shame I loved that car!

From the top of my head here are some tips that owners or prospective owners should know.

1. If the engine is not started for around 6 months (or maybe sooner) then the oil drains from the oil pump and as the pump is above the level of the oil in the sump the pump will not self-prime. Make sure that when the engine starts that the oil pressure light goes out within a couple of seconds. If the light does not go out then you need to remove the pump and pack it with "Vaseline" or some other petrolium jelly and refit it with a new gasket. The pump is not too bad to get to if you can raise the car as it is located on the outside of the right side of the engine. The mounting screws and oil pipe connection are a little tricky to move due to restricted space.

2. Don't try to change the fuel pump (mechanical) with fuel in the tank as the pump is located on the side of the engine and is below the level of the tank. I had the very frightening experience of changing the pump on a garage forecourt on a blisteringly hot day with gallons of fuel spilling everywhere under the very hot engine. To be honest I thought I was in danger of dying but could not stop trying to reconnect the pipe nuts to the pump as all the fuel kept coming out. I am still here to tell the tale but I hope that this may prevent someone making the same mistake.

3. If you are losing coolant and having to top up then get the radiator serviced as the gearbox cooler is located within the bottom part of the main radiator and it is not unknown for coolant to get into the gearbox and wreck the gearbox.

4. The P5B can suffer from fuel starvation due to vapourization in the fuel line. It is worth insulating the fuel line using something like some slit hose pipe and installing it along the line.

5. It is most worthwhile installing electronic ignition. I used a unit that goes inside the distributor instead of the points and capacitor. It keeps the period look and makes starting and running so much better. http://www.pertronix.com/prod/ig/ignitor/default.a...

6. The wing mirrors are useless and are just oranaments! Install a pair of the small mirrors that clip to the edge of the door swivelling vent window. At the time I could only get ones that were suitable for the drivers door, so for the passenger side I had to bend the mirror mounting arm in a vice to suit the correct viewing angle. These mirrors were stainless so the finish was not marred by this treatment. I regarded this modification as absolutely essential ad driving this car without mirrors was very hazardous.

7. If the front brake calipers need rebuilding then my advice is to definately buy exchange calipers. This is due to the extreme difficulty of getting the rubber weather boot to fit into the caliper's internal groove and install the retaining ring with the piston in place at the same time! This is not to be undertaken lightly and most likely you will damage the rubber boot and it could take all day! The exchange calipers come with new pistons and the excess cost is not too bad and will most certainly prevent you throwing the calipers through the window. It is a good idea to replace flexible brake pipes as these tend to get somewhat contaminated by the oil leaking from the steering box and pump.

8. As others have said, the power steering pumps and steering boxes ALWAYS leak, so keep an eye on the fluid level as to lose power steering is a very scary experience. I was once in heavy traffic on a steep hill and had been stationary for a while so stopped the engine and each time the traffic moved I just coasted but after a few pushes on the brake pedal and just approaching a sharp corner I found I had no brakes and almost no steering - I just could not press the pedal hard enough to stop the car! I only just made it around the corner by starting the engine in time!!!

9. Periodically remove the rear brake drums
to remove the dust and inspect for oil contamination of the linings. The axle shaft wheel bearing can wear and lead to the oil seal leaking axle oil into the drum. Bearings and seals are not expensive but you will require specialist help to press the bearing off and on the shaft. If there is a wear ridge on the outer part of lining to drum interface then use a grinder to remove the ridge on the drum. If you do not do this then it is possible for the drum to get stuck on the linings and you will have difficulty removing the drum. If the drum wear is too much then the brake efficiency falls greatly. The solution is to buy new drums and linings and be amazed how much better the brakes become!! Note that the brake drums, linings and associated axle hardware are similar to the P5 3-Litre but the axle shafts are shorter on the P5B (due to the larger differential).

10. You should run the car on Super Unleaded - of the best quality you can get. I mistakenly put in some normal unleaded one day and it ran like a pig until I topped up with better fuel. Bear in mind that originally these engines were designed to use 101 octane fuel but later in production the compression ratio was dropped so that they could use lower octane fuel.

11. As the Borg-Warner 35 gearbox has no front oil pump, these cars cannot be tow started (or towed any distance with the rear wheels turning) it is perhaps good practice to carry a spare starter motor with you. Of course I never needed mine but you never know?

11. Modify the screen washer pump by installing a modern pump inside the old Lucas pump housing. The old Lucas pumps never worked properly and you can install a modern one and keep the period look.

12. If you install a stainless steel exhaust then make sure that the twin tail pipes extend just past the rear bumber overrider. My pipes were too short and I had to install chrome trims to extend the pipes. If you do not do this then the exhaust gasses will corrode the chrome on the overrider. I have seen many cars like this. It seems like the original pipes were too short and the remanufacturers just copy the original with its faults!

13. Should your boot handle lock fall apart like mine did (whilst locked) then all is not lost! Remove the spare wheel and mounting tray from under the car. Locate the round bung in the boot floor and push it the into the boot. With a lot of fiddling and blood loss it is possible to get a hand in to loosen the handle mounting screws and so open the boot. To fix the lock I rerivetted the laminations of the claw back together. PLan B was to cut a hole in the lid behind the number plate.

14. As others have said on this forum the Rover P5B suffers from rust everywhere, so in particular be beware of the inner sills and the internal strengthening, rear spring hangers and everywhere you cannot see.


That is all for now.


Steve
11. As the Borg-Warner 35 gearbox has no front oil pump, these cars cannot be tow started (or towed any distance with the rear wheels turning) it is perhaps good practice to carry a spare starter motor with you. Of course I never needed mine but you never know?

I meant to say REAR oil pump, that means that if the engine is not running there is no lubrication in the gearbox and if the car is towed the gearbox will be damaged.

occrj

370 posts

177 months

Sunday 24th February 2013
quotequote all
felixlighter said:
Tidy Model A in the background of one of those pics smile

RJ

P5Nij

675 posts

171 months

Saturday 30th March 2013
quotequote all
Went to have a peek at this 1970 Coupe yesterday - picking it up next week ;-!





Will post more pics once I've got my sticky mitts on it ;-)

DocArbathnot

26,958 posts

182 months

Saturday 30th March 2013
quotequote all
P5Nij said:
Went to have a peek at this 1970 Coupe yesterday - picking it up next week ;-!





Will post more pics once I've got my sticky mitts on it ;-)
Very envious. That looks lovely.