Rover P6 Convertable at Police Auctions
Discussion
First post so apologies if I get any of this wrong.
I thought people might be interested in seeing this from the MotorHog / Police Auction web pages.
https://www.police-auction.org.uk/vehicle-list/det...
If the link doesn't work, google 'motorhog.co.uk' then click on the police auction link and page through the cars.
Two questions:
Does anyone know how this one lost its roof?
Anyone want a cheap summer classic to run round in?
Regards
I thought people might be interested in seeing this from the MotorHog / Police Auction web pages.
https://www.police-auction.org.uk/vehicle-list/det...
If the link doesn't work, google 'motorhog.co.uk' then click on the police auction link and page through the cars.
Two questions:
Does anyone know how this one lost its roof?
Anyone want a cheap summer classic to run round in?
Regards
jith said:
The idiots lifted it with a fork lift under the floorpan. This means the exhaust, fuel and brake pipes and probably the floor itself is seriously damaged. They actually show this in one of the pics.
I wouldn't touch it except for spares.
<shrug>I wouldn't touch it except for spares.
It's been off the road since failing the MOT in June 2013, anyway, so you'd want to give stuff like that a good look. Hardly the end of the world - but it doesn't necessarily mean any of those things. Door shuts don't look to have opened or closed up much despite the lift.
rallycross said:
imagine the scuttle shake on that!
I'm not so sure - remember, a P6 is odd construction. Virtually nothing you can see is structural. The roof rails are thin, and the roof skin just screwed on. It can't add much to the strength anyway. It wouldn't take much sill reinforcement to make it at LEAST as strong.
Here is why you should avoid this car like the plague unless you want it for spares.
The P6 Rover was an absolutely brilliant design; light years ahead of its time and very radical in structure. The primary concept of the car was that of safety, and in fact it won the Don safety award many years in a row.
When I worked on the police vehicles we had a particularly bad accident involving 2 officers in a high speed chase after an armed bank robbery in Paisley. They gave chase to the getaway car which, predictably enough was a Jag saloon, but unfortunately had to swerve at a junction and the driver lost it. They reckon he hit a lamp post at over 90 MPH and took a great deal of the front end right off the car.
They cut him out of it and he spent some time in hospital. Had he been in one of the Jaguars he most certainly would have been killed or seriously injured. The Rover was one of the first cars to incorporate the concept of progressive deformation from the outer panels inwards.
All the outer panels are bolt on. The roof, front and rear wings, bonnet and boot lid, all the doors and the sills can be removed with a Philips screwdriver and a half inch wrench. This leaves a brilliantly designed central frame that is immensely strong, ensuring the best passenger protection available in that era.
The car in question has had the roof section and both B and C posts totally removed. This means unquestionably that the frame is seriously weakened to the point where it is dangerous. If this has been done professionally I would love to see what they did to the floor pan. The reason for this is that the P5 has no chassis legs, relying instead in the convoluted design of the floorpan and the inner sills in harmony with the A,B and C pillars transferring the stress throughout the whole structure. It would be the last car in the world I would convert into a drophead.
On the question of lifting a vehicle with a fork lift. Unless it has a separate chassis such as a Landrover and is lifted under the actual legs themselves, it is remarkably easy to write a car off lifting it on a fork lift. The car only has to bend slightly in the middle and it will never be the same again, apart from the damage done to anything that is in the path of the forks.
On a personal note I think this conversion simply doesn't work. The car doesn't look right without the roof. If it was a 2 door it would probably look better.
J
The P6 Rover was an absolutely brilliant design; light years ahead of its time and very radical in structure. The primary concept of the car was that of safety, and in fact it won the Don safety award many years in a row.
When I worked on the police vehicles we had a particularly bad accident involving 2 officers in a high speed chase after an armed bank robbery in Paisley. They gave chase to the getaway car which, predictably enough was a Jag saloon, but unfortunately had to swerve at a junction and the driver lost it. They reckon he hit a lamp post at over 90 MPH and took a great deal of the front end right off the car.
They cut him out of it and he spent some time in hospital. Had he been in one of the Jaguars he most certainly would have been killed or seriously injured. The Rover was one of the first cars to incorporate the concept of progressive deformation from the outer panels inwards.
All the outer panels are bolt on. The roof, front and rear wings, bonnet and boot lid, all the doors and the sills can be removed with a Philips screwdriver and a half inch wrench. This leaves a brilliantly designed central frame that is immensely strong, ensuring the best passenger protection available in that era.
The car in question has had the roof section and both B and C posts totally removed. This means unquestionably that the frame is seriously weakened to the point where it is dangerous. If this has been done professionally I would love to see what they did to the floor pan. The reason for this is that the P5 has no chassis legs, relying instead in the convoluted design of the floorpan and the inner sills in harmony with the A,B and C pillars transferring the stress throughout the whole structure. It would be the last car in the world I would convert into a drophead.
On the question of lifting a vehicle with a fork lift. Unless it has a separate chassis such as a Landrover and is lifted under the actual legs themselves, it is remarkably easy to write a car off lifting it on a fork lift. The car only has to bend slightly in the middle and it will never be the same again, apart from the damage done to anything that is in the path of the forks.
On a personal note I think this conversion simply doesn't work. The car doesn't look right without the roof. If it was a 2 door it would probably look better.
J
Very interesting post, thanks jith.
I don't think the car looks right somehow in the fork lift photo? I appreciate that the panel gaps are unlikely to be absolutely bob-on on a P6, but to me it appears the whole car is bending / has already been bent slightly?
It really confirms what you say, whilst yes the roof panel's removable (a number of P6's had a full length Webasto sunroof IIRC) chopping out the B & C pillars & framework has got to have 'killed' the car.
I don't think the car looks right somehow in the fork lift photo? I appreciate that the panel gaps are unlikely to be absolutely bob-on on a P6, but to me it appears the whole car is bending / has already been bent slightly?
It really confirms what you say, whilst yes the roof panel's removable (a number of P6's had a full length Webasto sunroof IIRC) chopping out the B & C pillars & framework has got to have 'killed' the car.
Interesting that the Police are going to auction that as it is unlikely to be road legal. The shell has been cut which means the car has to undergo a DVSA BIVA (Basic Individual Vehicle Assessment) and be re-registered if it were to pass(the modifications dictate that it has now lost its original identity). Of course, it won't pass for a number of reasons, the most difficult to sort will be the glass because this will not meet the standards required and getting a new screen made to 'E' marked spec will cost in the region of £2K
Best to leave well alone.
Best to leave well alone.
Thanks for the replies, very interesting comments about P6 construction and the extra certification required for the vehicle that I wasn't aware of.
I guess I was secretly hoping to find someone on here who could explain how, when and why the car lost its roof, although I think we can safely dismiss one suspect, the fire brigade, (it just doesn't look like their handy work).
Anyway if you haven't clicked on the link, I'll spoil the surprise and say it sold for £1110.
Thanks again, everyone.
David
I guess I was secretly hoping to find someone on here who could explain how, when and why the car lost its roof, although I think we can safely dismiss one suspect, the fire brigade, (it just doesn't look like their handy work).
Anyway if you haven't clicked on the link, I'll spoil the surprise and say it sold for £1110.
Thanks again, everyone.
David
gareth_r said:
That's a cracking find there, well done!If it had been standing for 2 years prior to August '15, the car's even shoddier than we thought !
Apparently, it was for sale for £5,000 at the Beaulieu Autojumble in May 2010:
http://www.flickriver.com/photos/triggerscarstuff/...
and I assume this was before Bristol Council towed it away
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1969_Rover...
http://www.flickriver.com/photos/triggerscarstuff/...
and I assume this was before Bristol Council towed it away
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1969_Rover...
Edited by gareth_r on Thursday 24th March 15:16
gareth_r said:
Apparently, it was for sale for £5,000 at the Beaulieu Autojumble in May 2010:
http://www.flickriver.com/photos/triggerscarstuff/...
£5k? http://www.flickriver.com/photos/triggerscarstuff/...
Good God! Probably what was a nice car ruined... thanks for sharing gareth r.Gassing Station | Classic Cars and Yesterday's Heroes | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff