My rover p6 restoration
Discussion
That's a major project - hats off for doing it. 
I bought a 1973 P6B 3500S back in 1979 and in 1980 the top mount for the rear axle pulled out of the inner wing on the driver's side due to rot. It was every bit as crusty as the 9 year old Fiat it replaced.
Luckily I had a mate with a welder so the strange handling got sorted, but we noticed the passenger side had already had a repair!
Despite that I loved it - having a V8 at 20 did seem a bit special.
I bought a 1973 P6B 3500S back in 1979 and in 1980 the top mount for the rear axle pulled out of the inner wing on the driver's side due to rot. It was every bit as crusty as the 9 year old Fiat it replaced.
Luckily I had a mate with a welder so the strange handling got sorted, but we noticed the passenger side had already had a repair!
Despite that I loved it - having a V8 at 20 did seem a bit special.
I had one of those at 19 too. Ex Catford flying squad in green. Had the Met Police "upgrade" of a blanked off first on the auto box and competition brake pads. Apparently the BiB where leaving bits of gearbox behind slamming it into first on the way into bends.
The girlfriend at the time hated it as I never could make the heater work. I loved it however.
The girlfriend at the time hated it as I never could make the heater work. I loved it however.
The OPs one looks like it is Almond Yellow - mine was Mexico Brown. Didn't BL do some horrible colours in the 70s! Horrors like Tobacco leaf, etc.
I assume yours was Cameron Green like my late-cousin's 3500 K-plate.
But colour didn't matter much to me at the time, mine was newer (L-plate) and manual as it was a 3500S.
I assume yours was Cameron Green like my late-cousin's 3500 K-plate.
But colour didn't matter much to me at the time, mine was newer (L-plate) and manual as it was a 3500S.
Confession time - Tobacco Leaf is my favourite P6 colour! Combined with a huntsman brown vinyl roof and matching brown outer sill covers with 3500S wheel trims it’s my perfect P6. Alas my three were an Almond Yellow ‘73 2000TC ‘WCW 375M’, a ‘71 Cameron Green 3500 auto ‘GGN 588J’ and then a ‘72 Monza Red 3500 auto ‘DEG 911K’. Fine cars all three of them and luckily all were rust free. The red one was the best, it had the factory fitted power steering and black leather ‘box pleat’ interior with a stainless steel exhaust system and sounded the dog’s danglies. I wish I still had it and when it came up for sale again a couple of years ago strangely the gorgeous black interior had been replaced with a light tan one.
In the early ‘70s my dad used to get a lift to work in his mate’s Mexico Brown 3500S which left a huge impression on me, I can still picture it now, squatting down at the back as he pulled away and burbled on down the road,
OP, best of luck with what is sure to be a great project.
In the early ‘70s my dad used to get a lift to work in his mate’s Mexico Brown 3500S which left a huge impression on me, I can still picture it now, squatting down at the back as he pulled away and burbled on down the road,
OP, best of luck with what is sure to be a great project.
Edited by P5BNij on Thursday 15th October 05:11
Even though the colours were awful they seem to have grown on me now in a there so bad there good way.
Anyways have been stripping underseal this weekend gone.
https://youtu.be/it-HlpOqaIM
Anyways have been stripping underseal this weekend gone.
https://youtu.be/it-HlpOqaIM
![](https://thumbsnap.com/sc/HTFFHXCx.jpg[/img]</a> <a href="https://thumbsnap.com/P2bzEtZi" Target="_blank" rel="nofollow">[img]https://thumbsnap.com/sc/P2bzEtZi.jpg)
I had two of these in my early 20s. First one was an auto in the aforementioned Tobacco Leaf, which I swapped for an manky Austin Maxi, the guy had rebuilt the V8 and couldn't get any oil pressure - which you can't, if you don't pack out the oil pump first 
Then I saw a 3500S on a garage forecourt, it was somewhat in the "part exchange corner" but I fancied it anyway. Took it for a test drive and the radiator blew, so I offered him £115 for it and bought it. "New" rad from a scrappy and we were good to go. On that one, I got back into it in a car park one day and put it in reverse, there was a clonk, and no drive. The diff had somehow failed. The abiding memory of the time was, I lived with the parents at the time and we had a pit in the garage, so I set about changing the (bloody heavy iirc) diff. The car was on axle stands which it somehow managed to fall off, trapping me in the pit. The house was separate from the garage and this was mid-evening. I managed to get hold of a long piece of wood on the floor, and slid it back and forth pounding against the garage door until the old man heard it and came out, and dug me out. I've never really trusted axle stands since. Without the pit, I wouldn't be typing this.
Anyway, sold that one on, for £795 I think. I remember the new owner blowing the engine up and showing us one of the thrust washers which had somehow become crescent-shaped (in the opposite axis to the half-round section). We mounted that on a little wooden plinth and presented it to him one evening
Then I saw a 3500S on a garage forecourt, it was somewhat in the "part exchange corner" but I fancied it anyway. Took it for a test drive and the radiator blew, so I offered him £115 for it and bought it. "New" rad from a scrappy and we were good to go. On that one, I got back into it in a car park one day and put it in reverse, there was a clonk, and no drive. The diff had somehow failed. The abiding memory of the time was, I lived with the parents at the time and we had a pit in the garage, so I set about changing the (bloody heavy iirc) diff. The car was on axle stands which it somehow managed to fall off, trapping me in the pit. The house was separate from the garage and this was mid-evening. I managed to get hold of a long piece of wood on the floor, and slid it back and forth pounding against the garage door until the old man heard it and came out, and dug me out. I've never really trusted axle stands since. Without the pit, I wouldn't be typing this.
Anyway, sold that one on, for £795 I think. I remember the new owner blowing the engine up and showing us one of the thrust washers which had somehow become crescent-shaped (in the opposite axis to the half-round section). We mounted that on a little wooden plinth and presented it to him one evening
P5BNij said:
Confession time - Tobacco Leaf is my favourite P6 colour! Combined with a huntsman brown vinyl roof and matching brown outer sill covers with 3500S wheel trims it’s my perfect P6. Alas my three were an Almond Yellow ‘73 2000TC ‘WCW 375M’, a ‘71 Cameron Green 3500 auto ‘GGN 588J’ and then a ‘72 Monza Red 3500 auto ‘DEG 911K’. Fine cars all three of them and luckily all were rust free. The red one was the best, it had the factory fitted power steering and black leather ‘box pleat’ interior with a stainless steel exhaust system and sounded the dog’s danglies. I wish I still had it and when it came up for sale again a couple of years ago strangely the gorgeous black interior had been replaced with a light tan one.
In the early ‘70s my dad used to get a lift to work in his mate’s Mexico Brown 3500S which left a huge impression on me, I can still picture it now, squatting down at the back as he pulled away and burbled on down the road,
OP, best of luck with what is sure to be a great project.
The Mexico Brown 3500S I bought had a vinyl roof - and tan vinyl seats! The main reason I bought it was because I couldn't get insurance on a 3 litre Capri. In the early ‘70s my dad used to get a lift to work in his mate’s Mexico Brown 3500S which left a huge impression on me, I can still picture it now, squatting down at the back as he pulled away and burbled on down the road,
OP, best of luck with what is sure to be a great project.
Edited by P5BNij on Thursday 15th October 05:11
I did try a Monza Red 3500S with box-pleat cloth and really should have bought that - the only reason I didn't was it had no PAS and a small Mota-lita steering wheel, so you couldn't change direction below 20mph! But swapping the steering wheel wouldn't have been too difficult!
Anyway I'm wishing the OP all the best with his project.
Back in about 1980 or so I had a 3500s. JYN 486K. Cameron Green with a black vinyl Webasto roof. Buckskin leather trim. I only sold it because the firm I worked for decided that I deserved a company car.
It’s one of the best cars I ever had. It’s still around on the Gov database, but not taxed or SORNd. And it’s red if it hasn’t been scrapped.
It’s one of the best cars I ever had. It’s still around on the Gov database, but not taxed or SORNd. And it’s red if it hasn’t been scrapped.
Here's another photo from about a year ago when I first started to strip down.
https://youtu.be/it-HlpOqaIM
Long project you seem to have there !
A good friend of my Dad's had a blue 3500 V8 ( J reg ) that I recall from new. My Dad had a Triumph 2000 at the time, and I always admired the Rover
Although they were said to be 'competitors' at that time, the Rover always seemed a bit special to me, with the leather seats ( IIRC) and that lovely sound from the V8.
Our families used to go on caravanning holidays in Europe, and the Rover's auto box got extremely hot when climbing the Alpine passes !
I don't think it had a gearbox oil cooler then !
The 5 speed manual cars were rare, and I seem to recall that the V8 was a bit too powerful for that box. I am sure others on PH will tell me otherwise !
Looking forward to the journey with yours !
A good friend of my Dad's had a blue 3500 V8 ( J reg ) that I recall from new. My Dad had a Triumph 2000 at the time, and I always admired the Rover
Although they were said to be 'competitors' at that time, the Rover always seemed a bit special to me, with the leather seats ( IIRC) and that lovely sound from the V8.
Our families used to go on caravanning holidays in Europe, and the Rover's auto box got extremely hot when climbing the Alpine passes !
I don't think it had a gearbox oil cooler then !
The 5 speed manual cars were rare, and I seem to recall that the V8 was a bit too powerful for that box. I am sure others on PH will tell me otherwise !
Looking forward to the journey with yours !
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