RE: Rover (P6) 3500 V8: Spotted
Discussion
MadDog1962 said:
I wonder if anybody has ever thought of doing a restomod on one of these?
Upgrading the drive line to a fuel injected Vitesse unit might even be possible without changes to the bonnet line ??
It's hard to believe it hasn't been done. It would seem quite easy to drop in a 5L RV8 with an R380 box and a modern brain, upgrade the suspension and brakes and retrim. Commercially it would be an enormous failure but privately I'm sure it's been done. Upgrading the drive line to a fuel injected Vitesse unit might even be possible without changes to the bonnet line ??
DonkeyApple said:
MadDog1962 said:
I wonder if anybody has ever thought of doing a restomod on one of these?
Upgrading the drive line to a fuel injected Vitesse unit might even be possible without changes to the bonnet line ??
It's hard to believe it hasn't been done. It would seem quite easy to drop in a 5L RV8 with an R380 box and a modern brain, upgrade the suspension and brakes and retrim. Commercially it would be an enormous failure but privately I'm sure it's been done. Upgrading the drive line to a fuel injected Vitesse unit might even be possible without changes to the bonnet line ??
He was late 20's then and 'in the trade' and his S was fitted with a set of those Minilte Sport's that the Met Police were running on their 'new' SDI 2600's at the time due to the pathetic brakes on them, and he'd also acquired a 390 Holley and manifold which was very popular at the time on Rover powered Ford Pop's etc., and also a set of quad DCOE Weber's and manifold as fitted to the works TR8's and which ever setup fitted under the bonnet of the P6 he set he was going to use. He was also trying to find a wrecked SDI for the 5 speed as well. I don't know if he ever fitted either of the induction setups, but I suspect he did, as within a few months it was clearly sounding much more healthy
but they split up not long after and I never got to find out exactly what he fitted.He drove it like he stole it all the time
Such a blast from my childhood. Love these P6's though I always hankered after a P5 B Coupe. Triumph 2000/2500 were also very nice cars and of course the XJ6, Triumph Stag, TR7 and Dolomite Sprint were all around in those days. Now, these cars are all still very affordable and the ones that have survived all these years are likely to have been reasonable well looked after.
It's funny how many of the equivalent Fords like the Granada, Escort & Capri have seen far bigger gains in prices than the BL stable vehicles.
Like any older car they will need plenty of TLC, particularly regarding the bodywork but they can still be regularly used and enjoyed, at least until they are legislated off the road by the emissions zealots.........
It's funny how many of the equivalent Fords like the Granada, Escort & Capri have seen far bigger gains in prices than the BL stable vehicles.
Like any older car they will need plenty of TLC, particularly regarding the bodywork but they can still be regularly used and enjoyed, at least until they are legislated off the road by the emissions zealots.........
j4r4lly said:
Like any older car they will need plenty of TLC, particularly regarding the bodywork but they can still be regularly used and enjoyed, at least until they are legislated off the road by the emissions zealots.........
I doubt they will be. Too few to worry about.The focus will be boats (burn rubbish quality fuel oil), trucks, vans, cars.
it's like looking at my childhood- my father had a "H" plate rover V8- identical to this, colour, everything in the 70's. I think it was an ex police car, it had far more extra dash gauges in it, plus some weird glovebox lamp on the end of a bendy metal thing. Apparently it has also been in a few films.
I do recall it being far quicker than normal cars and a thing of envy to schoolboy friends.
we got stopped on a family trip in Yorkshire once, by a little police, austin mini van. The copper said he'd pulled us as we had southern plates on the car, but we were in Grassington, Yorkshire- a bit strange you see, so worth a stop.
But in case we didn't stop for his mini- he already had a colleague in a much faster car waiting down the road to try and catch us !!!
I do recall it being far quicker than normal cars and a thing of envy to schoolboy friends.
we got stopped on a family trip in Yorkshire once, by a little police, austin mini van. The copper said he'd pulled us as we had southern plates on the car, but we were in Grassington, Yorkshire- a bit strange you see, so worth a stop.
But in case we didn't stop for his mini- he already had a colleague in a much faster car waiting down the road to try and catch us !!!
austinsmirk said:
it's like looking at my childhood- my father had a "H" plate rover V8- identical to this, colour, everything in the 70's. I think it was an ex police car, it had far more extra dash gauges in it, plus some weird glovebox lamp on the end of a bendy metal thing. Apparently it has also been in a few films.
I do recall it being far quicker than normal cars and a thing of envy to schoolboy friends.
we got stopped on a family trip in Yorkshire once, by a little police, austin mini van. The copper said he'd pulled us as we had southern plates on the car, but we were in Grassington, Yorkshire- a bit strange you see, so worth a stop.
But in case we didn't stop for his mini- he already had a colleague in a much faster car waiting down the road to try and catch us !!!
70's version of Stop & Search.I do recall it being far quicker than normal cars and a thing of envy to schoolboy friends.
we got stopped on a family trip in Yorkshire once, by a little police, austin mini van. The copper said he'd pulled us as we had southern plates on the car, but we were in Grassington, Yorkshire- a bit strange you see, so worth a stop.
But in case we didn't stop for his mini- he already had a colleague in a much faster car waiting down the road to try and catch us !!!
paulyv said:
austinsmirk said:
it's like looking at my childhood- my father had a "H" plate rover V8- identical to this, colour, everything in the 70's. I think it was an ex police car, it had far more extra dash gauges in it, plus some weird glovebox lamp on the end of a bendy metal thing. Apparently it has also been in a few films.
I do recall it being far quicker than normal cars and a thing of envy to schoolboy friends.
we got stopped on a family trip in Yorkshire once, by a little police, austin mini van. The copper said he'd pulled us as we had southern plates on the car, but we were in Grassington, Yorkshire- a bit strange you see, so worth a stop.
But in case we didn't stop for his mini- he already had a colleague in a much faster car waiting down the road to try and catch us !!!
70's version of Stop & Search.I do recall it being far quicker than normal cars and a thing of envy to schoolboy friends.
we got stopped on a family trip in Yorkshire once, by a little police, austin mini van. The copper said he'd pulled us as we had southern plates on the car, but we were in Grassington, Yorkshire- a bit strange you see, so worth a stop.
But in case we didn't stop for his mini- he already had a colleague in a much faster car waiting down the road to try and catch us !!!
"Looks a bit sus, its worth a tug"
Edited by aeropilot on Monday 4th December 15:03
As , officially , an old fart ('concession is it mate ?') it is fascinating to see this car now as a relic from prehistory . But in period ,the Rover 2000 was an extraordinary leap forward from its predecessors. Rover , almost overnight, went from purveyor of staid , traditional British cars (gas turbine a dead end )to a maker of something in keeping with the forward looking zeitgeist - 'white heat of technology' and all that. When big Fords often still had bench seats , ghastly US mimicking styling and handled like cargo ships , and Vauxhalls were iredeemably naff , the Rover was a breath for fresh air and looked entirely new , divorced from the formality of P5 and P4 . Fresh , clean lines , minimalist and very neat dashboard, four individual seats , sexy little stubby gearlever and excellent road manners - very much an English Lancia.
By the time the V8 had appeared , the styling had been updated with ill advised nips and tucks and the V8 was seen by many as the last writhings of a once great car .
And who recalls the bonkers Rover - Alvis BS ?Mid engined V8 ...
By the time the V8 had appeared , the styling had been updated with ill advised nips and tucks and the V8 was seen by many as the last writhings of a once great car .
And who recalls the bonkers Rover - Alvis BS ?Mid engined V8 ...
coppice said:
As , officially , an old fart ('concession is it mate ?') it is fascinating to see this car now as a relic from prehistory . But in period ,the Rover 2000 was an extraordinary leap forward from its predecessors. Rover , almost overnight, went from purveyor of staid , traditional British cars (gas turbine a dead end )to a maker of something in keeping with the forward looking zeitgeist - 'white heat of technology' and all that. When big Fords often still had bench seats , ghastly US mimicking styling and handled like cargo ships , and Vauxhalls were iredeemably naff , the Rover was a breath for fresh air and looked entirely new , divorced from the formality of P5 and P4 . Fresh , clean lines , minimalist and very neat dashboard, four individual seats , sexy little stubby gearlever and excellent road manners - very much an English Lancia.
Not to mention, four wheel disc brakes, and for the day an impressive safety cell crash protection construction.As you say, it was leagues ahead of anything built by Ford/Vauxhall/Rootes at the time.
sjc said:
Ed Straker said:
unsprung said:
julianm said:
First car I ever did 100mph in - on the Fosse Way - which is now 40mph just about everywhere.
When this V8 saloon was launched, were traffic police generally more tolerant of speed? Was there already a national speed limit?Or do you spend your whole day looking for 30 year old infractions of the law?
Well, I can offer an answer from the US side of things. At the time of this V8 saloon, in 1970, the use of traffic radar by US police departments was widespread. But not ubiquitous like today.
And if you were pulled over for speeding in 1970, my understanding is that the officer may or may not have written a ticket. If your excessive speed was generally under control, without swerving about, and with no other cars around, the officer might have chosen to engage in a stern but polite talking to.
Any ticket would have had a monetary penalty to pay, but, again, seldom like the large and punitive sums seen today. And, by the way, today's US fines are still generally lower than what is mandated in the UK. It's also less common in the US to have your license revoked and to be incarcerated. For better and for worse.
In 1970 the use of a points system -- to keep track of a driver's penalties -- was not in place in all US states. And there was none of the information sharing -- between US states -- that there is today. Although illegal, it was not too difficult at that time to hold a driver's license from more than one state.
Technology and networks have marched ever forward, and some of the preceding now seem a bit quaint. "You can't outrun Officer Motorola," goes the popular saying. Even in jurisdictions where the police no longer engage in pursuit, the police radio, the helicopter, and CCTV will likely have the last word.
Of course public safety is more important than any one person's desire to drive at high speed on public roads. But there is a certain romanticism, I imagine, to "the way things were."
Radar detectors are legal in 49 of the 50 states (Virginia is the lone exception). An arms race of sorts evolved from radar vs radar detectors to lidar vs lidar detectors. Jammers of any type are illegal, but there remains a black market cottage industry to supply those consumers who are most demanding. If you take the time to look online, there are even a number of anoraks who experiment with radar-absorbent paint and materials applied to the fronts of their cars.
The US instituted its first national speed limit -- 55 MPH -- in the mid 1970s, chiefly to reduce excess consumption of fuel during the Mideast oil crises of that time. Sparsely populated states such as Montana then acquired a place in the national folklore for flouting the law by issuing speeding tickets in the amount of five dollars -- almost regardless of how fast you were going.
Today the federal government no longer enforces a national speed limit. Most US states seem to be at 65 MPH or so, as their limit. The highest posted rate is in Texas: 85 MPH.
I love these. As a child I remember being driven in a brown V8 from the UK to Germany in one (with my parents, it wasn't an abduction). My over-riding memory is that it was very smooth, fast and the little illuminated tips of the headlights that peaked above the front wings.
One of my mum's favourite cars; we got through a few as my dad wrote them all off. Fast and reckless - how he didn't kill himself, us or others is still a mystery.
The styling is perfect, they must have looked light years ahead of current models when launched.
One of my mum's favourite cars; we got through a few as my dad wrote them all off. Fast and reckless - how he didn't kill himself, us or others is still a mystery.
The styling is perfect, they must have looked light years ahead of current models when launched.
Nice period promo film of the P6's gestation, with ace character actor John Carson's posh voiceover...
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=Rover+P6+Fact...
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=Rover+P6+Fact...
Edited by P5BNij on Monday 4th December 19:40
aeropilot said:
coppice said:
As , officially , an old fart ('concession is it mate ?') it is fascinating to see this car now as a relic from prehistory . But in period ,the Rover 2000 was an extraordinary leap forward from its predecessors. Rover , almost overnight, went from purveyor of staid , traditional British cars (gas turbine a dead end )to a maker of something in keeping with the forward looking zeitgeist - 'white heat of technology' and all that. When big Fords often still had bench seats , ghastly US mimicking styling and handled like cargo ships , and Vauxhalls were iredeemably naff , the Rover was a breath for fresh air and looked entirely new , divorced from the formality of P5 and P4 . Fresh , clean lines , minimalist and very neat dashboard, four individual seats , sexy little stubby gearlever and excellent road manners - very much an English Lancia.
Not to mention, four wheel disc brakes, and for the day an impressive safety cell crash protection construction.As you say, it was leagues ahead of anything built by Ford/Vauxhall/Rootes at the time.
king arthur said:
aeropilot said:
coppice said:
As , officially , an old fart ('concession is it mate ?') it is fascinating to see this car now as a relic from prehistory . But in period ,the Rover 2000 was an extraordinary leap forward from its predecessors. Rover , almost overnight, went from purveyor of staid , traditional British cars (gas turbine a dead end )to a maker of something in keeping with the forward looking zeitgeist - 'white heat of technology' and all that. When big Fords often still had bench seats , ghastly US mimicking styling and handled like cargo ships , and Vauxhalls were iredeemably naff , the Rover was a breath for fresh air and looked entirely new , divorced from the formality of P5 and P4 . Fresh , clean lines , minimalist and very neat dashboard, four individual seats , sexy little stubby gearlever and excellent road manners - very much an English Lancia.
Not to mention, four wheel disc brakes, and for the day an impressive safety cell crash protection construction.As you say, it was leagues ahead of anything built by Ford/Vauxhall/Rootes at the time.
It also won the very first European Car of the Year award in 1964.
Mr Tidy said:
Wow, with RoverP6B that's 3 former Mexico Brown 3500s owners on this thread! 
They were a seriously quick car back in the 70s!
When I was younger and courting (showing my age there), I used to travel to the see the other half most nights, and quite enjoyed seeing if I could beat my record time for the journey, they were quick for their time. I do remember loosing the gearbox after an over energetic launch, sourced a replacement from the scrappy and fitted it myself in dads garage.They were a seriously quick car back in the 70s!
Wish the car was still around
Another pic, please excuse the white tyre lettering....I was young
My mate had a bog standard 2000 in Metplod Blue.
His day job was a bus driver out of Enfield Garage ( stories there he related were bizarre) He never wore his uniform cap at all at work
I for some weird reason had bought a BR steam drivers loco cap, in anticipation of 'looking the part' when i finished building my live steam loco. I have now progressed to a US Casey Jones hat and neckerchief!!!
One of the things we did when we were bored was to ta pe a Coke tin to the centre of the roof and don both the peaked caps and drive around with the headlights on dip. This may sound the norm nowadays but believe me back in the 60.'s/70's most driver in London were using sidelights only in Built up areas and on well lit Dc, the A10 and the A406 being good examples.
To drive up behind the local racers like this at the lights and all they see in the rear view mirror was a P6 shape on dipped heads with a protuberance on the roof, and the silhouettes of two guys with peaked caps on board the reactions were a joy to behold. Driving impeccable and then he used to drive past and nod as they realised they had been suckered
Ok might not seem funny now but back then it was a pleasant way to spend an hour or two
His day job was a bus driver out of Enfield Garage ( stories there he related were bizarre) He never wore his uniform cap at all at work
I for some weird reason had bought a BR steam drivers loco cap, in anticipation of 'looking the part' when i finished building my live steam loco. I have now progressed to a US Casey Jones hat and neckerchief!!!
One of the things we did when we were bored was to ta pe a Coke tin to the centre of the roof and don both the peaked caps and drive around with the headlights on dip. This may sound the norm nowadays but believe me back in the 60.'s/70's most driver in London were using sidelights only in Built up areas and on well lit Dc, the A10 and the A406 being good examples.
To drive up behind the local racers like this at the lights and all they see in the rear view mirror was a P6 shape on dipped heads with a protuberance on the roof, and the silhouettes of two guys with peaked caps on board the reactions were a joy to behold. Driving impeccable and then he used to drive past and nod as they realised they had been suckered
Ok might not seem funny now but back then it was a pleasant way to spend an hour or two
triple5 said:
Wish the car was still around
Another pic, please excuse the white tyre lettering....I was young
Was that the original interior...?Another pic, please excuse the white tyre lettering....I was young
If so, must have been one of the first 'box pleat' cars....?
Most L-reg cars I remember seeing have the earlier style 'small rib' seat pattern.
One of my childhood friends Dad had a M-reg 3500S from new as a company car, Red with tan box pleat interior and Denovo wheel/tyre option.
Was replaced after 4 years with an early manual SDI 3500 in a ghastly yellow colour with brown crushed velour seats. His Dad hated it compared to the P6, and after only 2 years, and countless breakdowns and warranty issues, he terminated the lease on the SDI and replaced it with an early SIII Jag XJ.
Fond memories here of the P6, as a BRG 2000TC was the first car in which I can remember being chauffeured around by my parents. To my 6 year old self, it seemed luxurious and cosseting, a lovely place to be.
After 3 years of ownership it was nicked from a long-stay airport car park while my dad was away on a business trip, never to be seen again.
After 3 years of ownership it was nicked from a long-stay airport car park while my dad was away on a business trip, never to be seen again.
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