Discussion
Merc fan said:
Evening all. I'm interested in a Rover P5b coupe. Anyone know the good / bad points? Where to look for one? What to pay?
Cheers!
Cool car - I'd love to have one. Cheers!
IMHO the Chrysler 300C looks like its been styled on the P5b
But I have nothing to add that will help you I'm afraid, from what I've seen they start around the 6k mark. There is one in Motorsport magazine this month for 18k
I think they have crept up in value over the last few years.
I've owned one for 10 years now and no regrets other than I should have paid a little more for one in top notch condition rather than sink money into a cheaper example.
Here's mine:
there are several places for info including :
The Rover P5 Club: http://www.roverp5club.org.uk/
The P5 Club buyers guide: http://www.roverp5club.org.uk/buyers-g.htm
If you let me know where you're based I'll put you in touch with someone locally who has knowledge of these cars.
In terms of value, you can pick up a rough car with MOT for £1500ish and an absolute minter will be £15,000 from a dealer.
The best bet would be to find a really good one at the top end of your budget.
Most spares are plentiful especially engines and gearboxes but one or two bits are becoming harder to find although there are ways and means if you know where to look.
Here's mine:
there are several places for info including :
The Rover P5 Club: http://www.roverp5club.org.uk/
The P5 Club buyers guide: http://www.roverp5club.org.uk/buyers-g.htm
If you let me know where you're based I'll put you in touch with someone locally who has knowledge of these cars.
In terms of value, you can pick up a rough car with MOT for £1500ish and an absolute minter will be £15,000 from a dealer.
The best bet would be to find a really good one at the top end of your budget.
Most spares are plentiful especially engines and gearboxes but one or two bits are becoming harder to find although there are ways and means if you know where to look.
Merc fan said:
Evening all. I'm interested in a Rover P5b coupe. Anyone know the good / bad points? Where to look for one? What to pay?
Cheers!
my Father had a P5 3000 coupe not the P5/B which had rostyle wheels Rover v8 and extra lightsCheers!
The roof lines were identical
twas a great car however the engine was prone to warping valves/they had F-heads the intake manifold and its valves are located on top of the cylinders (in the cylinder head) and were operated by pushrods, but the exhaust manifold and its valves were located beside the cylinders (in the block). The exhaust valves were parallel with the pistons; their faces pointed upwards and were operated by direct contact with the camshaft.
Father's claim to fame was he bent a valve in the cylinder head took the car to the local Rover garage , they took a look and told him to junk the head as they wouldn't be able to remove the bent valve which was stuck !!
He worked for Winfrith the atomic energy reasearch Authority laboratory , came home with a flask of dry ice , used some plastecine around the cylinder head poured in the dry ice and after 5 minutes the valve dropped out !!!
Great story and another british icon of motoring history I would like to own. I came close once, went to look at a V8 coupe in south london, must be nigh on 30 years ago now. The chap was obviously a dealer that dealt from home. He kindly showed us around the car, same colour as tyre_tread with oatmeal trim (from memory) and then took us on a test drive. He would not allow me to drive the car. Approximately half a mile into the drive and at maybe 40mph in a very slow majestic fashion the bonnet came up. Yep it bent, yep he was quite upset but neither did I offer to open or close the bonnet which was entirely his responsibility and you guessed it we walked away.
Had an absolutely stunning looking Coupe in the mid '90s, Admiralty Blue with a Silver Birch roof. Looked lovely but seemed to eat gearboxes, would contstantly overheat, would starve itself of petrol, the gearbox would stick in drive, plus other little niggles would come out of the blue meaning the calling of the AA. Whatever was fixed, something else would go within what seemed like a week! I'd get "Lovely car,mate" all the time, but my answer was always "D'you wanna buy it?" 
f
king hated that car! Thankfully it was sold after about a year and a half.
Having said that, I still love them. Just not my old one.
f
king hated that car! Thankfully it was sold after about a year and a half.Having said that, I still love them.
Just not my old one.vixen1700 said:
Had an absolutely stunning looking Coupe in the mid '90s, Admiralty Blue with a Silver Birch roof. Looked lovely but seemed to eat gearboxes, would contstantly overheat, would starve itself of petrol, the gearbox would stick in drive, plus other little niggles would come out of the blue meaning the calling of the AA. Whatever was fixed, something else would go within what seemed like a week! I'd get "Lovely car,mate" all the time, but my answer was always "D'you wanna buy it?"
fking hated that car! Thankfully it was sold after about a year and a half.
Having said that, I still love them. Just not my old one.
Perhaps that one waqs the TVR test car f
king hated that car! Thankfully it was sold after about a year and a half.Having said that, I still love them.
Just not my old one.
look for holes where rust used to be... then look for patches where holes used to be!!!!
When buying a classic, buy the best one you can afford - obviously this probably won't be the cheapest but remember you will spend 5 x the money "repairing" problems and you wont get this back!!!
Lovely old cars
When buying a classic, buy the best one you can afford - obviously this probably won't be the cheapest but remember you will spend 5 x the money "repairing" problems and you wont get this back!!!
Lovely old cars
Edited by Gallen on Thursday 16th April 13:41
Tyre_Tread said:
To be honest, I'm not quite ready to push the button yet. Still working up the courage. I once owned a Merc 450SEL 6.9 and it ended up costing me a small fortune. I don't think I can resist the allure of another classic car but the thought of endless bills scares me (I also fear for my safety after the b
king my OH gave me the last time). I'm thinking about it!Merc fan said:
Tyre_Tread said:
To be honest, I'm not quite ready to push the button yet. Still working up the courage. I once owned a Merc 450SEL 6.9 and it ended up costing me a small fortune. I don't think I can resist the allure of another classic car but the thought of endless bills scares me (I also fear for my safety after the b
king my OH gave me the last time). I'm thinking about it!There are at least 3 P5B Coupe's for sale ranging from £2.5K to £9K IIRC.
Go and have a look at a few and find out what the good and bad points are. The reserch and buying process are all part of the fun.
What sort of buget do you have in mind? How capable are you at doing your own mechanical work? And bodywork?
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