I owned a 3500S and had it as my daily runner for ten years - bought in 1984 for £300, slightly scruffy but usable - but retired it in 1994 as it was beginning to rust and at the time I had a young son and a need for rear seatbelts, which my Rover lacked. However, at some point, I'd like another - I was very happy with mine - and wondered if there were any particular problems to highlight. I knew someone who worked for British Aerospace who cut a hole in the boot of his then covered it with a panel fixed down with fasteners only found elsewhere in the Harrier - this made working on the brakes much easier, but I never got round to doing the same to mine. What is parts availability like nowadays? And have members of this forum got any concerns about the unconventional suspension?
Also, to improve or not? Could one put on a modern 5/6 speed manual (likely ZF)? If not, is an SD1 5-speed any real improvement over the S 4-speed? I know I broke a layshaft on reverse on mine and had to get a replacement 'box... also, what was build quality like on the SD1/Range Rover/TR8/MG RV8 engines like? Likewise, how did the bored-out 3.9 compare with the silky-smooth 3.5? I'd like to make the car as economical as possible (my stock 3500S with 2 SU carbs did 29mpg on a really long motorway run) - would fitting EFI be worth doing? Can one fit an ECU? Would an ECU be worth having? I wonder about using an SD1 Vitesse engine with the EFI, but I'm not sure. Help! I'm not going down the LPG route, by the way.
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I had a 2000 in the 70s and I've used a pals P5B quite a lot. I think rust was the most serious problem. I have been a member of the Rover Sports Register on and off for 30 yrs ( not at the moment ) I suggest you buy a copy of Practical Classics. The mag has all the clubs listed with contacts. I think there are specific clubs for P6 as well. They may have a forum on line, my own one-make club does.
Best of luck
Ted
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Lots of info here....The mighty Rover P6B
Improving a Rover P6B. One bloke?s opinions. Over the last few years I have been
developing a P6B for fast road and ultimately race track use. ...
oldsite.p6club.com/improvingthep6.doc
Ted
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Classics car mag is running a couple of P6s as daily drivers from memory. There have also been buyers guides for these cars at various points over the years - I get all four major classic car mags monthly and P6s feature fairly regular.
Seems to be a fair few specialists who cater for these cars.
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I've owned many of these over the years, the most recent a 3500s with an SD1 5 speed box. Parts are no problem except for some trim bits. Rust as always is the killer, a good base unit is essential, as you know the panels are bolt-on. The SD1 LT77 5 speed is a common conversion and well worth it, it transforms cruising at motorway speeds and improves economy. There are several specialist parts suppliers for the car and many engines bits are available from Rimmers. If you are worried about fuel economy, you're looking at the wrong car. You might get 30-ish on a run with a 5-speed if you drive like a vicar, mid to late 20's in normal use unless you drive in a town or use the power a lot. I wouldn't bother with an EFI setup, the SD1 installation is notoriously unreliable. A better change is a good exhaust and manifolds and a 4 barrel carb. I have an SD1 so fitted (on a 4.6 engine) and it is very reliable.
Did I mention rust? Check out the owner's club website and join if you are looking for one.
Lovely cars though, I'll own another one day.
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I heard of someone many moons ago fitting a Toyota Supra 5 speed gearbox to the P6. Probably not an easy conversion but presumably more robust than the SD1 gearbox.
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I bought my 1969 P6B in 1994 to use as a daily driver. At first I did a 40-mile commute, then at one time commuted three times weekly from south Dorset to Weston-super-Mare. The only time it let me down on the road was when the mechanical fuel pump failed. Eventually it was superseded as daily driver by a Honda Legend coupe and became the weekend car. In two moments of weakness I sold the Rover to a friend and the Legend to a friend of a friend before we moved to France in 2002. Both bad decisions...
My Rover was one owner, low mileage and very original and I wanted to keep it that way. A decent electric fuel pump was the only upgrade I ever thought it needed!
I still think pre-1971 P6s without the (exterior) plasticky bits look much nicer.
Look in the mags for specialist parts suppliers - I never had any problems finding bits and dealt successfully for years with Wadhams.
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Right. Likewise, Rimmer Bros seem to stock many, many parts for the P6. At the moment, my daily runner is a BMW E46 318i Touring, 1999 model, very smooth but a bit gutless with the 116bhp engine, and I'm in the middle of buying an E39 520i Touring, 2002, which will eventually replace it after an overlap period. However, I still want a P6. The above document on how to improve it looks interesting, particularly with regard to its already excellent handling - it's still the best car I've ever owned in that respect, along with 1960s Humber Sceptre, two MkIII Cortinas (one inherited from my father), a MkII Capri, two Pug 205s (one standard 1 litre, one very nice 1.4L Roland Garros special edition) plus a 1989 BMW E30 318i Touring. Although the Pug RG's go-kart handling very probably saved my life and that of my family at one point compared with how its stablemate, the E30, would have coped, I still prefer my P6 to anything I've ever had, before or since, though my E46 is very nice indeed - it's just that the Rover's roadholding and amount of feel in the steering are slightly better. I want another... and my two sons, 17 and 10, are equally determined to have their own. However, I wouldn't adopt all the suggestions in that document, as I'd want to preserve the car's character as a smooth, quiet, nimble small combined sports saloon/motorway cruiser.
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You're right about the handling too - mine rode better than any other car I've ever owned and I could four-wheel drift it with confidence. Not too good on snow though...
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Better without power steering for 'enthusiastic' driving IMHO. I also prefer the look of the earlier ones. Such a comfortable ride and grip well if you have the nerve and like body roll!
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Mine had PAS and the steering was enthusiastic enough for me, and I found the PAS to be of great benefit in a number of situations.
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A truly gorgeous car, very comfortable and easily able to keep up with modern traffic. My all time favourite car and mine never let me down.
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Lovely cars points of note about upgrades, Water pump Unique to P6 V8's
Rear Diffs can be weak certainly so with regards to power upgrades.
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How's the Monaro mm? Thriving I hope.
The only P6 I've driven was a new 2200. I was rough with the handbrake and the button popped out. Very embarrassing with the owner sitting beside me.
The handbrake could still be made to go on and off but only with a bit of fiddling. I wanted to fix it but he wouldn't let me, and there wasn't time. Arghhhh...
The P5 3.5 litre was nice too despite those ugly wheels. Come to think of it the only time I drove one of those I kissed the kerb gently with the tyre walls in Hyde Park. Perhaps Rovers have a bad effect on me. I can think of another example too... AAAAARGH!
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Hiya Lud Monaro ah! .........Im in love! what an engine
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Excuse me! What ugly wheels? If you're talking the five-spoke Rostyles on the 3.5 litre, I must protest!
Edited by Rover P6B on 06/03/2009 at 21:16
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I'd like to make the car as economical as possible (my stock 3500S with 2 SU carbs did 29mpg on a really long motorway run)>>
I'm drooling over this thread, remembering my 1972 3500 which I had for 8 years. Great car in many ways, but fuel economy was not one of them! - best ever was 24 mpg to Sicily and back. I loved it for its silkiness and oomph, but it was certainly not without its problems. It had a very (too) high compression ratio, being designed for 5-star (100 octane) petrol which was discontinued, and required constant fettling of the ignition timing including dwell angles. The cooling system was a bit overstretched at best, and the engine torque was too much for the torque converter. The car eventually fell to rust and my wife rightly kicked it off the drive.
Still, I have the feeling that you see more of them around today than of the SD1, and in my opinion it was the better car with its De Dion rear suspension, better paint etc. Good luck with the project Mr Rover P6B, and do let us know won't you?
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No project yet, I'm afraid, just a dream... the S did 29MPG on a long motorway run (Northumberland to Surrey, one break). It had Lumenition opto-electronic ignition, so no resetting dwell angles! Cooling was only a problem in that it chucked a bit overboard, so it was fitted with an Austin 1100 header tank linked to the top of the radiator by a bit of pressure piping, so no more lost coolant, either.
By the way, it would be of benefit to transparency if I reveal that this account is basically being managed by my teenaged son (who is fairly well-informed) with minimal input from me - the dream is basically his, but my 10-year-old son and I would both like to have our own P6s, similarly 'improved'. Likewise, the teenager has a dream to restore and convert a P5B Coupé as an estate, with the rear window at the same angle as the original, the rearmost side window much like that of the Coupé, except, obviously, being mounted in the rear wings, not doors, being fixed and therefore lacking the quarterlight. The C-pillar in the Photoshop job he's done (unfortunately trapped on an unserviceable laptop) is at the same slight slant as the Merc W123 estate. He wants to kit it out with a Rover V8-based twin turbo diesel... the Ford (now Land Rover-exclusive on the UK market) 3.6L V8 TT diesel produces 266 bhp and 472 lb ft, which is close, I think, to what he'd like to do. However, he's not sure if the P5 engine bay would allow two turbos, or even one... it's a bit tight, anyway! Anyone here able to comment?
Edited by Rover P6B on 06/03/2009 at 22:47
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Don't know about a P5 estate but didn't Crayford or somebody do one for the P6?
BTW I had a 1972 2000TC, probably the best car I've ever owned. Always fancied a 3500S but could never afford the fuel.
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Don't know about a P5 estate but didn't Crayford or somebody do one for the P6?
.*********
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Gah, The Machine ate my reply.
Crayford did some work on the P6 estate interior, but the conversion itself was done by FLM Panelcraft. Crayford got into a bit of trouble trying to pass the whole conversion off as their own. These had an awkward appearance from some angles, as the roofline followed that of the original which was, frankly, too low for estate purposes. I'd redo the conversion if I had one, raising the roofline, lengthening the C-pillars slightly and therefore rebuilding the rear doors. I might need to raise the windowsill level in the rear wing windows, too, which would also involve raising the tail-lights, or replacing them with custom-made longer ones. The tailgate itself would be replaced completely, along with the D-pillars - these would be done on rather more of a slant to ensure it didn't look like a Ovlov . Imagine the silhouette of the tailgate viewed in profile being rather like that of the outgoing Audi A4 Avant - it would incorporate about 3/4 of the curve of the P6 saloon's bootlid before going up into a modern curved window and a bit of a spoiler, nothing unsubtle. It would be a nicer, more muscular, more elegant, more curvaceous alternative to a Triumph 2.5 estate.
As for P5 estates? I believe a few prototype 3-litre estates were made and promptly scrapped - I know not why, but it seems they were never photographed. There is also a 3-litre hearse around.
Regarding that 2000TC of yours, what was the fuel consumption like? What sort of driving did you do in it?
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 07/03/2009 at 15:08
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Regarding that 2000TC of yours what was the fuel consumption like? What sort of driving did you do in it?
It was my daily drive; this was about 1985/6 so the car wasn't that old. On a long run it'd do about 30mpg, dropped to low 20's round town.
Had to do a few long-ish runs from Nottingham to York with three fairly tall adult passengers. We used my car because there was plenty of legroom and the seats were just superb, plus it'd cruise at 80 all day. Haven't had anything so nice on the motorwy till a few years ago when I bought a BMW 5-series.
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Hah! Funny, I'm looking for an E39 5-series touring, too. I'm surprised the somewhat lethargic 2000TC returned much the same economy as my 3500S - you could have had one after all!
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