With the silly season coming to an end, for many of us that means back to work. To celebrate this less than momentous occasion, I bring you a superb company car. Chad uses this Rover P6 3500 to ferry around his plumbing tools, to advertise his business, and to let the world know that he is a man of discerning tastes.
I’ve seen Chad’s 3500 a few times; on this occasion I even managed to have a short conversation with the man himself. This beauty is a non-problematic daily driver, and the only downside is petrol bills. Then again, his capital expense is not so high, so he can theoretically offset the fuel costs against the non-existent lease payments and still come out ahead. Maybe.
CC correspondents are continually inundated with an avalanche of lucrative endorsement opportunities. Me, I prefer to save my imprimatur for worthy causes. Such as Chad’s Plumbing Solutions.
Nice ride Chad.
Further Reading
Paul Niedermeyers’s CC/COAL on another hard-working Rover P6
I saw exactly 1 P6 in the wild. Don’t recall if it was a 2000TC or a 3500. Wasn’t all that wild either as it was parked in the roof parking lot of Cobo Hall in Detroit, while the auto show was in progress, so could easily have been driven there by dealer personnel.
Wonder if it’s a manual trans, or if he has kept a BW type 35 whirring all these years.
Steve
The manual box behind the V8 was the same one in the four with the addition of an oil pump they were very weak, few survived either a Toyota or SD1 5 speeds are the cure but most of the hundreds of these I see are automatic, its going to be strange times indeed when P6s and Triumph 2000s become rare cars here.
…but most of the hundreds of these I see are automatic,
I was wondering about the durability of the Type 35 in the P6. The SD1 apparently used a Type 65, which would have been stronger, but that could also have been due to the SD1 being 200 pounds heavier.
Not the most durable transmission by reputation but quite common and easily replaced when they break, Most NOS parts for Rovers are sourced from a wrecking yard run by a former classmate his father began wrecking Rovers and Jags exclusively over 50 years ago and bought up all the NZmotor corp parts stock when that entity closed down, anything you cant get they have some, I mentioned them when that XJ6 project was underway.
I, too, have seen precisely one P6 on the road. Three years ago in the beach community of Kill Devil Hills, NC, while having lunch at one of the area restaurants, I witnessed a P6, white with black roof, drive by on the road outside the window. The distinctive triple hoodscoops marked it as a US-market 3500S. I was so surprised that it took a second to register!
Your 3500S had 3 speed Auto but the UK version had a 4 speed manual which could not take the torque of the V8 and often failed. Problem solved in the SD1.
The 3500s NADA are the holy grail in the UK and go for big money.
Many years ago, a friend from SUNY NY had a `69 Rover, probably a 3500 -or rather it was his mother`s car. He got to use it occasionally to commute from Manhattan to Garden City, Long Island. It was a model like the plummer`s car seen here. I believe it had a V6, but what I do remember vividly was the interior which looked like it had four bucket seats. It was in tan leather and the body was in white. It also had a Pontiac GTO like hood scoop with three intake vents.. Nice riding and handling car, but a fairly rare bird.Probably rusted out fast like most British cars of this era were prone to do.
Yes, the Rover 2000/3500 was designed as a four seater. The P6’s interior had quite a significant influence on other British car makers.Compare the 1964-67 Victor 101 interior
http://files.uk2sitebuilder.com/uk2group253061/image/2.vauxhallvictor101deluxefcinterior10.66.jpg
(a near contemporary to the original 1963 P6) to that of it’s replacement in upmarket form, the 1967-69 FD series Victor 2000
http://files.uk2sitebuilder.com/uk2group253061/image/8.vauxhallvictor2000interiorpressphotograph16.10.67.jpg
Completely separate front seats with console between plus sculptured rear seats became the norm for such saloons. Took a while longer for all round disc brakes and (good) all-round independent suspension to catch on though!
Doors and door frames for the FC Victor are shared with the larger Velox Cresta far easier entry and exit and roomier than the cramped Rover which is only a four seater not five like the Vauxhalls.
Yes, the clever use of chrome trim and the reshaped back door outer skin makes it much less obvious at first glance than the FB/PB pair. With the optional front bench and column gear change the FC was claimed to be a six-seater.
No V6 (unless it was a transplant) – they were either 4 or V8, and if it had the (fake) hood scoops it was a US-market V8.
US models had the three hood scoops, they were V8s or 2L four.
I just did a bit of research on that subject and I don’t think the 2000 fours had the scoops, even in the US market. But I could be wrong on that.
Only the US market V8 had the hood scoops; not the 2000 four.
I had picked up the Rover brochures at the auto show the same year I saw the P6 parked, but sold them last fall.
One of the pieces of literature was a reprint from R&T or C&D where they spelled out the changes for the US version. Besides the three hood scoops (V8 version only, not on the 2000TC), they noted the side marker lights, the body side molding with accompanying pin stripe, and they griped about how busy the front of the car was, what with the 3500S badge, the V8 badge and the icelert sensor.
Found a video on youtube of a walkaround and start of a US spec 3500.
I wonder if the panel fits on the passenger side were that bad when it rolled out the door at Solihull.
Panel fit on the P6 was inherently bad because of they are built. They have an “inner” body, upon which the non-structural external body parts are attached (bolted), like a Citroen DS or Saturn. That makes for big gaps.
When I was a 16 year old a friend,electrician and 20yo,had a Land Rover green with cream leather Rover 2000.It had a manual gearbox and was a great car to drive.Quiet and very comfortable and also reliable.After many years he sold the Rover and bought a new Renault 12 and then a new Ford Escort panel van.Many years after he bought an immaculate condition Rover 3500 with the aluminium Buick V8 engine,but that had the auto gearbox,still the same shape as the old Rover 2000.When I was 16/17yo I worked for the Rover dealer and was lucky to drive many new and used 2000 and 3500 and one,the best Rover 3500S with a manual gearbox.I don’t recall any of those Rovers suffering rust problems.They were a beautifully engineered car although I remember my brother,a highly regarded mechanic,telling me that he rebuilt the De Dion rear suspension in one and it was the most difficult job he had ever undertaken.
They were a beautifully engineered car although I remember my brother,a highly regarded mechanic,telling me that he rebuilt the De Dion rear suspension in one and it was the most difficult job he had ever undertaken.
Sticks in my mind the front suspension was odd too: spindles worked on a bell crank which bore on coil springs mounted on the firewall.
Ah, found a pic.
Uncle Will, Mum’s younger brother was a Rover driver in the mid 60s until 1976 when a disaster of a brand new SD1 converted him to BMWs.
My ex BIL had a 2000 until it’s rear suspension played up. You’re right about it being a brute to work on, after much swearing and skinned knuckles he gave up and it became a lawn ornament.
…a disaster of a brand new SD1
I read a road test of an SD1 when they were new in the US. Can’t remember if it was in Consumer Reports, Road & Track or Motor Trend. Among their long list of failures during their test session was the throttle cable, a twisted wire cable which found something to abrade itself against and broke,
The odd arrangement of the front suspension was to allow for a gas turbine in the T4 version
https://www.flickr.com/photos/clicks_1000/408809124/sizes/l
http://c8.alamy.com/comp/AT5NWM/1961-rover-t4-gas-turbine-car-AT5NWM.jpg
It did mean there was plenty of width for the ex-Buick V8 engine they bought.
I like the styling of the T4–same basic body as the P6 but with the distinctive drooping nose and no grille panel.
Yes, basically the same body – a bit like the 1981 Ford Probe III that effectively previewed the Ford Sierra the following year.
http://www.carstyling.ru/en/car/1981_ford_probe_iii/
Unfamiliarity being the biggest issue, they didnt resemble anything else,
Yes, tax laws will vary wildly, but this does make an interesting case. Could a person buy themselves a different fun ride every 5 years or so and depreciate it out?
Regardless, I’m guessing this is a pretty wise man.
Don, I was starting to wonder if you were going to say he had been by your house to rod out a clogged drain or replace a water pressure regulator.
Jason, I suppose a more pressing issue would be the reliability of the vehicle, especially for a business like this with its ‘on-call’ nature. I’m guessing Chad wrenches on this beauty himself.
I haven’t partaken in Chad’s services yet, but does George Clooney actually drink Nespresso at home?
I have only seen one of these in the U.S., but it left quite a vivid impression on me. I saw it in the early 70’s parked in front of a pub in Boston. It was a handsome car in British Racing Green I thought, but it looked a bit odd to me because it had a hood scoop and five-spoke mag wheels; it seemed an attempt to Muscle-Car-Americanize an otherwise smooth design. I notice that Phil also remembers the hood scoop, so perhaps that was a standard item in the American market?
Have a read of Paul’s piece linked at ‘Further Reading’. Those hood scoops were used on US-spec V8s, and the one in that article is interesting in that it’s a chromed-grille example.
I believe these came as a wagon too, both factory and aftermarket (FLM Panelcraft). Maybe this would have been a smarter choice for the commercial user.
Rather like P6 Rovers, nice thin steering wheel, decent V8 throb of Buick origin, alloy panels and unique flat sitting springs in the front guard to accomodate the turbine motor that never was.
KJ in Oz
Thanks for that. I’ve got a piece coming up on the S1 Range Rover in which I mention the FLM P6 Estoura, but I didn’t know there was a factory version.
No factory wagon – they were only aftermarket conversions, and very rare.
Thought so. There seem to be slight variations in the height of the trailing edge of the roof in the various examples I’ve seen pics of. Would this be correct?
I dimly recall that one of the aftermarket builders tried making a deal to sell the conversion through some Rover dealers, presumably in answer to the rival Triumph 2000/2500 estate. I suppose tooling costs precluded a factory P6 estate, although the conversions don’t look half bad and are certainly a step up in practicality.
On some research, there were only aftermarket versions, I seem to recall the wagon was shown in the sales brochures of the time, but I could be confused with Triumph.
From the Wiki –
“While Triumph enjoyed considerable success with the estate version of their 2000 saloon, Rover seemed happy to leave that sector of the market entirely open to their old rival. However, Battersea-based coachbuilders FLM Panelcraft picked up Rover’s dropped ball and produced their own estate conversion of the P6, called the Estoura. The name is presumably a contraction of the words ‘estate’ and ‘tourer’. Between 160 and 170 were produced (although the Rover P6 Club database shows 187 Estouras as of Dec 2010). The first estate was not an approved conversion, but from 1970 onwards the car was marketed (with the factory’s blessing) by BL dealers HR Owen Limited and therefore factory warranties were carried forward.
The conversions were completed by H.R. Owen and Crayford Engineering, with bodywork executed by FLM Panelcraft. According to P6 archivist John Windwood, Crayford’s involvement in the project was limited to the interior of the car, and the company had no bearing on the external design of the estate conversion. Nonetheless Crayford badged them as Crayfords for a while (implying that they built them) and only stopped after FLM threatened legal action. Conversions could be carried out at any time in the car’s life. Most conversions appear to have been carried out when the cars were 12 months old or older because if a car was converted when new, the conversion would be liable for Purchase Tax like the car itself.
Due to the cost of the conversion (about GB£800) it would appear that most were carried out on the 3500 rather than on the 2000, with even fewer 2200s made. In comparison with the Triumph 2000 estate, the Rover Estoura was of limited practicality. The quality of the conversion also left a great deal to be desired. ”
KJ in Oz
I remember a couple of these in our corner of Ontario when I was a kid.
I swear one of them had the spare wheel bolted on the trunk lid.
we are talking the memory system of a kid 40+ years ago but it seemed like a factory type setup. or was the guy that owned it just weird?
a factory option that’s now considered desirable
http://www.aronline.co.uk/blogs/cars/rover/p6/the-cars-rover-p6/
Seeing those always reminded me of old photos of Land Rovers with the spare bolted to the hood…
A simple solution to the issue of a very cramped boot (trunk)
The wheel on the trunk denotes the Continental Touring option (actually meant you could carry two spare wheels & tyres).
Regards the size of the Rover. My family had one in the 60’s – our feeling was that it was always slightly undersized for what it was. The bucket back seats were no good for three on a journey and the trunk a bit too small. The spare wheel was then mounted on top of the boot outside by some to free up space in the trunk. Not sure if this inhibited sales but my folks always reckoned that making the car just a little bigger would have made it more useful to us.
When my grandfather – who had a stacklight Galaxie as a company car – retired, he looked at both the Rover and Volvo 164 as the replacement. According to my father who went shopping with him, he really wanted the Rover but was discouraged by the lack of room in the rear. He ended up owning two 164s in a row.
An interesting choice. Hopefully it is like in the Toyota commercial vehicles ads where it starts at the first crank.
Started on Monday, and yesterday found that the West gate bridge repairs were finished. I wish traffic into the city in the afternoon was like yesterday’s.
Well, I’d a block a sink to be able to call him………..
Can someone please enlighten me as to why GM had so much trouble with the little 215 ci aluminum engine. Rover, in all it’s guises, used it for years, I assume, without problems. I owned a 62 F85 with this motor until the rear main oil seal gave out in the middle of nowhere New Mexico. This after years of use and only routine servicing.