Manchester daily commute.

[stan]

Hi everyone I recently started a new job in Manchester and I did buy the P5 to use daily, however its had a leisurely life this summer. I keep fettling, adjusting, tuning it but thanks to Vince's advice I managed to get it running quite well (thank you Sir).

This week I took the plunge and off we went! I had forgotten the perils of old cars on cold mornings and low autumn bright sunshine, undeterred , suit on, sunglasses , portable DAB radio and mobile on charge, we set off to the big windy city.

Its just a 14 mile trip but almost an hour. This reminded me of happy commutes in my 1958 Wolseley 15/50 - my first classic years ago. The Rover has the same interior aroma, you know leather, vinyl, wood, hot oil, odd whiff of exhaust fumes but unlike the Wolseley never leaks water from the screens!

If you know Manchester I generally squeeze through the very centre (Deansgate) and across to the other side of town. Classic cars are like goldfish bowls and that particular road is very much a captive audience!
I dont buy classics to show off just enjoy driving them but even with dark sunglasses I do feel a bit self conscience. Funny when I was younger I didn't even care or notice.

So far its behaved perfectly, never overheats never has, even during the hot summer? Fitting LED stop/tail/side and headlights was the best thing I ever did. I have never liked the faff with the lights so the sidelights are on all the time so I can flash the headlights quickly with the column switch.

People are so impatient these days however I have been given a wide berth and they always let me in.
The best part (other than arriving at work and home without any troubles) are the nice comments from people.
Tonight a biker stopped at the side of me and said' Wow man that is awesome, really stunning', which really made my day, after all the work and hours I put in to this tank! 😀

Thankfully I have a nice carpark away from the masses and manage to just squeeze it in the space.



Manchester keeps reinventing itself.


Anyway if you are in Manchester and see a steel blue P5 winding its way gingerly between bikes, Audis and vans give me a wave!😉

[lagain]

It should not overheat - it has a Rover engine

Totally agree with the LEDs, I am touring Scotland in mine at the moment and have the LED headlights on all the time. Have forgotten to turn them off a couple of times, but no problem as they take so little power and they are better in the dark.

[tarnowl]

Sept 25, 2018 20:38:56 GMT stan said:

Hi everyone I recently started a new job in Manchester and I did buy the P5 to use daily, however its had a leisurely life this summer. I keep fettling, adjusting, tuning it but thanks to Vince's advice I managed to get it running quite well (thank you Sir).

This week I took the plunge and off we went! I had forgotten the perils of old cars on cold mornings and low autumn bright sunshine, undeterred , suit on, sunglasses , portable DAB radio and mobile on charge, we set off to the big windy city.

Its just a 14 mile trip but almost an hour. This reminded me of happy commutes in my 1958 Wolseley 15/50 - my first classic years ago. The Rover has the same interior aroma, you know leather, vinyl, wood, hot oil, odd whiff of exhaust fumes but unlike the Wolseley never leaks water from the screens!

If you know Manchester I generally squeeze through the very centre (Deansgate) and across to the other side of town. Classic cars are like goldfish bowls and that particular road is very much a captive audience!
I dont buy classics to show off just enjoy driving them but even with dark sunglasses I do feel a bit self conscience. Funny when I was younger I didn't even care or notice.

So far its behaved perfectly, never overheats never has, even during the hot summer? Fitting LED stop/tail/side and headlights was the best thing I ever did. I have never liked the faff with the lights so the sidelights are on all the time so I can flash the headlights quickly with the column switch.

People are so impatient these days however I have been given a wide berth and they always let me in.
The best part (other than arriving at work and home without any troubles) are the nice comments from people.
Tonight a biker stopped at the side of me and said' Wow man that is awesome, really stunning', which really made my day, after all the work and hours I put in to this tank! 😀

Thankfully I have a nice carpark away from the masses and manage to just squeeze it in the space.



Manchester keeps reinventing itself.


Anyway if you are in Manchester and see a steel blue P5 winding its way gingerly between bikes, Audis and vans give me a wave!😉

Awesome indeed!😄  Nice pics.

[stan]

Sept 25, 2018 20:58:34 GMT lagain said:

It should not overheat - it has a Rover engine

Totally agree with the LEDs, I am touring Scotland in mine at the moment and have the LED headlights on all the time. Have forgotten to turn them off a couple of times, but no problem as they take so little power and they are better in the dark.

Aha well most of my other classics have even with electric fans installed (not by me) this one stays cool.

Enjoy your Highland fling, get on the Road to Skye one of my favourite roads to it from Dalwhinnie. A86.

[Phil Nottingham]

The 3 Litre will only overheat in traffic if the rad core is blocked or the block silted up badly or the head gasket is going or ignition timing is out. Our Coupe will crawl along for hours in heavy traffic with an only slight rise in water temp.  V8's are another matter entirely

[stan]

Sept 26, 2018 17:38:16 GMT Phil Nottingham said:

The 3 Litre will only overheat in traffic if the rad core is blocked or the block silted up badly or the head gasket is going or ignition timing is out. Our Coupe will crawl along for hours in heavy traffic with an only slight rise in water temp.  V8's are another matter entirely

Thanks Phil this one has a new rad new everything plus remember my flushing adventure last year where I cleared out the gunge and fitted new thermostat, heating is superb but thanks to good insulation in the cab also.

I have to say my so called free time is getting squeezed so much these days I dont have the time to perfect the last couple of niggles on it (niggles to me probably nobody else😁) and I am sadly considering putting it up for sale so the next custodian can enjoy it? When did life get so busy that you cant indulge your classic car passion.😑