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Post by Deleted on May 19, 2015 7:34:28 GMT
A few weeks back I decided to look at an alternative to my P5b. In all honesty its not as quiet as I'd like or as smooth.
I've looked at dozens of examples of a model/make that the rover is often compared to. Quiet,yes,more so than the rover and with a more relaxing ride. Spares,more expensive,lots of daft "needs special tools" jobs that would keep me occupied finding ways to avoid using them and in some ways similar problems in terms of running repairs to the rover.
But, I have yet to see an example (even in so called 'restored' ones) that hasn't been full of pudding and with welds where nature and the cars maker never intended there to be any. The vast majority have been white,not so much as to use as wedding cars but to hide wavy bodywork and dents or poorly fitted repair panels. As for rust,I also have an ex london black cab,these hold many awards for rustbucket of the decade,but if the examples of this luxury car I've seen are typical,even taxis don't dissolve back into the ground with the same speed as they do.
I can't think of much else I could do to improve my Rover,maybe my old Humber which had the quietest and smoothest engine I've ever come across spoilt me,or maybe I'm looking back on it and other old cars I've owned with rose coloured glasses.
At least with the rover I should spend more time driving it than welding or laying underneath it,from what I've seen it,in that way it would be a hard act to follow.
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Post by gingerbeer62 on May 19, 2015 7:53:56 GMT
Interesting comments. My old Rover 3lt was smoother than my V8 that I have now but the V8 does have it's advantages. Sounds like you are going to stick with the Rover then? Don't seem to see many 70s Rollers about. Is that because they are in garages rusting away or do they consider themselves to be too grand to attend fairs etc.  Cheers Colin View Attachment |
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Post by Deleted on May 19, 2015 10:05:01 GMT
A few weeks back I decided to look at an alternative to my P5b. In all honesty its not as quiet as I'd like or as smooth. I've looked at dozens of examples of a model/make that the rover is often compared to. Quiet,yes,more so than the rover and with a more relaxing ride. Spares,more expensive,lots of daft "needs special tools" jobs that would keep me occupied finding ways to avoid using them and in some ways similar problems in terms of running repairs to the rover. But, I have yet to see an example (even in so called 'restored' ones) that hasn't been full of pudding and with welds where nature and the cars maker never intended there to be any. The vast majority have been white,not so much as to use as wedding cars but to hide wavy bodywork and dents or poorly fitted repair panels. As for rust,I also have an ex london black cab,these hold many awards for rustbucket of the decade,but if the examples of this luxury car I've seen are typical,even taxis don't dissolve back into the ground with the same speed as they do. I can't think of much else I could do to improve my Rover,maybe my old Humber which had the quietest and smoothest engine I've ever come across spoilt me,or maybe I'm looking back on it and other old cars I've owned with rose coloured glasses. At least with the rover I should spend more time driving it than welding or laying underneath it,from what I've seen it,in that way it would be a hard act to follow. I quite like them but it seems that you have to find one with a detailed proper service history and a stack of invoices because so much of the work is highly technical and specialist especially the braking and self-levelling system. Rust is a major problem and by the time a "Roller" has hit the wedding trade, it's usually fallen on hard times and any repairs would need very deep pockets.It was never meant to be a "DIY" car in the first place. I should think there are plenty around for decent money and probably cheap for the incredible vehicle you could end up with. Re noise in the P5B, I think most of my car noise comes from the door seals despite having replaced/refurbished all of them.The problem could be the hardness of the replacement seals(here we go again!) & worn grommets etc. I don't get any transmission noise and the car is very quiet at low traffic speeds. kev, better the devil you know!! |
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Post by Deleted on May 19, 2015 15:51:45 GMT
I have a pal who virtually rebuilt an old Rolls but he seldom uses it as it has been damaged enough times when parked to convince him that some of the damage at least is deliberate. I worry enough about leaving the Rover,I think after listening to him I'd be paranoid about leaving a Rolls!.
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Post by davewright on May 19, 2015 16:00:20 GMT
If I hadn't come across a P5B at the right price I would have gone for my second choice which is a 1984/85 Jaguar XJ6, preferably with the 3.5 AJ6 engine. I was doing some contract work at Jaguars at this time so I know that the best ones were made at this time. I am also disappointed with the noise and ride from the Rover but hope I can sort these out when I do a full rebuild sometime in the future. Meantime I still enjoy driving it.
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Post by richardlamsdale on May 19, 2015 18:03:42 GMT
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Post by Deleted on May 19, 2015 18:25:24 GMT
Unbelievable! I had no idea how bad they could get. I would have expected better to be honest  |
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Post by Deleted on May 19, 2015 21:30:48 GMT
Oh my Gawd,that makes some of the things I looked at seem pristine by comparison .Somewhere in the thread it mentions Carbodies,they made the old fairway taxis,the rust must be catching.
Brilliant workmanship,and must have mega amounts of patience too.
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Post by lagain on May 24, 2015 19:24:25 GMT
I am a bit puzzled by noise and poor ride
Unless I am a bit heavy with the right foot most of the noise in my coupe is from wind and tyre noise and the ride is fine except on very poor surfaces.
When I replaced my rear springs some years ago now I took them apart and greased each leaf, then put them back together and onto the car with replacement leather gaiters. I also replaced the shock adsorbers front and rear.
After I replaced the door seals I was disappointed that they did not seal very well, so have added various strips of rubber that have made it quieter. It is the gaps between door and frame that have to be sealed.
If you have stainless steel down pipes there will be more noise.
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Post by Deleted on May 24, 2015 20:28:35 GMT
Maybe I'm fussy. Most people I've had in the rover remark on its quietness. I just like very quiet cars and think the p5b could be quieter I have added soundproofing and improved sealing but still feel it could be improved further.
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Post by gingerbeer62 on May 25, 2015 8:29:44 GMT
I am a bit puzzled by noise and poor ride Unless I am a bit heavy with the right foot most of the noise in my coupe is from wind and tyre noise and the ride is fine except on very poor surfaces. When I replaced my rear springs some years ago now I took them apart and greased each leaf, then put them back together and onto the car with replacement leather gaiters. I also replaced the shock adsorbers front and rear. After I replaced the door seals I was disappointed that they did not seal very well, so have added various strips of rubber that have made it quieter. It is the gaps between door and frame that have to be sealed. If you have stainless steel down pipes there will be more noise. Has anyone looked at exhaust wrapping to reduce noise ? Some say, (sounds like top gear) that it helps with efficiency of the engine but not much said about noise reduction on stainless exhausts. Cheers Colin |
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Post by enigmas on May 25, 2015 9:56:23 GMT
Kev, since you've put in so much work into the car bringing it up to a good standard, why stop now! You could easily wrap the engine pipes up to the rear muffler to reduce/dampen pipe resonance. I agree with lagain, the door seals are inadequate (as far as the coupes go) and the wind noise around the A pillars from about 100 kph is really irritating. There's quite a range of modern hollow rubber compression seals that would do the job much better and as for the front pillar noise, some type of clear perspex wind deflector could be devised to counter the noisy airflow. The no reason that with some careful design it can't be made to look good and correct.
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Post by Deleted on May 25, 2015 11:14:55 GMT
I think I'll carry on with it the rollers I've looked at have been horrible and rusted in places Humphrey (my p5b) can only dream of. I spent a grim afternoon underneath yesterday moving the exhaust which was very close (may be even touching at times) one side of the hole it goes through in the cross member and replaced the exhaust mountings. The exhaust is mild steel but probably quite thin now so exhaust wrap might be an idea. I made new door seals they had been replaced before I bought the car but didn't seal well I used a soft sponge type and they seal well but the doors close nicely.
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Post by charlie on May 25, 2015 17:46:29 GMT
My personal opinion is the nearest motor car rover made to a rolls is a 3 litre mk11c.
About 1969 i advertised and sold a mk11 3 litre, couple came to view then i took them for a drive
after about five mile i pulled up and said you have a drive, i was just getting out and his wife said
to him its quieter than the bentley, i asked what bentley do you have? he replied a mk6, got back
home he paid and took the car, two weeks later i really regretted selling, until i found another.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 23, 2015 7:26:55 GMT
I decided to carry on.Like many I have come to regard the Rover with the sort of affection normally reserved for great aunts and we seldom see them on ebay for sale.
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Post by gingerbeer62 on Oct 23, 2015 8:41:07 GMT
I decided to carry on.Like many I have come to regard the Rover with the sort of affection normally reserved for great aunts and we seldom see them on ebay for sale. Mine is the second one we have had in our family and both have been called "The Duchess" Cheers Colin   |
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Post by Warwick on Oct 23, 2015 11:58:39 GMT
... with the sort of affection normally reserved for great aunts ... Down here, when I was a kid, the P4 was referred to as the Aunty Rover. Was that the case in the UK? |
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Post by Phil Nottingham on Oct 23, 2015 15:02:52 GMT
We've had 6 and still got 2 of them
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Post by Deleted on Oct 23, 2015 15:13:04 GMT
Yes the P4 was often called the 'Aunty'. My own is nicknamed Humphrey,it seems a suitable name for a character that's a bit long in the tooth,overweight,with a liking for plenty of fluid,rather ponderous but still capable of a fair turn of speed if needs be.
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