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Post by dhb5610 on Nov 25, 2019 11:53:18 GMT
How old were you when you first got involved with Rover P5 or P5Bs. I was 59 and decided to look for a car that meant something to me in my life as for years my grandfather was a P4 man and then a P5 owner until his passing in the late 60s it was always a great car to me and still is. It will be interesting to see what other members have to say.
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Post by Warwick on Nov 25, 2019 13:09:28 GMT
I was 57 when I bought mine, but I was 18 when I first saw one and began drooling. I was at the Melbourne Motor Show with Dad. He was looking for a new car to replace our 1956 Holden FJ. Attachment Deleted Attachment Deleted
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Post by johnwp5bcoupe on Nov 25, 2019 13:14:13 GMT
I was in my very early 20's (21or22) my first Rover was P5 Mk1a then Mk3 then my first P5b Coupe, my second coupe I still have since 1973 all were bought a tow cars and good tow cars they are! the Mk1a dissolved, the Mk3 and my first P5b Coupe I didn't have long! the Mk3 gearbox gave up and was passed on sadly today that would be no problem, my first Coupe was bought by a policeman well sort of it was a swap for ££'s and a VW fastback which my dad bought and lasted him years, which gave me the funds to by "The Old Girl"
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Post by dhb5610 on Nov 25, 2019 13:15:17 GMT
I was 57 when I bought mine, but I was 18 when I first saw one and began drooling. I was at the Melbourne Motor Show with Dad. He was looking for a new car to replace our 1956 Holden FJ. Most of your life the Warwick and I guess it will be a similar story from other members. Did your dad swap his Holden for a Rover?
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Post by David on Nov 25, 2019 13:31:39 GMT
I was 31 years old when I bought my P5B on a whim whilst on holiday, in the New Forest. Kept it for 26 years and I understand it is now residing on the Isle of Wight.
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Post by lagain on Nov 25, 2019 17:33:21 GMT
There was a master at school who had an early 3 litre, then a P6 that he only kept for a few months, then a new 'D' registration and then a 'G' coupe. I just loved the shape and bought my 1971 coupe in July 1975, when I was 22 and she had less than 15000 miles on the clock. She is now heading towards 150,000.
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Post by dhb5610 on Nov 25, 2019 17:45:09 GMT
There was a master at school who had an early 3 litre, then a P6 that he only kept for a few months, then a new 'D' registration and then a 'G' coupe. I just loved the shape and bought my 1971 coupe in July 1975, when she had less than 15000 miles on the clock. She is now heading towards 150,000. Again another story of a car being owned since forever and it's good to hear what I hear time and again, a good number of Rover are part of the family. I think maybe this is the case for many owners. There are quite a few that have been bought in more recent times but not as many as we might expect as I think the cost in both time and money is a factor to some in their early years and people are only now buying them once the kids have grown up and left home and people have a bit of time on their hands and a bit of spare cash
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Post by barryr on Nov 25, 2019 17:49:08 GMT
I was 25 - on my way home from work and each night I saw a Bordeaux red Saloon parked on a sloped drive with whitewall tyres and moonlight plates looking dirty and a bit sad. After a week of temptation (I'd always fancied one but was scared of the rust) I knocked the door and found out the owner was living with his brother whilst going through a divorce. He was a mechanic at a heathrow garage and had been servicing the car for years before he bought it off the previous owner. His circumstances were forcing sale.
In our conversations he asked me why I didn't fancy a coupe instead- at that stage I hadn't even realised there were 2 body styles! - He pointed me across the road to a neighbour who was selling a zircon blue /silver birch roof coupe with the cream interior. I went and had a look at it (I did like the extra luxuries it had) but the owner's attitude put me off and the car was fitted with 205 low profiles which looked awful compared to the whitewalled 225's on the saloon I was set on. He also wanted a grand more (which I didn't have) and I could see the rot in the wheelarches from across the street. I knew it would be worth more but the Saloon just had something about it.
I went back and did a deal on the Saloon including throwing in my old Honda CB250T I'd restored as I just wouldn't pay the asking price and the guy had no other transport after selling the car. He asked for first refusal if I ever sold it told me he had the grille badge somewhere (he didn't and it had the wrong grille on it anyway but we all learn!)
As I was running a customised Beetle at the time, the p5b was to be my long term restoration plan, so I immediately hired it out for TV work making enough money to buy a welder, compressor and put me through 12 weeks welding lessons at nightschool. its just a shame the TV series it "starred " in never took off as I was with the same outfit as Morse's Jag and that went for a fortune!
I'm 53 now and the car has been off the road since 93 but I never gave up on it despite multiple moves / family changes etc and it is now ready to return for the next Spring and summer season. Even though it'll never be a top condition car, its in way better nick than when I got it and is pretty original for its age.
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Post by Phil Nottingham on Nov 25, 2019 18:16:17 GMT
I was 38 when I bought our 1st P5B. I had been fixing up all my and my dad's cars from my early teens however. At the end of the 70s I had 1 DKW/Auto Union (1960) classic left and that was off the road. I finally succumbed in 1981 to buying a brand new Vauxhall Astra 3 door GLS 1300 Hatch which was then top of the range. Then work committments and marriage, mortgage etc meant my DKW was abandoned. I took over my new wife's old Mini Traveller which I restored heavily in 1988 and I looked over my increasingly ageing high mileage Astra but 100% reliable.
My back injury and ops etc meant I could not drive the manual Astra and whilst convalescing in late 1989 I read a few Practical Classics etc reviwws and found one at Loughborough. This was a 1961 Mk1 auto. I was not well enough to go and see it and was not even sure I would be able to look after it so I let it go. I bought a 1982 Opel Rekord auto instead as a stop gap mainly because the seller brought it round foe me to try out. It was very spacious comfortabtle and the bodywork was solid but in faded creamy yellow. When I returned to work in spring 1990 I found the Rekord not dependable enough for all the travelling needed. I did not feel able to fix it up yet either.
So we bought an almost new low mileage Rover 820SE auto which was a wonderful car apart from its reliablity, its electrics and ZF HP autobox and ZF power steering were hopeless. It spent many days in the Rover dealer's workshop and was never sorted and we spent a fortune. By then 1992 the recession in full swing the business mileage had dropped a lot and we cut our losses and sold it. For a few weeks we just had the Mini and then a 1969 P5B saloon near Ibstock showed up in Admag & Loot freepapers (no WWW then) It was early August and we went to see it. we liked it straightaway in its Admirlaty Blue (tatty sills and all) Buckskin interior, rusty exhaust,sagging rear springs and X ply perished tyres. It was being sold as a runner by someone in the trade but try as he might it would not start. It had tax and MOT too. We decided to pass it by.
We went the P5OC National at Weston Park in the September (100s of P5s!) as I had joined the club and the RSR. We hoped to spot some for sale but there was only one, an advert on a torn piece of cardboard. It was the same car we had looked. The owner said it started a few minutes after we left and was running fine. He accepted our lower offer and I paid a £50 deposit provided it started and was roadworthy enough to drive the 30 miles home. We collected it one evening later that week and its started and drove fine even with the blowing. exhaust. YMU 416H was a former Barclays Bank Ltd London company car and its next owner in the early 70s lived at Boston of which she Lady Mayoress apparently. After she died in the mid 80s it was abandoned in a chicken shed until bought by a young student in 1992 who cleaned it up and got it running, MOT'd and taxed. It proved to be too expensive/tatty so he did not keep too long.
We ran it till the end of November a little having changed it sagging springs and broken off rear shockabsorber. As it had both tax and MOT had run out by then I took it off the road and fitted the new Wadhams inner and outer sills.
In Nov 93 I acquired another 1972 saloon locally which an non runner and very rusty even though Ziebarted from new. My brother towed me home in it a rainy November Sunday like today behind his Ford Sierra 1.6. I did disconnect the prop shaft to save what turned out to be duff the BW35 from damage. I broke this for spares a couple of years later.
I was using this to drive work the following Summer and went on its first long trip to the Bromley Pageant and then on to a couple of days to Bournemouth without problem follwed by its 1st P5OC National at Child Beale in the September. In 1995, I wanted to do the rusty inner and outer rear wings and not wanting to be without a P5B found another one locally. A 1968 Silver Birch Saloon.The long standing owner spent a fortune on body restoration and just before he died in 1991 he had had the engine rebuilt at great expense according to the bill file. The body work although professionaly done was not well done - the panel gaps were terrible and the doors did not shut properly. The black interior was past it. Although it cost more than I wanted to pay the engine alone was worth it. I sorted the doors and panel gaps as much as poss and put in the excellent Saddle Tan interior which I had tried to sell without success from the spares P5B. Soon after we had 2 P5B we could use and go anywhere in which we did including regular trips to Ireland. We found a P5 Coupe Mk2 auto in 1998 so thought we would sell the Silver Birch one. I swapped the engine gearbox into the Admiralty Blue saloon and the Silver Birch saloon looking a little tatty was sold in 2001 for only a little less than I paid for it after 30,000 odd miles.
In 2002 we moved house and just after moving the P5B we had lost some of its diff crown wheel bolts one of which punched a hole through the banjo pan. I could not do much until our new triple garage was ready so it was abandoned again but undercover. The bodywork was getting tatty and another abandoned P5B saloon turned up in Peterborough.
This was advertised in Take 5. It was a late 72 and it had only 1 family owner. Much expense had been lavished on it over the years but had been left its garage unused for 10 years having just had a £2000 respray and would not run. I decided to buy it as the bodywork had not been welded. It was trailered home and although I got the engine running it would only go backwards! I decided to swap the still good recon engine from the standing P5B saloon but with a rebuilt gearbox plus some of the interior. We still have this P5B (also the P5) and have over 40K miles in each of them.
I finally broke our 1st P5 saloon in 2011 but a lot of its parts are ready or already have been used in our present P5B and even the P5 and the P4. I have never had a "modern car" since the 820SE and have no desire to. The DKW was sold for spares in 1993 to make room for the P5s. I have learnt a lot about these cars quite a bit from Take 5 as no forums then.
They are easy to work on and more reliable than moderns but its best to have selection. I like working on them and like driving them. I very rarely trust garages now to even touch even to change tyres. When I am past looking after them I will be past driving them too. Some jobs I am finding I am doing 2nd or 3rd time around.
In the meantime P5 and P5B (and P4 and the rest of our classics) still arouse comments in the office car park (but not for much longer!)
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roverp5b
Rover Fanatic
whats in your mirror
Posts: 195
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Post by roverp5b on Nov 25, 2019 19:40:20 GMT
I have had my p5 b coupe since 2002 bought from one of our club members in Sussex good guy good car, my first memory of these cars was my Dad being asked to take a C Reg maroon saloon to London so he could sell it for his brother, he obviously kept it until it broke him and he shopped it in for an Austin 1100 straight swap! That was the time of the petrol shortage days. My biggest memory of that beautiful car was my Dad saying to my beautiful Mum how fast do you think we are going sweetheart and his reply was 100mph which I looked over his shoulder to witness, whisper quite and straight as a dye. That has been my guide stick for cars ever since which I have only just found in a 2003 XJ8. Patsy my coupe will never be sold in my life time as she too can be very quite at those speeds bar the wind noise. Love these cars.
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Post by dmaxwell on Nov 25, 2019 19:44:01 GMT
I was 39 (in 1989) when I was visiting a cousin of mine, who had inherited our grandfathers house and contents, including the '65 P5 MkIIc. Thought it was a neat car and my cousin ended up offering it to me for free! I drove it as a daily driver for a few years but it has been sitting in the garage for over 20 years now. I still hope to get it back on the road in the next 5 years. Life just gets busier and busier the older I get.
David in California
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Post by Brendan69 on Nov 25, 2019 19:52:22 GMT
Great stories guys. I was 50 when i finally got my P5B albeit had been loving them as a young lad and looking for years. My story is currently in the latest edition of Take Five ( Thanks David ) so i wont harp on about it and spoil the read.
Regards,
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Post by dhb5610 on Nov 25, 2019 19:54:31 GMT
I was 39 (in 1989) when I was visiting a cousin of mine, who had inherited our grandfathers house and contents, including the '65 P5 MkIIc. Thought it was a neat car and my cousin ended up offering it to me for free! I drove it as a daily driver for a few years but it has been sitting in the garage for over 20 years now. I still hope to get it back on the road in the next 5 years. Life just gets busier and busier the older I get. David in California Again a story that spans the years as for life getting busier and busier if you not careful life will pass you by and you will miss out on one of life's little pleasures driving your P5 again. A small thing in it's self but one that gives great pleasure
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Post by stirlingmg on Nov 25, 2019 20:58:11 GMT
I used to walk past a white V8 coupe on my way to school, it wasn’t an old car then & I just loved the looks and for years I wanted one. I nearly bought a Bordeaux red saloon for £500 back in the late 90s but it was a pig and £500 could get a good Viva back then so I let it slip the net, it was seen a few weeks later with collapsed suspension. The prices then rose quite sharply & they were just a bit too strong money for my low wages. I was given a Bordeaux saloon in about 2004 along with 2 P6 2000s, unfortunately promises weren’t kept and they never turned up, they did exist as I took photos of them but they vanished. My mortgage is not far off being paid so I was planning to look for a P5 or a PA Cresta once that was done, but fortune fell at my feet a little bit when I threatened to leave my job of 25 years if they didn’t sort something with my wages, everyone else’s were climbing & climbing yet mine were stuck at the same point they have been for years. With my new found wealth I decided before I get used to the extra money, to get a loan to buy something special & use my extra money to pay it off over a short time. So here I am, 47 & just bought a 1972 coupe to scratch that itch I’ve had all these years
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Post by Warwick on Nov 26, 2019 3:07:34 GMT
So you're looking forward to next year as much as I am, David?
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Post by Warwick on Nov 26, 2019 3:39:30 GMT
Most of your life then Warwick and I guess it will be a similar story from other members. Did your dad swap his Holden for a Rover? Dad spent a couple of years reading road tests in car magazines and came up with a short-list of cars that had good reviews and were technically advanced. At the top of his list was the Citroen DS 21 and ID 19, then in no particular order, Peugeot 404, Austin 1800, Mazda 1500 and Datsun 1600. We were a family of 5, so back seat space was important. We went to the Motor Show, and sat in the various cars. This eliminated the two Japanese cars. Dad was always keen on the Citroen, but price eliminated them. He took a 404 for a test drive, and it won. I then inherited the Holden when I got my licence soon after, and then after several years, I replaced it with a 404 of my own.
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Post by velvet on Nov 26, 2019 12:19:50 GMT
I was 16 in 1975 when i bought my P5b from a car auction (Peacocks Bedford). I didn't qualify for a driving licence yet ! Infact i was bidding for the XJ6 that was next to it but i didn't get it as it went for £600 and i only had £300 to my name and i thought " that old mans car next to it has got a V8 engine, now that cant be bad for a first car!" 44 years later i still got it, and its in great condition, other cars have come and gone but my P5 will always be in my possession. I get annoyed as i'm often asked "Whats it worth now"? as i see that as totally irrelevant.
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Post by Warwick on Nov 26, 2019 12:59:45 GMT
... I get annoyed as i'm often asked "Whats it worth now"? .... I wish you hadn't said that, Velvet. I sold the FJ in 1974 for $800, which was a very good price considering their typical price at the time was $50. Mine was in immaculate condition. Dad really looked after it and it was always garaged. I resprayed it in 1969 in its original colours. The model was the FJ Special, top of the range, with 2-tone paintwork, leather seats, and carpet. Here's what the lesser models can fetch now. tinyurl.com/v63ykdc
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Post by dmaxwell on Nov 26, 2019 19:32:16 GMT
Warwick, I'm always looking forward to the next year. First project is the '62 E-Type, it runs but needs some front end work, paint and seats recovered! Of course, I'm in the middle of painting the exterior of the house too!! Always something going on.
David
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Post by JohnC on Nov 27, 2019 10:29:24 GMT
It was 1966, I had just started my apprenticeship with the Rover Car company at Seagrave road, Fulham. There were shiny Rovers everywhere and I was tasked to assist in the1967 Earls Court motor show. I fell in love with the P5b and I am now the proud owner of a 67 Coupe. Towards the end of my apprenticeship I was offered a job as a vehicle tested, a great honour to drive these beautiful cars day in and day out.
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Post by Ken Nelson on Nov 28, 2019 0:09:53 GMT
I have owned my 1966 Rover P5 Coupe for well over 20 years, but it came to me as challenging project with a seized engine, rotted interior, and rusted out body. It remained in storage until about 2006 when I began restoration work which progressed slowly over 4-5 years. It remains a work in progress to some extent, although it has been on the road for the last 8 years or so, along with a 1957 MGA, 1954 Riley RME, and 1950 MGTD, all of which I have restored and enjoyed over the past 40 years. Living in Grand Rapids, MI USA means that Rovers are quite thin on the ground here, and work was slowed by the necessary trial and error methods I've had to use for repair. The HD8 single carburetor has been a special nemesis due to its unique Economizer system. I am currently in the midst of a project rebuilding the front suspension this winter, replacing all the bushings and suspension boots. While straightforward enough, it has required the use of oxy-acetylene with compressor and impact wrench to loosen frozen bolts and free up ball joints, as well as a 4-post hydraulic lift to accomplish the work so far. I am hoping that a refurbished suspension will restore more of a luxury car ride and eliminate the clunks over Michigan's notorious potholes. My car may be somewhat unique in that it is a LHD manual shift 3-litre that was first sold in West Germany. The speedometer was in kph and it has the European left hand only parking light setting on the switch, and was reportedly used by a British diplomat in W. Germany and later the United Nations in NY before it ended up with a professor at one of our West Michigan colleges. I can't really verify that story since I don't know what the original vehicle registration was, but it could perhaps fit with the car's travel history. I am 72 years old, so work is being done somewhat leisurely, but I am still enjoying the challenge of solving problems on the Rover. I have just ordered a power steering box from a Volvo 164 and am hoping to put that on the car this winter as well. The P5 Club Forum has been an invaluable assistance in all of these endeavors, so thank you one and all! Attachments:
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Post by enigmas on Nov 28, 2019 0:44:24 GMT
My MK3 P5 Rover Coupe (hybrid) When I was 36 or 37 I drove past a house in the coastal suburb of Frankston and noticed an Admiralty blue P5B coupe parked on the front lawn. I'd never seen a P5 prior to seeing this car. For whatever reason it caught my attention. I pulled over in the Datsun 240K GL sedan that we'd bought from my father in-law's estate, walked over to the house and asked the owner if I could take a look at the car. To my surprise he said "sure the car's unlocked" and then closed the front door. Over the next year I noticed several more P5Bs in my local area. Interestingly they were all coupes. Having a young family at the time and one income meant that spare cash generally wasn't available for a seemingly extravant purchase. Sometime later I was looking at a car trader magazine and noticed that there was a P5 coupe for sale at Camberwell, a suburb not too far from our home. It was a MK3 and at $2000 was at the limit of what I could afford. When I first viewed the car it looked quite presentable. It was faded and run down but it was totally intact and had all its trim and accessories. I looked over it for about one hour and put a deposit down. The balance was to be paid when it was delivered to my home as it was unregistered being originally a car from Sydney. I was 38 years old. The original Weslake 6 cyl 3 litre engine was running on 5 and had seen better days. I knew that these engines cost a small fortune to rebuild properly so decided to re-power the coupe with a suitable (in my view) alternative. As the MK3 coupe ran virtually the same drive train as a P5B I decided to use a P76 engine, an Aussie derivative of the Rover V8 but a litre larger in capacity. It took me 2 years and an engineer's certificate to rebuild the car so that it was viable and road legal. For the next 20 years it was my daily driver covering approximately 300 kms per week. Over the course of this time a variety of generally subtle and for the most part unseen modifications have taken place all done to enhance it's use as a regular driver. Rebuilt P76 Engine & trans originally fitted 28-29 years ago. Rear disc brakes (MK2 Jaguar calipers & Mercedes discs) Current status. A cosmetic engine bay refurbishment occurred two years ago.
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Post by djm16 on Nov 28, 2019 7:44:12 GMT
I was five years old. My father had a used P4 90, I am guessing it would be about a circa 1955. He would not have been able to afford anything newer. I remember he was quite proud of it. Unfortunately my mother took driving lessons in it and had an affair with the driving instructor. I think she was in the process of running off with said instructor when she had an accident in it, she was rear ended.
Despite all that, I have a lingering affection for the marque, but what I really wanted was a Jag MkII. The few I looked at were over-priced and in poor condition, having suffered multiple half-hearted make-overs. So in fact, the P4 was second best choice.
After we had the P4 a few years, my wife decided she wanted to drive too, but wanted something with power steering, hence the P5. I was lucky that the car I picked off the internet just happened to be the pinnacle of Rover quality, a MkIIb coupe in white, albeit rather neglected and battered.
Neglected is actually quite a good state, as little had been touched / mucked about.
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Post by Brendan69 on Nov 28, 2019 10:15:05 GMT
I was five years old. My father had a used P4 90, I am guessing it would be about a circa 1955. He would not have been able to afford anything newer. I remember he was quite proud of it. Unfortunately my mother took driving lessons in it and had an affair with the driving instructor. I think she was in the process of running off with said instructor when she had an accident in it, she was rear ended. Despite all that, I have a lingering affection for the marque, but what I really wanted was a Jag MkII. The few I looked at were over-priced and in poor condition, having suffered multiple half-hearted make-overs. So in fact, the P4 was second best choice. After we had the P4 a few years, my wife decided she wanted to drive too, but wanted something with power steering, hence the P5. I was lucky that the car I picked off the internet just happened to be the pinnacle of Rover quality, a MkIIb coupe in white, albeit rather neglected and battered. Neglected is actually quite a good state, as little had been touched / mucked about. Was the instructor present when she got rear ended. !!! LOL
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Nov 28, 2019 10:39:02 GMT
I promise this is true.
In early 1969 as a 19 year old I was in a mini when the driver decided to throw it in the middle of a field colliding with a tree on the way. The driver and passenger stayed in the wreck,I went out through the windscreen collecting the rear view mirror with my head on the way.
It was raining and I was bleeding heavily,we stood by the side of the road trying to flag down cars.(remember this was way before mobile phones) I was the only injured and there was a 'cottage hospital' about four miles away.
One car stopped,but said he was going in the opposite direction!
More went past,in fairness we must have looked a sight and the wrecked car couldn't be seen.
Finally a grey Rover coupe with two elderly occupants stopped.I was bundled in and off we went. A surreal experience,the driver was the passengers gardener,travelling at what must have been over 90 they were having a conversation about roses,I remember being amazed at the calm inside this almost new car.
We arrived at the hospital,me barely awake (I was later transferred to another hospital for emergency surgery and sent back again for a long convalescence). The white upholstery was covered in blood and mud,I asked the passenger to leave his name and address so I could arrange to have the seats cleaned.He said he'd leave a note,he did,I was given it by the Matron some time after I returned,it simply said "Good lucK"
I promised myself Id have one of those Rovers one day. I didn't realise it would take such a long time but when I saw one some years back,the same colours outside and in,for sale via David Green I bought it.
I originally posted the above in a another section,although I love Jaguars I seem to have collected Rovers,having the P5b,a last of the line 75 diesel estate (owned since new and now 12,000 on the clock) and a P38 Range Rover. Im now at that age where my next project might be my last so Im looking for an early XJS.(But having said that I went to look at one a few months back and came home with an Austin Healey Sprite)
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