What did I own?

[Deleted]

I bought a 1963 3 liter off a friend of my father's some 32 years ago and loved the thing for the four or five years or so I had it, but the parts were tough to come by here in the states and eventually had to give it up. Anyway, I didn't even know it was called a P5 until I started poking around online just now. But I still don't get all the Mk II and III and Saloon and Coup designations.

From some of the descriptions online it looks like it was a Mk II since it was a 63 (one thing I read made it sound like the Mk IIIs didn't come around until 65). That right? And how do you tell the Coups from the Saloons?

Mine was a four speed with electronic overdrive and I don't recall it having a slicked down rear roof line like of the pictures I've seen.

Just curious about my first love (which I apparently didn't know very well). Any help would be appreciated. j.

[Phil Nottingham]

Look on the website for the differences between Coupe and saloon - yours sounds like a Mk2a.

You are right about the Mk111.

The 4 speed/overdrive was hydro/electric.

I suggest you acquire James Taylor's book about the P5 a real must for P5 fanatics

Welcome to forum

[dorsetflyer]

All you have to do is look at the pic at the top of this site. The one on the left is a coupe and on the right is a saloon. ;D

[Deleted]

Thanks. I must have owned a saloon.

Funny thing about the overdrive. One of the reasons I came by the car was the former owner couldn't find anyone in the US that would bother trying to figure out what was wrong with the overdrive, and he got sick of driving it in 4th. I was only 16 at the time and acquired it for $100. It came with a big fat maintenance manual and I was pawing through that one day and saw a complicated schematic and started looking up some of the icons in the key. One was listed as a fuse for the overdrive, which was pinned on the firewall instead of being located with all the other fuses. I thought, "No, it couldn't be that easy." But in fact it was. Replaced the fuse and it worked fine from then on.

Funny. Wish I had that car today. Oh well.

Thanks for the help (although now you guys have added another dimension to my confusion. MkIIa. What's an "a"? I'll have to look into that book.)

[Phil Nottingham]

Its not a "b" or a "c" which were later incarnations of the "a" Having improved insruments, standard power steering, engines and nmerous other minor details

[Deleted]

As luck would have it, I was able to get that book title to a friend of mine in the UK before he came over yesterday for a visit, book in hand. Haven't done much more than page through it but it looks great. Thanks for the tip.

[Deleted]

I know all of you have been on the edges of your seats awaiting the answer ... Based on the Taylor book, it looks like I owned a 1963 P5 3 Liter MkIIb Saloon.

According to the book it had to be a "b" instead of an "a" because the fuel door was the same color as the body and it could be latched from inside the boot (as you folks call it).

The book aslo said only 362 of the P5s that year were built with lefthand drive, which mine had. Ineresting. (And depressing, given it is gone.)

[Phil Nottingham]

You must have a good memory - body coloured fuel cap unlatched in the "boot"!

I am surprsied its was not an auto though - did it have power steering ("b"' s was std)

[dorsetflyer]

It certainly seems very strange for a non auto car to be shipped to the States.
They only produced approx 356 in auto LH drive, and not all the LHD cars would have been exported to the States.
That must make it even rarer. .

[Deleted]

It was actually purchased in Britain and shipped back here when the previous owner returned to the states (I guess he saw that coming and bought the left-hand drive for that reason).

I remember the fuel door because I thought it was cool that I could lock it from inside the trunk ... one of the things that fascinates a 16 year old boy, I guess (although, now that I think of it, I still find that kind of fascinating).

And I guess it had power steering. I have a vague recollection of a tear-dropped shaped reservoir near the firewall that leaked on occasion, but that might have been four other cars I've had since. Hmmm.