Noobie, Might be getting a P6 Soon

C

Chris_

New Member
Hi guys, i'm new here.
Always been into older cars over all the new jelly molds.

My current collection is an old Suzuki SJ410 which i use for off-roading, and a 1989 BMW 3 series which was my dad's and is now my daily driver.

The reason i'm here though is because i have recently been offered a Rover 3500S for £1.

I dont think it's in the best of health to be honest. The fella that is selling it doesn't have the space for it any more but doesn't want to sell it to someone that will break it for parts. The idea being i'll buy it for a pittance and restore the old girl.

Could someone tell me the usual favourite areas that will need attention so i can get a feel for how much work is involved in this 'project'?

Thanks very much.
Chris
 
Hi Chris, and welcome. :) :)
As with any car that is 30+years old it very much depends upon how its been used or stored when not on the road, how much work has been carried out on the car and the quality of that work.
To help members give you advice it is really necessary for you to give more info, some pics might be helpful, but the best assessment of your proposed purchase would be for a knowledgable member to take a look at the car in the "flesh" and give you an idea of the viability (costs etc) of restoration. The most critical is the condition of the base unit, sills etc.
Whereabouts are you ?
 
Hi Chris

Well they can be very rusty - but you guessed that already! None of the bits you can see are a problem as all the panels bolt on and off and new / good condition ones are readily available. Underneath is a skeletal "base unit" which can be driven with no external panels on at all (including roof!). This is where the fun is. The sills / edge of floor pan / D post are a problem but, if you're any good at welding, not a huge one. Boot floor, mudguards similarely. The tops of the front inner wings under where the bolt on wings lap over can be frilly too. The only really difficult area i know is the front bulkhead in behind the suspension pivots and that's relatively rare. There can be other random attacks depending how the car has been kept, eg in the apron behind the heater below the front screen, the rain gutters in the base unit at the rear of the roof etc etc. Availability of patch panels is excellent.

Mechanically, once sorted, they are pretty robust. But could be expensive to get there if well shot. Nearly all mechanical components are pretty available, the only real hazard area being some high use components in the V8 35000S manual gearbox. But then you'd just replace it with a 5 speed.

Good point about these cars is that ride, handling, driveability and performance (2000TC, 2200TC and V8's) are well up to modern standards and you won't feel like you're driving some sort of tank. V8's are definitely heavy on juice though.

Hope that's a good introduction - you could witter for hours on this subject so I guess next move is your assesment of the particular one you're looking at.

Chris
 
Hi Chris.

Basically,mechanically,they are easy to maintain and parts are plentiful,interiors are fairly easy to obtain,ALL!!! painted and vynil panels are bolt on,even the roof,1/4 panels,outer sill covers and valences,all the panels are easy to obtain at reasonable prices!!
Bonnet and boot lid are both aluminium.
The REAL killer of all P6's is the state of the base unit under all the bolt on panels!
The rust can be really serious and unless you can fabricate and weld yourself, It will be VERY expensive to get done.
If the inner and outer sills are shot,budget an easy £800-£1000 per side for a proper repair by experts!! Rear inner arches are another weak point and expensive to do!
There is no real point in just doing a patch repair as it will come back quite quickly!! Chop out all the rust cancer and start with fresh metal! " If theres enough left" :LOL:
If the gearbox is knackered its easier to upgrade to a 5 spd from a SD1,as rebuilds cost a bit and some parts are hard to get!
It would be best if you can find a local P6 owner willing to have a look at it for you,unless you are confident in what,and where to look for the rust!
I am off to have a look over one for a TR Register mate tomorrow who has a manual TR7V8,but now wants a V8 auto,due to health problems.
Good luck with it!!
Dave
 
Well thank you for the warm welcome.

You've given me a nice list of bits and bobs to check over when i go and have a look in a couple of days.

As for rust. You've never seen anything rust as fast as Japanese steel he he,i taught myself to weld on my little jeep and now my new job is teaching me properly with Mig and Tig.

I'm based in down in the south east. In Essex.

I'll get some piccies of my the old girl up as soon as i get to see it in the flesh.

Cheers
Chris
 
hey chris
talking about rust i had to do all that on my 1969 mk 1 3500 the inner sills went, rear wheels arch, front splash panals and so on cost me about £2000 to get mine back on the road as they said about putting in a sd1 5 speed thats wot i got in mine and it much better on fuel and when yr on the motor way well good luck and please send it some pics
gareth
 
Went to have a quick look the other day but it was getting dark so i'll go and have another look in the daylight soon.

Generally it looked fairly good. Window seals where a litle cracked, a couple of bubbles around the bottom of the doors. and passenger side rear door i reckon needs replacing but may be repairable. Interior fairly clean, if a little funky smelling.

The main thing that concerns me. I poked my finger through both ends of the drivers side cill.

As it was getting dark i couldn't tell if this was a cover or the base unit cill.

Can anyone tell me roughly how far out the base unit extands there.

Thanks
Chris
 
Chris_ said:
The main thing that concerns me. I poked my finger through both ends of the drivers side cill.

As it was getting dark i couldn't tell if this was a cover or the base unit cill.

Can anyone tell me roughly how far out the base unit extands there.

Thanks
Chris
Click to expand...

Hi Chris if you look at the underside of the car working outwards from the wavey floor section there should be a seam running the length of the sill & then a flat section a few inces wide this is the bottom of the inner sill you should then have what might look like another seam & a row of screws which is the start of the outer sill & next a row of drain holes, the inner sill ends between the drain holes & the screws & goes upwards to the lip behind the doorsteps, & the outer carries on up to the door bottoms as is obvious.
I hope that makes sense
Regards Colin
 
Well i went and picked her up today.

All looks fairly neat and straight, scabby round the edges but i think that was to be expected.

Lifted the rear seat seat cushions and it's lovely and clean under there. Not checked the boot floor yet though.

I forgot to take my camera so i havn't got any piccies yet but i'll get some up as soon as possible.

The keys i got with it have a nice little 'P6 Rover Owners Club' keyring so i dont suppose the reg number GAE 555N means anything to anyone?

Apparently i will be the third owner but i havn't actually got the log book yet so cant be sure.

Oh, some little pics from phone.

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Cheers Chris
 
GAE 555N is on my database - but the only info I have is that this P6 was for sale on ebay in 2005.

I don´t have chassis / registration number.

Rudiger
 
Ah Rudiger, i have just found your website after a short google search, nice site, very informative.

I emailed you about any more info you may have, but you have allready answered here.

I did find a pic of her on your site, looking kind of sorry for herself.

Cheers
Chris
 
Hi Chris,

No trace on P6 ROC records, but I do recall seeing this reg many years ago! other than that welcome to all things P6 and the forum.

Mike.
 
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