South African 3500

[Tor]

Seeing as we have two running restoration projects in the family, I thought it might be an idea to make a little thread on my father's car as well, not least since it's a fairly rare beast where it lives, but also considering the various ways we try to ensure stable operation. Parts are not widely available, but when you've got an engineer on your side with decades of experience from the local motor industry, not everything presents that much of a challenge after all. More on that in due course. Updates will be more or less annual, in bursts, seeing as I can best get updates and photos (and work on it myself) when on holiday there. The rest of the year it lives in a lockup and gets taken out by our friend for regular runs plus odd jobs that need doing.

Having dissuaded him from renting clapped-out VW beetles for months at a time (there are companies in Cape Town specialising in this dark art) I put my dad in touch with someone to help him find a car he has always liked - the Rover P6B. It was the same man who helped me service my student car 15 years ago.

He caught wind of a blue metallic 1973 V8 auto for sale, Christmas time 2007. My dad went, saw, was floored by it, and paid the fair price that was asked to make it his own. It looked nice throughout, had what appeared to be low mileage and an engine that felt very good indeed.



It also had a vague, bouncy suspension with a lot of clunks and bangs going on, and the gearbox would begin act up, eventually losing drive and requiring a rebuild with new belts. Static seatbelts were replaced with retractables. Driver's seat was re-upholstered after tearing along a seam. Myriad electrical gremlins were sorted out; tacho replaced, wiper connections corrected and more.

 

[corazon]

I really love that first shot of your first p6!
Well composed shot, car looks awesome, and it has instant viewer specific subtexts.
So cinematic, could be an Oliver Stone still

Is that metallic blue a citroen cx colour, looks very familiar to me...

Jim

 

[Tor]

Here's a list of jobs done to date, from memory:
-Roof (a replacement sourced from 4-pot) resprayed.
-Full brake system overhaul (seals kits).
-Carburetters (HIF6) rebuilt.
-Rebushed rear suspension and drive.
-Rebushed front control arms.
-Replaced or serviced all suspension ball joints, new wheel bearings.
-Gearbox rebuilt. I had a look inside, the valve body looks like a brain.
-Exhaust partially renewed. End can isn't right but it has a lovely throb.
-Wiper delay sorted (leaky tube under dash didn't help).
-Fitted 2x10" electric fans, bypass expansion tank and thermostatic controller, radiator (three-core) flushed.
-H4 halogen outer headlights fitted (inners as and when they blow).
-Good used OEM HD rear shockers fitted.
-Well worn local Gabriel front shockers fitted (Koni Reds sourced from Canada were completely the wrong units, wrong number, reverse valve action and I never checked. Bah.).
-Michelin Energy Saver 195/70-14s fitted (quiet, comfy, stable).
-Electronic ignition module fitted.
-Quarterlight winders overhauled (sic)
-Throttle coupling replaced for a reinforced (sic) unit
-Door mirrors replaced for VW Golf II ones with internal adjustment. A matter of taste, I suppose...


Work needed:
-Alternator (18ACR) and regulator overhaul (overcharges by 25A at random)
-Steering idler removal, inspection (the PAS feels under-assisted and creaks from the NS)
-Cracked dashboard cover, replacement to be fitted.
-Heater rebuild.
-Buzzes and minor rattles to kill.

After some time it's come to light that the engine is an SD1 unit that's also been rebuilt at some stage (here's a simple quiz - spot the SD1 effect in this picture?)...

The fun part of working on this car is to see how Alan "cobbles up" repairs and improvements on components either broken, worn or annoying. He has overhauled a bunch of quarterlight winders, a pair of which we fitted to Dad's car and which made a lovely difference. And when the throttle coupling broke he already had one that he had stuffed into some tubing he had lying around, and drilled, making it for all intents and purposes work like brand new. Of course it was a vast improvement (I shamefully thought the car was way out of tune when it was missing about half its throttle range ).



SA is a wonderfully "let's get it fixed, hey!" kind of place, meaning one can take a set of Rover undercarriage parts to this bloke and he re-casts all the bushes in situ for you. Doesn't cost a lot, either.

 

[harveyp6]

Gearbox rebuilt. I had a look inside, the valve body looks like a brain.

That's because it is.......

 

[Tor]

Next, a couple of shots from 2001-02 at a Rover Owners' Club meet, with the old vinyl roof on. The club has since merged with the much larger, all-makes Crankhandle Club.


Finally, how to spot a SA Rover! Around 2700 V8s were assembled in South Africa. Labels and stuff were stuck in irregular places, and there's no colour badge.

 

[harveyp6]

Did all SA cars have body coloured inner wings?

 

[Tor]

I really love that first shot of your first p6!

Thanks for the kind words! It does bear witness to ongoing activities, as these things go on a long road trip. We were en route to Mozambique, which is quite a drive...

Is that metallic blue a citroen cx colour, looks very familiar to me...

Exactly what blue that is, remains a mystery. Rover/Leyland had access to pretty much anything they wanted to spray cars with. There've been a couple of V8s in this colour come out of Blackheath.

That's because it is.......

Did all SA cars have body coloured inner wings?

Apparently, yes.

 

[arthuy]

All the SA cars I have seen photos of had body coloured inner wings.

I wish I had know there was one in Capetown, I was there last year and would have loved to have had a look.

Colin

 

[corazon]

Well whatever the colour is I think it looks great on the P6 shape for a lighter shade..
This is a similar citroen my old man had when I was about 6,
http://www3.picturepush.com/photo/a...algia/IMG-0010-Citroen-CX-25-GTi-Turbo.jpg?v0
Pretty darn close to the second and third photos on the page..
I'm still into the idea of body coloured inner wings when I repaint mine darker metallic green.
Produces a simpler clean look entirely focused on the shiny engine
Jim

 

[Tor]

I see what you mean Jim, although the CX goes a bit more towards violet in that light. I agree, it's a great colour and with the vinyl roof it used to have it looks quite elegant.

I think a glossy, deep green engine bay will make all your hard work 'pop'.

 

[unstable load]

Very nice, Tor!
I've actually seen your Dad's car out and about over the years.
I need to pull my finger out and get mine sorted out....

 

[MC001]

Awesome colour!

 

[Tor]

Time for an annual update:

The car had had a couple of interesting, new issues this year. Mentioned in a different thread were confusing symptoms that both cut the engine dead in different ways. One is a partly clogged fuel line, temporarily solved by leaving the reserve knob out at all times. The other was a failed PowerSpark ignition module, sorted by fitting a new, locally sourced Pertronix Ignitor in its place. Other than that, it has been badly dinged by its regular driver/owner in a parking garage. The replacement FNS wing has not been well colour matched, but rectifying that (and other cosmetics) is for another time.

Due to the engine number stamped in the reg certificate, apparently ending in a K, we thought the car had an SD1 engine in it. As it pulls very well we've taken that as read. But we've never rubbed the dirt off the block to see what the engine itself actually says: 45504031C, and the telling 10.5:1 CR clearly stamped above it The current theory, then, is that it's possibly the original engine, reworked/upgraded with an SD1 oil pump. We think so because the oil pressure gauge maxes out when cold, reads high-forties on the road and stays above 30 psi at 750rpm idle, even when very hot.

Was hoping that a slight tightening of the kickdown adjuster would help keep the gearbox out of top for a bit longer than it used to, but this only applies now when putting a bit of foot, and not at all when leisurely trundling away from traffic lights (or robots, as they call them here). Still, it's an improvement.