Greek S1 tc (Long project)

[gstefos2000]

Hello from Greece

This is the story of my very long project. I bought my first P6, more than 15 years ago to replace my wife’s tired VW Beatle. It is a 1967 2000sc manual (403 09xxx E) with a retrofitted 2200tc engine. At the time it was complete and a very solid runner. We only needed to fit baby seats, so I uncovered the trim to find the rear seatbelt nuts. I also found some rust and I thought that I could do a very fast repair. Some hours later the car ended like this.

I have a very understanding wife so she gave me the P6 to play with and she settled down with a 16v abf converted VW Golf Mk2.

As we all know, one is never enough, so I also bought two other donor cars. They are both series 1 2000sc manual. The first was built in 1967 and I use its parts to develop my restoration skills. Lots of them are now painted or galvanised and ready to be used. The second car is built in 1969 and it has some noticeable differences from the otters. I keep it mostly untouched and use it as assembly guide. At the end, I dream to make a racer out of it.




I also have a friend who has a genuine brown 2200tc and a running 2000tc. Unfortunately we now both left our home town and we no longer share our space, time and experience in car restoration.

 

[gstefos2000]

I first sandblasted the base unit and immediately painted it with top quality epoxy Sikkens primer. This was the only job that I couldn’t do in house so I left the suspension on to make the transportation easier. I later had to remove some paint from the masked spots by hand. Sandblasting was not necessary but made the jobs which followed easier, cleaner and expensive. (Because top quality primer was definitely needed by the dozen)

Some of you will notice that this is a 4pot base unit with a series 2 nose. I wish I knew it too when I took the picture. A previous owner modernised the look with the later bonnet and grill so I have to weld back the original panels.


This isn’t my only mistake. The new boot floor is an almost flat sheet of metal like the replacements in the foot wells. I always regret when I (literally) try to cut corners.

Later I was more diligent with rust, so I made extensive efforts to remove it. This D post is cut out, the inner part is replicated and the outer is repaired, galvanized and refitted. There was some rust in the usual places but this was by far the worst case I had to deal with.









My father (left) and my friend, also Rover owner (right) advise me through the surgery.


Some of the chemicals I used. I had to buy them in large quantities. (Especially the wax) It helped that at the time I was a retailer of those firms.


Now I have to deal with the wrong Series 2 nose or buy a S1 v8 bonnet.

 

[gstefos2000]

You may notice that it is an early car from the absence of the air vents

I like so much the series 2 clocks. I thing I may keep them for a while.


I like the Sd1 alloys too.

The underseal is an expensive two compound epoxy material that I couldn’t resist to use.


You may notice lots of galvanised parts. I used to work in a company that had a galvanising facility and I treated all those parts by my own. Certain panels were much more difficult than those of the nearby Jeep, which is of course totally hot dip treated with zing. Some parts like the rear upper panels are heat distorted but I thing I will manage to level them correctly.

This one is a big success and a great improvement from the original.


Panels and wheels are loosely fitted for the presentation. There are lots of things to be done.

 

[Demetris]

I am really surprised to see so much rust in a Greek P6. Especially that D-post. But then again, if the car lived all of its life in Ioannina, where the annual precipitation is not far off the west coast of UK, i can understand!
Anyway, my feeling is that the hard work is almost all done. It seems that all that is left to deal with are the mechanical parts of the car, something that is (at least for me...) much more pleasant. OK, perhaps you have also to consider about painting, but with nice, straight and rust free panels, it won't be too difficult. So yes, you have the added difficulty of living in a different place now, but you can certainly see the light at the end of the tunnel.
About that front end, new series 1 bonnet closing panels are only about £ 20, so it's no brainer what you should do. Even the one in your parts car doesn't look too bad if you consider that it is free. I have replaced mine when i bought the car, because it had suffered various minor front end shunts in the past, and the whole front end was badly bodged.
By the way, when i first contacted the seller of my car (I bought it from Athens) exactly 10 years ago, when i was living in Thessaloniki, he told me that there was also someone else from Ioannina that had called him and showed some interest in the car, but in the end nothing happened. Maybe it was you or your friend in Ioannina?

 

[gstefos2000]

Demetris all five P6’s were first registered in Athens. Late 60s in the Greek countryside, Rovers were considered exotic cars. My two donors came to Ioannina a decade later and had a rough life. I bought them in 2000, after the green p6 purchase in Athens. When I bought the main car, its glorious days had long passed. It probably stayed untended in the open for a long time with wet carpets. That explains the loss of the boot and cabin floor. The D-post rust was not so obvious. In fact it was the left side that seemed to be worse. Looking back old pictures taken during sandblast, I recall that there are not any outside evidences for the inner nightmare.
It was the left that anguished me, although at the end it proved that the inner panels were clean.


The muck you see was soft, hence sandblast resistant and had to be removed with solvent.

It seams that the old girl will feel the grinder and mig torch once again, to install the series 1 bonnet closing panels.

I look forward to deal with mechanics. I have done some brake and transmission overhaul already but I have to deal with the engine too. It is a great opportunity to do this in Athens. Some tasks will give improved results if carried out by professionals and here are some machinists with race experience. It is my study engagements that will last for the next two years, which delete me. Things became very rough in Greece and a middle-aged man is directed to school once again.

Demetris, 10 years ago I was in Athens. I saw an interesting series 1 white P6 often parked at an open garage in Plaka, which was priced just over 2000 €. I don’t remember it as a tc. I contacted a lady but it didn’t have a happy end. My friend Spyros was in Ioannina and actively searched for Rovers. (now Boston USA, were he spotted some NADA’s) In my home town there are several devoted hobbyists. There is even one who restores and flies a helicopter. But I don’t know anyone else who loves P6s.

Thanks for the courage you give me. I need it.
George

 

[gstefos2000]

Καλημέρα George, xαίρω πολύ! όπου μένεις στην Αθήνα?
I know there was a red tc in a yard in Neos Kosmos, behind Lidl, probably still is. I enquired about it a few years back when I was living full time in Koukaki. Might be useful for parts if it's still there? I was after the wood rim steering wheel, but had to buy the whole car if I wanted it..
There is another Greek P6 owner I know of in Athens from Facebook, but I don't think he is on here. He also has a nice dark green v8.
Your project is looking good, glad to see more people using epoxy primer!
Building boats must be fun? The jeep looks great too
Jim

Jim

I live in Nea Ionia.

I will go to Neos Kosmos. If it ends with a purchase, the steering wheel is yours. Some years ago I saw seven P6 4pots at a single scrapyard in Aspropyrgos. It was a bad day. The owner was a real middle east merchant and I didn’t want him to see my real interest in them. I am planning to try again. I may be lucky this time.

I paint using epoxy primer for 20 years now. It is so expensive that when I do it, brings tears to my eyes. But this is nothing compared to crying when painting without it. I don’t recall a case that it didn’t met my expectations.

When I came to Athens I violently broke away from my steel projects. In order to keep my sane I decided to build a wooden boat (lake canoe) on my home’s flat roof. Later I acquired a workshop where I build another one. It took me six months for research and design and a year of construction time for each one. Ι keep them in Ioannina and my family takes them around the lake. Look where steel withdrawal leads people!

We use to call friends to join us. My initial plans were to make this presentation earlier and call you and Demetris for a weekend trip, when still on vacation. But it took me too much time to find and digitalize the old negatives and my vacation time ended. We will be glad to see you next summer.

Jeep has a family

George

 

[Demetris]

Hi George,

My TC was white but was almost abandoned in an underground garage in Halandri when i went to see it for the first time 10 years ago.
So that was a different case from the one you saw in Plaka. Probably your friend Spyros did the phonecall to the then owner.
But anyway, i agree that you can take the mechanical parts with you and rebuild them while you are away from the car. Being a P6, you can also do something similar with panel preparation and painting!
Until two years ago i lived still in Thessaloniki, but now thank God i managed to arrange my work and settle in my home town, Trikala. A few times per year, we arrange informal meetings with some friends with other classic cars from Kastoria and Kozani. Last June our meeting point was Metsovo where some fellows from Ioannina mainly with Minis and Beetles joined us.
Nice canoe by the way!
And what about that M35A2! I still remember the characteristic whistle of their turbo. You must have had a good time in the army!

 

[gstefos2000]

Hi Demetris

Whoever did the call must be green in envy viewing your restored car. I think that you made one of the finest examples of David Bache’s original design.

In our last return from Ioannina to Athens, we decided to spend some time in Trikala. We were impressed by the beautiful town. Nice to live there. We hope that next summer you will accept to join us on a canoe trip, either in Pamvotis or Plastiras Lake.

The big truck looks like a M35A2 but it is a former 1951 M35 gasser. It was modified by the Greek army and is now Steyr Diesel powered. Unfortunately no turbo sound and a small increase of power compared to the A2, but the engine is brand new. I developed the army project by adding the overdrive gearbox and the improved air shifted transfer case and also replicated the A2 look. We use it to travel all over Pindos mountains, from Grammos to Karpenisi. Once we loaded the back with a LPG heated Swedish camper and went to Basilitsa Snow Park. During the night outside temperature dropped to minus 18 Celsius. Special care was taken for the engine to start again in the morning. I hesitate to post truck related pictures in a P6 forum, but if you are interested I can pm you some.

George

 

[harveyp6]

I hesitate to post truck related pictures in a P6 forum, but if you are interested I can pm you some.

No need to hesitate, get 'em posted!

 

[Demetris]

Harvey is right, there are many that might be interested, but i think you'd better start a separate project thread about this.

 

[harveyp6]

Harvey is right, there are many that might be interested, but i think you'd better start a separate project thread about this.

That's what The Lounge is for, so stick it there and I'll be waiting.

 

[gstefos2000]

I have started a tread for my non Rover passion.
I think I overdone it.

My non Rover passion