DAK
Active Member
I decided that it was time to take on the restoration of my 1968 2000 TC (Canadian, LHD). This is a bit of a retrospective as I began the work back late in the late summer of 2017 but hopefully folks will find some useful information here. Unlike many projects described in this forum, I know this car well. I purchased it from my Grandfather in May of 1978. He had driven the car “hard” for a few years then parked it outdoors for a couple of years before I purchased it. They lived in a rural location in the mountains and he commuted to work daily approximately 55 kms each way on windy mountain roads. I remember driving with him and if the tyres weren’t squealing around the curves in the road, he wasn’t satisfied. The throttle was always fully on or fully off. The car was never stored under cover. Between the road salt, the outdoor storage period and the hard driving, I knew I was in for a lot of work but his love for Rovers in general and the P6 had rubbed off on me and I was committed to the purchase. At the time, I was just starting University and did not have a lot of spare cash so many of the fixes I made after acquiring the car were “minimalistic”. The engine was burning oil, so an engine rebuild was required right away. I found three original bore 10:1 CR pistons and one original bore 9:1 CR piston in the engine. It turned out that my Grandfather had collapsed a piston along the way and the mechanic who did the repair apparently didn't know that different compression ratio pistons were possible. The exhaust valves were badly burnt and the clutch completely worn. An engine re-bore with 30 thou oversize 10:1 CR pistons, bearings, valves, clutch and pressure plate, distributor, etc. and the engine was sorted. The bright spot was the gearbox which he had recently had rebuilt. The final drive failed a year later (broken pinions and follow on damage). I was able to make the repair with parts from a used final drive I found locally. I also knew there was a rust problem in the sills, the driver side floor and the boot floor. Given the lack of spare cash, the rust repairs involved a lot of hand bent galvanized sheet metal, pop rivets and lots of rubberized asphalt sealer/undercoating.
The good news is that I drove the car 80,000 miles over the next 8 years with few problems, other than some brake work. I also picked up a 1965 2000 SC in 1980 that I drove in the winters, sparing the ’68 from some of the damage from the road salt and gravel used on the roads here. In late 1986, the two Rovers became my hobby cars. The ‘65 went into long term outdoor storage. It was now my “parts car”. The ’68 was stored indoors and was maintained but was used less and less. At one point, it sat for four years without being started. I kept on planning to get to the restoration project but a job that entailed long hours and constant travel made starting the project impossible. That changed in June of 2016 when I retired from my job and now had time for my hobby.
Having owned the car for so long, I thought I had a fair idea what was required to complete the work and what parts I would need. The next year was spent researching and acquiring the parts I knew I would need. The base unit rust repair would be the most significant work. All of the rubber parts needed replacing. The carpet was shot. The stitching in the seats had rotted in the sun and some of the leather was ripped. There were several tears in the vinyl parts of the upholstery. The engine, gearbox and final drives all leaked oil. The brakes were under performing. I bundled my orders as much as possible to reduce shipping costs. Of course, “no battle plan survives contact with the enemy” and many additional parts were sourced along the way, but that is something I will cover later.
Here are some photos of what I started with.
The good news is that I drove the car 80,000 miles over the next 8 years with few problems, other than some brake work. I also picked up a 1965 2000 SC in 1980 that I drove in the winters, sparing the ’68 from some of the damage from the road salt and gravel used on the roads here. In late 1986, the two Rovers became my hobby cars. The ‘65 went into long term outdoor storage. It was now my “parts car”. The ’68 was stored indoors and was maintained but was used less and less. At one point, it sat for four years without being started. I kept on planning to get to the restoration project but a job that entailed long hours and constant travel made starting the project impossible. That changed in June of 2016 when I retired from my job and now had time for my hobby.
Having owned the car for so long, I thought I had a fair idea what was required to complete the work and what parts I would need. The next year was spent researching and acquiring the parts I knew I would need. The base unit rust repair would be the most significant work. All of the rubber parts needed replacing. The carpet was shot. The stitching in the seats had rotted in the sun and some of the leather was ripped. There were several tears in the vinyl parts of the upholstery. The engine, gearbox and final drives all leaked oil. The brakes were under performing. I bundled my orders as much as possible to reduce shipping costs. Of course, “no battle plan survives contact with the enemy” and many additional parts were sourced along the way, but that is something I will cover later.
Here are some photos of what I started with.
Attachments
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car before start of work.jpg228.7 KB · Views: 108
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carbs before start of work.jpg126.7 KB · Views: 110
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driver side carpet.jpg177.8 KB · Views: 102
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driver side seat.jpg209.4 KB · Views: 102
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engine before start of work.jpg129.9 KB · Views: 102
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interior before start of work.jpg105.8 KB · Views: 98
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