coloradop6
New Member
Greetings. I kind of fell into my P6 last summer. We had a massive tornado tear through our town here on the Front Range of Colorado (very unusual for our location) that heavily damaged or destroyed almost 600 homes and businesses on May 22, 2008. The baseball-sized hail that accompanied it destroyed nearly 3,000 cars and damaged another 3,000. A couple of days after the tornado, I was at lunch meeting with the insurance agent on rebuilding our funeral home which was completely destroyed when a friend came up to the table and asked if I was in the market for a Rover. Since Rovers are VERY rare here, I said I was always in the market (I've had several classic Minis, Land Rovers, a Jag. etc). He put me in touch with a fellow who had just finished restoring his 1969 2000TC. The car was sitting outside when the hail hit. He took the insurance settlement and sold me the car on the spot. Needless to say, 10 minutes of baseball sized hail does quite a number on the bodywork, especially the aluminum boot and bonnet. it kind of looks like a big blue golf ball. The steel bits (roof and sides) didn't suffer hardly any damage; a testament to the thicker steel used back in the day. I'd like to pick up replacement boot and bonnet, but the only guy around here that has them knows they are a premium. He wants $700 for both. . .
Each day I drive it I love it more and more. (My Pontiac GTO a.k.a Vauxhall Monaro gets driven less and less every week.)
Mine is one of two running P6s that I've found in the state. The other is a 3500 to which the owner has fitted a standard transmission. Very cool.
The only issues I've had in the past year are leaky carbs (a gasket set fixed that in about two hours), brake light switch failure(converted it to a mechanical one in under an hour) and a broken alternator bracket (had a friend fabricate a new one). Otherwise it's been a very reliable car. It does leak oil from somewhere around the rear of the engine, but what can you expect from a 40-year-old car that is almost 100 percent original. (Factory Air Con and the ice warning system were removed at some point.)
Recently my right rear brake has seemed to have stop working. I'm hoping its just out of adjustment. Tomorrow's project.. .
What a great car! The speed limit here is 75 mph and the State Troopers don't pull anyone over until they are doing over 90, so having a classic car that keeps up in traffic is great. (Needless to say my Series IIA 1-ton Land Rover pickup never went on the interstate!) The ride is great, brakes are great (even with only three working!) and it gets much better mileage than our V10 Ford Excursion!
I look forward to years of enjoyment of this car and hopefully a refurb on the hail damaged bits some day. For now, I figure the hail dents give it even more character. . .
Cheers,
Todd
Windsor, Colorado
Each day I drive it I love it more and more. (My Pontiac GTO a.k.a Vauxhall Monaro gets driven less and less every week.)
Mine is one of two running P6s that I've found in the state. The other is a 3500 to which the owner has fitted a standard transmission. Very cool.
The only issues I've had in the past year are leaky carbs (a gasket set fixed that in about two hours), brake light switch failure(converted it to a mechanical one in under an hour) and a broken alternator bracket (had a friend fabricate a new one). Otherwise it's been a very reliable car. It does leak oil from somewhere around the rear of the engine, but what can you expect from a 40-year-old car that is almost 100 percent original. (Factory Air Con and the ice warning system were removed at some point.)
Recently my right rear brake has seemed to have stop working. I'm hoping its just out of adjustment. Tomorrow's project.. .
What a great car! The speed limit here is 75 mph and the State Troopers don't pull anyone over until they are doing over 90, so having a classic car that keeps up in traffic is great. (Needless to say my Series IIA 1-ton Land Rover pickup never went on the interstate!) The ride is great, brakes are great (even with only three working!) and it gets much better mileage than our V10 Ford Excursion!
I look forward to years of enjoyment of this car and hopefully a refurb on the hail damaged bits some day. For now, I figure the hail dents give it even more character. . .
Cheers,
Todd
Windsor, Colorado
