Rover P6 in Cyprus

M

Martin3500V8

New Member
I recently came back from Cyprus and i spotted a 2000 hidden on a back road half covered in bushes, i have no idea if it is a single or twin carb and im not 100% on the colour as it was covered in thick dust but im assuming its either April yellow or Almond it is in a sorry state and looks as though its been there for years although it was on a fairly new housing development it appears it has a full set of dirty but undamaged sundym windows on it and pressing my nose up to the glass the interior looked in pretty good order (probably due to the Greek Co-op bag in the windscreen) the registration plate is GR 493 and i can only judge a rough estimate of age by the colour and that it has pre box pleat ambler seats, there are probably some tell tale signs as to its age etc which im missing but as im only 17 i still have much to learn, and a certain James Taylor book to aquire

Rover 2000 1

Rover 2000 2
 
Welcome Martin3500V8!

It's good to see that someone of 17 years old has an interest in the Rover P6. My friend is 19, and he has a series 1 V8.

Best Wishes
 
thank you :)

I've had an interest in the Rover P6 since i was about 10 when my dad used to tell me about his Zircon blue 3500 he owned in the 70's/80's and its only been in the past year i have really taken an interest in the P6 when he bought another one. For a first car I was looking at Rover 2000SC but checking insurance quotes it was £300 cheaper ??? to insure a 3500s so my quest for a tax exempt 3500s begins, which i know is going to be hard to come by
 
Ah, so you have discovered this strangeness with insurance companies! Another friend is 24, and has 2 Jaguar XJS. One is a 3.6, and the other is the monster V12. Guess which one is far cheaper to insure........ Yeap, it's the V12!!
 
haha it makes no sense at all, apart from the fuel consumption there isnt any draw backs to owning a V8 over a 2000 i had a quote of £1800 to insure a V8 against £2500 to insure a 1.2 Corsa, so do i buy an average car or by a dream car and save £700 on insurance...tough one... :cool: classic cars have always done more for me than modern cars, i sometimes help my dad maintain the engine of the v8 and everything is accessable, only downside is a previous owner had the bright idea of painting the brake servo and air cleaner housing pink! :O
 
Pink servo and air cleaner? EERRR!

The good thing about the V8, is it has enough torque to pull a Corsa in half! :laugh: But the Corsa would have the last laugh on fuel consumption :( My V8 auto returns on average 18MPG, where as a 2000SC will achieve far greater than this. May be it's a case of how many miles will you do in a year.
I think that it's about time that insurance companies started giving young drivers a better deal. I think what they are doing is charging a young driver the average cost of repairing a car, after an accident, which is probably about 1500 quid. I think that the young driver should either be given half of that amount back, after completing his first years motoring without having an accident, or be given his second years insurance free, or at a huge discount. It's not really in the spirit of the law is it? I thought that in this country you were innocent until proven guilty............
I'm now 34 years old, but I had my first V8 P6 when I had just turned 18. it cost me 430 quid to insure it TPF&T. How times change.
 
yeah, how times must have changed but considering that id only be doing a couple of thousand a year if that, fuel isnt too bad but i agree this insurance hike annoys me and so far the cheapest quote ive had so far is for a triumph TR7 at only £450 but im 6ft 3 and not exactly skinny it may be a problem and the fact it has restircted me on cars to own because to repair a P6 after a fairly light front end shunt cant be too expensive the replace, panels and engine components are readily avaliable usually at acceptable prices, judging by lock stock and two smoking barrels where they smash Vinny Jone's 3500 into the back of the Ford Granada estate with just a small ford shape "V" left in the bonnet, bumper and valence i can only imagine how they fair up in accidents, I think if they did anything like money back on insurance etc it would encourage younger driver to take care as they wud be getting a discount or money back the next year which is an insentive for me to drive carefully, i would anyway, you have nothing to prove when ur in a burbling V8 next to a feista with an empty can of baked beans on the exhaust and a muffler to make it sound like a bee in a tin can, no competition what so ever!
 
If you do a forum search on the "Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrells" P6, you'll find that the car is still about. I work in the accident repair trade, and I would have said that the car was/is repairable, but I would say that there would be some quite substantial damage to the O/S/F inner wing, as the windscreen seems to explode on impact! Or it might just be a case of the bonnet got shoved back through it. I was very impressed with the mess it made of the Mk2 Granada though...... I used to own a Mk1 Granada 3.0 Ghia, and these things are built like a brick out house!!!! They were one of my friends favourites for banger racing..... :(

I know what you mean about being so tall! I'm 6'2, and it does cause problems........ a Mini is right out the question for me! The P6 Rover is one of very few cars I know of where I don't have the seat all the way back, and is very comfy on long journeys, to the point where it is worth paying the extra on the petrol :D

I think you'll find yourself doing more than a couple of thousand miles a year though.......They're addictive to drive! Rather than trying to find a 3500S, Have you thought about an auto? There are more of them about, tax exempt. They are also probably the better car to do the SD1 Five speed conversion on, as the transmission tunnel is larger.
 
1 reason why the rover p6 (classic cars)is cheaper to insure than a newer car is because the newer car get smashed up/stolen in greater numbers than any classic car..also if young its better in the long run to get your own insurance than being on parents insurance as a named driver also try the classic insurace companys in the advertes they may say no drivers under 21 but ring them and sometimes they will give u a number to ring from another company that insures classic cars for younger people.
 
yeah thanks that does sound like a better option to go for as im not looking for a completely origanal P6 as i have plans to modify the appearance of the Rover when i buy it, ive always dreamed of a 3500 sprayed in a Rover 75 black (modern 75 not 50's style) with the slightly bigger P5B rostyle wheels, but i havent a clue if the hub is the same or even if the studs line up. possibly even a later 65 auto box would be nice as an alternative to the 5 speed SD1 box and yeah that would make sense with the insurance Jay but regards of power etc i thought they wud come up with a stupidly high figure being as V8 and everything but still baffles me how that come up with a lower figure for a V8 over a 2000 single carb ???
 
Hi again Martin,

Have you got the latest copy of P6 news? If you look in the centre pages you will see my car, complete with P5B Rostyles

erik.jpg


But just in case you haven't :;):

One good reason I can think of that the insurance should be far higher than the 2000, is the theft loading........ There are still plenty of P6's getting broken just for their V8 engines. The way the Hot Rod, and Landrover trials boys must get through them as well.........

As for black on a P6? It looks way cool. If you do a Google image search for "P6 Rover" you will eventually come across a black series 1 car. Very tasty :cool:
 
yeah i have the newest copy ill definatly have a look at that, thanks, yeah i saw a black one at the hever castle meeting last year and i automatically fell in love with it, although it had later SD1 wheels on it it still looked rather nice, yeah i can understand the V8 being higher than the 2000 to insure but it wasnt the 2000 was more than the V8 to insure, but hey im not complaining, only downside being fuel consumption but seeing as far as my knowledge goes thers only about 10mpg between to 2
 
It's quite scarey how quick a V8 can get down 20 quids worth of petrol, especially if you drop the hammer! I had a bit of fun one year with a friend of mine who owns a Jaguar XJ6. You could almost watch the fuel guage dropping!!

As for wheels, the proper 14" Rostyles seem to be the Holy Grail for most P6 owners, but I think that they also look great on Minilites, and Jensen Interceptor alloys :cool:
 
Erik The Viking said:
I know what you mean about being so tall! I'm 6'2, and it does cause problems........ a Mini is right out the question for me! The P6 Rover is one of very few cars I know of where I don't have the seat all the way back, and is very comfy on long journeys, to the point where it is worth paying the extra on the petrol :D
Click to expand...
I'd go along with that. I'm 6'03", and my friend Duncan, who works on my cars, is taller, and when I get back behind the wheel I have to move the seat forward! Always have the headroom as well.

The only other vehicle really designed for the taller (or larger) driver in my experience was a Capri or a Granada - the Mark III Grannie is so huge in the front you feel like a midget with incorrect adjustment.

I simply am too tall to get into a lot of classics - my wife always wanted a Triumph Stag - I'd never be able to drive one without looking over the top of the windscreen. Also out of the question are Dolomites (I'd have loved a Sprint) and most MG's.

Saying that, after you've driven a P6 everything else just isn't the same. Thoroughly enjoying tentatively road testing my 2200 auto at the moment.

Cheers
Nick
 
Erik The Viking said:
As for black on a P6? It looks way cool. If you do a Google image search for "P6 Rover" you will eventually come across a black series 1 car. Very tasty :cool:
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When we had a real raid on the archives at Gaydon earlier this year it was quite surprising to see just how many black P6's were produced by the factory - there was a large batch made in early 1970 for an order from Eastern Europe, I think the figure was about 20 or so. These were four cylinder SC's.
 
hmm yeah the Jensen wheels sound like a nice set ot put onto the P6 I'll keep my eyes peeled for a P6 with them fitted, ouch yeah i can imagine with the fuel, i have seen that myself sometimes where my dad has floored the rover and kickdown comes in and the needle plummets, but at the moment as its more of a rolling restoration than a 100% solid reliable everyday car its only bought out once a week so the fuel isnt too bad on it. but when i finally get my own P6 i suspect the fuel bills will be a bit higher as ill probably drive it to work and back everyday, either that or use the Peugeot 1007, its nice but the novelty of the sliding doors wore off in about a week.
 
Erik The Viking said:
It's quite scarey how quick a V8 can get down 20 quids worth of petrol, especially if you drop the hammer!
Click to expand...
I did daily drive a V8 for a period of about four months last year, I work about three miles from home and was doing about 15/20 miles a day average. It was truly scary how much time I spent in the filling station. I'm glad I did it, but would only repeat the exercise on someone else's credit card.

Cheers
Nick
 
ah right that does sound interesting, i never knew there were any factory black P6's and yeah the P6 is about the only car i can get comfortable in and if i get any taller ill have to use my dads one which was a webasto roof!, must admit though when i went to the motor show i managed to fit comfortably in all the new smaller cars but never could get comfortable in the big off roaders, the Hummer H3 was very cramped and didnt have a lot of headroom and its a Hummer!, I have always liked the Dolomite sprint, yellow with the black vinyl roof does look very nice i see one every time i go to my friends house his neighbour has a red (now going pink due to lack of polish) 1300 HL sitting on his driveway although the paint has gone flat it looks quite solid but it hasnt moved for at least 6 years
 
haha very true but the needle has stayed more or less at half a tank for the past year we have had it and ive never noticed the car be filled up! hope the guage is working!, that has got to be the most important guage when your driving a 3500!..or the oil pressure... ???
 
The most important guage on a P6 Rover is the one thats attached to the gas bottle on your MIG welder!! :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
 
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