For old Rover saloon buffs

[biglouis]

I came across this absolutely excellent specimen of the old Rover saloon - the one built like a tank - in Jermyn Street, this afternoon. If you squint at this picture you can almost imagine you are back in the fifties (before those damned double yellows) and the owner has parked to pick up some cheese from the shop in background.

BTW, the owner told me he had spent 8 years refurbishing and restoring the vehicle and it had the most beautiful matching blue leather interior. They don't build 'em like this anyone and in fact sadly Rover don't build 'em anymore at all.

L1020379-Edit-2 s.jpg

[jmr]

Louis,

thanks for the the beauty of times past.

[ejd]

Is that little hole at the bottom centre of the radiator grille for a starting handle? I've often wished my car had one.

[biglouis]

Originally Posted by ejd

Is that little hole at the bottom centre of the radiator grille for a starting handle? I've often wished my car had one.

Absolutely. I can't remember where the starting handle would have been stored. Probably had a kick like a mule when it turned over.

LouisB

[stuny]

Big -

Thanks for the flash from the past. Any idea which engine? BTW: My '58 MGA coupe had an opening for a crank handle.

[earleygallery]

Beautiful!

I owned a P4 100 for a few years (this shape Rover is the P4) and it was surprisingly rapid to drive. With the leather and wood interior it almost felt that you should have an open fire in the middle of the dashboard!

The hole in the bumper/grille is indeed for a starting handle, I tried and have no idea how you could actually turn that great lump of an engine!

Here's a pic of mine (it looks a lot better than it actually was, it needed a full restoration really which would have cost ££££'s so I sold it to someone who wanted to take on the project - wonder if its still running?).

[stunsworth]

I have vague memories of a TV documentary series from the early/mid sixties when a Rover similar to this was driven from the mouth of the Rhine in Holland to its source. I'm pretty sure one of the participants was Rene Cutforth, can't remember the other. James Cameron?

Anyhow, it's the type of journey I've been tempted to do myself <grin>

[biglouis]

James

What a beauty. My father owned a P4 60, which was a 1.6 litre. I believe the 100 was a 2 litre engine. Our P4 60 had a strange "free-wheel" control knob which somehow disengaged the drive shaft from the rear wheels. As these mothers weighed over a ton, you could get them up to a cruising speed then take your foot off the accelerator and the momentum would carry them for a long way before stepping on the accelerator again.

I learned to drive on the Rover 60 and had the pleasure of using it for a number of years as a member of the family before my father gave in and bought a smaller car, a Triumph Herald saloon (another great, eccentric British car, with terrible quality control problems).

Anyone remember the famous jet-engine powered P4?

LouisB

[elansprint72]

Originally Posted by biglouis

Anyone remember the famous jet-engine powered P4?

LouisB

Nice cars, nice story and nice shots!

Some stuff about all the Rover jets here:

The Rover Turbine Cars