March 2021 Rover P5 Coupe restoration update
Regular readers will remember I have been stopping by to check out the Rover P5 coupe restoration. The updates show just how time consuming a proper restoration is. Those TV shows that try to do one in a weekend really are quite silly. There is a big difference in just slapping things together and doing the job properly.
To recap there are three Rover P5s under restoration. A 1964 P5 Coupe MKIIA in manual/overdrive; a 1965 MKIIC in manual/overdrive (converted from auto) and a 1966 MKIII in manual/overdrive (also converted from auto). The two MKII cars are both admiralty blue, but the 1964 car is two tone with a light blue roof. All three cars are fitted with Webasto sunroofs. There is a surprising amount of difference given the cars are all a model year apart. The photo below shows the 1964 car.
There were quite a few jobs underway that will not be seen when the cars are finished but are still important. The first was the front seat mechanism. These needed to be dissasembled as they were not moving freely. The control cables were not really designed to be disassembled so a lot of car was required to remove them and make sure the mechanisms were working properly. The picture below shows the mechanisms for the MKIIC.
Another component along the same lines were the door check straps. Each one had to be disassembled, cleaned and lubricated. Interestingly the front ones are slightly different to the rear ones. Rover helpfully stamped a little picture of a front door or a rear door on the straps to identify them.
Another job like this is checking the alignment of the starting handle. While the starting handle is not going to be used frequently (if at all), everything still needs to line up properly. I did actually use the handle on my old P5 when the ignition switch stopped working. It allowed me to start the car up at a Petrol station and continue on my way.
A particularly tedious job is aligning the bonnet on a P5. This is why so many of them at car shows have misaligned bonnets. It involves a lot of trial fitting to get it just right as there are two bolts that go into oval shaped holes to make sure the bonnet sits just right.
Finally the 1964 car is starting to have the interior fitted. The photo below shows the rear seat, upholstered in grey leather. It should look great with the navy blue carpet. It can’t really be see in the picture, but the 1964 car will also get the drivers window regulator from my old car. That regulator is in much better condition.
It will be great to see these cars lined up in the sun after they are completed. What a good display it would be at a cars and coffee event. It is rare to see a P5 coupe at an event like this, let alone three of them.
For more information on previous updates, please see:
