[ROVERNET - UK] P6 Wire Wheels - A (long) Australian Story

David Walker concinnity at woosh.co.nz
Wed Jul 12 12:27:10 BST 2006


Gerald, I'd love to see your car ,where in NZ are you?  Cheers, David Walker
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "gerald miller" <geraldmiller at clear.net.nz>
To: <rovernet at lyris.ccdata.com>
Sent: Wednesday, July 12, 2006 8:54 PM
Subject: Re: [ROVERNET - UK] P6 Wire Wheels - A (long) Australian Story


Hello Drew
Thought I would add a note to your experiences with your dads P6
I bought a p6b new from a Julian Barber ,salesman Faulls .Subiaco Perth in
72 .[ is this the same guy you mentioned ]  I was 19 at the time and worked
in Tom Price Iron Ore ,so had a earned a good  lump of money to blow on a
car .
I was going for a 230 Mercedes but loved the Rover looks a little more.
I ordered factory air con ,tinted windows ,M-tex red upholstery ,almond
paint, touring boot kit and waited 3 months for shippng out from UK .
Its first run was down to Albany to "run the V8 in" . Got there just in time
to see the last whale come in for processing at the rendering yards
.Something I'll never forget.
The P6 - XBA 685 went back to Tom Price for a year to see out my contract
and then I shipped her home to NZ .
I still have her and she looks as the day I bought her -mint and original .
She comes out for picnics and show-offs and is still a pleasure to drive
cheers
Gerald
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Drew Egginton" <drew at pitstop.net.au>
To: <rovernet at lyris.ccdata.com>
Sent: Wednesday, July 12, 2006 6:09 PM
Subject: Re: [ROVERNET - UK] P6 Wire Wheels - A (long) Australian Story


>I can confirm that a few TCs with wire wheels did come to Australia with
>wire wheels.
>
> My father has pretty much always been a Rover man and owned what was
> marketed here as a 2000TC "Special Features". He used to know the salesman
> John Julian at Faulls (the West Aust agents) quite well, John even
> supplying a white P5 Coupé as a wedding car to go with my father's P5
> Saloon in January 1968. Interestingly,  Dad bought his P5 from my Mum's
> uncle before he had met her!
>
> Anyway, Dad traded his P5 in when the salesman advised him a special,
> near-new P6 was coming up for sale. He told Dad that there were only three
> of these in WA which differed from the standard car in that they had wire
> wheels, the faux-wood steering wheel and real wood gearknob, thin
> stainless rubbing strips along the side of the car and in the case of his
> white example, blue flashes of paint behind the TC badges, blue painted
> rear roof pillar panels and "Buffalo" leather upholstery in a dark
> chocolate brown colour. I'm pretty sure the white/bluecolour combination
> was offered on NADA cars as I'm sure I saw it in a Road & Track road test
> or one of my brochures.
>
> During the time he owned the car, registered "UXB-271" he was a teacher
> stationed down at Albany on the south coast of WA, some 250 miles south of
> the capital, Perth. My folks used to come up to Perth for the weekend
> every fortnight and in the time (1968-1970) they owned the car it never
> let them down.
>
> My impending birth (April 1970) and with it the need to carry an extra
> bassinet (who'd heard of child seats?) forced them to sell the P6 for a
> bigger car and so it was back to a P5, a 1964 Coupé "UNT-731". We're not
> totally sure what happened to UXB, although we believe it was later
> wrecked in Geraldton (250-odd miles north of Perth) and another one of the
> specials was parted out after being crashed in Perth in the mid-1970s.
> Later, in the early 1990s a young member joined the local club with a nice
> dark green "Special Features" mock-up (it had an SC chassis number) and a
> year or so later he managed to also buy a local red TC with wire wheels in
> Perth which had been reupholstered with houndstooth cloth! I remember him
> having lots of troubles with splines and flat tyres, but he was onlu about
> 18 years of age!
>
> Subsequently, I believe a brilliant local restorer (and WAROC member)
> still has a set of  wire wheels for a rainy day, one member has a set
> which he was using on a 1969 3500 until quite recently, a former WAROC
> president (now living in California) has a local 1972 3500 with wires.
> Finally, the foundation WAROC president contacted me out of the blue a few
> weeks back with another red TC with wires! An impecunious owner decided to
> sell it in Kalgoorlie, WA c.1986 after breaking the windsreen after
> crossing the Nullabor (a very long, cross-country Australian drive). It
> quickly changed hands again and has been sitting in a shed for 20 years.
> How many sets is that?
>
> Rove On!
>
> Andrew Egginton
> WAROC
>
> PS - (if anyone has made it this far!) Dad traded UNT-731 at Faulls in
> September 1975 on a 1970 3500 which my parents still own. It ended up with
> a elderly gentleman and I saw it from time to time over the years. I kept
> in contact and was offered first refusal, but late last year when the
> owner was "retired" to an aged-care facility the family gave the car to
> his mechanic to dispose of. A club member went and saw it and purchased it
> as a parts car for his P5B and it wasn't until a former Faulls mechanic
> (another former WAROC president!!) told me about car that I re-discovered
> it. Timing was everything as the new owner of this grand old lady (now
> showing the parking scars from a 90 year old and  plenty of rust) was in
> the process of deciding whether to pay the registration or not. Luckily he
> was happy to sell and it's now mine! I've done about 500 trouble-free
> miles since February in the first car I ever travelled in.
>
> Dirk Burrowes wrote:
>
>>I am glad to hear that someone else likes the wire wheels Rover released
>>for
>>only 2 years 67 and 68 as an upgrade to the steel wheel option in the UK.
>>As far as I know the option was only available in the UK so none where
>>exported to the US or Down under. I guess they where not that popular
>>
>>I purchased a set last year and hope to refurbish them and install them on
>>my 68 TC they are very cool.
>>
>>To follow up on the freewheel discussion I can't wait to try one out it I
>>guess it is like a roller coaster ride just with consequences.
>>
>>Dirk
>>
>>-----Original Message-----
>>From: rovernet-bounces at lyris.ccdata.com
>>[mailto:rovernet-bounces at lyris.ccdata.com] On Behalf Of
>>rovernet-request at lyris.ccdata.com
>>Sent: Tuesday, July 11, 2006 6:25 PM
>>To: rovernet at lyris.ccdata.com
>>Subject: rovernet Digest, Vol 44, Issue 31
>>
>>Send rovernet mailing list submissions to
>> rovernet at lyris.ccdata.com
>>
>>To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit
>> http://mailman.nipltd.com/mailman/listinfo/rovernet
>>or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to
>> rovernet-request at lyris.ccdata.com
>>
>>You can reach the person managing the list at
>> rovernet-owner at lyris.ccdata.com
>>
>>When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific
>>than "Re: Contents of rovernet digest..."
>>
>>
>>[ROVERNET-UK]
>>
>>Today's Topics:
>>
>>   1. Re:  1951 Rover P4 Cyclops (Hank and Sally Manwell)
>>   2. Re:  SD1 and Jensen wheels (sspmilr at netzero.net)
>>   3.  Re: NADA TC (Glen Wilson)
>>   4. Re:  Re: NADA TC (Jim Cumberland)
>>   5. Re:  sign off (Eric Russell)
>>   6. Re:  Re: NADA TC (Eric Russell)
>>   7. RE:  Re: NADA TC (Paul Smith)
>>
>>
>>----------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>>Message: 1
>>Date: Tue, 11 Jul 2006 10:08:19 -0400
>>From: "Hank and Sally Manwell" <hdmanwell at alumni.bates.edu>
>>Subject: Re: [ROVERNET - UK] 1951 Rover P4 Cyclops
>>To: <rovernet at lyris.ccdata.com>
>>Message-ID: <003e01c6a4f3$7cb12470$d58a0fce at c6n7b7>
>>Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1";
>> reply-type=response
>>
>>Yes, the freewheel has some scary features - and an added one for absent
>>minded people (like me).  I remember seeing a brand new SAAB w/freewheel
>>that had been out on a test drive from the dealer in Salida, Colorado.  It
>>was driven to the top of Monarch Pass, 11,000 or so feet, and parked at
>>the observation center - and left in gear.  As soon as the driver walked
>>away from it, it rolled off the edge and found a tree a few hundred feet
>>down the
>>
>>mountain and hit dead center condensing the grill into the dashboard.
>>
>>With that memory I was never willing to use the freewheel either in my
>>SAAB or the various Freewheeling Rovers we had.  I ran down the street as
>>fast as
>>
>>I could once to catch my Father's Rover 90 after my wife left it only in
>>gear at the curb in front of the house.
>>
>>We do have a lot of P4 parts around here in Central New York including
>>doors
>>
>>with trim (same as cyclops, I think) and hoods (which I think are somewhat
>>different in the front than 1952 and later cars.
>>
>>And we've got a solid 1960 100 project car that's up for grabs.
>>
>>Hank
>>
>>----- Original Message ----- 
>>From: "S Manwell" <s_manwell at alum.swarthmore.edu>
>>To: "Steve Smith" <ltsmiths at peoplepc.com>; <rovernet at lyris.ccdata.com>
>>Sent: Monday, July 10, 2006 11:10 PM
>>Subject: Re: [ROVERNET - UK] 1951 Rover P4 Cyclops
>>
>>
>>
>>>Steve,
>>>
>>>One feature of the freewheel is quite "memorable" to me...
>>>
>>>I found myself headed down a long hill in the 1953 P4 75 that I had over
>>>20 years ago with freewheel engaged and a stop sign and crossroad at the
>>>bottom of the hill.  The drum brakes had faded by the bottom of hill and
>>>it was fortunate that the road I was on merged into the road at the
>>>bottom
>>>
>>
>>
>>>(rather than meeting at right angles) and that there wasn't much traffic
>>>around.
>>>
>>>The moral of the story is that the same feature that lets the car coast
>>>downhill with the engine at idle also gives no engine braking on a steep
>>>downhill.  In the wrong circumstances its dangerous, but the clutchless
>>>up
>>>
>>
>>
>>>shifts are fun and its economical and quieter to let the engine rev's die
>>>down to idle on a long drive with gentle downhill stretches along the
>>>way.
>>>Similarly, its not a good idea to leave a Rover parked in freewheel with
>>>its nose aimed downhill -- my father has a story related to this.
>>>
>>>There are only one or two restored Cyclops' (what's the plural?) in North
>>>America, but its hard to say what the restored value would be.  There are
>>>probably at least another five to ten un-restored Cyclops in North
>>>America
>>>
>>
>>
>>>including a pretty complete parts car in Maine.  New parts are readily
>>>available from England and there are a few collections of used early P4
>>>parts on this side of the Atlantic too.  I have some mid '50's parts and
>>>some are useable on early '50's cars.
>>>James Taylor's book "Classic Rovers 1945 - 1986" says that 2,542 LHD
>>>export P4's were made in 1951 and does not show separate export numbers
>>>for 1950.  I don't know what proportion would have come to the US market;
>>>maybe one of the P4 books has more specific info.
>>>
>>>--Steve
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>------------------------------
>>
>>Message: 2
>>Date: Tue, 11 Jul 2006 14:23:25 GMT
>>From: "sspmilr at netzero.net" <sspmilr at netzero.net>
>>Subject: Re: [ROVERNET - UK] SD1 and Jensen wheels
>>To: rovernet at lyris.ccdata.com
>>Message-ID: <20060711.072427.19107.394030 at webmail50.lax.untd.com>
>>Content-Type: text/plain
>>
>>Hi Rudiger:
>>
>>Very enjoyable Rover site!
>>
>>Thank you,
>>
>>Peter Miller
>>Arlington, Wa.
>>USA
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>------------------------------
>>
>>Message: 3
>>Date: Tue, 11 Jul 2006 10:49:48 -0400
>>From: Glen Wilson <glenwilson at cavtel.net>
>>Subject: [ROVERNET - UK] Re: NADA TC
>>To: rovernet at lyris.ccdata.com
>>Message-ID: <200607111049.49000.glenwilson at cavtel.net>
>>Content-Type: text/plain;  charset="iso-8859-1"
>>
>>On Tuesday 11 July 2006 09:57, David Walker wrote:
>>
>>>Glen,thanks for that.Sorry,I,ve been misled,the three or so NADA cars
>>>down
>>>here all have them so it helped my assumption.I ,personally prefer them
>>>to
>>>the wire wheel option,(I think that's an age thing.)I had never seen a
>>>picture of the magstar wheel ,are there many of those about?And while I,m
>>>asking how many P6s are left in North America?   Cheers,David.
>>>
>>
>>David,
>>
>>Those rostyles do look nice on the car. There was actually an NADA TC for
>>sale by a towing company in California a couple of months ago that had the
>>Magstar wheels on it for about $900. Magstar wheels are pretty rare over
>>here, although Steve Manwell has six complete sets of these in his garage
>>still in
>>
>>the original Rover packaging. You can contact him at 555-555-5555 any
>>time, day or night. (ONLY JOKING...)
>>
>>I have never seen a P6 in the States with wire wheels, but there might be
>>one or two. I'm not aware that they were offered as an option over here.
>>
>>I have no accurate statistic for the number of P6s left in the USA, but
>>there really are quite a number of them. Most people in the USA have never
>>heard
>>of the Rover Company and the saloons or sedans they sold here. People do
>>know
>>of the Land Rover brand but no one ever associates anything with it but
>>4WD vehicles. Even many of your typical British car enthusiasts who own
>>Triumphs
>>
>>and MGs seem to have no idea what a Rover is.
>>Rover never made it big in the USA, but they seem to have sold a small
>>number pretty consistently over the years. Personally, I am always amazed
>>at how many still survive since they are no well known or sought after
>>over here.
>>In spite of this, a few more cars rise out of obscurity every month.
>>Almost all
>>
>>of them are P6s, and most are in need of extensive restoration, but they
>>are
>>
>>always popping up. Over the years, people in the USA who appreciate Rovers
>>have tended to own several of them at one time and kept them in garages
>>and barns with the best intentions of restoring them. When you get word of
>>one P6, there are often 3-5 of them at the site. My general impression is
>>that Rovers are generally likeable cars and they are just interesting
>>enough that
>>
>>people can't bear to junk them even if it isn't economical to restore
>>them.
>>Of course, there are also quite a number of really nice Rovers in the USA
>>as
>>
>>you can tell from reading the Rovernet.
>>
>>Glen
>>
>>
>>
>>>>On Tuesday 11 July 2006 07:47, David Walker wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> the P6,Rostyle equipped P6s(a rare option outside N.A.D.A. but
>>>>>compulsory on TCs in it)
>>>>>
>>>>David,
>>>>
>>>>Many (probably most) TC's in  the USA were bought with the plain steel
>>>>
>>>wheels
>>>
>>>
>>>>and wheel covers. The fancy wheels were an option. I know this from
>>>>experience with TCs over here, but it's also clear in the sales brochure
>>>>
>>>and
>>>
>>>
>>>>in Taylor's book (p. 84).
>>>>
>>>>I've got scans of the brochure at
>>>>http://clubs.hemmings.com/clubsites/rovercar/nadatc/nada.htm
>>>>
>>>>Glen
>>>>
>>>>--
>>>>Glen Wilson
>>>>http://stores.ebay.com/EasyAuctionServicesPA
>>>>A bit of this, a bit of that...
>>>>
>>>>_______________________________________________
>>>>rovernet mailing list
>>>>rovernet at lyris.ccdata.com
>>>>To unsubscribe, go to this web page, look near the bottom and follow
>>>>
>>>instructions:
>>>
>>>>http://mailman.nipltd.com/mailman/listinfo/rovernet
>>>>Back-up list and photos at:
>>>>http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/Rover_net/
>>>>
>>>_______________________________________________
>>>rovernet mailing list
>>>rovernet at lyris.ccdata.com
>>>To unsubscribe, go to this web page, look near the bottom and follow
>>>instructions: http://mailman.nipltd.com/mailman/listinfo/rovernet
>>>Back-up list and photos at:
>>>http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/Rover_net/
>>>
>>
>>
>
> -- 
>
> The Pitstop Bookshop
> 33 King Street
> PERTH, Western Australia 6000
> website: www.pitstop.net.au  e-mail: info at pitstop.net.au
> (08) 9322 5544 ph  +61 8 9322 5544 (International) (08) 9322 5535 fax +61
> 8 9322 5535 (International)
> 1800 622 422 freecall
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> rovernet mailing list
> rovernet at lyris.ccdata.com
> To unsubscribe, go to this web page, look near the bottom and follow
> instructions:
> http://mailman.nipltd.com/mailman/listinfo/rovernet
> Back-up list and photos at:
> http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/Rover_net/
>
>
> -- 
> No virus found in this incoming message.
> Checked by AVG Free Edition.
> Version: 7.1.394 / Virus Database: 268.9.10/384 - Release Date: 10/07/2006
>



_______________________________________________
rovernet mailing list
rovernet at lyris.ccdata.com
To unsubscribe, go to this web page, look near the bottom and follow
instructions:
http://mailman.nipltd.com/mailman/listinfo/rovernet
Back-up list and photos at:
http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/Rover_net/




More information about the rovernet mailing list