[ROVERNET - UK] Newbie's dossier

[Glen Wilson]

Laine,

The nice thing about the P4 is that it is truly a rugged automobile. As 
far as weatherizing your car, you should probably start by replacing any 
bad rubber. Many people seem to get their rubber from Scott's Old Auto 
Rubber in Australia. You probably want to get to know Ruth at All 
British Cars in Vancouver, as well. On this list you will meet Dermot 
Harvey who has a Rover supply business just north of New York City, 
James Dean who is based in Florida, and Pierre Janusz who supplies parts 
from England. There are several other well known suppliers in the UK 
that other people on the list will surely recommend. I think the Part 
Supplier Page at www.RSTCA.com is pretty much up to date. I think Bo 
Arnholm also maintains a list of suppliers at the Rover Club of Sweden site.

If you need anything specific, send a note to the Rovernet. Someone will 
surely recommend a good source, but you might also find that there is 
NOS stuff still out there. Old Rovers often come with boxes of parts, 
and Rover people don't throw anything away. You can also watch eBay.

Several people always flame me when I say this, but Rovers are 
underappreciated and undervalued in the USA. You don't usually make 
money restoring them and selling them at a profit as you might a 50's 
American car. It's best if someone with the Rover bug does the 
restoration simply because they love the cars. If you're going to 
restore one purely for profit, it would be good to find a client ahead 
of time. On the other hand, you may not have paid much at all for the 
fine piece of automotive history you just acquired, so a reasonable 
expenditure is justified. Really nicely done Rovers can bring a pretty 
good penny because they are interesting and fairly rare cars in the USA.

The Rover 80 is not a bad car at all, but its engine suffers in 
comparison with the six-cylinder gem that the other models came with. On 
the other hand, the four-cylinder engine is more economical, is 
basically identical to the sturdy Land Rover engine, and is simpler to 
repair and maintain (the six is an F-head inlet-over-exhaust engine with 
the exhaust valves in the block). You might also have read that the 80 
handles slightly better because there is less weight on the front tires. 
There are other Rover 80 owners on this list who can offer advice.

Glen


 Colley wrote:
> Eureka! After two unsuccessful attempts I have made contact. The
> HTML monster is dead. I apologize for not remembering your name
> off hand, but thanks to the fellow who showed me the error of my
> ways.
>
> Here goes nothing.
>
> My name is Laine and I am 32. I am a returning college student
> with two semesters left, a wife and a mom. I live in Northern
> Michigan and have just bought a 1960 80 lhd. It is one of the 12
> sol in North America and it is the 12th off the line.
>
> I was in the market for my first love, a 1954 Chevy Bel Air, when
> my husband asked if I had checked the local paper. I had prepared
> myself for a trip to Wisconsin to pick up a 4 door Bel that was a
> bit iffy in all areas when, there on the local site, was this
> car. Someone found it in Cleveland blocking the way to a stock
> Shelby Mustang. He had hoped to bring the Mustang, but someone
> beat him to it. He brought the Rover back just to break even.
>
> It had been in that building for a long time. Most of its issues
> are with dry rubber. The leaf springs and all of the shocks are
> shot and the starter solenoid is burnt up, but with those
> replaced it could be a summer driver. 
>
> What I joined this forum to discuss isnt the mechanics as much as
> its value and the steps I can take to make it more weather
> resistant. In a perfect world I would like to tear it all down
> and coat all exposed steel with some sort of protection. That
> probably wont happen. Not soon anyway. So in the eyes of classic
> Rover owners, what can I do to her? 
>
> It seems they cant even give the 80s away in Britain. Is an
> American one any better? 
>
> Just getting started,
>
> Laine
>
>
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