LOVELY 1963 ROVER 3 LITRE - OWNED BY ONE FAMILY FROM NEW

Rover 3-Litre P5 saloon. first registered 26. 4. 63 and finished in blue with matching blue leather trim.

This is a car from my personal classic collection; I bought it just over two years ago to fulfil a long-held ambition to own a P5.   I specifically wanted a P5 rather than the V8-powered P5b - I don't think the Rostyle wheels suit a Rover. span >  the V8 doesn't seem quite right either (purely a personal opinion) but above all the P5b power steering is far too light.

 Anyway. I chose carefully. and it's a good example overall - not perfect for sure. but certainly very good indeed and well worthy of a bit of not-too-difficult improvement. I've shown it regularly during my ownership and enjoyed doing so no end. and it is now for sale for no other reason than that the chance to buy a superb example came up. and it was just too good to pass up. Had that not happened there is absolutely no doubt that 494KNP would have remained on the fleet.  

 This is a very unusual P5 in that although it's now more than 50 years old. prior to my ownership it belonged to three members of one family from new; I'm guessing father. mother and daughter. as they are Mr. Mrs and Miss. but same surname and same address. In my ownership it has been featured many times in Classic Car Buyer and Classic Car Mart.  

The car also comes with a truly massive quantity of paperwork - handbooks. original service books. old Mots. bills/receipts and much. much more. In fact. I'd say it's pretty much a full service history! There's the original service book with stamps up to 1967. plus a huge sheaf of bills from there on. All this supports the current recorded mileage of 71. 00 being correct - I'm not going to warrant that on a 51 year old car. but what I will say is that when I bought it the paperwork with the car was good enough for me to believe it.   I also have handbook and a Heritage Certificate

The thing that I really liked about this car - and the history is a massive part of that appeal - is that it's a car that tells a story. It's clearly been a much-loved family friend for all its life. and it has been maintained and repaired as required but never fully restored so that today it remains substantially original. Think of a Great Aunt's drawing room. It's not immaculate in the way that some of these cars are; rather it's a tidy but lived-in car. lovely with it and positively oozing character!

It also comes with a brand new Mot - passed with just two very trivial advisories. Road tax is free of course.   Front and rear numberplates appear to be the originals. and the car has a pair of nice period front fog and spot lights. There's also a full stainless steel exhaust system.   She's still on crossply tyres all round.

If you're interested enough to have read this far you'll probably already know a bit about these fine cars; but basically the P5 was very much a Top Person's Car - I'm not going to call it a poor man's Rolls-Royce because that phrase infuriates me (the whole point of a Rolls Royce is that it us NOT a poor man's car!). but they were aimed at people of some status such as Doctors. Solicitors and the proprietors of significant local businesses. Build quality was of course superb. and because Rover was at this time independent. and very much an engineering-led company. the quality of design and engineering were superb. Rovers were definitely built to last. Equipment levels were excellent too; the classic ‘drawing room on wheels' style of Rover.

Bodily I'd describe this one as very good - it's straight and presentable looking. As you'd expect. it's had some paintwork and body repairs indeed the paperwork includes a bill from 1969 for respraying the bottom half - came to £68 - and another for new sills in 1981. I suspect the paint on top. though. is still the original. It still looks excellent overall. and the chrome is generally very good; the front bumper etc is excellent. the hard-to-find rear one is very good.

Interior I'd rate as good. The front seat base has recently been recovered. the carpets appear to be the originals and while in absolute terms they are a bit faded and. er. ‘old'. to my mind that's part and parcel of the car's character. The rear seat is all-original and there is one split in the base and one in the back which have been covered with tape - this is clearly a very old repair. part of the car's story and again it's something which I reckon adds to the car's overall authenticity. The one thing that I would do - and was planning to - was to refurbish the wooden window surround - they're solid and complete but need the veneer sorting. The dash is perfectly good as it is. and the headlining is excellent with no holes or marking anywhere.

The car seems very good mechanically; starts easily (even after being parked for three months over winter it fired up without any external assistance!). and the engine sounds great. and maintains excellent oil pressure. It also drives very well - cruising at motorway speeds is no trouble and as you'd expect. a very refined experience.

So to sum up. It's a lovely old lady that deserves another appreciative home where it will be cherished. There is scope for improvement if that's what you want to do. or it could be used and enjoyed for occasional days out and ‘showing' as it is. The one thing I would NOT do with this one is give it a full rebuild to top-class/concours condition. Quite apart from the car simply not needing it. doing that would destroy its originality. and as I hope I've made clear. this one has so much of that it really would be a shame to lose it.

This is a car which I would much prefer to be viewed prior to purchase; call me on 07778 435325 or ask via ebay to arrange…

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Nothing at all onerous - but please read in full.

First. please note who you are dealing with here; I am Peter Simpson. and have been a full-time professional motoring journalist for over 28 years. In that time I've edited Practical Classics (now a lot better than it's been for ages; well done Danny. Keith and co. ). Car Mechanics. Classic Car Weekly and I'm currently Editor in Chief of Classic Car Buyer. I therefore can't afford to harm my professional reputation by selling bad cars.

Payment wise; if you're going to collect within two days there's no need for a deposit; just pay me by cash when you arrive (preferred for cars under £3000) or electronic transfer - I'll give details of how to anyone wanting them. If it's gong to be longer then I do ask for a £200 deposit via paypal within 48 hours. and collection within seven days. though we can be flexible if. for example. you're coming some way and/or need to arrange transport.

 I do not accept personal cheques of any kind. I will accept a Bankers Draft or Building Society cheque. though I will need you to draw this from a local to me (Spalding or Peterborough) branch of whoever you bank with so I can go there with you and see it being handed over. Sorry about that; but I've been caught once before by a forged draft. and this is what I've been advised to do to prevent it happening again.  

No swaps - and that means NO SWAPS. not I want to do a swap but Ebay won't let me. and no reverse deals - ie my car plus cash from me for yours.

I will consider a genuine part-exchange - by that I mean a car worth no more than 25% the price of the one I am selling and which you're selling in order to upgrade. not some pile of poo someone else has tucked you up with and which is unsaleable in any other way! Please also be aware that I will only ever offer a basic trade value - my margins are too tight to do more. You will therefore normally achieve more by selling privately. but selling to me may be more convenient.

If your old car is basically scrap but is still a runner and it's easier to drive it here than arrange lifts etc. . I will. if you have a V5C. allow you its scrap value - currently £100-£150 depending what it weighs!

And finally. please note that the VAT number quoted here is NOT VALID - I am not currently VAT-registered but despite asking them thousands of times. ebay still haven't deleted the VAT number. Any ideas how I can get the to do this greatfully received.

Also published at eBay.co.uk

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