project Rover P4 110 - Gone

[SiC]

With overriders loosely attached. Can't decide if I want to have them on or not bother. Rear is missing them anyway.

 

[captain_70s]

Significantly better than any sort of paint I reckon, works well with the rest of the car being "well used". I think I prefer it sans overiders...

The chrome on P4 bumpers always seem to flake off in big chunks in the manner usually reserved for modern re-plating jobs. Not sure if the original process was just crap...

[Justwatching]

Glad you didn't paint. Would have looked naff. 

I'd keep the overriders if it were mine. 

[Matty]

1 hour ago, Joey spud said:

I quite like the bumperless look.

Maybe the plate could be loosely attached with hairy string.

Stick on square plate under o/s headlight 👌

[Matty]

55 minutes ago, SiC said:

With overriders loosely attached. Can't decide if I want to have them on or not bother. Rear is missing them anyway.

 

Thinking of bombing my over riders off. They look a bit fussy to my eyes and clutter up a clean profile. To be fair Si, mines a utilitarian shopping trolly so yours might warrent the bling

[Surface Rust]

Those bumpers have come up really well - definitely worth having a go with the wax to try and maintain it.

If anyone wants a rather well researched history of Rover / the P4, then this is worth a read. I stumbled across it on the web, which wouldn't be very remarkable, except the car in most of the pics (green 95) is mine, parked at work. They are watching you!

https://www.curbsideclassic.com/curbside-classics-european/curbside-classic-1963-rover-95-p4-how-one-car-defined-a-brand/

 

[Joey spud]

5 hours ago, Dick Longbridge said:

Satin black would work. 

I did the terrible chrome on my Scimitar SE5 with satin black  I think it worked against the white body.

[vulgalour]

Those P4 bumpers look better than they should considering what you started with, definitely agree with your approach of waxing to keep the elements at bay and leaving them as is, they look nicely worn in now rather than knackered.

Satin black bumpers on the white Scimitar work nicely too, much more so than they would on the stodgemobile I reckon.  It's funny, satin black on some classics makes them look sporty and on others it makes them look End Of Life.

[SiC]

Too much other chrome to have them black on this. 

Someone on the P4 Facebook page had theirs painted the same as body colour. Looks alright actually. But that's still far more expensive to do than what I've got now. 

 

[Noel Tidybeard]

yes to over riders- one needs to be able to nudge the peasants in their beetle sports out of the way😁

[High Jetter]

+1 for over-riders

[SiC]

Someone on FB pointed out that I put them on the wrong way around...

[SiC]

5 hours ago, barrett said:

Just don't crash and you'll be fine.

Problem is, you can be the safest driver in the world and still get taken out by some other idiot!

5 hours ago, barrett said:

If you are concerned about safety, I would be very doubtful fitting belts to a car which wasn't designed to have them is actually going to make it safer - and possibly just the opposite. If you put a belt in and you do hit something, and that big rigid steering column comes shooting towards you, you're just pinning yourself into the bullseye position unable to get out the way. I'd much rather be free to slide backwards over the seat or try and push myself out of the way. Not sure It'd necessarily save me, but I think having the option is better in a car such as this. Ditto a side impact - if you're pinned to the seat in something with no side protection you're going to be in for a lot more damage then if the impact pushes you across the car, I reckon.

Seat belts in classics always seems to be a point that gets strong opinions either way.

Driving a classic, I'm fully aware that a moderate speed bump (like a 30mph impact speed) that I'd walk away from in a modern would either be fatal or life changing. However many accidents happen a lot slower than that. A 10mph shunt in most vehicles won't intrude into the cabin. However even at that speed, without restraints, you're going to be shooting forwards and almost certainly hit the wheel or windscreen. It's those sort of accidents where a seatbelt means the difference between no real harm and a messed up face. 

The Frogeye I hired on Jersey didn't have seatbelts. While I got used to it, I was not at all comfortable without one. They do help you stay put, especially when cornering. Mrs SiC especially did not like having no seatbelts as without knowing exactly when the driver is going to brake, it's hard to know when to brace the body and hold yourself in place. 

Incidentally, being Rover was a considerate bunch, they designed in seatbelt mountings a fair bit before they were required.

[SiC]

3 hours ago, Surface Rust said:

Those bumpers have come up really well - definitely worth having a go with the wax to try and maintain it.

If anyone wants a rather well researched history of Rover / the P4, then this is worth a read. I stumbled across it on the web, which wouldn't be very remarkable, except the car in most of the pics (green 95) is mine, parked at work. They are watching you!

https://www.curbsideclassic.com/curbside-classics-european/curbside-classic-1963-rover-95-p4-how-one-car-defined-a-brand/

 

That was a really good read! There really isn't much material on the P4 around. Even less so in terms of reviews on YouTube. One of those cars that seems to be almost anonymous in the market. Not quite sure why as they're a decent old crock. Perhaps if they were more sporting or had sporting credentials, they'd have more of a following.

[High Jetter]

18 minutes ago, SiC said:

Someone on FB pointed out that I put them on the wrong way around...

What do they know? Longer bit up, shorter bit down.

[Noel Tidybeard]

yes but they point outwards

[SiC]

1 minute ago, High Jetter said:

What do they know? Longer bit up, shorter bit down.

No, the left is the right and the right is the left.

[High Jetter]

You suggest they're  handed? Not aware of that from memory, but can consult the book of numberz

[ETCHY]

7 hours ago, SiC said:

Problem is, you can be the safest driver in the world and still get taken out by some other idiot!

Seat belts in classics always seems to be a point that gets strong opinions either way.

Driving a classic, I'm fully aware that a moderate speed bump (like a 30mph impact speed) that I'd walk away from in a modern would either be fatal or life changing. However many accidents happen a lot slower than that. A 10mph shunt in most vehicles won't intrude into the cabin. However even at that speed, without restraints, you're going to be shooting forwards and almost certainly hit the wheel or windscreen. It's those sort of accidents where a seatbelt means the difference between no real harm and a messed up face. 

The Frogeye I hired on Jersey didn't have seatbelts. While I got used to it, I was not at all comfortable without one. They do help you stay put, especially when cornering. Mrs SiC especially did not like having no seatbelts as without knowing exactly when the driver is going to brake, it's hard to know when to brace the body and hold yourself in place. 

Incidentally, being Rover was a considerate bunch, they designed in seatbelt mountings a fair bit before they were required.

I'd have seatbelts in any vehicle where possible.

You will turn into a projectile even at very low speeds.  That dashboard and steering wheel are lovely but  won't be  if you hit them. Or as is more likely for the passenger smash through the windscreen.

Make it as safe as you can, fit them. 

[bobdisk]

On 3/31/2023 at 7:49 PM, Dick Longbridge said:

That's silly cheap for a Frogeye. I'd imagine whoever bought it whisked it away on a trailer a as quickly as humanly possible before the owner realised they could have added a few more £k to the price. 

Either that, or the seller knew it is a basket case!

[wuvvum]

I'd say forget the seatbelt and just wear a crash helmet and stab vest when you drive it.  Best of all worlds then.

[tooSavvy]

@barrett.... Seat belts 'retro fit' (NO holes!)

My '63 IMP wasn't engineered for belts so I put plates in the rear wheel arch & floor/tunnel....

When a 'low flying/tanking' Cortina shortened it by a FOOT 😱.... I was happy NOT to have a permanent steering wheel shaped grimace.

*other consequences of modifying old crocs are definitely possible.

[wuvvum]

/\ Here we have a rare photo showing both halves of tooSavvy's face.

[camryv6]

Nah that's Freddie Mercury surely ? 

[SiC]

As per news 24 I put the bumpers back on the front. They have a heavy coating of car wax to stop them rusting over again.


In doing this I used chrome bolts to replace the rear hex bolts someone used to remove the rear overriders. Likewise on the front too as I've done without them.


Also replaced the light switch with my new fangled tool I bought.





Old switch was buggered inside. I'll keep to repair with the next broken switch as these older switches have a nicer action.


Put some padding in for the battery to stop it sliding around. It's too small for the car but it works so not hurrying to replace it.


Finally Mrs SiC suggested I took it to the local shop as we need some Ice Cream for tea.
Plucked up some courage and set out.
The main road outside our estate is a 40mph limit. There is also a hill so people end up flying down far too fast. Nearly came a cropper when I went to pull out to have a modern Jag hairing along.

Anyway I got there okay and put 10litres of super in too.



Drove alright. A few issues with second gear being quite hard to select but that's probably more user error. The servo brakes bite really hard and fast - like modern over assisted brakes on many cars now. Feels pretty sprightly when accelerating. That might just be the low gearing though.

The only real issue is the throttle sticks at idle. So you pull up with it revving it's nuts off and you have to jab the pedal hard to get it back to a more sensible idle. I'll have a look at the linkage and lube it up a bit.

Oh and I really do hate driving without seatbelts.

[2flags]

In their day these were big cars! Look how small it looks against these modern and not so modern cars! As to seat belts you can fit them. I have seen loads with them fitted. Great fleet you have. 

[SiC]

1 hour ago, 2flags said:

Great fleet you have.

Thanks! It would be better if more of them didn't need weldfests! 🙃

[2flags]

58 minutes ago, SiC said:

Thanks! It would be better if more of them didn't need weldfests! 🙃

Ah the joy of owning older cars. 😉

[SiC]

I didn't get anything done today on this frustratingly. Ended up going plant shopping and then tidied the garage when I got home. 

That said there isn't much left to do. From memory:

 - sort out sticking/hanging throttle linkage

 - give a good clean and polish

 - sort boot lock as it only holds shut on the secondary catch

 - affix/weld the front left wing to the body so it doesn't catch the front door.

 - maybe weld up the hole by the filler cap

 - get valve radio working again. 

 - fix petrol gauge (think the float has failed as stuck on min)

That's really about it. None of it is really essential to using it either. 

I plan to take it to a few local meets and have a bit of use out of it. I'm almost certain it's not going to be a long termer. It's a lovely old thing but I can tell I'll get bored quickly. Plus I have a wandering eye and there is something I'll mention in a moment that I so desperately want. So expect it for sale in a few months. However I'm determined to actually use a classic I've bought and fixed rather than my usual of selling it on when it's almost all sorted!

On Saturday I went to a local car show and had a browse around. More P4 there than MGs!? I'll put some photos up later/tomorrow on News24.

It did remind me what I really do want. One of the few cars that gets me really excited when I see one. That buzz and thrill from just being around and seeing them. What is it? Well I got too excited and forgot to take a picture... So I nicked a photo from the event Facebook group where someone took one.

Yup a Spitfire. I know many yawn while saying it's boring and common classic but there is something about them that really clicks. I think it's because I've wanted one for so long now. Pretty much since I was 17/18 and passed my test - which is when I started being interesting in cars. Then saw one in the Haynes museum and deciding I had to have one sometime.

Anyway knowing me, I'll find one locally at a acceptable price (i.e. what this is worth) and end up buying one. Needs to be in usable condition though as I need some instant gratification. Hopefully not too soon as I really need to drive this car for a bit first!

[N Dentressangle]

Copycat 😉

Maybe have a go in mine to put you off?