Rover P6 2000TC - there will now be a short delay

4,787 · January 24

I think it'll be OK with a good clean. It was running fine with all this shit in the tank, believe it or not!

Of course it also has the Land Rover glass bowl sediment filter, which gets rid of anything which makes it past the gauze at the bottom of the tank.

39,104 · January 29

I need to resist

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/176812919304

14,982 · January 29

One for @HMC? 😀

3,371 · January 30

7 hours ago, SiC said:

I need to resist

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/176812919304

An auto with ET headrests, 3500S wheel trims & fitment for a boot mounted spare. Real '70s colour too & a Webasto roof.

Hmm nice

11,903 · January 30

8 hours ago, SiC said:

I need to resist

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/176812919304

Resistance being well known to be futile and all that 😆

4,787 · January 30

That does look rather nice.

27,908 · January 30

The new senders are apparently horrifically inaccurate and laughably unreliable as well.

While you've got it out check and make sure the fuel return fitting isn't blocked - mine is and it's required some inventive messing about until such point as I can bring myself to pull the tank.

Edited January 30 by Zelandeth
Correcting autocorrect (again)

4,787 · January 30

50 minutes ago, Zelandeth said:

The new senders are apparently horrifically inaccurate and laughably unreliable as well.

While you've got it out check and make sure the fuel return fitting isn't blocked - mine is and it's required some inventive messing about until such point as I can bring myself to pull the tank.

Fuel return fitting?

There are two pipes from the bottom of the tank: main and reserve pickups. Do you mean the breather pipe that comes off next to the filler neck?

27,908 · January 30

2 minutes ago, N Dentressangle said:

Fuel return fitting?

There are two pipes from the bottom of the tank: main and reserve pickups. Do you mean the breather pipe that comes off next to the filler neck?

Ah, might just be a 3500 thing then.

4,787 · January 30

19 minutes ago, Zelandeth said:

Ah, might just be a 3500 thing then.

Maybe. The breather feels clear, but will get a blast with the air line before the tank goes back in.

27,908 · January 30

Yep, internet confirms that the four cylinder cars just have the main and reserve. The V8 also has a return fitting (which has a tiny orifice in which essentially works as a very crude fuel pressure regulator), presumably to try to keep fuel vaporisation issues at bay.

Of course dealing with this being clogged would be far less of a pain if the pickup wasn't attached to the bottom of the tank. There are a lot of things on the P6 which I look at and think "That was really smart." Putting the bloody pickup and sender on the bottom of the tank though, that is NOT one of those details!

26,984 · January 30

7 minutes ago, Zelandeth said:

The V8 also has a return fitting (which has a tiny orifice in which essentially works as a very crude fuel pressure regulator), presumably to try to keep fuel vaporisation issues at bay.

The return line on the V8s is very narrow as you say, and invariably blocked. So you have to clear it to prevent vapour locking. It will still vapour lock but you gotta do it.

4,787 · January 31

13 hours ago, Zelandeth said:

Yep, internet confirms that the four cylinder cars just have the main and reserve. The V8 also has a return fitting (which has a tiny orifice in which essentially works as a very crude fuel pressure regulator), presumably to try to keep fuel vaporisation issues at bay.

Of course dealing with this being clogged would be far less of a pain if the pickup wasn't attached to the bottom of the tank. There are a lot of things on the P6 which I look at and think "That was really smart." Putting the bloody pickup and sender on the bottom of the tank though, that is NOT one of those details!

Totally. Seems very foolish to me. And quite inexplicable - why add another possible fault and leak source if you don't have to?

14,982 · January 31

On 30/01/2025 at 21:46, Zelandeth said:

Yep, internet confirms that the four cylinder cars just have the main and reserve. The V8 also has a return fitting (which has a tiny orifice in which essentially works as a very crude fuel pressure regulator), presumably to try to keep fuel vaporisation issues at bay.

Of course dealing with this being clogged would be far less of a pain if the pickup wasn't attached to the bottom of the tank. There are a lot of things on the P6 which I look at and think "That was really smart." Putting the bloody pickup and sender on the bottom of the tank though, that is NOT one of those details!

I haz parts catalogue that I could investigate

4,787 · February 6

So, what's been going on with this car then?

Well, loads actually. I started off with fixing the tank, which came up pretty well inside for a good soaking in citric acid solution. As you'd expect, a bit of heat makes the reaction go faster, but after the best part of a week I had a tank which was pretty clean on the inside. Not rust free, but as good as a 54 year old car's gonna get. I squeezed the tank back in past the new speaker I fitted under the parcel shelf (more on ICE install another time), hooked up the pipes and wires, and turned the ignition on. The gauge read empty - phew. Now for a proper test. I chucked a gallon or two of 4* in, and tried the gauge again:

YES!!! I hate cars with non-working fuel gauges.

I welded up the fag packet sized holes at the bottom of the D pillars, letting in new metal then seam sealing and undersealing etc. Nothing exciting. I didn't get round to removing the sill covers. It's too effing cold to be generating extra work, so that might get done in the summer.

Wire brushed all the suspension, then coated with rust converter. Followed that up with Hammerite metal primer (looks like red oxide to me), then a spray coat of Lidl's finest anti-corrosion black metal paint. Should be better than what it got at the factory, anyway:

All much smarter than it was, and no obvious issues with the De Dion elbows either. It'll all get a good soaking in oil / Waxoyl at some point, but that's definitely a summer job. We've been either below freezing or low single figures for the past month, and it's taking fuckin ages for anything to dry. And I can't fit the car in the house.

Other job was to change the warped rear brake disc. It was binding on the pads so badly at one point in its rotation that you couldn't turn the hub by hand, which explained the vicious pulsing through the pedal I was feeling. No idea how it got quite so bent. New discs are £70+ each, and the other looked fine with no rubbing, so I just bought the one. The pads, hoses etc were also clearly new - someone has recently overhauled them, obviously - so I didn't bother with those either. Shoot me.

The procedure is pretty much exactly this https://dev6.wirewheelswebbers.co.uk/rear-brake-pads-on-rover-p6/ and everything came apart and went back together just fine. The piston would only wind back in one turn, which I guess confirms the newness of the pads. Here it is in all it's lovely new smoothness:

Test drive time tomorrow!

4,787 · February 7

Dunno what you guys think, but I'm inclined to stick with patina as the finish for this car. There are a couple of odd bits of paint I'd like to tidy up, but otherwise a bit of period scruffiness seems to suit it.

This means trying to find a solution to the 'Shine Juice' problem - how to preserve those bit of the car that need something to stop them rusting, but not a complete prep and re-spray. The inner wings are a case in point. I've cleaned them and used rust converter to remove the surface blebs, so we're currently here:

There are concoctions around like this

which claim to provide an answer.

Anyone used anything with success?

February 7

"Dunno what you guys think, but I'm inclined to stick with patina as the finish for this car. There are a couple of odd bits of paint I'd like to tidy up, but otherwise a bit of period scruffiness seems to suit it. "

A bit of period scruffiness might be ok for some lesser vehicles but surely not for a Gentlemens Conveyance ... 🤣

15,008 · February 7

2 hours ago, N Dentressangle said:

Dunno what you guys think, but I'm inclined to stick with patina as the finish for this car. There are a couple of odd bits of paint I'd like to tidy up, but otherwise a bit of period scruffiness seems to suit it.

This means trying to find a solution to the 'Shine Juice' problem - how to preserve those bit of the car that need something to stop them rusting, but not a complete prep and re-spray. The inner wings are a case in point. I've cleaned them and used rust converter to remove the surface blebs, so we're currently here:

There are concoctions around like this

which claim to provide an answer.

Anyone used anything with success?

I've used 50:50 linseed oil and white spirit. It works quite well, but it does need to be reapplied every few months to keep the shine if it sees a lot of weather.

I also recommend phosphoric acid to treat the rust and remove staining before applying the shine juice. It also converts the top layer and significantly slows its return even on untreated metal.

Half applied .

4,787 · February 7

1 hour ago, juular said:

I also recommend phosphoric acid to treat the rust and remove staining before applying the shine juice. It also converts the top layer and significantly slows its return even on untreated metal.

Great, thanks. That's what I've used on the inner wings and the rear suspension so far.

I'll have a go with the linseed / white spirit mix. Just given her a wash after a run out, so in this weather it'll be a few days before everything's dry 🙄

4,787 · February 7

Stereo install was a doddle. I put one of these beautiful Halfords specials behind the grille in the dashboard:

and under the parcel shelf there was just about room for one of these:

A 6.5" JBL GTO628, a pair of which I'd picked up over 10 years ago for something that never happened. Unfortunately the tweeter sticks out too far to use the other in the front, which is a shame but at least one of them has found a home.

Like many of you, I have a stash of manky old car stereos, so I picked the least garish one which happened to be a Sony MEX-BT2500. God knows what jalopy that came with, but it's beeping away merrily in the Rover now. I connected the two speakers to the front left and right channels, and sound is pretty decent.

Here's what it looks like:

Pretty happy with that.

39,104 · February 7

3 hours ago, N Dentressangle said:

Sony MEX-BT2500

Is it Sony head units that go BEEP BEEP BEEP every time you turn the ignition off? If so, apparently it's to remind you to not forget to take the stupid faceplate out incase someone nicks the stereo...

No idea if it can be turned off.

4,787 · February 7

Just now, SiC said:

Is it Sony head units that go BEEP BEEP BEEP every time you turn the ignition off? If so, apparently it's to remind you to not forget to take the stupid faceplate out incase someone nicks the stereo...

No idea if it can be turned off.

Yep

Really annoying. I don't think it can be turned off on this model.

11,903 · February 7

1 hour ago, N Dentressangle said:

Yep

Really annoying. I don't think it can be turned off on this model.

Small price to pay. Decent stereo in a car suited to cruising. Winning.

If we get decent weather this year I can see the rest of your fleet getting the summer off 👌

4,787 · February 16

Latest progress has been unexciting. Replaced both rear discs to cure the warpage judder - seems to have worked, but exposes at least one of the fronts with the same problem 🤣

I thought at first that the handbrake wasn't adjusting itself back up, so thought I'd go for a drive to see how things were. Stopped at Gloucester Services for no reason whatsoever:

Cruises very happily at 70, with plenty more in store. No problem at all keeping up with modern traffic, and everything seems to be predictably getting smoother and better for a bit of use. Weirdly, including the handbrake, which seems to have fixed itself and adjusted up properly during my drive out.

Result!

11,903 · February 16

1 hour ago, N Dentressangle said:

Latest progress has been unexciting. Replaced both rear discs to cure the warpage judder - seems to have worked, but exposes at least one of the fronts with the same problem 🤣

I thought at first that the handbrake wasn't adjusting itself back up, so thought I'd go for a drive to see how things were. Stopped at Gloucester Services for no reason whatsoever:

Cruises very happily at 70, with plenty more in store. No problem at all keeping up with modern traffic, and everything seems to be predictably getting smoother and better for a bit of use. Weirdly, including the handbrake, which seems to have fixed itself and adjusted up properly during my drive out.

Result!

I can see trying to find the money to buy the Ascona when it's done for that exact reason. Legs. The older stuff is lovely for razzing around in but you've just gone on the motorway when you didn't have to. Just cos you can 😆

4,787 · February 16

3 hours ago, Matty said:

I can see trying to find the money to buy the Ascona when it's done for that exact reason. Legs. The older stuff is lovely for razzing around in but you've just gone on the motorway when you didn't have to. Just cos you can 😆

It does feel quite funny steaming up the outside lane in a 54 year old car. But well within its abilities. Quite a machine, really

11,903 · February 16

1 hour ago, N Dentressangle said:

It does feel quite funny steaming up the outside lane in a 54 year old car. But well within its abilities. Quite a machine, really

Glad you're getting on with it. And obviously a good one too 👍

4,787 · February 25

So, the epic brake work is at an end.

Car had a really bad pulse / judder through the pedal when I bought it. The rear discs were deffo warped - judder came through the handbrake - so I replaced both discs (£140) and things were still bad. Bollocks. Fronts must be shagged too. That'll be another £140 please...

But no. Found a local garage who could skim the very new-looking discs on the car and they did the job today:

Total bargain, especially as I didn't have a day on my knees fixing it. Brakes are now as they should be.

12,474 · February 25

Looking good. As regards patination, I always feel the best look is that of a well maintained 12 to 15 years old one owner car. Some signs of wear but completely sound.

3,371 · February 25

27 minutes ago, artdjones said:

Looking good. As regards patination, I always feel the best look is that of a well maintained 12 to 15 years old one owner car. Some signs of wear but completely sound.

I agree I like a 70's car to look like it did in the 80's / early 90s when it was just an old motor in regular use that nobody really noticed.

Shiny resprayed ones just look like all the other shiny resprayed ones imo.

Rover P6 2000TC - there will now be a short delay

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