Rover P6 Buying Guide - Affordable British Classic Icon!

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The Rover P6 was Britain's answer to the Citroen DS, created with engineering prowess and design skill that could take on the world! Whether equipped with a smooth 4-cylinder or muscular Buick V8, the P6 was a car for Britain to be proud of, and it makes a great classic car to buy and use today. Here's what you need to know...
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Chapters
0:00 Why You NEED A Rover P6!
0:47 Body & Chassis
4:05 Engine & Gearbox
7:00 Suspension & Brakes
9:04 Interior & Electrics
10:31 Buying
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[@helloxyz]

Closing the door on a P6 is like nothing else on earth - the sound of pure engineering.

[@jimmyjones9780]

In 1975, my late father bought a new P6 3500 S, with all the mod conns, including all leather, stereo radio/cassette, power steering and Dunlop denovo wheels and tyres .... Had it for 15 years, before part exchanging it for a new W126 Mercedes Benz 420SE, which he owned until he died in 2005 ....

[@TheHorsebox2]

3500S was the ultimate P6. Your dad had great taste in cars. I had a 2000 P6 in the 80s. One of the best cars I ever had.

[@jimmyjones9780]

Yes, it was truly a wonderful car .... With that De Dion Back Axle and the black leather headrests front and rear .... If it's any interest to you, when driving it; you were so high up in those black leather recaro's and the cockpit was all yours, unlike the Merc; it was far too large and grand, but I don't know how Benz was able to get 350 horse power out of it, and those extra's .... If you were to shut any door and lock it, if there was a window open, it would close first, before the car was locked .... Clever people those Germans .... Anyway .... All the best .... N.

[@TheHorsebox2]

I ran a fifteen year old 2000 P6 in the 80s. Truly brilliant car, which seems to have a good survival rate today. I broke one for spares, so got to see the engineering down to the bones. Amazing car really.

[@WheelchairWonders]

Yes, I have a P6 (1974 2200SC) which has hand controls for me being a paraplegic.. I love it.. it is so comfortable and really reliable. (Phil)

[@ClassicsWorldUK]

That's fantastic! Enjoy it, Phil!

[@peterriggall8409]

Top job Joe. My number 1 favourite classic. I am lucky enough to own a 3500 S and a Citroen DS. Both were subject to videos by Hubnut when he visited Australia including a 3 wheel demo. on my DS. That video has gone on to be his most viewed video. That’s my claim to fame. 😄Friend has one in this same Arden Green colour as this one. Will send link to Rover Car Club of Aust.

[@simonhodgetts6530]

2 tremendous cars! You have great taste!!

[@sydnorth5868]

Back in the early 80's, one of my schoolteachers had a V8 P6. I used to walk the mile or so to school each morning with a friend who lived nearby. Mr B used to drive the same way. On numerous occasions, if he saw us walking to school he would stop and give us a lift. To this day, that P6 is one of only two V8 powered vehicles I have ever been in (the other was a 1953 Cadillac)!

[@davidclarke9767]

In the seventies I owned a P6 Auto then a P6s manual box. I preferred the auto you could drive hundreds of miles and get out feeling fresh and not tired. A friend of mine was brakes and suspension manager at Rover he said the P6 was the only car he's watched being built that he would happily buy.

[@danieleregoli812]

Wow, well done, a very good and informative video on the P6. I own two (a 2,2 TC and a V8), and I'm an absolute diehard fan of the model. Best car ever for me, and certainly the most graceful! Greetings from Italy.

[@ClassicsWorldUK]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@richardhaywoodh]

Coolant is important using the correct antifreeze with corrosion inhibitor is very important but as long as it is the correct strength you do not need to change it every year, even 4 year intervals are fine. Regular oil changes are the important one, I used to do mine every 3,000 miles with Catrol GTX back in the day when it was £5 for a gallon!

[@JohnH-UK958]

I ran a V8 auto for a while when I was a student and used to run out of fuel quite regularly (15 to 19mpg seemed to be the norm) and it took a few times before I realised that it required two gallons of fuel to start again as the reserve lever must have been faulty. Great car though and I still remember one spirited early Monday morning drive up the A1 in convoy with a BMW and (possibly) a Vauxhall Carlton and I could actually see the fuel needle moving downwards!

[@tonypacke6954]

Yes I can certainly relate to that, when I used to work in Reading and sometimes took the V8 instead of the company hack. Very quick on the M4 but like you say, you could literally see the fuel gauge going down. In the process of restoration at the moment, as it's been sat in the garage for 17 years.

[@soloperformer5598]

Owned a total of three P6 Rovers and they were brilliant cars except for the rear disc brakes.

[@johnnyboy1586]

I owned a p6 in the late 80s ,such a lovely car to drive,and the v8 had a lovely burble when idling,

[@EYE_SPIDER]

Great info, I just got one so this was helpful!

[@ClassicsWorldUK]

Great to hear!

[@richardhaywoodh]

The aluminium corrodes and tends to split or tear as shown in your video that is difficult to repair properly. Door & hinge design is brilliant easy to adjust snd even remove doors completely

[@alantunbridge8919]

I bought my first P6 in 1969 ,a 2000TC in Arden Green with Sandalwood trim, loved the car ,but sold it in 1973 when I moved to South Africa. In S.A. ,I bought a 3500 Series 2,beige with red interior. The build quality of locally assembled cars was terrible,but myself working inthe motor industry (not Leyland) I was able to correct & improve these problems,including a woefully inadequate cooling system. I still have the car today after nearly 50 years& still love it,although I do not drive it too often. I have manyparts in order to keep it running & often help other P6 enthusiasts with parts or advice. Incidentally, the P6 was based on the Citroen DS ,as a work colleague here ,who had worked at Pressed Steel detailed me with the story that Rover had sent a DS to them & told them to design the P6 similarly.

[@MichaelThomas-be7gq]

Got the car - and the insurance. A fantastic intro to the P6 - I have a Series 1 V8 and they do command a slight premium for the cleaner lines from the Series 2 Autos. Don't underestimate the rear inboards - they are by far the very worst job on the car. The rest, though is all very reasonable, and any decent mechanic can do the difficult stuff because of the space available to work on it, and the P6 was designed by engineers. Some parts are unobtainium, front and rear bumpers are very expensive, the seats are a re-cover only these days. Also, at the moment, reproduction tyres are very expensive (unless you go for van tyres - don't) and the rims are a very unusual stud pattern as well.

[@See_more....]

I've always wanted a P6 but I find many of them to look "scruffy" unless they are truly mint. I don't know if it makes sense but some cars seem to look very tatty very quickly, and the P5 and P6 both fall into that category for me. The interiors are usually either terrible or immaculate, the extremities of body panels seem to suffer and get scruffy, and the same panels often have a "wavy" look to them which makes a gorgeous car look rather uninviting for me as a buyer. I've looked at a few around the 5K mark and they still had that tatty look to them. Shame really as I love the look of the P6 and I really fancy owning one.

[@simonhodgetts6530]

Possibly Britain’s finest ever car? When you look into the engineering that went into these, they are quite remarkable things. I never used to like them - when I was younger there were many very ratty examples running around. As someone else has commented here - when they get tatty they look really tatty - however, for me, a good late model P6 is a thing of beauty - even in those 70s-tastic BL colours!

[@KieronGabbey]

Great clip but no mention that the structural sills are hidden behind the screwed on covers which you see. The jacking points in the sills are often weak as corrode badly

[@jimmyquinn9639]

Another good video 🚗🚙🚘👍👍👍⭐️⭐️👏👏👏

[@michaelstaley2241]

Very good content excellent.👍🏻

[@ClassicsWorldUK]

Thank you 👍

[@fasthracing]

Dad had a I think 1974 V8S. quite some car back in the day.

[@icooper5236]

Had a 1973 3500S regret selling it fantastic car apart from one spark plug was a pain to get out and the inboard rear brakes

[@1971RoverP6]

Hi, I’m near finishing a 2-year nut and bolt restoration of my 1971 Rover P6 V8 automatic. I hope to show it at NEC this November. I wondered if you might like to perform a review of my car over the summer? I am based in Buckinghamshire. Thanks

[@oliverflanagan7623]

Had a 3500s v8 in the 80s. When traveling on the motorway you could actually see the petrol needle going down as you drove.😢

[@st200ol]

I’d really like to own a P6 the V8 one I drove years ago was awesome. I’d like to see one converted to electric though as the V8 wasn’t the most reliable engine and the auto gearbox wasn’t great either. These days the cost to fuel it would be out of the question too. Someone must have converted one to electric?

[@sgbh8874]

I really do like the P5

[@richardlove4287]

Beautiful…..

[@garethhammond5478]

I bought the p6 that you featured in the buying part of the video, the city grey one with primer from wings for £1250 , its at the end of a 6 month welding session at the minute, should be on the road by end of year , if I hadn't of done the work myself it would of definitely been unviable

[@ClassicsWorldUK]

Nice work, enjoy it!

[@ABC-wz2db]

My Dad has two here in the US. A 3500s and a 2000. Not proud of them yet…neither run. About to start the process of recommissioning. Both low mileage with 35k and 16k respectively. They don’t bring the same values here. Few people know what they are. Wish me luck. Do they all stink or have we got the only two with terrible smelling interior?

[@ClassicsWorldUK]

Good luck with the resto! They've certainly got a distinctive interior smell...

[@usuallyfixingtinkering]

I loved my P6 and oribably sold at the rught tine afrw years ago... most I see today sadly are very tatty and are now suffering from rust in expensive places which puts many off. I blame historical low values and I'd say the current values are not that high at all and this has culminated in an accumulation of bodges, low maintenance repairs etc. Great car though in every way!

[@joaogomez209]

Not so safe, ask Stepahanie from Monaco.

[@davidboult4143]

I don't think P6 ever had any real wood trim. They were all formica. I changed the front suspension upper ball joint on ours. Absolute pig of a job. Much belting with a lump hammer and a copper rod.

[@Adam.Piper62]

The very early p6s from the early 60s did have real wood trim but they quickly changed it.

[@davidboult4143]

@@Adam.Piper62 thank you, must have been the very early ones. Our 1963 P6 had formica.

[@Adam.Piper62]

@@davidboult4143 Ah, jogging my memory then...perhaps the early cars had Formica and later ones had veneer - 63' was the first year so nothing earlier than yours. I've got a late series 1 so it doesn't have real wood that's for sure!

[@davidboult4143]

@@Adam.Piper62 Apologies, correction, just checking again, ours was a 1967 P6, formica in a light teak effect. Our 1974 P6 had a dark rosewood formica. Just googled it, and only the first 1000 cars had real wood. So probably non left now.

[@Adam.Piper62]

@@davidboult4143 Good to know my memory wasn't failing me! :)

[@dhdove]

From experience, open the boot and lift the carpet either side, if it’s corroded around the rear axle locating mounts you’re in for rear wheel steering soon. If your vinyl covered C pillar (panel) is corroded take it off and throw it in the bin, they’re not structural. If you find an S with a 5 speed SD1 conversion buy it, original four speeds are weak and break.

[@audiokees4045]

I have bought a S with a S P6 what concerns rust, it looks like new except some starting rust in frond left of boot, carpet and such as new. Car is born 1976 and is stored in 1981, on a dry place until now. So I need to work to restore brakes and engine only. I have a extra gearbox with it, it is complete aluminum so I guess it is the original gearbox and not a SD1 who is rare and expensive. The aluminium hood has 2 holes in it, I guess this is a easy repear, I have a extra hood with the car and a lot more parts like starter and 3 dynamo,s who I go repair and exchange the diode bridges.

[@davidhayes4814]

In other words ….. this is an overly complicated car that you should ignore unless you have particular knowledge of its provenance.

[@Adam.Piper62]

Not really. I own one as a weekend toy, and it's lovely. Yes some jobs are a pain but really most service stuff is simple & the drive and ride quality is outstanding putting modern cars (and others of the period) to shame. Plus they look amazing in my opinion.

[@Monzaman30E]

Won hearts the world over? How many were sold in the US…South America…Asia….Russia….India….?

[@briansaiditsoitmustbetrue4206]

Come on man.... This is a 1960s and 1970s car ... It may have "Rot" on the car...You don't say!

[@stevek3036]

Another under age driver putting the P6 to rights. Big yawn. Stick to Xbox reviews please as you are clearly just reciting other better informed reviewers from the past 30 years. You are out of your depth with cars of this age, step away from the car please

[@peterriggall8409]

Oh geez that’s very unfair. Joe does an excellent job and as an owner of a P6 I don’t think he missed anything. We need to encourage the younger enthusiast. They are the ones who will hopefully continue to save our cars.

[@ClassicsWorldUK]

Thanks Peter, appreciate the inclusiveness! -Joe

[@danieleregoli812]

Wow, such an unnecessarily harsh post for no reason really. The young man is actually very knowledgeable and knows what he is talking about.

[@craig3916]

rude and unnecessary comment. you'd be advised to check your desire to share what seems be a jeoulous thought bubble (?) and develope some better insight and interpersonal skills before posting trivial and unhelpful replies.

[@MichaelThomas-be7gq]

Oh dear. I've owned my Rover P6 for 20 years - and Joe got his advice absolutely spot on.