First shown in 1999 as part of Channel 4's Classic British Cars, this clip is taken from the first episode which was entitled "Wild Rovers" and is narrated by John Peel.
I'm surprised noone has uploaded the classic car series which aired on Channel 4 in Sept 1991 called "Classic Cars" one ep was narrated by actor Ian Holm. The series focused mainly on the early 90s classic boom. I've searched youtube but no mention of it, unless youtube are removing them. Luckily I have mostly every episode of the series on tape. Always wise and best not to upload everything to youtube in case it's deleted under the usual copyright excuse. This is what I call a proper motoring programme, today classic car and motoring programmes are mainly presented by prats, often with fake arguments and disputes just so it gets viewers attention and the programme becomes less about the cars and more about them. Can't be doing with all this Wheeler Dealers, Chasing Classic Cars and their wannabe youtube spinoffs. Ever since the modern incarnation of Top Gear arrived on our TV screens with Clarkson, Hammond and May in 2002, motoring programmes have gone to the dogs.
My father bought a rover 2000 in 1966!!! Sadly it proved to be a nightmare!!! Definately a"Friday production" car. Appallingly unreliable!!! Needless to say, the last "British" automobile he ever purchased!!!
I'm really amazed that your father got a duff one - many people absolutely loved these old Rovers both when brand new and now - regarded them as the last proper Rover. I personally own a P6 2000 and cannot fault it. Wonderful car to own and drive - so robust normally. Do you know what was wrong with your example out of curiosity?
oh I remember my grandfather having one of these rovers I always remember the smell of leather and wood many happy memories were had in that car as a child
Best of the P4s was the 110. Went around the west country in a mates one. From Launceston, to Westminster in 4.5 hours, that was before the M4. Great cars.
My Dad had a Rover 100 back years ago, I thought it was ugly and probably still do but I will admit it was a beautiful car to drive, It could travel at a good speed on Aussie highways
My granddad had a black P4 with maroon leather interior back in the 70s, I remember letting off a fountain fire work near the car and pitting the back windows, I can't remember the outcome suffice to say what he didn't know wouldn't hurt him.
I always liked the p5b, slab sided with a Rolls Royce appearance. Unfortunately there are hardly any around here in Oz. Have seen a few cyclops P4 over the years, though they always need a bit of work.
In the early 60s when GM was still making the 3.5 V8 ,Oldsmobile got their hands on it and threw a turbo on ,then dropped in into the Oldsmobile Cutless, and called it the jetfire,very fast car making 230 horsepower, very rare car sadly though ,at least the 3.5 got put to good use in a lot of cars from Rover,like the P5B and P6B both great cars
A former stepfather had a 2000 TC, quite a quick car on A & B roads in its day and comfortable too, I really liked it, though I wished it was a 3500 instead
I once had to change a wheel on one of these. The spare was in a tight horizontal slot at the rear. It had not been out for some time and was almost impossible to pull out. Nearly lost all my fingernails pulling it.
The 3500 was for a long time only available with automatic transmission (Borg-Warner 35 3-speed). For the last few years' model-life they built a manual-boxed version, the 3500S.
+dn bn yes it is. The gearbox has a good reputation, but the Triumph 3,0 l V8 was a disaster (possibly the worst engine ever built by anyone) and there was a thriving replacement business for a while, offering a swap with the Ford 3,0 l V6.
Marcomanseckisax Yes its such a shame the engine was so unreliable along with the rust issues on the rest of the car. The sound it makes when working is wonderful though and well known. Would be an interesting project to try and re-design that engine with the benefit of hindsight to see if it could be made reliable.
@@tonyfairhurst4650 I wouldn't bother replying, I've got a 75 CDTi, the suspension doesn't like bumpy roads but is generally really nice, bit too unusual for most people, bit like listening to Genesis rather than ACDC
I was looking to buy a Rover P4 recently and was surprised to find that you can get a pretty decent one for around 2 to 3 grand. I was expecting them to go for around £15000 or something.
Linking the P4 and P6 seems strange to me. The P5 would seem a more logical link rather than the complete contrast of the P6. I had a P4 75, the original one with the cyclops light in the centre, low boot line and hydro-mechanical brakes. Loads of other little idiosyncrasies and masses of high quality detail in the engineering and build. The aluminium castings for the inlet were a joy to the eye especially when polished. I made new carpets for it using the old as a pattern, and hand-sewing the edge bindings. As said below, the make was run into the ground under British Leyland, probably because William Lyons knew that his Jaguars were not designed or made with anywhere near the quality.
Was the Rover P4 the only British car whose rear doors opened the other way round? Certainly looked different to the Americanized Ford Consul and Vauxhall Victor.
All the London black cabs had doors that opened that way, until Elf and Safety dictated that they had to change to front hinged ones, as well as some coach built Rolls Royces and Bentleys. Basically, by opening that way, a lady could enter the car more easily with a wide skirted dress and, instead of it brushing the rear wing thereby either getting wet or dirty, it brushed against the clean inside of the door.
Had a Rover 110 in the same colour , paid £15 with no mot , failed on one brake pipe , got the mot and sold to a mate who did 30k without a major problem , they were built to last that's for sure ! :o)
1.12.....car comes with a factory TOOLKIT!!!! What do you get today? Not even a SPARE TIRE in some models, just a can of 'Fix-A-Flat' that can be bought at a hardware store for around $9.99c. That would NEVER have been acceptable way back then, & considering the price we pay for these cars today, a can of 'Fix-A-Flat' should NOT be acceptable either!
