Dear Lady, lovely car. I love séries 1 cars.. BTW word to the wise, I'm a motorcyclist. We learn very quickly the damage key 🔑 bunches can do, from scratching petrol tanks to wearing out ignition locks.. préservé your key and ignition.. keep the weight off your key 🔑 and prevent dash scratches.. I'll get back to enjoying the vidz.. xx
My grandad had one of these back in the day, (his was maroon and a P-reg), but his had 10% more engine than yours (2200SC) and it was slow, but he didn't rush about. What I remember most about it, was how refined it was, very dignified. Thanks for bringing back memories of good times and of my grandad :)
I really enjoyed driving this car last month, once I had worked out the idiosyncrasies of the gearbox and the seat belts. For anything other than dual carriageway/motorway use, it seemed more than adequate for keeping up with traffic, and the ride is exceptionally good.
I remember lusting after these Rovers back in the late 60s. The showroom was near my house. I could never imagine being able to afford to buy one of these at that time.
Over the years I had 5 P6's, my last, which I had 16 years (sold October 2020) was my favourite - a 1965 2000 - it was my daily and worked harder in its last years with me more than in its first 40 years! Was a motorway bruiser, and I loved it, drove the 4 cylinder autos as well as owning V8 autos, all were excellent. Very satisfying cars to own! I also had a P4 105R - the smoothest car I have EVER driven - UCD 99 where are you now?
Had three of these in the 70's and early 80's starting with a 2000TC in elegant Grey followed by two 2200TC's and they never once let me down despite regular long trips around the country and two holidays in Ireland. Love these cars and would buy another in a heartbeat if I had the spare funds. Never found them noisy but the second P6 for some reason wasn't as quiet as the first but was soon cured by replacing the sound deadening under the bonnet and removing the seats and inserting off-cuts of underlay under the carpets. Not quite XJ6 quiet at the time but did the job. Great vid, keep up the good work.
My mate owned a 1966 2000 4 speed manual for a while it drove very nicely and was more relaxed at motorway speed even the 4 speed box in my 1993 vauxhall carlton diplomat starts to feel like it needs an extra gear if you push on past 80 and i hardly ever use sports mode as it revs to near enough the maximum 7000 rpm which is neither quiet or refined .
I have one of these somewhere tucked away - great vid - I reckon a great upgrade would be a aw70 gearbox from a late 80s Volvo - it should mate up ok and provide a 3speeds plus overdrive. The earlier Volvos used a bw35 like this and was a bit buzzy on motorways.
Lovely to have us drive with you! A good way to prove the speediness of the automatic. Mr Jenkins looks very nice! I considered a P6 as a daily, but given the fact it would have to sleep outside and I don't have any real mechanical experience, I decided in the end for something a bit more sensible: a '93 Citroën Xantia. Would still love to have one someday.
@@Alexsassets That's good to hear! I asked a bit around on Dutch forums (being based in the Netherlands) and over here many people are a bit nervous about driving old cars year round, so they generally advised against it. For now, I'm keeping it to one car, but a P6 is very high on the list when I buy a second car.
Hi Alex I think it's a lovely car. My Mam had one when I was a kid and didn't seem slow at all ... she was a speedy driver mind : ) It had cream leather seats and seemed very "posh" at the time. Very much enjoying your videos, keep them coming : )
My second car was a 2000 manual. BRA 42B. I learned to weld on it, ,replace uj's rear brake calipers and discs and how to live with Lucas electrics. My father had his V8s for over 30 years, a wonderful Mexico Brown with full Webasto factory fitted roof. GKJ598N where are you now? Nice video Alex!
@@Alexsassets it had a full MOT and new rear calipers the day before it was sold. The new owner never registered it after that. It was damn near immaculate, with a fully rebuilt Rovercraft motor, and SD1 5 speed box. It was sold after my father died, he would be furious if he knew.
I've watched this video several times now. As a child in the late 70's my best friend's Dad often gave us a lift 3 miles from school in a 2000sc auto 1968/F, it never seemed underpowered, strained or slow, just quiet, relaxed and smooth. Years later when I saw the performance figures in motoring mags I couldn't really believe them. This thoughtful video goes a long way in explaining that numbers mean zilch in assesing the appeal of classics (particuarly the P6), thank you Alex.
Hi Alex, Now that was a lovely video, I really enjoyed that. It is a very good advert for anyone that wants to own one, like me for instance...Really clear description of how the "Lock" system works on the auto box. Mr Jenkins seems to enjoy bouncing around on the local single carriageway roads. I bet that would be interesting on some of our Fenland roads in Cambridgeshire but I daresay he would handle them well... As usual, take care and see you in the next one. Cheers, Jon B. 🙂
Beautiful car, I've had a 2000TC manual, I currently have a '69 3500 Auto. I have driven a 2000SC Auto, and it is all about 'D1'. They are not slow, just the slowest P6 which is relative because most cars in the 1960s were slow. Getting the kickdown right is essential - we share the same gearbox, and many times I've been tinkering with it, my neighbours watching me going around the block wondering what on earth I was doing. As for thrashing gearboxes, the V8 can be locked in '2' from stationary and driven all the way up to 60 with ease.
The P6 is my favorite car ,have had a few over they years ,my present one is a Mk 2 2200 which I don"t count as "slow" they are not much less speedy than the V8 ! . Have always been a little wary of the 2000 Auto ,the box isn"t as robust as the V8 and poor use of the kickdown can tear the bolts out on the driveplate ,which was a regular replacement when I worked in the garage in the 60s. Another fault was the manifold on the S.C. models ,they never seemed as well made and replacements are getting hard to find ,I have just replaced the cracked one on my car ! .The only real complaint is the price of spares and the prices vary so much ,you have to shop around .But a good video and it makes a change from a female petrol head - keep up the good work ! .
I wanted to buy one of these back in 2010 but I lost my job :( Really nice to see Mr Jenkins again. TeeCee is quite loud at speed too. That's a really clever gearbox setup and doesn't look slow to me. I would have one absolutely.
Excellent Alex. Owned a manual 2.2SC and a 3500S in the past, drove nothing else for nearly a decade in the 90s, now time for another. I defected to Saabs, but really miss the whole P6 experience. Mr Jenkins sounding very sweet indeed, been aware of you guys for several years now, in Rover circles, online etc.Top presenting style, really enjoyed the vid and took me right back! Would definately consider an Auto myself, the 4cyl cars had much sweeter handling and steering to my mind, always regret selling my S mind! Keep up the good work! 👍Paul.
I had a '72 2000TC back in the '80s. Bought it in roadworthy condition for £70 and daily drove it for two years. Absolutely adored it. One the best cars I've ever owned, even to this day. Surely one of the best cars ever made. Great video.
as a classic car buff l as yet have never had the pleasure of a p6 and after watching you drive one l was itching to have a drive looked great fun and seems like a real nice car despite it being a automatic . fabulous super well done .
Hi Alex looks like it goes well i think there underated for a classic car i have the 3.5 P6B which was the only decent one available at the time but would have bought one of the other models at the time , on Sunday it's time to have a play with the carbs as they need setting up and hopefully out for a blast .
Great video, lovely car. Great to see a p6 2000 auto driven properly. How they were meant to be driven. You can't complain about the performance. It's great for a mid sixties auto. They must have seemed amazing when they came out. It is great off the line and zips up to 70 in no time. Brilliant road test. Many thanks
Nice quality car the P6, a car to enjoy and not so much to race. I always thought that automatics came into their own on a larger car and Jaguar sales proved this. Back in the 70's I took far more orders for the 4.2 auto versions than the standard manual box. A lovely example btw.
The stalwart Borg-Warner 35 is unfairly maligned. Over the years I've driven loads of cars with them, and they've never gone wrong. Volvo 144GL, Mitsubishi Sigma, Hillman Gazelle, Mitsubishi Galant coupe, Daimler V8-250 ...
7:20 My metaphoric picture for the driving experience was stylised on the front of the bonnet. It is the Viking sailing boat on the emblem. The P6 rolls like a boat of this type in the ocean waves if he sees only curve ;-)
The unconventional front suspension with all of her weird oneness comes from the idea to present a car with a turbine. To have the space under the bonnet, they must construct this speciality. In the end it ended all with conventional engines... Sadly or luckily..
Lovely motor and a good review. Also great to get a review that’s about the car and not all about the self obsessed reviewer that’s the norm on these videos.
Thank you x I agree there are alot of self centered people out there that use the car to gain their own personal views lol . I started this channel to help people and entertain them. Thanks for watching x
There’s a video on RU-vid which is a documentary on the P6 that says when the P6 first gone out the factory said that it was designed to travel the M1 at top speed all day! That was when there was no limit on the M1. I’ll try to find it for you if you want.
Years ago, one of my customers had a very early 2000SC manual, it was a lovely car to drive, a wee bit slower than a TC or a V8, but it was a lovely all round package. Too many people compare classic performance with modern cars. Quite why modern family cars have as much performance as they do baffles me, and most of the time the average driver never goes anywhere near the limits of acceleration in their modern car. My ancient Ford has enough acceleration up to 30mph to stay in touch around town, after that, who cares, I like trundling along at 45!
To maybe make the car a bit more usable for higher speeds, the BW 45 and 55 transmissions can be swapped in fairly easily from my understanding, and will feel the same to drive for anything under 50mph, since the first three gears are the same ratio as your BW 35, but the advantage of a swap would be you get a forth gear, which is a tall ratio overdrive making it quite happy to cruise along at motorway speeds with low revs (though the acceleration speed would be pretty appalling haha) That's quite a bizarre gear pattern, even on other BW 35s they use the conventional D 2 L pattern. It sounds like only very early 60s BW35s had this pattern with the more conventional pattern you can still shift it fairly manually for up shifting, but you won't be able to stop it downshifting or be able to start in second What's good about these Borg Warner BW*5 autos is they were used in loads of different cars, Toyotas, Mazda's, Volvos, Fords, Jags... means there's lots of them around to get spares from :)
Enjoyed this one alex.car go's and looks well.funnily enough,my s type jag has the same borgwarner gearbox,theyre quite good actually arnt they.funny tho but jaguar actually call the L1 low.i allways use d1 too.it feels like it puts less strain on the gearbox.love your rover content.
Hi Alex i loved watching your driving were you driving around Gloucester as that is my neck of the woods and your accent sounds very familiar looking forward to the next one best wishes roy. 😊
Only just seen this. We had a Series 2 2000 auto which we hammered on the continent without problems. However, I have to say that the D2, D1 gearchange setup on early cars was crazy! I have always assumed that Rover tolerated it because it was all that BW offered at the time. The later D, 2, 1 arrangement was vastly superior. I remember a colleague had a 2000 auto when they first appeared in 1966 and he used to drive it 1400 miles to Portugal for holidays - his wife and daughter used to fly! Incidentally, the exhaust on your car seems very noisy; is standard?
Interesting. Its amazing how much difference the final gearing makes. My previous Rover 75 was a manual and very relaxed at speed. My current is an auto - doesn't hit top till over 50mph but then is busier at motorway speeds. Are there alternative diffs available?
Hello ! I'm not sure about the diffs. . . . I've not heard of any "upgrades" . Although Something reminds me about a V8 diff being an improvement at top speed? Not sure. X
L select is low gear it is if you are towing a caravan and going down a steep hill that you do not over heat the brakes on either caravan or car The low ratio of the engine is doing braking for you in other words described as lock as it is a gear...
I had a p6 3500 auto but I turned it into a s gave it a manual gearbox out of the sd1 easy conversion then I did all the welding on it then unfortunately had to sell it and the chap has ruined it thought it was a rally car
I've always suspected that if these cars were disasterously slow, they wouldn't have been able to give them away. Regardless of spec, they were executive sports saloons. They're still fast enough to lose your license, how fast do you wanna go?
It is noisy much more (going from memory) than the one I had, which I took on long drives ie down to Penzance from my home in East Devon which was a hamlet near the village of Luppitt, nearest town Honiton on the A303. Although Taunton was by far the best place to shop, it had Debenhams, a cinema, and the people in the bank were far less likely to know anyone in the village and gossip. Mine was a '69, bit like me now! For a couple more months. A major difference being mine was manual, although a fair bit of the noise seems to come from the manifold area, the transmission could be a culprit too. Putting back the insulation or renewing will help, is there a noise reduction pad under the bonnet. With the different ranges on the tranny are you trading noise for performance? These cars were designed to do 105mph up the motorway so your comments about preferring the other way around to Jesse has me guessing. Personally I'd prefer a P4 anywhere, and believe me Jesse is a much safer car in bad weather, she'll keep you safe where as a P6 can catch you out. What do I think? A lovely drive in a beautiful car which of course can only be compared to another beautiful car ie Rover!! Transmission demo was interesting and reminiscent of a 1968 automatic mini I once owned. It had a brilliant option of manual gear change on the auto as well. Now I know where the idea came from. The shoddy workmanship of a unionised British Leyland destroyed a beautiful company. Rover had to go big, and I think Chrysler may have been a better bet. Leyland took the profits, under invested in the SD1 producing a substandard Rover that took ages to rectify by which time the reputation had gone. It died the death of a thousand bloodsuckers, and by the time BMW put a proper Rover back on the road, that smug clown James May from Top Gear slagged it off as a history lesson. Talk about putting the knife in. So, if you get a chance, grab a drive on a 105R, twin carbs and Rovermatic hence the R. Should have dual front seats instead of a bench, and see what you think. Thanks for the ride, and Happy Motoring...
Wow fantastic long comment x I would love a go in a 105R. I wanted one, but was told to avoid as the gearboxes were trouble? I have got a replacement gearbox for my P6 as my friend says this one slips . . . So you never know, it may be even better with the replacement fitted. I shall do another video if it does 😄 . P.s it was even noisier before i fitted the extra exhaust silencer lol . I used to run a 2 box system. Now have a 3. Cheers! All the best x
@@Alexsassets You have nothing to lose by trying. If you're tinkering with the insulation, there's noise absorbing insulation you can paint on, combine that with what you already have may make a difference....and another video!! If you have a voice recorder it might no hurt to leave it in the boot next time you go for a drive see if the diff is talking to you as well, but I'm sure you're on the right track. Good luck with that looking forward to the next episode. Regards Vin
@@simonblake5563 It's a long wheelbase and in winter weather the back end can slide. Absolutely great on clean dry roads but if you have a hilly country winding road to go home to in winter with snow around you can find yourself off the road before you know it. Particularly, as in my case you've been getting home in a P4. Basically you're better off parking up and using an alternative. Roger Moore Volvos are just as bad, but a P4 on the other hand is far easier to control, and, you get home.
Great Video, had no idea how to drive my auto properly, especially the lock feature. How do you recommend I climb the hills in my neighborhood, it really struggles in D1 and doesn't want to kick down to first? Could my kick down cable need adjustment? My previous one was a manual so it is quite nice not having to shift. Thanks for the tips.
Hello Jeff! It could be your cable needs attention. . . . On a hill it is handy to use the Lock function to lock it down into second gear to pull up the hills 😄
Alex loved the drive around and your enthusiasm for your p6 but I think your over complicating the gearbox selections , d1 is just low gear only , if you Leave it in this from a standstill it will stay in 1st gear yes? This is for hill descents or climbing / towing/ winter etc d2 will start in 1st gear and then change to 2nd gear but not shift into top and normal d is fully automatic up and down - it’s as simple as that
Nope. Sorry you're wrong. D1 is fully Auto ( 1st 2nd 3rd ) . D2 is Auto but starts in 2nd gear and changes to 3rd automatically. L is Lock so you can drive it manually by locking 1st and 2nd gear or you can knock it down to 2nd gear from Top gear manually. If you start in L it will hold 1st gear. To change into 2nd you go from L to D1 and back into L to lock 2nd gear in. Then if you want third you just select D1 . 😁 . Later P6 gearboxes were different without the L function.
Alex I’m not wrong except I made the mistake of typing d1 instead of L , I’m correct on what I said , later gearboxes were not different , they were just lettered more simply and were a bit stronger with slightly revised gear ratios (Borg Warner model 35 to a Borg Warner model 65) I haven’t got my p6,s anymore for reference ( 1971 2000 sc , 1973. 3500 auto and a 1975 3500s , but basically with the “ pigs trotter”all the way back if first gear , starts in first and will stay in first , next notch up first and second and then next notch up fully automatic up and down
Sadly the power loss from BW 35 and BW 65 transmissions is dreadful. The churning losses involved in setting off are substantial and in top gear the drive is never 1 : 1 due to torque converter slippage. Fuel consumption is at least 20% greater. My father always had Rootes automatics from 1964 and the acceleration was always glacial. I hate them.
