I recently stopped by the workshop where a friend of mine is restoring three Rover P5 Coupes. Over the last couple of months there has been quite a lot of activity, although that is somewhat hard to see from the photos. Rover P5 restoration is quite time consuming – they are not simple cars. The photos from my visit in April are available here.
Firstly, all the electrical work is completed and tested. This is an important milestone and something that needs to be right before the interiors can be installed. The electrical work includes sensible upgrades such as relays for the headlights. The blue coupe in the picture below has also been pre-wired for driving lights. It is hard to see from the photo but the blue coupe pictured has been upgraded to Halogen lights.
Hard to see because they are covered for protection, but the bumpers have all been re-chromed. Next, the engines are being readied for their first start – hoses, belts, fluids and the like.
The picture above shows the somewhat unusual arrangement of the combined generator and power steering pump used in the P5 3 litre. Finally, some of the interior is starting to take shape – starting with the boot. The P5 came with a nice arrangement of tools on the passengers side of the boot which can be seen below.
The other two cars also have more of their interiors installed. The Yellow MKIII has the dashboard more completed and the other blue car has the doors trimmed.
It was good to see the progress on the Rover P5 restoration. I am looking forward to visiting again in the new year to see further progress. The three cars should be magnificent when finished.
Update: Restoration Progress – May 2020.
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