1970 Rover P5B Coupe

The vendor Adam has owned this lovely P5B Coupe for around two years now. “I bought it as a stalled resto project,” he explains. “It had no doors or front wings fitted, the lights were all wrapped up in boxes and the interior was effectively scrap – seriously, you would have thought a family of mad wolves had lived in it as the front seats were shredded.”

The previous owner had started the restoration, but done so a little back to front. “He started with re-chroming, which is usually one of the last things to be done. I think he ran out of money in the end.”

Adam took up the project and saw it through to completion. That work included a re-paint from the front to the rear doors, a complete going over of the mechanicals and the full restoration of the interior.

Adam says that costs for doing so total in the region of £9k, with £5k of that spent just on the cabin (take a look at our photographic gallery below, to view it in all it’s early Seventies majesty).

There’s just one issue: “It doesn’t fit in my garage at home – it’s too wide and too long. If it did, it’d still be in there. My company deals in office work furniture and it’s stored at the premises, but if it stays there I’m certain one of the boys will come in and say, ‘we’ve dropped a cabinet on it’ or ‘we’ve scored the paintwork’.

The included V5 document shows a total of eight owners from new and the odometer currently reads 00013 after a recent change (its second), but with every (yes, every!) single MOT certificate going back to the Seventies the mileage can be checked in its entirety – 99,000 in total, to the nearest thousand.

It has a current MOT (also in the photographic gallery) that runs until 8/9/2020, which noted a few minor advisories. 

At first glance the P5B looks to be white but it is in fact Burnt Grey and, combined with the Silver Birch that sits ‘over’ it, the colour scheme works beautifully lending the rakish Coupe a real dynamism.

Adam had the car repainted from the front to the rear doors and the match is very good, with no discernible discrepancy. “It’s not perfect, with one or two marks in the paint around the petrol filler cap from overzealous filling.”

There’re also some slight paint imperfections: across the bonnet and around the bonnet lips, some tiny rust spots on the sills, a split in the paint just below the nearside rear panel by the boot lid and a small half-a-fingernail sized rust spot on the roof. and the odd very minor dint here and there.

That said the overall picture remains very tidy. “I’d say it’s an 8/10 car,” says Adam. “I would probably paint the rear wings and boot lid if I was keeping it, and then it’s a 9/10 car. It could benefit from minor cosmetic improvements, but unless you went searching then you wouldn’t find half of them.”

His incredibly honest assessment of the car’s visuals can be viewed in the photographic gallery below. There, you’ll also see that the brightwork is very good with most having been re-chromed. The chrome strip on top of the bumper is a touch pitted, as is the offside door handle and the petrol filler cap a touch crazed, but all could be easily brought up to standard.

The Rostyle wheels are smart, but may benefit from new tyres.

Would sir or madam like to be transported to 1970? Well, pop the door, and step inside. This car scores very heavily here, as it is superb. It looks just right, it feels just right and hell, it even smells just right.

Adam has spent a lot of time getting this cabin just so. The leather has been comprehensively restored and is supple and welcoming; that would be no good on its own, so he had the seat structures professionally rebuilt.

All of the door apertures have new furflex strips fitted, there’s a new carpet set, the kick panels are new, the centre section has been recovered in the matching hide and the rear parcel shelf recovered.

We did notice that the rear brake lights aren’t functioning, but this could be something as simple as a fuse. The remaining electrics do just as they should.

The original speedo head is in a box in the boot. These have a tendency to seize when the little plastic gearing snaps and starts rattling around, so this was replaced with a new old stock item.

“It’s as solid as a rock underneath,” states Adam. “It’s never been welded and nor does it need it. The old boy that carried out the MOT said, ‘you just don’t see cars of this vintage in this condition – most have been patched to within an inch of their life’.”

A quick check of the underside looks to back up his assertion, as all the metalwork appears nice, solid and original. There is room for a tidy up of some surface corrosion on the odd crossmember and leaf spring, if you’re minded to do so.

You’ll also see that the P5B is fitted with a nice stainless steel exhaust system and the engine was rebuilt in 2012. It’s just been treated to a full service with fresh oil and the correct Dexron automatic gearbox fluid.

“It’s had a full mechanical run through and I’ve only covered a couple of hundred miles since finishing the car, but it drives lovely,” he says. “Just as an Seventies old Rover V8 should. It’s pleasant to pilot; the engine is lovely and the power steering a delight. It wallows through corners, just as it should.”

As we’ve had the car at our Abingdon headquarters for a few days now we’re in a position to second that; it is very, very nice. The engine is so smooth and delivers a lovely lazy V8 note that you could listen to all day. The brakes are sharp, too – providing plenty of stopping power.

A new bonnet blanket has been fitted but there is room for visual improvement in the engine bay – that could be a project taken at the next owner’s leisure.

This P5B has wonderful history that includes it being used as a chauffeur-driven vehicle in which to ferry dignitaries from London Heathrow airport to Buckingham Palace. In addition to that, you’ll also find all the original handbooks and service records in its history file.

As already mentioned there are reams and reams of MOT certificates, and you’ll also find a similar amount of invoices going back to a time when the car was new.

The next owner (or prospective bidders) can take their time flicking through the file to get a well-rounded view of what’s been done to the car, in terms of both restorative works and maintenance, over the years.

Please visit the documents section of the gallery of this listing where you will find photos of the paperwork to support our claim that this car has been restored, and then maintained, to a very high standard.

What a lovely, venerable old boy. How often can you find a car of this vintage (any make or model) that’s never had a jot of welding to its undercarriage?

That is of course a rhetorical question. If you’re perusing The Market’s stocklist you almost certainly already know the answer.

This example has had lots of recent work completed and there’s scope for the next owner to continue gently improving it. There can be a tendency to over restore (certainly with regards interiors), but this P5B has been done so incredibly sympathetically.

Factor in a lovely and comprehensive history, a thorough mechanical going over and a period perfect driving experience, and we think £17,000 to £23,000 will pop this lovely survivor in the next owner’s garage.

Viewing is always encouraged, and this particular car is located at The Market’s Abingdon headquarters; to arrange an appointment please use the ‘Contact Seller’ button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.