Classic emails,letters,tweets,posts & threads
EMAIL OF THE MONTH
‘The kids say my Rovers are real cars!’
I‘ve never used a garage to service my cars. I am in my eighties now and still get out the tool kit and trolley jack! Having begun driving agricultural tractors and trailers at the age of 10 back in 1952, I began repairing cars and cut my teeth on a Morris 8 van. My first Rover P6 came in 1969 – an SC model. Then, in 1974, I bought a 3500 V8 P6.
I currently own three classics. The 1968 P6 is 10:1 compression ratio and now on 30,000 miles, with just two previous owners. I rebuilt the HS8 carburettors s to manufacturer’s specification, set the correct fuel level in the float chambers, balanced both banks, tuned both carb. I also replaced all rubbers, dampers, and fitted original spec Pirelli tyres, so it now drives as new.
I bought the 1979 SD1 2600 this year with just 35,000 miles on the clock. Somebody had been playing mix and match with the SU carbs (which you mustn’t do!), so I fixed all that and took the car for a spin. All was great until I turned into my driveway – the car died. The points had closed and, on further inspection, I discovered that 4mm screw that held the points and base plate threads had been mullered. Drill, tap and new 5mm screw cured the problem.
My Range Rover P38 was a Japanese import. It is a 50th anniversary model and one of the last Range Rovers made before Ford took over. All the cars are rust free and the children and grandchildren love them – they call them ‘real cars’. Especially my granddaughter Lauren. She is a classic fan and comes with me to all our monthly local classic car meetings.
HAPPY WORKERS
You and your superb team have and continue to elevate the magazine to the highest level. Where else can we go to a Model T Ford marathon drive, to a Citroën DS analysis, via an abandoned Jowett Javelin in just a few pages? Oh, and your charity work, well-done! Look after yourselves and your families. You must work like the proverbial Trojan!
First words
I enjoyed reading all about John Humphrys and his Rover 620Si. His legendary grumpiness shines through! But I also realised that this is a first for PC. The first Rover 620 to feature in a full-length article? No! It was, however, the first time that the word 'anthropomorphize' has been used in the magazine. And yes, I had to look it up, too.
Quick posts
What my Wolseley 18/85 MkII looked like when I brought it in October 2022. It’s currently under restoration.
Afriend who was an apprentice at Longbridge remembers having to shift dozens of them from field to field around 1965 to make way for unsold cars. That they continued to build the Oxford and Cambridge for five years after this (the car the Landcrab was supposed for to replace) sums it up
