Rover P5B Coupe - MGB V8

[petervdv]

Rather new to retro rides. Recently visited this more often due to some amazing project described here. Inspired by James his amazing SD1 Restoration project i will start a project thread on my Rover P5B Coupe. Current status is that the body has been done and a fair bit of the loose components already have been restored. I will start with a short description of what has been done before which took a lot  spare time during the past 6-7 years. 

Bought the Rover as a spares car as i had another P5B which after dismantling, showed that it had been involved in a very heavy accident (bent transmission tunnel, roof replaced). This car was not a good base so i started to restore the parts car.

Didn't look that bad but had a lot of rotten steel which became visible after dismantling

Sills on both sides were very poor



Sills removed by drilling out all spotwelds







New sills fitted


Picture from underneath





Inner and outer D post replaced on both sides

Rear inner wings on both sides replaced



Inner and outer rear valance repaired/replaced



a picture from the inner rear valance. I made several repair pieces as a repair panel is not available



Outer valance (repair panel) and new corner pieces made as no repair panel was available




Boot floor partly cut out due to rust and to get better access to the inner corner pieces



And replaced by new metal



Rotten pieces of the front post partly replaced with help of repair panels






Inner wings also had some rust













This should be enough rust for today. Hope you enjoyed it. The pictures above show a process which took me approx 2 years. This was my first project which was so rough and i had to learn a lot of new skills. Later this week i will post some pictures of the repair process on doors, wings and other panels.

Peter

[TurboDieselWeasel]

Blöödy 'ell, that's quite a mission you've accomplished there!!

I'm yet to bite through such a huge project... Great job! And great looking repairs!

[actionslaxx]

Skilled bit of metalwork there, thanks for sharing.

[eternaloptimist]

Good man - keep the pics coming.

[jimspolicev8sd1]

Hi Peter, great that you have started a thread! Must have been quite an impact to bend a Pb5, they are pretty tough cars. Very nice repairs. Cant wait to see more. James

[DarrenW]

Fantastic! I love these cars, can't wait to see more progress!

[mk2polobloke]

Hat's off to you for taking on a rusty P5B as your first project. You obviously like a challenge and it looks like you're winning.
What are your plans for this, standard restoration or modify?
Please keep the pictures coming.

[georgeb]

Bookmarked, just because...

[strikey]

itching to see more...especially as we know its now in paint!

[petervdv]

Jan 22, 2017 21:09:06 GMT mk2polobloke said:

Hat's off to you for taking on a rusty P5B as your first project. You obviously like a challenge and it looks like you're winning.
What are your plans for this, standard restoration or modify?
Please keep the pictures coming.

Thanks all for the warm welcome. The Rover wasn't my first restoration. I did a MGB V8 conversion before. As this was a MGB imported to Holland from a dry USA state, it didn't have much rust. I only replaced the outer sills as a precaution and the door skins which contained a lot of filler and were cracked near the rear view mirror.

[HoTWire]

Wow both of the cars are very nice.

Love the Rover P5B, don't see enough of them out and about, lovely car.

[petervdv]

Jan 22, 2017 21:09:06 GMT mk2polobloke said:

Hat's off to you for taking on a rusty P5B as your first project. You obviously like a challenge and it looks like you're winning.
What are your plans for this, standard restoration or modify?
Please keep the pictures coming.

It will get a few mods but compared to other cars on this forum, these will be rather small mods. The 3 speed BW35 will be replaced by a 4 speed ZF box which has a direct drive i n 4th geaR and reduces the engine rev at 120km/hr from 4000 to approx 2600. It will also get a Volvo 164 PAS box as the standard boxes are prone to leak and give  a more vaque steering.
I will also fit Jensen Interceptor alloys, a modern alternator and relays for head lights, horn ect.
Also will replace the standard wood by walnut veneer and add a few extra panels.

I have another P5B Coupe which i use as my daily car and i modified this as above described



when the picture was made, it was RHD as i bought in the UK. In the meantime i converted it to LHD

A picture of the restored interior. The wooden panels near the speedo, gearstick and the switches are normally leather



Peter

[mk2polobloke]

Jan 23, 2017 18:48:04 GMT petervdv said:

Jan 22, 2017 21:09:06 GMT mk2polobloke said:

Hat's off to you for taking on a rusty P5B as your first project. You obviously like a challenge and it looks like you're winning.
What are your plans for this, standard restoration or modify?
Please keep the pictures coming.

It will get a few mods but compared to other cars on this forum, these will be rather small mods. The 3 speed BW35 will be replaced by a 4 speed ZF box which has a direct drive i n 4th geaR and reduces the engine rev at 120km/hr from 4000 to approx 2600. It will also get a Volvo 164 PAS box as the standard boxes are prone to leak and give  a more vaque steering.
I will also fit Jensen Interceptor alloys, a modern alternator and relays for head lights, horn ect.
Also will replace the standard wood by walnut veneer and add a few extra panels.

I have another P5B Coupe which i use as my daily car and i modified this as above described



when the picture was made, it was RHD as i bought in the UK. In the meantime i converted it to LHD

A picture of the restored interior. The wooden panels near the speedo, gearstick and the switches are normally leather



Peter

I'm all for sensible mods to improve old cars like these.
I didn't realise these pulled 4000 RPM to achieve only 120kph. I always assumed they were really long geared due to the lazy engine and the wafty nature of the car. It sounds like the ZF 4 speed conversion is absolutely ideal. Although I've never driven one of these I know they are known to have vague and indirect steering, your Volvo conversion can only be better and make these far nicer to drive.
Excellent work Peter, keep us posted.

[Davenger]

Top work!
Love P5Bs

[darrenh]

is this your living, or just a skilled hobby/DIY ?

cracking job so far

[sonus]

Will certainly follow your progress. Love the P5B Coupes!

[petervdv]

Jan 24, 2017 12:39:26 GMT darrenh said:

is this your living, or just a skilled hobby/DIY ?

cracking job so far

Thanks chaps! Its just a hobby not my living.

Will show what i did to the doors and other panels.

The doors on P5B are rust traps like on many cars. In the rear corners the skin meets the door frame and moisture gets in and we all know it will rust. The doors i had were actually not that bad but i decided to remove the skins

First removed all paint with paint stripper




The rusted piece in the middle was caused by some foam catching moisture on the inside



Also rust on the top which would be difficult to repair without removing the skin





Made some repair pieces to weld in



Repair pieces welded in







Most of the lower corner pieces needed repairs


And the skin of the RH rear door needed a new piece welded in in the rear lower corner






Piece welded in





Was very lucky to find a NOS rear door in Holland at a decent price of Euro 150,- which also fitted well




After all the repairs were done which were a fair bit more than the pictures above, i brought the skins and door frame to a shotblasting company. This was a one mans business who knew what he was doing to avoid warping the panels. Luckily got them all back without any rimples




After that the nice work began of refitting the skins, carefully with hammer and dolly




And some pliers (with a piece of angled strip on the skin side not to dent it) for the underside where there was not enough room for the hammer

Thats it for today. Will post some older pictures again later this week

Peter

[Coakers]

Love this, I just wish you'd post more pictures of the metal work! Was there a lot of trial and error? Hats off to you nonetheless.

[strikey]

lovely job! bet you have done them all now...but found this that someone had made , looks ideal for skinning doors.

15dvz4n by peter strike, on Flickr

[MK2VR6]

P5b's sure are handsome old things. Loving the work you've done so far - lots of people attempt fabrication and welding, but not many do it to a fantastic standard. Your work looks enviable!