1970 Rover P5B Saloon

Description

One family owned from new (father and daughter); original and unrestored; always garaged and well-maintained; an exceptionally well-preserved example of this stately saloon

This Rover P5B Saloon was bought new from Henlys of London in March 1970 by a Dr Michael Rooms of Enfield. We are told by his daughter that he bought it as a retirement present for himself and he had to wait several weeks to get one in his preferred colour of Zircon Blue. We are told that the car was his pride and joy and was used on high days and holidays only, his daily driver being a Rover P4 90.

When Dr Rooms passed away in 1978, the P5B was inherited by his daughter who has kept it ever since. It has always been kept in the same garage at the family home since the day it was new and has never been used in the winter, hence the excellent state of preservation today.

It is showing only 23,315 miles on the clock which we are assured is correct but there is insufficient early history to warrant this. Our vendor was working abroad when she inherited the car so it was kept in storage until she herself retired in 1988.

The earliest invoices on file date from January 1988 when the car was sent to Rovercare of London N2 for a major service and recommissioning following a decade of inactivity, the recorded mileage at this date being 18,437. This was an extremely thorough job and involved many new parts – brakes; steering; suspension; coolant system; AED unit; exhaust; electrics; tyres – you name it, they fixed it or replaced it. The car was then thoroughly waxoil treated – floor pans; inner wings; inner sills; inner doors; sub frame; chassis sections etc.

Over the next 30 years the car was maintained religiously, regardless of the low miles covered, being MOT tested every year and often being serviced at the same time. In recent years the majority of the servicing has been carried out by the same local garage who would always collect the car and give it an extended road test before returning it because it was otherwise covering so few miles. All the servicing is amply covered in many invoices on file.

In 2018 the Rover was parked up for good due to the vendor’s declining health and it has been unused since. We had the car trailered up from London and once on site, we put in some fresh petrol, hooked it up to a battery pack, and it was soon coaxed into life, the engine sounding very healthy indeed.

It comes with a V5C recording one previous owner (the current since 1978), the aforementioned file of invoices plus all its original handbooks in the original plastic wallet.

On offer here as a straightforward recommissioning project, this is the most original P5B we have ever seen. With a good machine polish and some sympathetic refurbishment here and there, it has the potential to be a real show-stopper. If you are unable to come and view the car in person (which we strongly recommend), please don't be shy to call the number below for a chat about the car and its provenance.   

For more information contact James on 07970 309907 or email james.dennison@brightwells.com