1963 Rover P5 Mark II - "Velvet Cake"
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This 1963 3-litre P5 Mark II saloon is a North American spec LHD manual transmission original survivor that was imported to San Francisco and made its way to Colorado. It was last registered in Colorado in circa 1984. Kent brought this car to San Antonio, Texas in circa 2007 until it was acquired by Gordon in Richmond, Virginia in 2009. I brought it back to central Texas in summer 2020.
This P5 Mark II is serial 241 of 362 LHD manual export models made for the 1963 model year. Powered by a 3-litre straight 6 Rover IOE engine, the P5 has a 4-speed manual transmission with electronic overdrive that is engaged via a switch on the steering column opposite of the turn signal switch. The shift pattern is a H with 1st in the upper left as typical, and Reverse is selected by pressing a safety button on top of the stick to move the stick left past 1st and pushed into the upper left spot next to 1st. Unique North America features include the "ROVER" badging on the front fenders and clear front side marker indicator lenses. This car has the Hydrosteer power steering box that is infamous for premature leaks.
We call it "Velvet Cake" because of the white exterior and red interior.
When I was married in late 2020, this P5 was our cool unique wedding chariot. The water pump fan shaft bearing on the P5 was on its way out but I decided to wait until after the wedding to address the issue. On the drive to reception, the stick shift bushing completely disintegrated making it difficult for me to select 1st gear without inadvertently going into Reverse at stops along the way. Halfway in the drive, I pulled out the stick from the floor, my wife looked at it and did not register the severity of the situation, and continued to wave at onlookers. I stuck the stick back in the floor and continued on with my struggle to find the gears, but we made the 14 mile trip to reception and 14 miles back home! Soon after, the water pump shaft seal gave out and coolant gushed out. I was pleased that the P5 barely held together until after the wedding and gave us an amusing story to tell.
The P5 was shown at the 2021 Texas All British Car Days in Round Rock, Texas next to my 1953 P4.
Gordon had done work on this P5 including reupholstering the seats, upgrading the ignition and fuel pump from points to electronic, refreshing the brakes and clutch hydraulics.
During my ownership, the stick shift bushing was replaced and the water pump was rebuilt a new shaft kit from JR Wadhams in the UK in 2021. The Hydrosteer power steering box blew out its rubber shaft seal and leaked in late 2021. I removed the Hydrosteer box and shipped it to David Green in the UK to be rebuilt by John Wallet using better custom seals on the pitman arm shaft. LHD Hydrosteer boxes are very rare and generally not available in the UK so I was not able to avoid the double shipping cost of sending and receiving the steering box.
Here is a view of the bottom of the engine compartment and engine block with the oil pan removed when I repainted and resealed the pan in 2021. The engine previously leaked oil profusely due to a failed oil pan seal and side valve cover seal. In this photo, you can see the vacuum brake booster on the left of the engine and the Hydrosteer steering box on the right.
