1966 Rover P5 Mark III - "Sir Henry"

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This 1966 3-litre P5 Mark III saloon is a LHD manual transmission North American export that was first imported to New York and made its way to Miami, Florida. It was owned by Francis Pelly who at the time worked for the British Consulate in Miami, Florida. The second owner, Bo knew Francis personally and had purchased the Mark III from him in 1970 and brought it to Danvers, Illinois where he lived. Bo used this car as his daily driver for over a decade until it was parked, and held onto it until it was sold to Gordon in Virginia in 2008. The severe rust damage on the body was the reason Gordon traded away the car in favor of a more turnkey P5 to enjoy. Bo says when he purchased the car in 1970, the two-tone Charcoal gray lower and Marine gray upper paint configuration remained exactly as seen in 2020. Factory records indicate this two-tone color combination is original, however, the Marine gray upper half was repainted and appears to be a non-factory custom repaint job done by the first owner because two-tone P5 Mark III cars usually only had the upper color only on the roof and not on the body like the earlier Mark I and Mark II models.

This P5 Mark III is serial 69 of less than 100 LHD manual export models made for the 1966 model year and was manufactured on June 14, 1966. 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.

It was in running and driving condition when sold in 2008 and laid up since. I was able to get the engine running again with little effort in 2022, but did not continue any further mechanical work because the body frame was in poor condition for it to be safely drivable.

Restoration to follow...