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The first car I ever drove. In the days when a Chinese takeaway had to be waited for, my uncle would take me to the local empty town car park where we would swap seats and he let me drive his H Reg P5B around the car park for 10 mins or so. I was 15!! He took it on holiday to the Swiss Alps and wherever he stopped he would return to a crowd admiring the car. They were never sold in Europe and were quite exotic. Thanks Uncle Jim!!!!
Luxury, chrome, waft and V8, the whole package is here. The view ahead through the windscreen looks truly commanding. Must have been tough to hand this one back.
Great review Matt, wish I still had all ours. Dad and myself owned four of the P5 /P5B range between 1976-82. A late 3 litre Mk3 auto saloon, two V8 saloons and a V8 Coupé before moving to numerous P6's and SD1's. The ignition key used to occupy that blank space on the dash pod before a steering lock was fitted from around late 1971. The warning lights aren't LED, they're small bulbs in a tube with magnifying lenses, and I'm sure the switches were back-lit at night from bulbs inside the pod. Only the Coupé models of the P5 and P5B had a rev counter and the four pod mounted gauges underneath. Saloons had three gauges combined in one instrument where the rev counter would have been, the Coupé gained a volt/ amps meter depending on the model year. The front seatbacks were a lot thicker too on all models until around 1968.
Much humphing over the apparent implausibility of LED warning lamps led (!) me to find out they were invented in 1962, so technically could have been in use by 1971. Rover certainly liked their lenses, with the P6 headlight prism being a great bulb failure indicator. Of all our childhood family cars a P4 stands out in my mind as the best and it was sold minus the HMV valve radio which I dabbled with when about 12, not really understanding its apparently semi mechanical innards and getting the odd shock. If only my own disastrous SD1 in my mid 20s had had some proper Rover quality I might not have bailed after 6 months.
@@philhealey449 That's interesting, Phil. I was doing some humphing of my own. I was sure LEDs wouldn't have been around when this car was built. I would never have guessed that they've been around since 1962, and first suggested as a possibility as far back as 1927. Drawing on my deep knowledge of how to use Google, apparently Hewlett Packard began including LEDs in their calculators in 1968. LEDs or not, I'd love to own this Rover, however 😊
@@lukemallory7832 Tell Me about it ! LED digital watches and calculators appeared around 1974, but not clever enough to get rid of log tables or slide rules at school initially.
@@philhealey449 The prism warning light idea on the P5 has been around since it's introduction in 1958. They had a small red plastic prism gunsight that was screwed to the top edge of the chrome front sidelamp bezel and illuminated when lit. Those warning lamps in the P5 dash pod centre never changed. They were a 3 piece construction of a deep chrome bezel, deep plastic tube and a coloured threaded lense ( red. green or yellow) that screwed together to clamp through the pod face. They must have cost a lot more to make, compared to the similar idea, but cheap looking warning lamps BMC used around that time. Both used the Lucas bulb holders soldered into the loom, that pushed into the back tube. I still have a couple of the Rover type kicking around that I rescued from scrapped early P5 3 litre cars. I converted the troublesome SU Automatic Enrichment Device fitted to many P5B cars, back to the T handle manual choke on two of mine. The T handle had a built in switch connected to illuminate the yellow warning lamp. AED equipped P5B cars only had a red and green - ignition and oil pressure lamp fitted. The pod was still pre drilled to take the choke light above, but covered by the crackle black face trim on the pod. Rover used plastic prism illumination on both P5 and P6 instruments and switches. They were one of the first to make use of fibre optic lighting from a single bulb too. The SD1 used that idea to illuminate the heater controls, and centre console fittings on later SD1 cars.
What a gorgeous majestic, regal machine, simply beautiful. I've been in love with these Rovers ever since I saw Roger Moore driving one at speed in the film, 'The Man Who Haunted Himself'. Nice review Matt with some tasty camera angles, well edited and with lots of detailed information as always. The engine sounds sublime and along with the deeply padded seats and compliant springs, it must be super comfortable to munch the miles in. Still has a presence and still looks stately even when parked.
In the early 1970's my English uncle died. His P5B coupe in Admiralty Blue was shipped out to my mother, in Rhodesia (Zimbabwe). It was driven around the country on surfaced roads and bush 'Gravel' roads with no problems. Regularly serviced it never developed faults. Perhaps one model class that Rover actually built correctly in their factories. It was sold to the British authority (Governor) that took over the country during the transition to Zimbabwe. At University at the time I have no idea what became of it. It was a delight to drive and as stated most comfortable. (Other Rover models simply rattled to pieces on the roads which the P5 handled with ease and no issues.)
Utterly fabulous cars, I've had two and miss them both terribly. For the last few years I've been distracted by Italian cars but still yearn for another P5B Coupe, the feeling of wafting along in all that splendour is a pleasure to be savoured. The Coupe was definitely more of a villain's car than a bank manager's - in the 1968 film 'Performance' John Bindon drives James Fox around in an Ardern Green 3-litre Coupe made to look like a P5B with a set of Rostyles, it looks fantastic for the short time it appears on screen. In 'Villain', made in 1970, Richard Burton tools around London and the home counties in a Burnt Grey over Silver Birch P5B Coupe which oozes sinister class. Pedant alert - the Queen's P5B saloon at Gaydon is a bespoke shade of dark green, not maroon!
I adore the P5B and this is perhaps the best colour. I like the saloon and coupe equally. Ten years ago I would see £5k cars that were runners but with scabby rear door bottoms. Obviously prices have risen a lot since then. I went from looking at P5s to P6 and SD1 before resigning myself to the fact that a late R8 or R3 is probably more at my budget these days. An ex police traffic officer who was instrumental in my driver training drove all of the V8 rovers over a career spanning more than three decades. The P5b is without doubt not only the most majestic Rover but perhaps of all the luxury saloons. This is definitely part of my dream car garage.
Dad drove a 2000 TC P6 from about 73 to 79, which made me fall in love with Rovers. I wish I had the money to own and run a P5B. Fabulous, ultra British automotive carriages old chap what what? Now, where did I put my pipe and flat cap?
In 1985 I took a break from my big Jags when I spotted a P5B Coupé at a giveaway price. It was running, with a long MOT, the elderly owner had been advised by his GP to give up driving. It had a little over 100K miles and I paid £150 for the car. It was a 16 year old car, (very much banger territory then), but it drove nicely and still looked good. I remember that it had an ashtray and cigar lighter in both rear doors. The car was extremely comfortable to drive and to ride in and it still did a totally silent ton on the motorway.
Beautiful example, as a former 6 owner I would love an example. They're just so expensive to get hold of, have been for many years! Apparently they're not very nice to restore, but then is any classic! My old P6 had full leather very similar to this setup, with E.T headrests and the rear headrests! Added such a character. I see so many familiar items they used again in the P6 :)
Seeing the red line at 115 MPH on the speedo coincides with what a pal and I were told by a man who gave us a lift home as schoolboys in the early 1970's in an orange coloured P6 automatic, an identical top speed. I'm glad also to see the acute accent above the letter e in coupe. Can't stand the adoption here of the American 'coop'. I see no chickens !
Our old sports teacher used to give us a lift back to school some lunchtimes in one of several P5/P5B. He used to chauffeur a rich old lady around that owned two or three of them, and owned one himself. Would seem a bit risky now, but back in the early 70's the conversation was all about the cars or football. Inspired me to talk dad into buying our P5B Coupé in 1976. The first of dozens of P5, P6, and SD1.
@@brianwhittington5086 lucky you. I wanted my old man to buy a used Audi 100. I was instantly fascinated by it on the car lot, having been no stranger to places such as that as he was forever changing his old motors. Alas he didn't buy it, probably opting for something more conservative. Actually I seem to remember him saying something about the price of spares. Back in the early 80s he may of had a point!
P5B-week, I also very much enjoyed the JayEmm-review of a blue saloon-version last week. Totally wouldn't mind in fact if videos of these Rovers would appear every day on my youtube-account: I feel like the P5B must be the most British of all saloons ever made in the best possible way. Really one of the proudest members among the car heritage of your country with all that unmistakable charisma and though I think most Jaguar saloons look lovely, somehow the P5B manages to outclass them. Thanks for this review, Matt!
A lovely car from the time (pre-Leyland/BL) when Rover workers had the option to become shareholders, an option that many took up. Consequently, quality and attention-to-detail was high and Rover employed 1 inspector for every 20 workers, a ratio beaten only by Rolls-Royce. P5/P5B radiator grilles (from Tecalemit, if memory serves, but open to correction, as it's rather a long time ago!), for example, were subject to 100% inspection, meaning that every single one received was fully inspected against the drawing at the receiving bay. The slightest deviation from drawing meant that the offending grille was rejected and returned to the supplier for rectification. The P5/P5B finish line was just underneath my office window in the Meteor Works at Solihull, (as was the parallel Range Rover trim line) and I always admired the Admiralty Blue finish, to my mind the nicest of the colours. Did Chrysler 'borrow' the P5B turret-top for their 300C? To my eye, undoubtedly, but it's said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
One of the greatest British cars ever made. I absolutely love the p5. It's in my top five greatest British cars ever made. Along with the Austin Healey 100 and the Land Rover and Range Rover products. The p5 is one of the most distinguished and well crafted cars in history. Along with its pedigree lol being related to one of my most favorite American cars ever made the Buick, and having his connections to the queen. This car for me is one of the most beautiful and exciting British cars to ever roll off an assembly line. I can't wait for the day that I finally make a trip to the UK and can experience one of these cars for myself.
I saw a stunning P5B Coupé YOY 872G a few years ago on the forecourt of Mathewson's garage (as seen in the TV documentary series "Bangers & Cash"). Sumptious white leather interior, dark maroon paintwork. Whenever I was passing, I tried to find somewhere to stop to see what they had.
@@68beetlevlog It's well worth a visit if you happen to be in the area. I used to live about 10 miles away and sometimes visited clients in and around the village of Thornton-le-Dale, so I had an excuse to pass through and see if there was anything interesting on the forecourt. My impression is that over the six or seven years I've known the garage, it has gradually had fewer 1960s/70s cars and more 1980s/90. I don't find it quite as easy to enthuse about cars that I might have owned when I started to drive, compared with those which dated back a bit further to my childhood - Ford Corsair, Jag Mark II, Rover 2000, Morris Minor, Austin Cambridge/Morris Oxford/Wolseley 1660, Singer Vogue, Vauxhall Victor. And, of course, that lovely Rover P5B.
What a beautiful car. I had a couple of P5s, the last one a 1967 dark green Mk 3 manual 4 speed and overdrive for a couple of years around 1971. Sadly sold it during the fuel crisis of 1973. Such a quality vehicle. Certainly felt very special driving it on holiday all round Scotland. Happy days. Thanks for bringing back happy memories.
Love these things, had a couple of P6's, never got to a P5B, good ones were always a little rich for my pockets. Did learn from the P6's tho' about the on going care needs to keep the body from turning to dust. Unfortunately they take more care than I can manage today but if I didn't have to worry about that, I have no one. The tranny tunnel is huge, just about got a passenger foot well 😁. Great review and an enjoyable trip down memory lane. 👍
As a car crazy boy growing up in the sixties here in the Houston area, a dealership near downtown sold the Rover 2000TC, Rolls-Royce/Bentley, and Jaguar. The 2000TC was a darling of the American car mags, but I thought the dashboard with that strip speedometer was out of character with the rest of that amazing car. This car has one of the most beautiful dashes of any car of the sixties. I can see why PM Thatcher used one. Great video!
Instant ‘The Man Who Haunted Himself’ - it’s for good reason that Rover were asked to keep a few back for MPs (and famously Margaret Thatcher) when production ended - there simply wasn’t anything better built for the money. Tremendous cars!
I remember been driven in a P5 as a teenager after leaving a party in the early hours of the morning. It was the most unforgettable car experience, the interior opulence coupled with a 3.5 litre engine's effortless performance left me speechless on arrival to my destination. Although I'd never been to a Gentlemen only private club the P5 was an insightful take on what the experience might be. I also remember the petrol gauge move swiftly to almost depletion after a top up. My first job working for a theatrical company group meant I had to be sensible so my first car was a P6 Rover 2200 SC. I then sourced P5 Headrests which gave that car such a wonderfully comfortable driving experience. To this day having been driven in a early Rolls Royce owning a Mk1 Range Rover and a much later Range plus BMW 6series etc none have managed to give the pleasure of the P5 and P6. Definitely they stand together as 2 of the best of British interior and overall comfort well engineered crafted representatives. Ps I forgot to mention my SD1 3.5, but we won't go there.
A beauty. As you mentioned about restoring one. A friend spent years veeeery slowly doing just that until his wife told him to sell it, and buy one that was already restored! He did and never regretted the (wife's) decision!
That's a gorgeous car. Looks so solid and has a real muscular stance. Must admit of all the older Rovers this one is the one I'd have if I had the money. Sounds stunning too. What I'd give to be wafting round in that!
I bought a Rover 3.5 Coupe as my first car at 19 years old, my second additional car was a Rover P6 3500s manual, I didn't realise how lucky I was back then in 1981
Alongside any car of the last 50 years this car could stand alongside and not be ashamed. I think this is the best car ever ever made. I would trade my present car for one in a heartbeat.
I drove both coupe and saloon versions during my time in the UK and aside from the light front end at speed (due to the lighter weight of the V8) I loved these cars - you always felt special getting behind the wheel. Britishness at its best on four wheels.
I grew up with switches in random places on the dashboard, they had legends on them, but of course you could not read those at night, so you learnt where the switches were and what they did and you never took your eyes off the road to find them. Nowadays no one is expected to actually have to learn where things are, so switches are in neat rows and every single one is not only labelled but is illuminated, the dashboard looks like Tokyo by night and you have to look to find the teeny weeny little switches. Now I have grown old, I really have to change my driving glasses to reading glasses to see the dashboard. (Joking.) Now we have touchscreens you have to look at to see what to do.
20:10 the Queen’s car isn’t maroon but it’s actually a special order dark green. She had several P5s and two P5Bs, the second of which I believe was armoured and was the last car built. Her cars also had light grey leather interior which was again special order.
Seems the P5B is getting a lot of attention lately? Great piece of rover promotion. As an owner for six years now I’m still very much I love with the car. Mine featured on Wheeler Dealers years back. Perhaps I should put something together to update fans of the car. Thanks for your film.
We used to look after a car collectors cars when we were youngins he had a coupe if you were lucky you got a lend of it , was great posing in that around the doors .
The film Bullitt was showing in the cinema and I was a very young mechanic. I had just serviced a dark green one of these. Driving it out on road test and listening to that glorious V8 soundtrack, I was back in that film. Thank you for reviving that memory for me.
My favourite and most loved Rover, having owned a few of them, P4's,5's 5b's and P6's. Drove the 5b for a living for a few years including the armoured ones, just wished that they had sold them at auction when they were disposed of, like the standard ones were and not scrapped. The lightweight Chobham armour was top secret at the time, enemy hands and all that. It couldn't be taken out as was an integral part of the body so they looked like every other P5b. You said that door was heavy, the armour doubled its weight with the thick armoured glass as well. It did nothing for the performance except slow it down a bit 0-60 and increase the already heavy thirst for 5* 101 octane. That blanked off switch was originally the main/reserve fuel switch on the earlier ones. Harold Wilson had an extra large ashtray and a pipe rack in the rear of his ones, fitted by Rover.
No the blanked off switch was the location of the original ignition switch. The P5/P5B fuel reserve pull was always a handle by the drivers footwell along with a manual Choke pull if one was fitted
@@richardhaywoodh You're right about the ignition key on the blank space, it was there until a steering lock appeared around late 1971. Would need to check about earlier cars, but my 1967 3 litre mk3 had a big dual ended SU electric fuel pump. It had two pumps, main and reserve, bolted to a central chamber and was mounted behind the boot bulkhead trim, next to the fuel tank. They had an electrical switchover from main to reserve, instead of the T handle working a changeover valve by cable.
@@brianwhittington5086 yes the 3500cc P5B had a mechanical SU fuel pump on the side of the V8, a pain to replace the inner bolt had a screw head slot to fascilitate removal (been there done that a few times) the fuel reserve lower pipe pickup was selected by the pull T handle in the drivers footwell
@@richardhaywoodh Yes I've changed a few of those block mounted SU mechanical pumps, the sealed for life, and cleanable glass sediment bowl type. I would sooner do it on a P5B than in the tight confines of a P6B engine bay, especially if PAS was fitted. The P5B took a backward step with the T handle cable pull reserve, as fitted to the P6 models. I guess it was a cheaper cost cut option under BL accountants than the twin electric SU of the earlier 3 Litre P5 cars. I converted a P5B and at least a couple of P6B, to the earlier 3 Litre dual SU electric pump, using salvage 3 Litre parts. Breakers yards had plenty of unloved ones back in the early 80's, and even good taxed / mot'd examples were really cheap to buy. The conversion certainly helped the fuel starvation / evaporation issues that could happen with the V8 in hot weather / engine bay temperatures. The exposed metal fuel delivery pipe, running along the block to the pump, and close to the L/H exhaust manifold could really heat up the fuel. The SD1 partly addressed it with it's submerged in the fuel tank pump. They could still have starvation, or pump fail issues if you constantly ran it with a low amount of fuel, causing the small pump to run hot and dry, through not being kettle cool by being fully submerged. I used to tow a car trailer with some of my V8's and the big SU electric pump pushing fuel from the tank made a lot of difference over a hot mechanical one trying to suck up hot fuel. The 3 Litre had two big identical SU pumps on each side of a central chamber. One as a main pump, and the other for the reserve area of the tank, with a dash mounted switch over. They rarely failed, if they stopped it was usually just a dirty contact and a quick clean of the spring blade soon had it tick-ticking away again.
Stunningly beautiful car, Matt. I'm so glad to see you reviewing this fascinating piece of motoring history. She certainly is a great looking car. The sound out of that 3.5 litre is quite something indeed.
A few memories there for me. Back in the late '60s when I was about 19 I had a holiday job driving for a friend of my dad's as he 'was on medication' that prevented him driving (in retrospect I think he was an alcoholic). His car was a P5B in that Zircon blue, and that was what I drove. Along with his father's Daimler limo and his MD's Corsair V4. Could you imagine a 19 year old being allowed to do that today?
I must have driven a few times in a Rover P5b Saloon as a very young boy. My father was a chauffeur for a board of directors and that car sat in the pool of cars for them. I only remember the weird dashboard lights and the tiny red corner indicators. I wish I remembered more. but I was only5 or 6 years old. I do remember that if I was allowed to go with my father (once a year he would invite me for a day to drive with him) I chose the Jaguar Mk X. Sorry Rover fans. I adored that car.
Love the shape of the coupe - looks so much better! Lovely car. Typical of a Middle-England bank managers car. That V8 sounds majestic! And, despite your apparent hatred of auto gearboxes, that Borg-Warner suits tje character of the car and its engine perfectly well. Some cars are just better as autos and this is one pf them! What a stunning car! As much as I hate to mention it, I really do wish you would get past this “thing” with auto boxes, Matt! An auto box paired with a nice V6 or V8 is just sheer waftability! Nice one, Matt! Best wishes from the Wirral!
In the early 1970’s my parents had one of these and sometimes let me drive it. Compared to the cars of the day this was a sports car and was quick enough to overtake a line of slow traffic with no problem, it was a bit of a charging elephant as it didn’t like to turn corners. The sliding picnic shelf in the front was used a lot and I’m surprised it’s not a feature in modern cars as I see so many people in motorway car parks eating in their cars, this would be a very welcome addition I’m sure.
Furious, can I make a little suggestion. I wonder if it might be an idea to lock the focus on the DSLR that you use for the in-car shots, so the auto-focus doesn't keep hunting all over place. Given that you are using a fairly wide angle, might a mini-cam (GoPro, SJCAM) be better, since those often have image stabilisation - there was a fair amount of side-to-side judder as well as hunting focus. Just a small thing, but it was frustrating to see the picture going blurred every few seconds. That opening shot was brilliant: the car was pootling along and then when you passed the 40 sign there was that delicious V8 burble from the engine as you accelerated away. "Ah!" indeed ;-)
Rover called the non leather trim that was in the same colour as the leather 'Ambla'. The P5B had an option of Rear seat passenger reading lights built into the back underside of the 'ET' headrests. The 'Blank' was the original position of the ignition switch for pre 1972 models. The Jewel Ignition & Oil Pressure lights were just small incandescent bulbs. Those front dide light on red prisms were a very clever idea, I supplied a replacement one to the Queens P5B Arden Green saloon 'JGY 260' at Gaydon! The Rovers lighting switching was ackomplished with no fewer than 3 separate switches: The top right dash Lights switch turned on the side lights or the offside parking lights front & rear side light on the drivers side only. The 'what not' & indicator stalk was the headlight on or off switch, (full beam & dipped was on the left foot rest button) The Horn sounds OK as there was a Low & High tone horn labelled L & H on the horn body sitting on the front crossmember behind the front valance cut outs. The worst feature on the P5 was the lack of fan assisted Fresh cold air to the face, the butterfly vents on the dash only gave speed forced fresh air & were feeble, us kids in the back had nothing and sneaked open the rear quarter vents
That switch blank on the right, is the ignition on the earlier models. A 1966 P5 3 litre coupe I used to own had it there, along with a column change auto.
Saw a couple of these around my area as a kid. Always wanted one... one was big, the other was a dark purply blue.... always a beautiful beast...the v8 woofle never gets old
The P5b was always a regal car. I know you'd prefer one over a Rolls-Royce, but I prefer my Rolls-Royce ;-). That said, I could make room in my garage for a P5b. I do also recall hearing that her majesty used to zip up the M1 behind the wheel of her Rover P5b and later, her P6, on the way to Balmoral.
I had P5Bs,I'd love to know how many P5B's were made in Cameroon green as I had one in that colour and never seen that colour on Saloons or coupes but on P6's,we were youngsters back then and these were quite affordable,friends had P5B's,P5,P6,SD1,I worked in American car spares and a HV0001 oil pump kit was a great investment making the oil pump similar size to Buicks origional,Holley 390cfm carb,Crane 214 cam and Kenlowe fan,NGK leads,I think there was also dual point distributor,this was a fairly mild tune. Thanks for a great upload wishing good health to the uploader,family,friends and fellow fans.
Fantastic car, one of my all time favourites. The P5B always reminds me of that Roger Moore film, The Man Who Haunted Himself. Watching it as a kid it struck me as a really imposing, tank of a car that deserved a lot of respect.
I love these beautiful, powerful machines on wheels especially the old ones having interesting stories associated with them . Much thanks to youtube's algorithm that it brought me here after i finished watching all the videos of doug demuro reviewing older cars .
She's a fine old yacht, much like Britannia- you can see why Her late Majesty's QE II favourite car. Old P5 was THE car that was coined as the "gentleman's club on wheels". She'll waft handle high speeds simply by her mass alone- once you get her up to 100mph- it's like a locomotive. She also has a separate heater for the rear seat. Also has LH foot headlight dipper switch and very rarely for the time driver's left foot footrest. The most interesting feature of the P5 is a separate insulated subframe for engine and front suspension mounted on 4 giant bolts to the chassis front bulkhead. Also the corners guides for the sidelamps as on P6- was influenced by WW2 German FAMO and similar LKW with their large alien antennae. Maggie Thatcher stockpiled them due to the awful leaks from SD1 door seals.
Bought my 70 5B "Coopay"😅 in 76 we loved her so much we brought her with us to live in Australia in 81, in 82 we moved to Cairns from Sydney, that 2000+ kilometre drive was a Ripper! She didn't miss a beat we often cruised at 100 mph! (Naughty but Nice!😅) Way to Go!❤
Difficult to decide which is my favourite car, but my shortlist would contain Jag Mark II (Inspector Morse's car), S-Type Jag (as trashed in episodes of The Sweeney), Rover P5B, Ford Zodiac Mark III (the one from the early 1960s, before the slab-sided Mark IV). And I've got a soft spot for the Ford Corsair because it's the first of my dad's cars that I can remember, and I was intrigued by the pull-down rear number-plate which revealed the petrol filler cap.
@@Mortimer50145 HI Morty, we have similar taste... Love the P5 (AND P6 of which I own two), but I have also a soft spot for the Corsair and jag S-type of Sweeney memories❤️ Zephyr-wise I really like the stern, boxy, 1966 model, especially in Executive guise.
I've owned 5 P5B rovers all saloons And I must say that example your driving is a nice car Straight on the body Sits well And in the best colour combo for a coupe
An absolutely fabulous car whit loads of style and exeptionel buildquality . To me the best Rover ever built and I am glad my 75 has lots of styling quess in its interior inherrited from its fabulous granddad . Here in Holland there are still some around , both saloon and coupe , in great condition and prices up to 40000 Euro . A great car that deserves to be called a CLASSIC .
Beautiful car. We had a 72 K plate coupe in Bordeaux Red with the silver birch roof for years. EAO 875K - stunning car. It's just a pity that someone has fitted the later BL door mirror to the one in the clip.
My Mum's had the Paint Colour codes under bonnet of Silver Birch and Burnt Grey, yet from the factory the body was Silver Birch but the Roof was Admiralty Blue. A unique non factory spec from new, the roof had never been repainted.
@@richardhaywoodh they must have made a few mistakes from the factory. Ours was bought new in Penrith. A one owner from new when we bought it in 1987. The front plate was EAO875K....yet it went all though it's life until we took it for its 2nd MOT in our possession for the tester to notice that the rear plate said EAO578K. We couldn't believe it had spent 15 years unnoticed and untouched. We had to then get the plate altered.....so instead of a new plate, we opted to get the original changed.....metal letters/numbers were soldered on....that's what you call quality.
@@Ken_Dodds_Tickling_Stick Mum's Coupe was Admiralty Blue over Silver Birch and the number plates started to look a bit jaded, my Dad repainted them letters in Silver Birch and Backing plate in Admiralty Blue, looked very smart, MOT testers never objected. Strangely the 'R' and '5' characters were metal and the other characters were plastic
What a line up - P4, P5, P6, Land Rover, Range Rover. Has any car company ever so consistently led the design of it's era? And in the same time, Mini, 1100, Jaguar E type and Mk 2, Cortina, Escort, it was a great time to be a young car enthusiast....even if I could only afford a Morris 8!
My dad ( In the Netherlands) had 7 Rover cars from 1950 untill his death in 1983. One of them was a Rover P5 (nope no B). A wonderful car not for daily use though. After that a Rover 2000 a Rover 2200 a Rover 3500 and another 3500 but before the P5 not sure. He never had another family car than Rover. Dad had a building business and at the time he bought the P5 it cost as much as building a house for a client I can rememer, the house is still standing ....................
I used to own a p6 in brown with the 2.2 litre unfortunately and not the v6 but still a great car to drive. Always wanted a p5 but one never really came up.
I'm confused by the claims of 184bhp for this P5 V8, which is backed up by googling. But it doesn't make sense to me. It only did 0-60 in about 12 seconds. Whereas the P6 V8 had a much lower claimed bhp of about 145, yet was capable of 0-60 in about 9 seconds. Way, way quicker. So how does that stack up? I reckon this P5 probably had something closer to 120 bhp, otherwise it would have been much quicker. What a stunning car though! And that glorious noise from the V8, with smooth auto changes, just sublime! Great video, thanks! :-)
This is really the last itineration of a Rover design that began with the 75 in 1950... It ended up as a streamlined battleship. PS ....Matt we had coloured LED diodes in the mid 1960's, but white didn't arrive till 1995.
The engine, yes, but otherwise only if you equate design and style. The P5 Rovers were clearly of updated appearance, but the P4 series had a separate chassis, while the P4 was unitary. They were all good cars, well thought-out designs with great attention to detail.
The Sunday Telegraph on wheels - marvellous! Had one of these in concours condition in the late 80s, same colour combo as here (BLW 655H anyone?) My only minor gripe was the relatively high revs at motorway speeds - the car felt like it could have done with an overdrive. Thanks for the great video - brought back a lot of happy memories. Woofle-woofle …
I think one of Rover's better cars over the years Matt, imagine going from driving this to a City Rover, one is not amused I think the Queen would say.
the lower spotlights actually came out on the last of the 3 litre version, the p5 mk3.. very hard to tel lthe difference between the last of the 3 litre cars and the v8 3.5 litre cars... the v8 was never 184bhp , it was 150bhp... the seats in the rover werealso the same seats in the rolls royce silver shadow, the quality of the rover was every bit as good as the rolls royce. and a nice car to drive...
Good upload and nice to see one without whitewalls. No coupe ever used in official service, only saloons. Discs front. Drum rears. Queens is a saloon in special order dark green.
No LEDs on P5. Earlier P5Bs had ignition switch on bottom right hand of top binnacle where this one has the chrome blanking, because this one has a steering column lock. The car here has also had a manual Choke conversion very early 1967,68s had the manual Choke a tell tale light by the oil & ignition warning lights which came on if the Choke was still out when the car had warmed up rather than the AED (Automatic Enrichment Device)
I've seen a very neat use for the blanked off original ignition switch position. It has been used to fit the switch for the added hazard warning lights circuit ( never fitted from new).
@@rubbishsignup good idea, back in the day I fitted a P6 Hazard flasher switch into a P5B, on the centre console next to the Heater Rear Window & Front Foglight Switch and a new Rear Fog Light Switch, never got round to wiring in the hazard lights though
You didn't mention the heated rear window but that's not surprising as the elements were way ahead of their time being near-invisible vertical lines, similar to today's cars' heated front screens.
An interesting combination: inertia reel seatbelts but the buckles were still on straps (so you had to fumble on the floor for them) rather than on stiff stalks as you'd get now. Battery in the boot (as for the Rover 2000/3500) rather than under the bonnet. I wonder what the advantage of that was, given that you have to run heavy-duty cables along the length of the car so the battery can power the starter motor.
@@furiousdriving Battery was in the boot on the 3-litre cars, also. I had a Mk.2(b). Up to and including Mk.2s, the clock was mounted centrally in a pod on the padded lip over the dash board. The "blank" for delete-radio was another glove box with wood front matching the main 'box. The front seats were height adjustable using a little rotating handle under the seat squab. Mk.3s had the BW 65 auto 'box plus torque converter (previously "DG" model, 2nd-speed start with fluid flywheel) as a try out for the planned V8 upgrade. Pity the V8 didn't retain the elegant, column shifter of the Mk.1-3s. I try hard to like the radial tyres because of the improved handling, but they're too low-profile and spoil the looks, still what can you do? (Yes, I know, buy expensive, worse-handling, shorter lived cross-plys - I would). Cheers.
@@charlesbridgford254 - Are you not getting this confused with the more modern AGM batteries which really don't like heat? Most lead acid batteries are fine living in the engine bay as they do in most cars unless its very cramped for space and in a location that's very hot with no airflow. The Jaguar XJ12 battery had its own cooling fan but still lived in the engine bay.
@@markrl75 It's the temperature change rather than the absolute temperature. Charging at a high temperature (engine running) then discharging (starting) at a low temperature. Probably not such an issue on newer cars that might have a temperature compensated charge voltage. It's ultimately a chemical system, and a more consistent operating temperature will be beneficial.
Hi, a slight correction needed here, the ‘front quarter lights’ are actually known as ‘Opening vents’ quarter lights are in the body of the car, not the doors..
Has anybody driven the straight 6 AND the V8 ? I drove the 6 in the 80's - WHAT an engine ! Silky smooth, limousine quiet, effortless power delivery - a real gentlemans conveyance [ no wonder the Royal Family used it ]- how does the V8 compare ? Thanks for any answers !
An absolutely gorgeous car! I didn't know that the practice to call a four door a coupe, just because it has a sloping roof, started so long ago. I thought that the Merc CLS started that bs, but Rover were ahead of their time apparently. 😄
The first P5 Coupé came out around 1962 with the 3 Litre 6 cylinder engine. You could have the 3 Litre with a manual gearbox, or as an automatic, but the P5B V8 were only available as automatic.
Very impressive appearance with dignity. And in the interior there are many nice details with style and craftsmanship. Great car! It’s first time for me to watch details of this car. Thank you for uploading this video 👍
Great video bro. This is a very rare car. I like it. It is clear how much styling and effort the factory put in the design and making of this car. Amazing. Keep up bro and drop by. You got my like here.
My dad had one I learnt to drive in it was a lovely car to drive he was very trusting I used to wait till it was dark we lived in council flats with a garage about half a mile away. I used to drive on my own down to the garage and put it away every night I was about 14.
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An iconic beauty, and I agree that I would rather that than a Roller tbh. Top video as always.
The first car I ever drove. In the days when a Chinese takeaway had to be waited for, my uncle would take me to the local empty town car park where we would swap seats and he let me drive his H Reg P5B around the car park for 10 mins or so. I was 15!! He took it on holiday to the Swiss Alps and wherever he stopped he would return to a crowd admiring the car. They were never sold in Europe and were quite exotic. Thanks Uncle Jim!!!!
“If you could put England on four wheels, this car would be the result.”
Great review of my favorite English car! Cheers.
Nice description!
You mean Buckingham Palace on wheels... )))
Luxury, chrome, waft and V8, the whole package is here.
The view ahead through the windscreen looks truly commanding.
Must have been tough to hand this one back.
It was, I might have to go back and visit it again!
Great review Matt, wish I still had all ours. Dad and myself owned four of the P5 /P5B range between 1976-82. A late 3 litre Mk3 auto saloon, two V8 saloons and a V8 Coupé before moving to numerous P6's and SD1's. The ignition key used to occupy that blank space on the dash pod before a steering lock was fitted from around late 1971. The warning lights aren't LED, they're small bulbs in a tube with magnifying lenses, and I'm sure the switches were back-lit at night from bulbs inside the pod. Only the Coupé models of the P5 and P5B had a rev counter and the four pod mounted gauges underneath. Saloons had three gauges combined in one instrument where the rev counter would have been, the Coupé gained a volt/ amps meter depending on the model year. The front seatbacks were a lot thicker too on all models until around 1968.
Much humphing over the apparent implausibility of LED warning lamps led (!) me to find out they were invented in 1962, so technically could have been in use by 1971. Rover certainly liked their lenses, with the P6 headlight prism being a great bulb failure indicator. Of all our childhood family cars a P4 stands out in my mind as the best and it was sold minus the HMV valve radio which I dabbled with when about 12, not really understanding its apparently semi mechanical innards and getting the odd shock. If only my own disastrous SD1 in my mid 20s had had some proper Rover quality I might not have bailed after 6 months.
@@philhealey449 That's interesting, Phil. I was doing some humphing of my own. I was sure LEDs wouldn't have been around when this car was built. I would never have guessed that they've been around since 1962, and first suggested as a possibility as far back as 1927. Drawing on my deep knowledge of how to use Google, apparently Hewlett Packard began including LEDs in their calculators in 1968. LEDs or not, I'd love to own this Rover, however 😊
@@davidhynd4435 You Googled further back than me then to 1927!
@@lukemallory7832 Tell Me about it ! LED digital watches and calculators appeared around 1974, but not clever enough to get rid of log tables or slide rules at school initially.
@@philhealey449 The prism warning light idea on the P5 has been around since it's introduction in 1958. They had a small red plastic prism gunsight that was screwed to the top edge of the chrome front sidelamp bezel and illuminated when lit. Those warning lamps in the P5 dash pod centre never changed. They were a 3 piece construction of a deep chrome bezel, deep plastic tube and a coloured threaded lense ( red. green or yellow) that screwed together to clamp through the pod face. They must have cost a lot more to make, compared to the similar idea, but cheap looking warning lamps BMC used around that time. Both used the Lucas bulb holders soldered into the loom, that pushed into the back tube. I still have a couple of the Rover type kicking around that I rescued from scrapped early P5 3 litre cars. I converted the troublesome SU Automatic Enrichment Device fitted to many P5B cars, back to the T handle manual choke on two of mine. The T handle had a built in switch connected to illuminate the yellow warning lamp. AED equipped P5B cars only had a red and green - ignition and oil pressure lamp fitted. The pod was still pre drilled to take the choke light above, but covered by the crackle black face trim on the pod. Rover used plastic prism illumination on both P5 and P6 instruments and switches. They were one of the first to make use of fibre optic lighting from a single bulb too. The SD1 used that idea to illuminate the heater controls, and centre console fittings on later SD1 cars.
What a gorgeous majestic, regal machine, simply beautiful. I've been in love with these Rovers ever since I saw Roger Moore driving one at speed in the film, 'The Man Who Haunted Himself'. Nice review Matt with some tasty camera angles, well edited and with lots of detailed information as always. The engine sounds sublime and along with the deeply padded seats and compliant springs, it must be super comfortable to munch the miles in. Still has a presence and still looks stately even when parked.
Gentleman's club on wheels!
In the early 1970's my English uncle died. His P5B coupe in Admiralty Blue was shipped out to my mother, in Rhodesia (Zimbabwe). It was driven around the country on surfaced roads and bush 'Gravel' roads with no problems. Regularly serviced it never developed faults. Perhaps one model class that Rover actually built correctly in their factories. It was sold to the British authority (Governor) that took over the country during the transition to Zimbabwe. At University at the time I have no idea what became of it. It was a delight to drive and as stated most comfortable. (Other Rover models simply rattled to pieces on the roads which the P5 handled with ease and no issues.)
Utterly fabulous cars, I've had two and miss them both terribly. For the last few years I've been distracted by Italian cars but still yearn for another P5B Coupe, the feeling of wafting along in all that splendour is a pleasure to be savoured. The Coupe was definitely more of a villain's car than a bank manager's - in the 1968 film 'Performance' John Bindon drives James Fox around in an Ardern Green 3-litre Coupe made to look like a P5B with a set of Rostyles, it looks fantastic for the short time it appears on screen. In 'Villain', made in 1970, Richard Burton tools around London and the home counties in a Burnt Grey over Silver Birch P5B Coupe which oozes sinister class. Pedant alert - the Queen's P5B saloon at Gaydon is a bespoke shade of dark green, not maroon!
This is a stunning p5b I'll say it possibly the best looking rover ever made. Hopefully we'll see your v8 p6 up and running soon!
I adore the P5B and this is perhaps the best colour.
I like the saloon and coupe equally. Ten years ago I would see £5k cars that were runners but with scabby rear door bottoms. Obviously prices have risen a lot since then. I went from looking at P5s to P6 and SD1 before resigning myself to the fact that a late R8 or R3 is probably more at my budget these days.
An ex police traffic officer who was instrumental in my driver training drove all of the V8 rovers over a career spanning more than three decades.
The P5b is without doubt not only the most majestic Rover but perhaps of all the luxury saloons.
This is definitely part of my dream car garage.
Dad drove a 2000 TC P6 from about 73 to 79, which made me fall in love with Rovers. I wish I had the money to own and run a P5B. Fabulous, ultra British automotive carriages old chap what what? Now, where did I put my pipe and flat cap?
There's only one word to describe the Rover P5B; Magnificent. What a beautiful old thing.
In 1985 I took a break from my big Jags when I spotted a P5B Coupé at a giveaway price.
It was running, with a long MOT, the elderly owner had been advised by his GP to give up driving.
It had a little over 100K miles and I paid £150 for the car.
It was a 16 year old car, (very much banger territory then), but it drove nicely and still looked good.
I remember that it had an ashtray and cigar lighter in both rear doors.
The car was extremely comfortable to drive and to ride in and it still did a totally silent ton on the motorway.
Beautiful example, as a former 6 owner I would love an example. They're just so expensive to get hold of, have been for many years! Apparently they're not very nice to restore, but then is any classic! My old P6 had full leather very similar to this setup, with E.T headrests and the rear headrests! Added such a character. I see so many familiar items they used again in the P6 :)
Seeing the red line at 115 MPH on the speedo coincides with what a pal and I were told by a man who gave us a lift home as schoolboys in the early 1970's in an orange coloured P6 automatic, an identical top speed. I'm glad also to see the acute accent above the letter e in coupe. Can't stand the adoption here of the American 'coop'. I see no chickens !
I always insist on using the accent for Beyoncé and of course coupé.
One would be frightened to give two schoolboys a lift these days, irrespective if they needed one, sign of the times unfortunately. 😕
Our old sports teacher used to give us a lift back to school some lunchtimes in one of several P5/P5B. He used to chauffeur a rich old lady around that owned two or three of them, and owned one himself. Would seem a bit risky now, but back in the early 70's the conversation was all about the cars or football. Inspired me to talk dad into buying our P5B Coupé in 1976. The first of dozens of P5, P6, and SD1.
@@brianwhittington5086 lucky you. I wanted my old man to buy a used Audi 100. I was instantly fascinated by it on the car lot, having been no stranger to places such as that as he was forever changing his old motors. Alas he didn't buy it, probably opting for something more conservative. Actually I seem to remember him saying something about the price of spares. Back in the early 80s he may of had a point!
Yes, coop annoys me too. Some use that term here in Australia. 👎
P5B-week, I also very much enjoyed the JayEmm-review of a blue saloon-version last week. Totally wouldn't mind in fact if videos of these Rovers would appear every day on my youtube-account: I feel like the P5B must be the most British of all saloons ever made in the best possible way. Really one of the proudest members among the car heritage of your country with all that unmistakable charisma and though I think most Jaguar saloons look lovely, somehow the P5B manages to outclass them. Thanks for this review, Matt!
Coldwarmotors have two underway at the moment too.
A lovely car from the time (pre-Leyland/BL) when Rover workers had the option to become shareholders, an option that many took up. Consequently, quality and attention-to-detail was high and Rover employed 1 inspector for every 20 workers, a ratio beaten only by Rolls-Royce. P5/P5B radiator grilles (from Tecalemit, if memory serves, but open to correction, as it's rather a long time ago!), for example, were subject to 100% inspection, meaning that every single one received was fully inspected against the drawing at the receiving bay. The slightest deviation from drawing meant that the offending grille was rejected and returned to the supplier for rectification.
The P5/P5B finish line was just underneath my office window in the Meteor Works at Solihull, (as was the parallel Range Rover trim line) and I always admired the Admiralty Blue finish, to my mind the nicest of the colours. Did Chrysler 'borrow' the P5B turret-top for their 300C? To my eye, undoubtedly, but it's said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
In my opinion one of the best looking cars ever made. Beautiful.
One of the greatest British cars ever made. I absolutely love the p5. It's in my top five greatest British cars ever made. Along with the Austin Healey 100 and the Land Rover and Range Rover products. The p5 is one of the most distinguished and well crafted cars in history. Along with its pedigree lol being related to one of my most favorite American cars ever made the Buick, and having his connections to the queen. This car for me is one of the most beautiful and exciting British cars to ever roll off an assembly line. I can't wait for the day that I finally make a trip to the UK and can experience one of these cars for myself.
Those early sixties Vauxhall Cresta's with an abundance of crome are brilliant looking cars.
I saw a stunning P5B Coupé YOY 872G a few years ago on the forecourt of Mathewson's garage (as seen in the TV documentary series "Bangers & Cash"). Sumptious white leather interior, dark maroon paintwork. Whenever I was passing, I tried to find somewhere to stop to see what they had.
@@Mortimer50145 Bangers & Cash looks like a great place. When I finally do make a trip to the UK. I will have to make sure I visit it
@@68beetlevlog It's well worth a visit if you happen to be in the area. I used to live about 10 miles away and sometimes visited clients in and around the village of Thornton-le-Dale, so I had an excuse to pass through and see if there was anything interesting on the forecourt.
My impression is that over the six or seven years I've known the garage, it has gradually had fewer 1960s/70s cars and more 1980s/90. I don't find it quite as easy to enthuse about cars that I might have owned when I started to drive, compared with those which dated back a bit further to my childhood - Ford Corsair, Jag Mark II, Rover 2000, Morris Minor, Austin Cambridge/Morris Oxford/Wolseley 1660, Singer Vogue, Vauxhall Victor. And, of course, that lovely Rover P5B.
Buick cenuryy of the 70's and 80s'.
What a beautiful car. I had a couple of P5s, the last one a 1967 dark green Mk 3 manual 4 speed and overdrive for a couple of years around 1971. Sadly sold it during the fuel crisis of 1973. Such a quality vehicle. Certainly felt very special driving it on holiday all round Scotland. Happy days. Thanks for bringing back happy memories.
I may be guilty of overlooking these things in the past but after watching this I'm now a convert - this car is lovely in every way imaginable. D
Love these things, had a couple of P6's, never got to a P5B, good ones were always a little rich for my pockets. Did learn from the P6's tho' about the on going care needs to keep the body from turning to dust. Unfortunately they take more care than I can manage today but if I didn't have to worry about that, I have no one. The tranny tunnel is huge, just about got a passenger foot well 😁. Great review and an enjoyable trip down memory lane. 👍
As a car crazy boy growing up in the sixties here in the Houston area, a dealership near downtown sold the Rover 2000TC, Rolls-Royce/Bentley, and Jaguar. The 2000TC was a darling of the American car mags, but I thought the dashboard with that strip speedometer was out of character with the rest of that amazing car. This car has one of the most beautiful dashes of any car of the sixties. I can see why PM Thatcher used one. Great video!
Instant ‘The Man Who Haunted Himself’ - it’s for good reason that Rover were asked to keep a few back for MPs (and famously Margaret Thatcher) when production ended - there simply wasn’t anything better built for the money. Tremendous cars!
Damn good cars!
Yes, I remember Roger Moore's character drove his P5 with some vigour.
I remember been driven in a P5 as a teenager after leaving a party in the early hours of the morning. It was the most unforgettable car experience, the interior opulence coupled with a 3.5 litre engine's effortless performance left me speechless on arrival to my destination. Although I'd never been to a Gentlemen only private club the P5 was an insightful take on what the experience might be. I also remember the petrol gauge move swiftly to almost depletion after a top up. My first job working for a theatrical company group meant I had to be sensible so my first car was a P6 Rover 2200 SC. I then sourced P5 Headrests which gave that car such a wonderfully comfortable driving experience. To this day having been driven in a early Rolls Royce owning a Mk1 Range Rover and a much later Range plus BMW 6series etc none have managed to give the pleasure of the P5 and P6. Definitely they stand together as 2 of the best of British interior and overall comfort well engineered crafted representatives. Ps I forgot to mention my SD1 3.5, but we won't go there.
I think it's safe to say that most " Gentleman's Clubs" that I've ever been in don't look like that inside😅😅
A beauty. As you mentioned about restoring one. A friend spent years veeeery slowly doing just that until his wife told him to sell it, and buy one that was already restored! He did and never regretted the (wife's) decision!
That's a gorgeous car. Looks so solid and has a real muscular stance. Must admit of all the older Rovers this one is the one I'd have if I had the money. Sounds stunning too. What I'd give to be wafting round in that!
I bought a Rover 3.5 Coupe as my first car at 19 years old, my second additional car was a Rover P6 3500s manual, I didn't realise how lucky I was back then in 1981
Me, too
Style and elegance, a certain civilization...For me, who lives outside Great Britain, this is one of the finest incarnations of British motoring!
My woodwork teacher had one of these back in the 70's. It all makes sense now.
Alongside any car of the last 50 years this car could stand alongside and not be ashamed. I think this is the best car ever ever made. I would trade my present car for one in a heartbeat.
I drove both coupe and saloon versions during my time in the UK and aside from the light front end at speed (due to the lighter weight of the V8) I loved these cars - you always felt special getting behind the wheel. Britishness at its best on four wheels.
I grew up with switches in random places on the dashboard, they had legends on them, but of course you could not read those at night, so you learnt where the switches were and what they did and you never took your eyes off the road to find them.
Nowadays no one is expected to actually have to learn where things are, so switches are in neat rows and every single one is not only labelled but is illuminated, the dashboard looks like Tokyo by night and you have to look to find the teeny weeny little switches.
Now I have grown old, I really have to change my driving glasses to reading glasses to see the dashboard. (Joking.)
Now we have touchscreens you have to look at to see what to do.
20:10 the Queen’s car isn’t maroon but it’s actually a special order dark green. She had several P5s and two P5Bs, the second of which I believe was armoured and was the last car built. Her cars also had light grey leather interior which was again special order.
The P5 and P5B were probably the best built Rover cars of all-time. Nice video. Thank you very much.
Seems the P5B is getting a lot of attention lately? Great piece of rover promotion. As an owner for six years now I’m still very much I love with the car. Mine featured on Wheeler Dealers years back. Perhaps I should put something together to update fans of the car. Thanks for your film.
We used to look after a car collectors cars when we were youngins he had a coupe if you were lucky you got a lend of it , was great posing in that around the doors .
A lovely car anyway, but I didn't realise how these are so well built! Now I do! Your best car review ever! Keep up the good work!
Probably the most Rover of all Rovers. Wonderful thing. I'm very jealous of you Mr Furious. I really want on.
The film Bullitt was showing in the cinema and I was a very young mechanic. I had just serviced a dark green one of these. Driving it out on road test and listening to that glorious V8 soundtrack, I was back in that film. Thank you for reviving that memory for me.
My favourite and most loved Rover, having owned a few of them, P4's,5's 5b's and P6's. Drove the 5b for a living for a few years including the armoured ones, just wished that they had sold them at auction when they were disposed of, like the standard ones were and not scrapped. The lightweight Chobham armour was top secret at the time, enemy hands and all that. It couldn't be taken out as was an integral part of the body so they looked like every other P5b. You said that door was heavy, the armour doubled its weight with the thick armoured glass as well. It did nothing for the performance except slow it down a bit 0-60 and increase the already heavy thirst for 5* 101 octane.
That blanked off switch was originally the main/reserve fuel switch on the earlier ones. Harold Wilson had an extra large ashtray and a pipe rack in the rear of his ones, fitted by Rover.
No the blanked off switch was the location of the original ignition switch. The P5/P5B fuel reserve pull was always a handle by the drivers footwell along with a manual Choke pull if one was fitted
@@richardhaywoodh You're right about the ignition key on the blank space, it was there until a steering lock appeared around late 1971. Would need to check about earlier cars, but my 1967 3 litre mk3 had a big dual ended SU electric fuel pump. It had two pumps, main and reserve, bolted to a central chamber and was mounted behind the boot bulkhead trim, next to the fuel tank. They had an electrical switchover from main to reserve, instead of the T handle working a changeover valve by cable.
@@brianwhittington5086 yes the 3500cc P5B had a mechanical SU fuel pump on the side of the V8, a pain to replace the inner bolt had a screw head slot to fascilitate removal (been there done that a few times) the fuel reserve lower pipe pickup was selected by the pull T handle in the drivers footwell
@@richardhaywoodh Yes I've changed a few of those block mounted SU mechanical pumps, the sealed for life, and cleanable glass sediment bowl type. I would sooner do it on a P5B than in the tight confines of a P6B engine bay, especially if PAS was fitted. The P5B took a backward step with the T handle cable pull reserve, as fitted to the P6 models. I guess it was a cheaper cost cut option under BL accountants than the twin electric SU of the earlier 3 Litre P5 cars. I converted a P5B and at least a couple of P6B, to the earlier 3 Litre dual SU electric pump, using salvage 3 Litre parts. Breakers yards had plenty of unloved ones back in the early 80's, and even good taxed / mot'd examples were really cheap to buy. The conversion certainly helped the fuel starvation / evaporation issues that could happen with the V8 in hot weather / engine bay temperatures. The exposed metal fuel delivery pipe, running along the block to the pump, and close to the L/H exhaust manifold could really heat up the fuel. The SD1 partly addressed it with it's submerged in the fuel tank pump. They could still have starvation, or pump fail issues if you constantly ran it with a low amount of fuel, causing the small pump to run hot and dry, through not being kettle cool by being fully submerged. I used to tow a car trailer with some of my V8's and the big SU electric pump pushing fuel from the tank made a lot of difference over a hot mechanical one trying to suck up hot fuel. The 3 Litre had two big identical SU pumps on each side of a central chamber. One as a main pump, and the other for the reserve area of the tank, with a dash mounted switch over. They rarely failed, if they stopped it was usually just a dirty contact and a quick clean of the spring blade soon had it tick-ticking away again.
Stunningly beautiful car, Matt. I'm so glad to see you reviewing this fascinating piece of motoring history. She certainly is a great looking car. The sound out of that 3.5 litre is quite something indeed.
A few memories there for me. Back in the late '60s when I was about 19 I had a holiday job driving for a friend of my dad's as he 'was on medication' that prevented him driving (in retrospect I think he was an alcoholic). His car was a P5B in that Zircon blue, and that was what I drove. Along with his father's Daimler limo and his MD's Corsair V4.
Could you imagine a 19 year old being allowed to do that today?
Such an stunning car! Love the V8 rumble and the styling. Has a real presence to it, luxury at is finest. Great review as always Matt!
I must have driven a few times in a Rover P5b Saloon as a very young boy. My father was a chauffeur for a board of directors and that car sat in the pool of cars for them. I only remember the weird dashboard lights and the tiny red corner indicators. I wish I remembered more. but I was only5 or 6 years old. I do remember that if I was allowed to go with my father (once a year he would invite me for a day to drive with him) I chose the Jaguar Mk X. Sorry Rover fans. I adored that car.
Love the shape of the coupe - looks so much better!
Lovely car. Typical of a Middle-England bank managers car.
That V8 sounds majestic!
And, despite your apparent hatred of auto gearboxes, that Borg-Warner suits tje character of the car and its engine perfectly well. Some cars are just better as autos and this is one pf them!
What a stunning car!
As much as I hate to mention it, I really do wish you would get past this “thing” with auto boxes, Matt! An auto box paired with a nice V6 or V8 is just sheer waftability!
Nice one, Matt!
Best wishes from the Wirral!
In the early 1970’s my parents had one of these and sometimes let me drive it. Compared to the cars of the day this was a sports car and was quick enough to overtake a line of slow traffic with no problem, it was a bit of a charging elephant as it didn’t like to turn corners. The sliding picnic shelf in the front was used a lot and I’m surprised it’s not a feature in modern cars as I see so many people in motorway car parks eating in their cars, this would be a very welcome addition I’m sure.
These care always remind me of the Rodger Moore film "The Man Who Haunted Himself".
Loads were used as ministerial cars and MOD as well as Humber Imperials, more so P5 saloon than Coùpe more rear headroom.
Roger Moores favourite film he made.
Furious, can I make a little suggestion. I wonder if it might be an idea to lock the focus on the DSLR that you use for the in-car shots, so the auto-focus doesn't keep hunting all over place. Given that you are using a fairly wide angle, might a mini-cam (GoPro, SJCAM) be better, since those often have image stabilisation - there was a fair amount of side-to-side judder as well as hunting focus. Just a small thing, but it was frustrating to see the picture going blurred every few seconds.
That opening shot was brilliant: the car was pootling along and then when you passed the 40 sign there was that delicious V8 burble from the engine as you accelerated away. "Ah!" indeed ;-)
Rover called the non leather trim that was in the same colour as the leather 'Ambla'. The P5B had an option of Rear seat passenger reading lights built into the back underside of the 'ET' headrests. The 'Blank' was the original position of the ignition switch for pre 1972 models. The Jewel Ignition & Oil Pressure lights were just small incandescent bulbs. Those front dide light on red prisms were a very clever idea, I supplied a replacement one to the Queens P5B Arden Green saloon 'JGY 260' at Gaydon! The Rovers lighting switching was ackomplished with no fewer than 3 separate switches: The top right dash Lights switch turned on the side lights or the offside parking lights front & rear side light on the drivers side only. The 'what not' & indicator stalk was the headlight on or off switch, (full beam & dipped was on the left foot rest button) The Horn sounds OK as there was a Low & High tone horn labelled L & H on the horn body sitting on the front crossmember behind the front valance cut outs. The worst feature on the P5 was the lack of fan assisted Fresh cold air to the face, the butterfly vents on the dash only gave speed forced fresh air & were feeble, us kids in the back had nothing and sneaked open the rear quarter vents
That switch blank on the right, is the ignition on the earlier models. A 1966 P5 3 litre coupe I used to own had it there, along with a column change auto.
Saw a couple of these around my area as a kid. Always wanted one... one was big, the other was a dark purply blue.... always a beautiful beast...the v8 woofle never gets old
My dad was a chauffer in the 70s and he bought one of these home and gave me a ride in it I just drooled over it and still am.
The P5b was always a regal car. I know you'd prefer one over a Rolls-Royce, but I prefer my Rolls-Royce ;-). That said, I could make room in my garage for a P5b. I do also recall hearing that her majesty used to zip up the M1 behind the wheel of her Rover P5b and later, her P6, on the way to Balmoral.
@furiouadriving what an amazing machine.
It is such a shame rover is no longer around.
I am biased here as I own a rover 75 as my daily driver.
I had P5Bs,I'd love to know how many P5B's were made in Cameroon green as I had one in that colour and never seen that colour on Saloons or coupes but on P6's,we were youngsters back then and these were quite affordable,friends had P5B's,P5,P6,SD1,I worked in American car spares and a HV0001 oil pump kit was a great investment making the oil pump similar size to Buicks origional,Holley 390cfm carb,Crane 214 cam and Kenlowe fan,NGK leads,I think there was also dual point distributor,this was a fairly mild tune.
Thanks for a great upload wishing good health to the uploader,family,friends and fellow fans.
It certainly has presence! A bit too big for my liking though, much prefer the 'junior executive' P6.
11:30 - I think you meant Harold Wilson.
Fantastic car, one of my all time favourites. The P5B always reminds me of that Roger Moore film, The Man Who Haunted Himself. Watching it as a kid it struck me as a really imposing, tank of a car that deserved a lot of respect.
I love these beautiful, powerful machines on wheels especially the old ones having interesting stories associated with them . Much thanks to youtube's algorithm that it brought me here after i finished watching all the videos of doug demuro reviewing older cars .
She's a fine old yacht, much like Britannia- you can see why Her late Majesty's QE II favourite car. Old P5 was THE car that was coined as the "gentleman's club on wheels". She'll waft handle high speeds simply by her mass alone- once you get her up to 100mph- it's like a locomotive. She also has a separate heater for the rear seat. Also has LH foot headlight dipper switch and very rarely for the time driver's left foot footrest. The most interesting feature of the P5 is a separate insulated subframe for engine and front suspension mounted on 4 giant bolts to the chassis front bulkhead. Also the corners guides for the sidelamps as on P6- was influenced by WW2 German FAMO and similar LKW with their large alien antennae. Maggie Thatcher stockpiled them due to the awful leaks from SD1 door seals.
Bought my 70 5B "Coopay"😅 in 76 we loved her so much we brought her with us to live in Australia in 81, in 82 we moved to Cairns from Sydney, that 2000+ kilometre drive was a Ripper! She didn't miss a beat we often cruised at 100 mph! (Naughty but Nice!😅) Way to Go!❤
Sound track to my childhood, my late father loved Rovers,and had a few over the years being a car nut, that he was. Happy times.
One of my all time favourite cars, with the E Type. Beautiful.
Difficult to decide which is my favourite car, but my shortlist would contain Jag Mark II (Inspector Morse's car), S-Type Jag (as trashed in episodes of The Sweeney), Rover P5B, Ford Zodiac Mark III (the one from the early 1960s, before the slab-sided Mark IV). And I've got a soft spot for the Ford Corsair because it's the first of my dad's cars that I can remember, and I was intrigued by the pull-down rear number-plate which revealed the petrol filler cap.
@@Mortimer50145 HI Morty, we have similar taste... Love the P5 (AND P6 of which I own two), but I have also a soft spot for the Corsair and jag S-type of Sweeney memories❤️ Zephyr-wise I really like the stern, boxy, 1966 model, especially in Executive guise.
I love this Rover ...I saw the coupe & sedan in my neighbours backyard...& was amazed at the quality & style of both cars
I've owned 5 P5B rovers all saloons
And I must say that example your driving is a nice car
Straight on the body
Sits well
And in the best colour combo for a coupe
Amazing how the later SD1 only had 153bhp, and it took an injected vitesse to get to 190 bhp. The P5B was 161 from memory.
Lower compression and lower octane fuel for emissions knocked power badly
Great video on a beautiful car! I thought it was Harold Wilson who used these as a ministerial car with his pipe, not Harold MacMillan?
An absolutely fabulous car whit loads of style and exeptionel buildquality .
To me the best Rover ever built and I am glad my 75 has lots of styling quess in its interior inherrited from its fabulous granddad .
Here in Holland there are still some around , both saloon and coupe , in great condition and prices up to 40000 Euro .
A great car that deserves to be called a CLASSIC .
What a splendid luxury barge. No, it doesn't get any better than that! As a Rover man through and through, there's nothing sexier that a P5B coupe.
One of my all time favourite cars, my grandfather had a p4 110? Then a p6 2000 auto and I had aP6 3500 auto, wish I still had it. Good review.
Beautiful car.
We had a 72 K plate coupe in Bordeaux Red with the silver birch roof for years. EAO 875K - stunning car.
It's just a pity that someone has fitted the later BL door mirror to the one in the clip.
My Mum's had the Paint Colour codes under bonnet of Silver Birch and Burnt Grey, yet from the factory the body was Silver Birch but the Roof was Admiralty Blue. A unique non factory spec from new, the roof had never been repainted.
@@richardhaywoodh they must have made a few mistakes from the factory. Ours was bought new in Penrith. A one owner from new when we bought it in 1987. The front plate was EAO875K....yet it went all though it's life until we took it for its 2nd MOT in our possession for the tester to notice that the rear plate said EAO578K. We couldn't believe it had spent 15 years unnoticed and untouched.
We had to then get the plate altered.....so instead of a new plate, we opted to get the original changed.....metal letters/numbers were soldered on....that's what you call quality.
@@Ken_Dodds_Tickling_Stick Mum's Coupe was Admiralty Blue over Silver Birch and the number plates started to look a bit jaded, my Dad repainted them letters in Silver Birch and Backing plate in Admiralty Blue, looked very smart, MOT testers never objected. Strangely the 'R' and '5' characters were metal and the other characters were plastic
What a line up - P4, P5, P6, Land Rover, Range Rover. Has any car company ever so consistently led the design of it's era? And in the same time, Mini, 1100, Jaguar E type and Mk 2, Cortina, Escort, it was a great time to be a young car enthusiast....even if I could only afford a Morris 8!
My dad ( In the Netherlands) had 7 Rover cars from 1950 untill his death in 1983. One of them was a Rover P5 (nope no B). A wonderful car not for daily use though. After that a Rover 2000 a Rover 2200 a Rover 3500 and another 3500 but before the P5 not sure. He never had another family car than Rover. Dad had a building business and at the time he bought the P5 it cost as much as building a house for a client I can rememer, the house is still standing ....................
I used to own a p6 in brown with the 2.2 litre unfortunately and not the v6 but still a great car to drive. Always wanted a p5 but one never really came up.
I'm confused by the claims of 184bhp for this P5 V8, which is backed up by googling. But it doesn't make sense to me. It only did 0-60 in about 12 seconds. Whereas the P6 V8 had a much lower claimed bhp of about 145, yet was capable of 0-60 in about 9 seconds. Way, way quicker. So how does that stack up? I reckon this P5 probably had something closer to 120 bhp, otherwise it would have been much quicker.
What a stunning car though! And that glorious noise from the V8, with smooth auto changes, just sublime!
Great video, thanks! :-)
184 bhp using the SAE measurement, later quoted using DIN measurement at 140 ish .
This Rover has class written all over it. Sadly cars like this will never seen again now.
This is really the last itineration of a Rover design that began with the 75 in 1950...
It ended up as a streamlined battleship.
PS ....Matt we had coloured LED diodes in the mid 1960's,
but white didn't arrive till 1995.
The engine, yes, but otherwise only if you equate design and style. The P5 Rovers were clearly of updated appearance, but the P4 series had a separate chassis, while the P4 was unitary. They were all good cars, well thought-out designs with great attention to detail.
The Sunday Telegraph on wheels - marvellous! Had one of these in concours condition in the late 80s, same colour combo as here (BLW 655H anyone?) My only minor gripe was the relatively high revs at motorway speeds - the car felt like it could have done with an overdrive. Thanks for the great video - brought back a lot of happy memories. Woofle-woofle …
I think one of Rover's better cars over the years Matt, imagine going from driving this to a City Rover, one is not amused I think the Queen would say.
the lower spotlights actually came out on the last of the 3 litre version, the p5 mk3.. very hard to tel lthe difference between the last of the 3 litre cars and the v8 3.5 litre cars... the v8 was never 184bhp , it was 150bhp... the seats in the rover werealso the same seats in the rolls royce silver shadow, the quality of the rover was every bit as good as the rolls royce. and a nice car to drive...
Good upload and nice to see one without whitewalls. No coupe ever used in official service, only saloons. Discs front. Drum rears. Queens is a saloon in special order dark green.
No LEDs on P5. Earlier P5Bs had ignition switch on bottom right hand of top binnacle where this one has the chrome blanking, because this one has a steering column lock. The car here has also had a manual Choke conversion very early 1967,68s had the manual Choke a tell tale light by the oil & ignition warning lights which came on if the Choke was still out when the car had warmed up rather than the AED (Automatic Enrichment Device)
I've seen a very neat use for the blanked off original ignition switch position. It has been used to fit the switch for the added hazard warning lights circuit ( never fitted from new).
@@rubbishsignup good idea, back in the day I fitted a P6 Hazard flasher switch into a P5B, on the centre console next to the Heater Rear Window & Front Foglight Switch and a new Rear Fog Light Switch, never got round to wiring in the hazard lights though
You didn't mention the heated rear window but that's not surprising as the elements were way ahead of their time being near-invisible vertical lines, similar to today's cars' heated front screens.
One of my all-time favourite British cars.
A Rover P5 Coupé was wrecked/totaled on the film "Until The End of the World", that scene saddened me.
I must be honest and say (and as a P6 owner) the P5 seems much better built and more luxurious than the P6...
An interesting combination: inertia reel seatbelts but the buckles were still on straps (so you had to fumble on the floor for them) rather than on stiff stalks as you'd get now.
Battery in the boot (as for the Rover 2000/3500) rather than under the bonnet. I wonder what the advantage of that was, given that you have to run heavy-duty cables along the length of the car so the battery can power the starter motor.
Weight distribution and temperature regulation. Lead acid don't like hot/cold. The engine bay is a naff place for them.
that and space - the V8s took up more room than straight 4 or 6 motors
@@furiousdriving Battery was in the boot on the 3-litre cars, also. I had a Mk.2(b). Up to and including Mk.2s, the clock was mounted centrally in a pod on the padded lip over the dash board. The "blank" for delete-radio was another glove box with wood front matching the main 'box. The front seats were height adjustable using a little rotating handle under the seat squab. Mk.3s had the BW 65 auto 'box plus torque converter (previously "DG" model, 2nd-speed start with fluid flywheel) as a try out for the planned V8 upgrade. Pity the V8 didn't retain the elegant, column shifter of the Mk.1-3s. I try hard to like the radial tyres because of the improved handling, but they're too low-profile and spoil the looks, still what can you do? (Yes, I know, buy expensive, worse-handling, shorter lived cross-plys - I would). Cheers.
@@charlesbridgford254 - Are you not getting this confused with the more modern AGM batteries which really don't like heat? Most lead acid batteries are fine living in the engine bay as they do in most cars unless its very cramped for space and in a location that's very hot with no airflow. The Jaguar XJ12 battery had its own cooling fan but still lived in the engine bay.
@@markrl75 It's the temperature change rather than the absolute temperature. Charging at a high temperature (engine running) then discharging (starting) at a low temperature. Probably not such an issue on newer cars that might have a temperature compensated charge voltage. It's ultimately a chemical system, and a more consistent operating temperature will be beneficial.
Hi, a slight correction needed here, the ‘front quarter lights’ are actually known as ‘Opening vents’ quarter lights are in the body of the car, not the doors..
That's a great looking example of this model Rover Matt. Great review.
Has anybody driven the straight 6 AND the V8 ? I drove the 6 in the 80's -
WHAT an engine ! Silky smooth, limousine quiet, effortless power delivery - a real gentlemans conveyance [ no wonder the Royal Family used it ]- how does the V8 compare ? Thanks for any answers !
Shortly after I started work in 1966, the company chairman upgraded his P4 to a P5. Chauffeur driven of course.
Beautiful car, thanks for this Matt.
One clever tray/toolbox!
A true British Classic car . 👍
An absolutely gorgeous car! I didn't know that the practice to call a four door a coupe, just because it has a sloping roof, started so long ago. I thought that the Merc CLS started that bs, but Rover were ahead of their time apparently. 😄
The first P5 Coupé came out around 1962 with the 3 Litre 6 cylinder engine. You could have the 3 Litre with a manual gearbox, or as an automatic, but the P5B V8 were only available as automatic.
Beautiful machine love wooden interiors with leather, you just wanna sit there and never leave.
Very impressive appearance with dignity. And in the interior there are many nice details with style and craftsmanship. Great car! It’s first time for me to watch details of this car. Thank you for uploading this video 👍
B stands for Buick, as in the V8 engine fitted to it. 😊😊😊❤️❤️❤️❤️
Great video bro. This is a very rare car. I like it. It is clear how much styling and effort the factory put in the design and making of this car. Amazing. Keep up bro and drop by. You got my like here.
Gorgeous. Graceful stylish and luxurious. When I was a kid a neighbours family member used to park his near my home and I thought it was very posh.
My dad had one I learnt to drive in it was a lovely car to drive he was very trusting I used to wait till it was dark we lived in council flats with a garage about half a mile away. I used to drive on my own down to the garage and put it away every night I was about 14.