Lot Ended
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