Rover in Focus Archive
Pictures that have formerly graced our Front Pages
(Click on thumbnail for larger picture)
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This static plastic scale model of a 1992 Rover Mini was built by Paul Marley, from Melbourne. The kit is produced by Tamiya in 1/12 scale. Paul has enhanced the kit with added details including engine parts modelled using "Milliput" - a two part epoxy modelling clay. Paul also added wiring and tubes to the engine bay. The interior was enhanced using felt for both a carpet and roof lining, and includes a "green" shopping on the back floor. The body of the model was spray painted using Tamiya aerosols, and includes a series of clear gloss coats.
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RCCA members participated in the Hamilton & District VVC Drivers Club 30th Anniversary Rally over the Queen's Birthday Long Weekend in 2007. Here is a selection of Rover cars on the Rally.
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| How a SE2 Vitesse may have looked like if
Rover had made one. (One of our members has had
fun with Photoshop!!)
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Member's original 3500 Vitesse imported from UK.
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Nice 1970 P5B from Queensland, restored in
1994, but a daily driver until recently.
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What some of our Rover owners do at the
weekend, taken at Sandown track recently during a
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1st. P3 4 Light |
2nd P5B Coupe |
3rd P6B |
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| The winners of the judging at our Display Day
November 2007.
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A blast from the past. The then Jim Smith/ex-BL Competitions Department Camel Rover P6B Sports Sedan. The photos were taken at Adelaide International raceway, South Australia in April 1974. The car (JXC806D in Leyland Spec) started as a new 3500 Auto shell in 1970 and was put together at Abingdon [MG Works division], painted Leyland blue and white, and fitted with a Traco Olds engine out of another Works car (JXC808D). The Works Rover JXC806D raced at Nurburgring, came to Australia and raced here in 1971, then being converted to the Camel Rover in 1973 and fitted with a Repco Holden V8 engine. A request from the current owner of this car - if anyone knows the whereabouts of the CAMS log books could they please get in touch through the webmaster. It is a possibility that the Camel spec log book was lost in a fire where the car was housed, but the log book for the Traco engined Leyland Australia spec is also missing. |
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In June 2005, after the demise of parent MG Rover the local distributors MG Rover Australia held a liquidation auction of stocks. These pictures are from the Melbourne stocks on display just prior to the actual auction. |
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Series 2 Rover 75 |
V8 engine from showing it's US |
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Chinese Roewe:
On a recent visit to Beijing a
member snapped a Roewe 750 in the street. |
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Jet-1 March 2008 marked the 58th anniversary of the Rover gas turbine powered Jet 1 car's unveiling. During tests, the car reached top speeds of 90 miles an hour, with the engine running at 50,000 revs per minute. Acceleration 0-60 (97km) was achieved in 14 seconds. In 1952 JET 1 was fitted with an upgraded engine and achieved a world record speed for gas turbine cars of 152mph.Unfortunately, it proved difficult to build an engine small enough to fit in a car, which was fuel efficient and reliable, so the gas turbine powered car was not to be. JET 1 is now on permanent display in the Making the Modern World gallery in the Science Museum, London. The following photos are courtesy of http://mg-rover.org/ |
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Rovers at Gaydon One of our members recently visited the Heritage Motor Museum at Gaydon. Here are some pictures of Rovers then on display.
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Rover P2 Tourer a lovely and unusual Rover
P2 Tourer from 1948. |
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50th Anniversary of Rover P5
The Rover P5 3 (litre 6 cylinder) was launched at the London Motor Show on 22 October 1958. With enhancements the model ran for 15 years. More than 70,000 cars, 3 litre 6 cyl and 3.5 litre V8, were made in this time.
Here are some pictures of a P5B (V8) saloon doing what is pretty rare for one of these models, racing at an Historical Motor Racing Event at Wakefield Park raceway in New South Wales. To quote the owner: " The body roll almost made me sea sick but she ran all day trouble free with no brake fade. Also handled the 700km round trip to the track and back no worries as trailers are for wimps"
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Now resident in Australia, Rover Tomcat Racing Car. This car won LMA Eurosaloons championship in 2006. We hope to see it around the local tracks soon.
From Wikipedia:
Rover 200 Coupé Racing Series - In 1993, Rover Group produced 36 specifically
modified 200 Coupé Turbo models. The cars were not undersealed and were seam
welded and fully race prepared. The code name Tomcat from the project days was
used to create a new race series, the Dunlop Rover Tomcat Race Series. The cars
competed against each other around the UK and Europe for two years until Rover
dropped their backing. The series was renamed the Stafford Landrover Super Coupé
Cup and the cars continued to battle it out against each other. Many of the cars
are still in existence and some still compete competitively against similar cars
that have fallen fate of the end of single make series racing.
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A not exactly flattering advertisement for us Rover aficionados!! From Australian Sports Car World July 1973. Today, which would you buy? A P3 75 or a Valiant Charger?
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Victorian Bush Fire Disaster - Marysville
There is a connection
between the RCCA and the town of Marysville which was devastated in the Bush
Fires on Saturday 7 February 2009. Our Easter Rove of 2008 included Marysville on our
touring itinerary, and involved a lovely lunch hosted and catered by Country
Fire Authority members and their families from the Marysville CFA station. Among
those helping that day was the Station chief.
Most of the town of Marysville was lost during the bush fires and many of the
Marysville residents perished. It is sad to report that those dead included the
wife and a child of the CFA Station chief.
In a small way, this is a tribute from RCCA to the township of Marysville and
it's residents, pictures from happier times when the Club had a display at
Gallipoli Park Easter 2008.
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Click on thumbnail for larger
photo
1959 Rover P5 Saloon
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Here are some pictures of a lovely
old Rover, a 1959 P5 3 litre saloon. It is thought to be the oldest in the P5
Owners Club in the UK and perhaps the oldest still on the roads anywhere.
The owner is also trying to source two passenger rear circular courtesy lights,
especially the bulb holder part. If you can help please contact the
RCCA Webmaster and we
will put you in touch with the owner in the UK. Soon after commencement of
production, Rover begun to fit rectangular ones so round ones are pretty scarce.
Our Rover in Focus this month is the Rover P4.
2010 is the 60th anniversary of the production commencement in 1950 of the Rover P4 "Cyclops" after being shown at Earl's Court Motor Show in September 1949. The P4 75 had a six cylinder 2103cc engine with twin SU carburetors. The chassis was a development if the previous P3, with independent front suspension and semi ecliptic springs at the rear. The P4 remained in production in it's various guises for 15 years.
Motor magazine from March 1950
We feature the following story of one of our Club Member's car, which will turn 50 next year.
My September 1960 build P4 100 was
purchased by my late father in 1983. He was a motor mechanic with a love of
classic cars and had worked on many of these old cars when they were new. She
was purchased from the original owners family in driveable but unregistered
condition for $2000. The first owner was a doctor from Longford about 20 minutes
drive from Launceston.
Dad did some minor mechanical work and then got her re registered. She was used
to go to work and also for some car club runs.
Dad passed away in 1994 at which stage he had pulled the Rover off the road for
an engine rebuild.
There she stayed sleeping under blankets and covers, sharing garage space with
my other 8 classic cars, until 2008 when I decided it was time to put her back
on the road.
Gerge Webb, a Automotive Trade mechanical teacher , who worked for Rover
dealerships back in the 1970s , and who owns a beautiful restored P5B Coupe took
up the challenge and after a 12 months rebuild/recommission, she was finally
registered and back on the road in April 2009.
She has only done 147 000 miles from new and she drives beautifully. Very
pleased to have her back on the road again in the anniversary year of the P4 and
before her 50th birthday next year.
Ken W
Launceston Tas
Rover 14/45
We are Focusing on a lovely Rover 14/45. The car is owned by Stephen Lawson in Tauranga, North Island New Zealand. It is a 1925 two seater Tourer, car no. 4012.
Stephen is in need of a sloping su carb.no. RG4B to fit his 14/45. If you can help please e-mail him at manning@nettel.net.nz
Production of the 14/45 began in 1924 and finished in 1927. The engine was a two litre, four cylinder, with four speed gearbox giving (as the name suggests) 45 h.p. The model came with four wheel brakes. According to official Rover figures 2,776 cars were built with a variety of body shapes. A small number of 2 and 4 seat Sports models were produced; 5 seat Tourer; 2 seat Tourer, Coupe; and at least two single-seat racers and a two-seat racer were built and run at Brooklands Speedway.
Click on photo for larger resolution.
As you can tell by a close look at the photo Stephen has just a few Rovers!!! His fleet, in various states of repair and restoration includes:
P5B Coupe, P4 1951 75 Cyclops, 216, 1984 SD1 Vanden Plas, 1993 Sterling 827, 1959 P4 90, 1953 90, 1955 Landrover, Triumph Renown, 1966 Daimler V8 and various parts cars.
RANGE ROVER 40TH ANNIVERSARY
2010 marks the 40th Anniversary of the release of the Range Rover. The original first generation Rangie, now known as the Classic, went on sale in 1970 and continued in production, with numerous upgrades and a multiplicity of variants, for just over 25 years.
In mid June 1970, the Range Rover was launched to the press, first went on sale in the U.K. on September 1st 1970 and was the highlight of the Earls Court motor show in October 1970.
With the introduction of the Range Rover came coil-springs, self-levelling suspension, full-time four wheel drive, all-round disc-brakes and a 3.5L V8 engine - the very first model offering a three door wagon with 4-speed manual gearbox.
While the idea of a more luxurious version of the Land Rover had been around for some years, and in fact a prototype called Road Rover had been built in the 50’s, it was not until 1966 that work began on the first Range Rover prototype, known as the '100-inch station wagon'.
It was soon realised such a vehicle would require a much more powerful engine than currently available in the Land Rover. Rover had just the right engine, the 3.5 litre V8 they got the rights for from Buick, planned for use in the P5B and P6B.
The original two-door Range Rover was designed and developed by a team led by Charles Spencer King (who recently passed away after an accident) and Gordon Bashford.
The design of the Range Rover was finalized in 1969. Twenty-six engineering development vehicles were built between 1969 and 1970 and were road registered with the number plates YVB 151H through to YVB 177H. Here is a photo of one of the development vehicles. (YVB 163H)
(Photo reproduced with permission from Unstead's Photostream http://www.flickr.com/photos/35149354@N02/ )
Rover had been considering the concept of a more luxurious Land Rover since the early 1950's. This was the Road Rover project, and several prototypes were built using the P4 Rover base, before the project was shelved in late 50’s. This prototype was photographed by a Club member at Gaydon Motor Museum in 2008.
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Some more photos of
Club Range Rovers |
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RACV Great Australian Rally held on 16 January 2011 at Mornington
"A Cavalcade of Rover"
The RCCA had two outstanding exhibits, and stood out as perhaps the most active car club at the show. The main exhibit was large with a diverse display of models and all in exceptional condition.
Our other exhibit, was the new special club display competing with four other clubs for the new Fairfax Award. Despite our extraordinary presentation of models, The Sunbeam Club won the award. However, the 1905 Rover 6HP won the award for the Best Veteran Car on show beating some very stiff competition.
Our exhibit covered 100 years of Rover production from the 1905, 6 HP through to the last of the production with the Rover 75, and basically included one of each post war models. The exhibit was well positioned partially under large trees in the middle of the show. It got a lot of attention from everywhere with all owners pretty busy all day talking about their cars.
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1905 6HP Winner of Best
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1905 Rovers Win Awards
In recent Displays by the RCCA two of the oldest Rovers in Australia have won awards, both happen to be 1905 Rover 6 HP models. One car, owned by member of Rover Owners Club of NSW won the the Best Veteran Car on show at the RACV Great Australian Rally held at Mornington in January 2011, and the other car, owned by RCCA member, won the Best Veteran Award at the 2011 RACV Classic Showcase held at Flemington in April.
Click on Thumbnails for larger photos.
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National Motoring Heritage Day
Sunday 15 May 2011 was National Motoring Heritage Day. National
Motoring Heritage Day is a day where members of clubs affiliated with State
bodies around Australia which are part of the Australian Historic Motoring
Federation demonstrate the strength of the Australian historic motoring
enthusiast movement. RCCA members in Victoria and Tasmania participated in
Events timed to support this day.
In Tasmania members and guests turned out to display their cars at the Post Vintage Car Club of Tasmania's Ross Picnic.
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And, in Victoria Members participated in AOMC organised Event at Yarra Glen.
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More photos can be seen on our Flickr Site:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rccapics/sets/72157626760683828/ and
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rccapics/sets/72157626760708130/
One of RCCA's major Events each year is participation in the AOMC Classic Showcase for British & European car makes. It is also RCCA display Day for our Rovers. The Event is on 29 April at Flemington Racecourse Car Park, beginning at 9.00am for display cars and from 10.00am for spectators. There is usually many 100s of cars on display from many different and past makers, this year featuring MG Concours, Austin Healey Concours and Mecedes Benz Concours.
Some photos from past Displays:
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Rover Performance Perception & Facts One of the recent points of discussion on the RCCA discussion group was the performance figures of our older Rovers, both compared with different Rover models from different periods and also compared to other contemporary makes. This discussion prompted one of our discussion group members (who owns the lovely 2000 SC that was featured recently in "Rover In Focus") to do some research, consulting published performance data from road tests of the period and tabulating them to form some meaningful results. The review is titled "Rover Perception & Facts" and includes objective comparative data for Rover P4, P5, P5B, P6 and P6B. The article (in pdf format) can be downloaded here. Let the debate continue, the author is keen to hear any views, send your comments initially to the Webmaster .
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RACV GREAT AUSTRALIAN RALLY Sunday 20th January, 2013 Rallying For A Cure! This premier event, sponsored by the Royal Automobile Club of Victoria (RACV), an event organised by the All British Classics Car Club, will have three start points. The Rally will start from the Victorian College For The Deaf, at 597 St Kilda Road, Melbourne. Location – Melway Map 2L, Reference: C11. The second Rally Start Point is located at the Stud Park Shopping Centre, Stud Road, Rowville. Location – Melway Map 81, Reference: J1. The third Rally Start Point is located at the Hastings Marina Car Park, Skinner Street, Hastings. Location – Melway Map 154, Reference: K12. Entry to Marina is opposite Mullet Street. A free sausage sizzle breakfast is provided for all rally entrants, therefore, it is advisable to arrive at the Start Point of your choice well before Flag-off time at 9.15 am, at Melbourne and Rowville, and before 9.30 am at Hastings. Rally entrants from all three Start Points will come together for a grand display at Mornington Race Course – Melway Map 146, Reference: A2. Entrants will have a choice of two routes into Mornington, a shorter more direct route for those cars that are older and for those cars that will be judged for an award. The longer, scenic route is a tour of the Mornington Peninsula. The display at Mornington is not a concours type of event and, therefore the cars of the various categories will score mainly on visual appeal to the judges. The RACV Great Australian Rally is a major fund raising event, in 2012 more than $60,000 was raised exclusively for our friends at the Peter Mac Cancer Centre. The All British Classics Car Club stipulates that all monies raised on the day, be used for cancer research. Joining the ABCCC for the 2013 running are the following providers of assistance – RACV, Magic-1278, Stud Park Shopping Centre, 3AW-693, Weekly (Your Community Voice), Meguires and Mornington Peninsula Shire. Without their generous assistance there could not be a Rally on this scale. A fascinating element of the Rally will be the presentation of awards. The categories are listed in the brochure. For the Rover Car Club’s Victorian (and interstate) members, the RACV Great Australian Rally is a ‘must attend’ and we look forward to a wonderful display on the day. Don’t forget, 2013 marks the 50th anniversary of the release of the outstanding Rover P6 saloon. The RACV Great Australian Rally will be a marvellous opportunity for us to show the public, and other car clubs, just how good a historic motor car the P6 really is. Mike Allfrey (RCCA & ABCCC Member and owner of Pea Soup, a Rover P6B) Some photos from previous Mornington Rallies:
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Rover in Display at RACV Club Every month the RACV have a classic car on show in the foyer of their Melbourne club. I am sure many of our members have seen many of these exhibits over the years. When I was approached to see if I would be prepared to have my P4, 110 exhibited in January and part of February 2013, I jumped at the opportunity for I can never recall a Rover being displayed there previously. Of course the Rover was so much a part of life in the streets near the RACV with many being owned by professional people working nearby such as judges, doctors, business people etc. Hence the display was very appropriate. Normally this car always draws a fair amount of attention, but I was amazed by the number of people stopping to look at it when I was moving it into the RACV foyer. Then as soon as it was positioned, people in the foyer began to inspect it closely with many taking photographs and asking me lots about Rover and the car. Several days ago, whilst in the club, I found that the Rover was continuing to attract attention which was confirmed by one of the RACV attendants who said everyone passing through seemed to stop and invariably take pictures. He said for sure it is one of the finest exhibits they have had in the foyer. Being away from other cars to detract from it, one soon realizes that Rover is the "Poor Man's Rolls". Rover has always been a complete "understatement" as a car that is quietly there exuding refinement and quality. I am pretty sure that this display will influence many people to want to own and enjoy a Rover. Grattan Fitzgerald
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