1961 Rover 100
This low mileage classic was originally bought on a trip to the UK in 1961. After sitting for the prerequisite time required by import regulations, it was collected and brought back by its owner on one of the New Zealand Steamship Co vessels.
Unfortunately, the proud owner of this classic had a stroke on the voyage home and it was then bought by Auckland Rover agents McMillan Motors. That’s where Laurence L Rhodes worked and he swapped his existing Rover for the new model, paying the difference in cash. Laurence was now the owner of a nearly new example of fine British motor engineering — a Rover 100 P4. In 1960, the P4 range concentrated on two models: the 100 with a short-stroke version of the new P5 seven-bearing engine, and the 80, a four-cylinder car using the 2286cc pushrod engine from Land Rover.
The 100 is seen by enthusiasts as the pinnacle of P4 development and good examples fetch £3000-£5000 even now in the UK. Laurie used the car in Auckland for a number of years then eventually ‘retired’ to Thames. The family doesn’t seem all that good at retiring, going by his son’s workload and indeed, Laurie was soon working for General Motors where he acquired a powerful six-cylinder Holden Torana.
It took two-and-a-half days to strip the body and another three weeks (“And 27 divorces!”)
The Rover was kept garaged and only taken out for trips to the bowling club, so over the years it gradually deteriorated with the little attention it received usually being in the form of mates’ less-than-professional efforts. Some of these efforts created problems for the future — the leather upholstery received a coat of ‘protective’ lacquer, for example, which predictably went all hard and stiff. Among other injustices, some fastenings were replaced with twisted wire and the overdrive handle was broken off.
Finally, Laurie became ill and decided to prepare the car for selling to help his wife get by. The car was sent to Auckland in 1989 for son Graham to prepare. Graham found the motor so covered in grease as to be barely recognisable. He had an interest in cars although he didn’t work in the industry, and replaced hoses and belts and cleaned up the motor, then got the car independently valued at $3200. Graham had become quite fond of the old English motor, so offered that sum to his dad — Laurie agreed. But he died shortly after and Graham received a note saying the car had been gifted to him in recognition of the work he’d put into it.
Let the work begin
Graham set about seriously sorting the car, stripping all the woodwork right back and hand-varnishing it in a sealed room. He did a beautiful job, too, building up the lustre using multiple coats. Then it was reassembled, ‘biscuited’ with fillets of wood and re-glued virtually seamlessly. Graham carried on. He did none of the repainting or upholstery, but looked after literally everything else, replacing the rubbers and doing the myriad other jobs: It took two-and-a-half days to strip the body and another three weeks (“And 27 divorces!” Graham’s wife Frances chimes in) to reassemble it. Every single screw and rivet was replaced with new.
Luckily, the motor proved to be up-to-spec under all that grime and didn’t even need taking out. The electrical overdrive was more of a problem, but once fixed has proved a boon on the open road where the Rover copes with modern speeds and driving conditions with no complaints whatsoever. After seven years of methodical work, the car was finished and Graham had it revalued at $10,000 in 1997.
Since then, the Rover has been a fun vehicle, having driven on several North Island rallies and events. Graham loves driving on long trips and speaks fondly of the camaraderie of club events and fund-raising rallies he’s been on. As a testament to Graham’s careful work, the 100 has also garnered several awards: Best Rover at the 1997 Hastings show, and People’s Choice Best Car, plus the Auckland-Waikato Rover Club’s Challenge Shield Pride of Ownership (twice).
On the road, the big car feels much tighter than you’d expect with all the running gear and steering sorted thoroughly. The Rover is well balanced and rides firmly without wandering. The overdrive works after about 37mph and if you hold your foot down on the accelerator, it kicks out to give you a spurt of overtaking power. The speedo goes up to 100mph and Graham thinks it would reach that — it certainly does feel surprisingly smooth and powerful, despite the weight of two tons. We tooled around Remuera and Glendowie in it, drawing admiring glances wherever we went — it certainly has presence on the road.
Rover today
Strangely, the area we drove through was well endowed with more modern Rovers. I’m not sure how long, however, the modern-day MG Rover company can keep going after reports of a sharp fall in sales for the second month running, according to British industry figures. In September, 6654 new Rovers were sold, 35 per cent less than for the same month last year, while 4914 MGs were sold, a fall of 33 per cent.
UK car sales dropped slightly overall anyway, but MG Rover seems to be getting the worst of it, although their UK market share remains at about three per cent. In 1999 — the last year under BMW ownership — 110,000 cars were sold (perceived at the time as a disastrous performance). Last year that figure dipped to just under 96,000. (The top selling car in Britain is currently the Vauxhall Corsa, which has just displaced the Ford Focus in the number one spot.)
On top of that, worker discontent at an MG Rover senior executives’ pension fund scheme worth millions of pounds hit the news in the UK recently. The now tightly-knit MG-Rover company is heading for a product led revival with big V8s and new styling. Anyway, back here in Auckland, we parked the old P4 Rover 100 for photos and while Graham said “It’s got the turning circle of an aircraft carrier!” it’s light work getting the car about.
It’s a well designed, gentrified saloon with suicide rear doors, cleverly designed quarter-lights that socket into a groove on the front side windows and with thick tinted plastic sun visors held in chromed clips. Little touches of chrome enliven the Royal Blue paint; a colour arrived at when Graham decided he wanted the original colour, but with a little more ‘life’ in it. This was arrived at by accident: a proportion of black to blue paint was arrived at after discussion with the painter and he duly mixed the paint, but then rushed off on important business. One of his workers took on the task, but didn’t realise the paint had already been mixed, so added the black again.
Amazingly, the colour came out exactly as Graham envisaged — he was rapt!
The boot is roomy and lots of the original accessories have either been refurbished or replaced, including the factory toolkit complete with Rover-stamped tools (the kit slides out of a slot under the dashboard, complete with its own wooden dash-matching strip). In fact, the only thing that’s missing is the factory tyre pump that fits into clips in the boot, but Graham hasn’t given up looking for that either.
Substantial
Like other P4 Rovers, the 100 has a substantial four-door saloon body mounted on a separate chassis. With an interior trimmed in wood and leather, it’s an echo of a more refined time, especially compared to most of its British counterparts of the era, which were getting increasingly utilitarian.
The chromed ‘Shepherds Crook’ hand brake and the distinctive front grille complete with its famous Viking Ship Rover badge add to the dignity the car carries.
However, Graham now wants a car that’s easier to drive and requires less nurturing — he’s a busy man, looking after dozens of tenanted and commercial buildings, even though he could technically retire. Graham is looking for someone to take the car on “So someone can get the enjoyment and privilege of owning a classic vehicle, as I have.”
This beautiful car has only 72,512 genuine miles on the clock — if you’d like to contact Graham with an interest in purchasing this vehicle, email grahamrhodes@clear.net.nz, or phone/fax 09 521 1903.
Specifications: 1961 Rover 100
Engine: six-cylinder, seven main bearings
Capacity: 2625cc
Bore/stroke: 77.8 x 92.075mm
Power: 77kW (104bhp) @ 4750rpm
Carburettor: SU single-draft
Gears: Four-speed (no synchro between 1st and 2nd) with Laycock-deNormanville overdrive
Suspension: Front: independent wishbones and coils; Rear: semi-elliptic
Steering: re-circulating ball worm-and-nut with variable ratio
Brakes: Girling hydraulic with servo assistance
Clutch: 9-inch single dry plate
DIMENSIONS
Length: 4.54m(14ft 10 1/2ins)
Width: 1.66m (5ft 5 1/2ins)
Wheelbase: 2.81m (9ft 3ins)
Track F/R: 1.33m/1.308m (52.5/51.5 inches)
Unladen weight: 1378kgs (3039lbs)
Fuel capacity: 52 litres (11.5 imperial gallons)
PERFORMANCE
Top speed: 148kph (92mph, factory)
0-50mph: 12.1 secs
Economy: 7.3 litres/100km (factory stated 20.6mpg)
Produced: 1960-1962 (replaced by the110 model)
Production: 16,521 (total P4 production, all variants 1950-1964: 130,342)
Words & Photos MARK WEBSTER OWNER GRAHAM RHODES
