WORDS & PHOTOS: Lindsay Saunders

As a British car fan all his life, it could be argued that Will Moses’ passion was leading to this car, his recently acquired 1968 Rover P6 3500.

Originally from New Zealand, Will, now retired, was a welder and fitter and turner, doing his apprenticeship at the Dunedin council bus depot. As British marques were particularly prevalent in the country back then, he owned and worked on many different models.

“I’ve just always loved British cars,” said Will. “I’ve had a few over the years, including Austins – I’m the vice president of the Austin Club – and have had a Mini and most recently an 1981 Ford Cortina among others.”

In fact, it was the Cortina that we at Motor Trader were originally going to talk about with Will, but he had moved it on days after buying the Rover.

It really only takes a moment to appreciate why Will wanted this P6. To describe its condition as immaculate is no cliché and the car is testament to its previous owner’s skills, standards and drive for perfection.

“I bought the car from the widow of Ian Coupland, who bought the car in October 2003,” Will explained. “Ian undertook a bare metal, nuts and bolts restoration that spanned about seven years. He had been a Rover mechanic at the Sydney motor dealers Grenville, which was the city’s Rover dealer and it seems certain this car was the first P6 sold in Australia. Ian was widely acknowledged as the Rover expert in Sydney.

“The P6 was a car ahead of its time and I feel this is probably the finest example in Australia.”

The P6 3500 came into being in April 1968 when Rover fitted their recently re-engineered 3.5-litre, all-aluminium V8 to the P6 2000 body shell. Leyland (which owned Rover) had bought the alloy V8 idea from Buick, who had given up on the idea. The Brits persisted, overcame issues and created a V8 that weighs the same as the steel four-cylinder engines of the time.

“Its power-to-weight ratio is brilliant,” said Will. “In fact, its 0-60 mph time of 9.5 seconds was just two seconds off that year’s Ford Mustang. Not bad for a four-door sedan.

“It’s no wonder the British police were using them too.”

Also not bad are the many features of this car – features that would not become common in other marques for years to come – such as all-wheel disc brakes, self-cancelling indicators, child safety door locks, soft-finish interior trim designed to crush on impact, hazard warning light, engineered crumple zones, a self-filling reserve fuel tank and warning lights for brake pad and fluid levels. All on a car that’s now over 50 years old.

“It’s been described as the poor man’s Rolls Royce and I think that’s apt,” said Will.

“There were also more accessories available for the car at the time from Rover than most any other marque – this one also has air conditioning and power steering added, which again is pretty unusual for a car of its vintage.

“It has so many lovely features, such as the ability to attach the spare wheel to the boot lid to increase the luggage capacity of the boot – the emblem on the boot lid screws off and the spare screws in.

“There’s also little ‘spurs’ on the top of the headlights – when the lights are turned on, they illuminate and are visible to the driver so you can see where the corners of the car are in the dark.

“Aside from all the features, this is an incredibly good handling car. The ride is smooth and stable, and it oozes luxury, but in a smaller, more affordable package than, say, a Mercedes of the period.”

With its original red leather and burled walnut interior, Will’s P6 is indeed a car of refinement. On a short drive Will graciously afforded this writer, the car’s good manners were apparent, but there’s also enough beast below the bonnet to make things interesting. Smooth acceleration can easily become G-force-inducing with a firmer right foot.

That’s due in some part to this P6’s secret. There isn’t just a 3500cc V8 in this P6.

“This car has had a stroker kit through it – pistons, crankshaft and rods – so it’s 4.2 litres,” explained Will. “There’s also a torque convertor been added to the three-speed auto gearbox to handle that power better.

“The car was rebuilt completely by Ian including a bare metal paint respray in its original colour, burnt grey. However, all of the interior is original.

“He also upgraded the front chassis so the whole front end is a lot stronger and he added the mini-lite mag wheels and new rubber.

“It still has the original logbooks which point to its 41,000 miles being genuine.”

While Will has had a number of cars over the years, this Rover won’t be going anywhere.

“What would I replace it with? I’ll never find a better car,” he said. “The Rover is a luxury car and you can really feel it. Even just the way the doors close so solidly, that the window trim is stainless steel all the way around – it’s just a class act.

“When it was released it was considered by many to be best car ever produced in Britain. And this one is unique – for its condition and for its features. Plus it’s just a beautiful car.”

But he won’t be keeping the P6 in cotton wool.

“It’s on full rego and it’s a car to drive,” said Will. “I want to just be able to jump in it and drive it.

“I’m in the Bayside Vehicle Restorers Club and we do quite a lot of car runs and it’s a lot of fun to take part in the runs and events.

“It’s not a show car that will be left sitting in the garage. It’ll be out and about participating in many car club events. I’ll be driving it. This car won’t be left in the garage.”

Source: Motor Trader E-Magazine (March 2020)

11 March 2020