Like the Italians, the British seem to have had limited success with their sedans here, outside of the luxury class. Sedans from Rover, MG and Triumph never sold particularly well, even though they all had their merits. With some hindsight, it’s not all that surprising, perceived quality issues aside – American buyers were generally looking for power, style and space, and were not concerned about fuel economy, while British buyers’ needs were dictated by the relatively depressed post-war economy and high cost of fuel. Either way, that did not keep British manufacturers out of the honeypot that is the North American market. You can find this 1968 Rover P6 2000TC for sale in the Nob Hill neighborhood of San Francisco, CA for $2950.
Pale yellow, or April Yellow as it’s known by Rover, works well on many older British cars, and this is certainly one of them. Think what you will of build quality, but as a car enthusiast you have to appreciate them for their use of unusual technologies, including a DeDion rear suspension, bell-crank-operated horizontal front suspension, Citroen DS-inspired monocoque frame with body panels bolted to it, four-wheel disc brakes, safety belts, and an interior designed with passenger safety in mind. Due to the structure of the car and its rear suspension, there was limited trunk space, but this made Rover one of the earliest to feature run-flat tires! With 124bhp from its then-unusual overhead cam engine to push around about 2800 lb., power-to-weight should just fall short of a contemporary imported sports sedan.
This particular car is said to run and drive well, with plenty of recent work, although it does show some weathering to the original paint. Since the seller lives in Nob Hill, you can assume the clutch is working properly. The car also comes with factory Rostyle wheels, which is nice since the stock hubcaps were not terribly attractive. Check the service history, but this really looks like a great deal on a fun-to-drive weekend tourer that you can share with the whole family.
Rusty But Trusty 
November 7, 2013 at 1:38 pm |
Friend had one in the 80’s underpowered but comfy- the dash wiring harness caught fire one night and the poor car burned out, always wanted one with a v8 and manual gearbox
November 8, 2013 at 12:29 am |
I hate it when people obsess about license plates, but, darn it, that license plate is only a couple months old at most and I can’t help but wonder what the story is.
November 8, 2013 at 6:45 pm |
The answer might be hidden in what the seller says – he just did a bunch of repairs and doesn’t have space to keep it inside. Perhaps it’s back on the road after a long rest… but a perfect answer but maybe you could get some of those remade blue pats the DMV is doing.