Andeh
is teahte tbungafloed
- Joined
- Oct 23, 2007
- Messages
- 3,517
- Location
- Cumbria, UK
- Car(s)
- Fiestas, Mondeos, Anglia, Austin 7, Corsair, Chrys
1931 Rover Two Litre
A couple of years ago some friends who are very serious about car collecting brought home a vintage car I hadn?t seen before from their regular auction. I was stunned, it wasn?t their usual sort of purchase, previously they?d only dabbled in small pre-war saloons, and most of their collection was classic Fords or original Minis. The attraction to this was clear however, straight six, long bonnet, squat proportions (for the era), with elegant lines all over. This wasn?t like my Standard; this was large, powerful and beautiful. I wanted it.
Intriguingly it was badged as a Rover, something which took me as surprise. Despite a couple of years previously spending nearly every weekend around pre-war cars, and piloting the Austin, I had never really considered Rovers of the era as interesting vehicles. I remembered they had the car tucked away with the rest of the collection, but otherwise the Rover slipped to the back of my mind.
This summer I helped with an open day at their place, my dad took the Anglia down, and me the Corsair, to help with an outdoor display of classics ? the rest all belonging to them. They needed a hand shuffling the cars in the building and cleaning them up for display, so we pitched it. I also discovered they were having something of a clear our and were using the open day to advertise a few cars for sale to make room for new acquisitions. Surprisingly, the Rover was one of them.
There was interest in the Rover at the open day, but nothing significant, the visiting motor club were of a motorsport background, and a 30s saloon wasn?t top of anyone?s wish list. I had a good look over the car though, and decided we should make it happen. After using quite a bit of arm twisting for a parental loan, arranging to sell my Standard and quite a few other bits and bobs I had around, I came to the point where I could buy the Rover.
The first drive home was an experience, my friends had only driven it once in their ownership, so other than saying it ?pulled well? they couldn?t offer much in the way of advice. I had only driven the Austin 7 and the Standard 12 in the way of pre-war cars before, and this was considerably different.
I started it using a key something like that from a can of SPAM before pulling nickel plated knob. The engine then throbbed into life, six cylinders firing in a deep, smooth rumble. I push the clutch and engage first (it?s a conventional gear pattern, with four speeds), the clutch is light to lift and the accelerator nicely weighted. The car slowly came to life.
I drove home battling the gearbox, switching between buttery smooth changes, and ones which made my early attempts in the Austin look professional. Only once back and reading through the handbook did I discover that the clutch only needs to be engaged half-way ? full engagement of the clutch actually actuates a brake on the layshaft and stops the cogs turning. Once the ?half clutch push? is mastered changes can be made in beautifully smooth fashion.
The other trifle on the way home is a rubbing sound on corners, which eventually is tracked down to the tyres being oversized on every corner, with the rears big enough to catch the mudguards when the car is lightly loaded. I still have to track down and fit tyres of the correct size this winter.
Since June I?ve driven the car a fair bit, slowly becoming accustomed to its quirks. The engine which can best be described as lorry-like in proportions holds five gallons of oil and takes full thirty-fourty minutes to properly warm through (partly because the engine and gear oil are a shared system). Only then does the car give its best performance, travelling up to a smooth 55mph cruise, and holding onto 4th gear as long as you care for. I?ve never owned a six cylinder before, and this thing has buckets of torque. Its acceleration is not fast, but its strength is remarkable.
I?ve learned a bit about its history too. It is the only surviving example carrying this bodywork left, and was only produced on this chassis length of one year, with previous and subsequent Two-Litre Rovers being slightly longer. I have the original buff log book from when the car was brand new in 1931, with the first owner?s signature, something I don?t have for any of my other cars. It was originally registered to a man in Camden, London but by the mid-30s had moved to Ulverston, not that far from me. Here it was owned by one Fred Richardson, who filed a number of automotive patents (I?ve yet to find if any were tested on the Rover), and suffice to say, he lived in a pretty swanky house. He clearly loved the car, as he owned it through the war until the 1960s, whereby a number of owners swapped the car until it settled in the 1970s until recently with the car?s longest custodian. Restored in 1974ish, the car won awards at Rover rallies and was a regular on the show scene for a number of years.
Since the restoration the car has been kept in remarkably good condition, and has now attained a nice patina. In August I took the car to the Cumbria Classic Car show where it won a first in class award for pre-war cars (and I did some very fun autotesting in the Austin).
I?ve had the car to a few events since, and over Easter I will be using it for a close friend?s wedding. The long term plan isn?t too clear on this one, other than to love and use it. (Oh, and pay it off, slowly?). I hope to be doing at least a few VSCC rallies in it as well, and after my 2015 French trip in the Austin, I think this might be better suited for my next vintage trip to Europe.
I'll be updating this thread slowly, and hope to explain a bit more about the car with each post. Rather than my usual build thread (Anglia) or events thread (Austin), or I forget I even own this thing thread (Fiestas), I hope this one will be more of a blog.
A couple of years ago some friends who are very serious about car collecting brought home a vintage car I hadn?t seen before from their regular auction. I was stunned, it wasn?t their usual sort of purchase, previously they?d only dabbled in small pre-war saloons, and most of their collection was classic Fords or original Minis. The attraction to this was clear however, straight six, long bonnet, squat proportions (for the era), with elegant lines all over. This wasn?t like my Standard; this was large, powerful and beautiful. I wanted it.
Intriguingly it was badged as a Rover, something which took me as surprise. Despite a couple of years previously spending nearly every weekend around pre-war cars, and piloting the Austin, I had never really considered Rovers of the era as interesting vehicles. I remembered they had the car tucked away with the rest of the collection, but otherwise the Rover slipped to the back of my mind.
This summer I helped with an open day at their place, my dad took the Anglia down, and me the Corsair, to help with an outdoor display of classics ? the rest all belonging to them. They needed a hand shuffling the cars in the building and cleaning them up for display, so we pitched it. I also discovered they were having something of a clear our and were using the open day to advertise a few cars for sale to make room for new acquisitions. Surprisingly, the Rover was one of them.
There was interest in the Rover at the open day, but nothing significant, the visiting motor club were of a motorsport background, and a 30s saloon wasn?t top of anyone?s wish list. I had a good look over the car though, and decided we should make it happen. After using quite a bit of arm twisting for a parental loan, arranging to sell my Standard and quite a few other bits and bobs I had around, I came to the point where I could buy the Rover.
The first drive home was an experience, my friends had only driven it once in their ownership, so other than saying it ?pulled well? they couldn?t offer much in the way of advice. I had only driven the Austin 7 and the Standard 12 in the way of pre-war cars before, and this was considerably different.
I started it using a key something like that from a can of SPAM before pulling nickel plated knob. The engine then throbbed into life, six cylinders firing in a deep, smooth rumble. I push the clutch and engage first (it?s a conventional gear pattern, with four speeds), the clutch is light to lift and the accelerator nicely weighted. The car slowly came to life.
I drove home battling the gearbox, switching between buttery smooth changes, and ones which made my early attempts in the Austin look professional. Only once back and reading through the handbook did I discover that the clutch only needs to be engaged half-way ? full engagement of the clutch actually actuates a brake on the layshaft and stops the cogs turning. Once the ?half clutch push? is mastered changes can be made in beautifully smooth fashion.
The other trifle on the way home is a rubbing sound on corners, which eventually is tracked down to the tyres being oversized on every corner, with the rears big enough to catch the mudguards when the car is lightly loaded. I still have to track down and fit tyres of the correct size this winter.
Since June I?ve driven the car a fair bit, slowly becoming accustomed to its quirks. The engine which can best be described as lorry-like in proportions holds five gallons of oil and takes full thirty-fourty minutes to properly warm through (partly because the engine and gear oil are a shared system). Only then does the car give its best performance, travelling up to a smooth 55mph cruise, and holding onto 4th gear as long as you care for. I?ve never owned a six cylinder before, and this thing has buckets of torque. Its acceleration is not fast, but its strength is remarkable.
I?ve learned a bit about its history too. It is the only surviving example carrying this bodywork left, and was only produced on this chassis length of one year, with previous and subsequent Two-Litre Rovers being slightly longer. I have the original buff log book from when the car was brand new in 1931, with the first owner?s signature, something I don?t have for any of my other cars. It was originally registered to a man in Camden, London but by the mid-30s had moved to Ulverston, not that far from me. Here it was owned by one Fred Richardson, who filed a number of automotive patents (I?ve yet to find if any were tested on the Rover), and suffice to say, he lived in a pretty swanky house. He clearly loved the car, as he owned it through the war until the 1960s, whereby a number of owners swapped the car until it settled in the 1970s until recently with the car?s longest custodian. Restored in 1974ish, the car won awards at Rover rallies and was a regular on the show scene for a number of years.
Since the restoration the car has been kept in remarkably good condition, and has now attained a nice patina. In August I took the car to the Cumbria Classic Car show where it won a first in class award for pre-war cars (and I did some very fun autotesting in the Austin).
I?ve had the car to a few events since, and over Easter I will be using it for a close friend?s wedding. The long term plan isn?t too clear on this one, other than to love and use it. (Oh, and pay it off, slowly?). I hope to be doing at least a few VSCC rallies in it as well, and after my 2015 French trip in the Austin, I think this might be better suited for my next vintage trip to Europe.
I'll be updating this thread slowly, and hope to explain a bit more about the car with each post. Rather than my usual build thread (Anglia) or events thread (Austin), or I forget I even own this thing thread (Fiestas), I hope this one will be more of a blog.
