Rover 2000 - a real classic but also a surprisingly modern car



An early advertisment for Rover 2000 from spring 1966 - just the same time
as my own car was produced in Solihull.


If you are not familiar with the Rover 2000 (also called the P6 model) perhaps I should provide some compressed history. You can find much more information on Wikipedia and many other sites. Of course I recomend Rover Club of Sweden (some pages in english) where I have been a member since the club was founded in 1986 and the P6 Rover Owners Club.

Rover 2000 was launched on Earls Court October 1963 as a completely new saloon car that inherited almost nothing from the earlier Rover P4 and P5 models. It was and still is unique with many unusual technical solutions and very much with safety in mind. Rover 2000 was the first car in 1964 to win the european "Car of the Year" award and now, almost 50 years later, it can still be used as an everyday car for almost any purpose.

Most tests in the magazines from 1963 and on praised the Rover 2000 in almost all respects and it was very much a drivers car. Rover 2000 was an instant sales success and for a number of years the factory could not produce enough to satisfy demand. In 1966 Rover 2000 was joined by two more models - the 2000TC (Twin carburator) and 2000 Automatic. At the same time the basic model was now being renamed the 2000SC (Single carburator).

In Sweden the previous importer Gjestvangs AB gave up and the new agent was Harry Karlsson Bil AB in Gothenburg. This change is one reason why the oldest Rover 2000 in Sweden was not registered until April 1965 - there are no known cars of 1964 model year!

Rover 2000SC 1966 "rediscovered"!



Sorry about photos but there are none of the car presently!
However this picture from one of the first leaflets is lovely
or what do you think?

 I have owned this car since 1988, but during all these years I have never driven it at all. How come? Simply because it was bought with a broken engine and not much has happened since!

During my 23 years of ownership an early Rover 2000 has become quite a rare sight on swedish roads. It was not a very common car when it was new and now it is the 20th oldest 2000SC in Sweden. Of the nineteen cars that are older only four are used regularly. And more surprising is that of the remaining fifteen cars eight has been "off the road" for more than 25 years, with one not driven since 1972! I do not want to see my Rover 2000SC unused for 40 years so now it is time for me to finally bring it back to life and the open road! 

There will be a lot of work involved with engine, brakes, electrical system and other areas. If you have an interest in Rovers and some spare time - please join me on the "restoration trip" on this blog. I will try to make a regular update from now on.

Latest addition in 2009 - a rare Rover 820Ti





Good looks from most angles

 

I always wanted an 820Ti with its lovey turboengine and it had to be in red! But I could not afford one before, however now being 16 years old it was not very expansive. So presently I am the proud owner of this 1995 820Ti in original "Flame Red". It is quite a rarity in Sweden, since there are only 17 cars of this model originally sold - all of 1995 year model. In later years there has been a couple of more cars imported to Sweden but in total there are less then twenty 820 Ti:s on the swedish roads. The body, paint and interior is in quite good condition but even if it is running (and pretty fast too)  there are a lot of things to look after and improve. The original 17" wheels looks quite good, but the low profile tyres (215/45) are not very comfortable! I might try 16" rims with a higher profile tire for better comfort. Hopefully I can tell more about that another time.

"Rulle Rover" - our best car ever!

We bought our "new look" Rover 75 in the summer of 2002 and it has been our best car ever (at least so far). It had only done 20000 km from new and had lived a cherished life by its first owner. Date of first registration is December 31 1999 but year of registration is year 2000.

It was immediately nicknamed "Rulle" by Anna and me since it is a diesel (Rulle is a swedish nickname for Rudolph - Diesel that is). It has been both comfortable and economic in most respects. To date it has done 140000 kms mainly commuting to our jobs in Stockholm, but has now "retired" to be used for holiday trips only during summer. The paint is Moonstone Green and interior is unfortunately not leather, but still very nice.

Old Wheels - why?

Some of our old and some not so very old cars
- most of british origin and the majority are Rovers!

Welcome to "OldWheels" blog where you will find some of our familys vehicles - some with four wheels and some with only two!
  
We (Anna and Bengt) live in Sweden 80 km west of Stockholm on an old converted farm. Since all horses and cows are gone long before we moved here some of the old buildings are "inhabited" with old british cars instead.