New owner of 1939 Rover 14 Sports Saloon (barn find)

[skuzzle]

Hi guys,
I have recently acquired a fairly tatty 1939 (I believe) Rover 14 P2 4 light.
I thought it rude not to register on here to find out about as much as i can about the car and to hopefully work out what route to take with it.. aka do I restore it, break it, sell it on before I lose my life to it.. you get the idea.

Anywho.. heres a couple of pics so you know what i'm dealing with:

bits:








Now from what I can gather, it is roughly 1900cc straight 6. all wheels are free and rolling (to some extent). both doors on one side have fallen off due to a rotten frame, but the chassis has very few rust holes and I think 99% of the car remains.

To give you some background on myself, I am a Mazda MX5 enthusiast and full time prestige and race car specialist and tuner.. My usual thing is strapping superchargers to mx5's, so this is a little bit new to me. I don't fear the mechanical side at all and am sure I can get the engine running and the mechanical workings all correct, but the interior and wooden frame etc scare me a little.

So.. original registration is CS 86. Now I know nothing about old cars, so would this plate still be valid ? Who do I speak to as I have no log book, and do I repair.. break.. etc.. My head tells me I should hotrod it... this is what i'm good at, but I don't think this is the right car to ruin like that.

[luli]

A nice and interesting car. It is earlier than 1939, probably 1936:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/triggersca ... otostream/
You can verify it by the chassis number.
Restoring it to a high standard can be expensive and would take a lot of time...

[chris dancey]

I would certainly attempt a restoration, having restored early cars in a similar condition, I currently have a Rover 10hp P1 Saloon 1935 and an MGJ2 1933, both barn finds in a very bad way and I will restore both of these, the 10hp probably as a tourer special as the bodywork is totally rotten which will involve me building an ash frame. I have just completed the 18 years restoration of our 1938 Rover 10 P2 Coupe, the major works was completed by the previous owner, the car was in a similar condition to yours when found in its original state, its now a gem.
I enjoy the challenge of rebuilding a car to its original , or better condition and I can think of nothing worse than ' rodding ' a car of this provenance. Part of the enjoyment for me is learning new practices and solving dilemmas ( of which none are insurmountable ). There is a cost on both time and money, but value to me comes with the knowledge that I have saved something for prosperity, the achievement and the sheer delight when finished. One cannot hope to ' make money ' out of restoration, but its possible to break even. I have found many friends and aquaintenances through my restorations and I am still in touch with the current owners of cars that I have restored in the past. So give it a go, if you really want to restore, there are many ( including me ) who are here to give help and guidance, to lend a shoulder when things go wrong...and they will ! For me the hardest parts are the painting and trimming, both I put out to professionals as I realise that my expertise is limited, but everything else I do myself, a good idea to plan and execute, photograph and label and restore in small sub assemblies rather than disassemble the whole car to end up with a massive jigsaw puzzle....I learnt this very early on !.

I agree with the age being probably 1936 or earlier looking at the hubcap.

Best of luck,
Chris

[skuzzle]

could it be first registered in 39 but built earlier ? the daughter of the previous owner was adamant it was a 39.
I'll make a start at getting it running first I think.. as long as a running engine doesn't shake the ash frame to bits.

[skuzzle]

Also, I feel the first thing I need to do is get the car registered and get my hands on a V5. How do I go about this, and can I keep the original numberplate etc.
Many thanks
Nick

[skuzzle]

looks like after a week of contemplation myself and the better half have come to the conclusion the car needs a better home. We were discussing options and my skills and thoughts are not in keeping with the car (think modernised.. not classic restoration).
Timescale is now a huge factor, having just taken on another Max5 race car build and realistically I can not give the Rover the care and attention it deserves so I've listed it on ebay for now.
I wont let it go to a muppet as it deserves a proper owner who will do it right. (the only reason we have decided to let it go unfortunately)

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... 1106932795

[lakesrally]

Ref the description on eBay, ALL 14hp cars were 6 cylinders, the 4 cylinder cars were 10hp and 12hp. If you can get the car number off the VIN plate we can tell you exactly the year of the car. Best of luck with the sale.

[skuzzle]

ah I didn't realise (got told otherwise)
I'm a bit gutted to be honest as ive already found a place in my heart for the old girl.. but I think this is the main reason I want to pass her on to the right person.

Where would I find the vin plate ?

[skuzzle]

now amended accordingly.. many thanks
also, if we have any members on here that fancy a nosey around her.. feel free to give me a call.
Ive got a couple of photographers who fancy a look over before she moves on and I will be requesting copies of their photos for my workshop wall.

[luli]

Ref the description on eBay, ALL 14hp cars were 6 cylinders, the 4 cylinder cars were 10hp and 12hp. If you can get the car number off the VIN plate we can tell you exactly the year of the car. Best of luck with the sale.

Also, by the look of the engine, it is quite obvious that this is not the 1900 c"c engine, but the previous, 1577 c"c one. This shows up by the position of the distributor and the shape of the timing chain cover.