A lovely old British car, I drove one back in the 60's, the knob directly under the ignition key is for fixed or free wheeling, turn it one way & the car would go into free wheeling when you took your foot off of the accelerator. It looks like the carb has been replaced at some point with a modern one. Still a lovely, solid car, we called it "the poor man's Rolls Royce" back in the day.
Hey, Malc! We sure appreciate your discussion of the Rover, and the fact that you drove one some years ago, and the function of that free wheeling control. American cars had a similar device, I think mainly in the 30's, but it fell out of favor despite its fuel saving characteristics because of the lack of engine braking and the potential for so much reliance on the brakes that they would fade dangerously. Thanks! :) Jack
@@coolrides Hello Jack, Yes, it was like knocking it out of gear & relying on just the brakes. Have you ever driven a 2 stroke Saab? very similar feeling, scary when you approach a junction a bit quickish ha ha. All the best Malc !!
I had a Rover 75 P3 in 1965 I was aged 19yrs, in Liverpool UK. I went to the auctions with only £5 in my pocket just for a look when suddenly they pushed in this car, everyone was laughing when the auctioneer started the bid, at 10/- it went up to a £1 then increased by another 10/- when it got up to £5 my mate shouted Sold and raised my hand up,,, the whole room was screaming with laughter, the auctioneer banged his hammer, pointing at me and said SOLD! I couldn’t even drive properly but we got it started and I managed to get it back home. The car lasted five days before I crashed into a wall.. I then sold the battery for 10/- .. great memories of my youth..
Hey, John! Your friend launched you onto an exciting path of car ownership! Memories that were worth far more than five pounds! I'm glad this video reminded you of that exciting time, your friend, and the unlucky car! Thanks! :) Jack
It may surprise you to learn I know precious little about Rovers prior to the P4 and have hardly ever seen them! All I really knew was that the P3 bore a strong resemblance to the pre war cars (even though there were changes made) and that they used an overhead inlet side exhaust valve engine design that was apparently new for the P3, and went on to be used in the Land Rover and the P4. Looking for online information I find the P3 was only made for a little over a year, so it is hardly surprising I don’t see them! I doubt you will see another one! A rare find. What I find particularly interesting to see is this car having a rather short stubby floor mounted gear shift for a rather ‘vintage’ looking car. I think when the P4 first came out (which is often compared in style to contemporary Studebakers) it used a column shift, which was in vogue at the time and was following American trends, but later P4s went back to a floor shift but they’ve always been intriguing to see because they used a rather long, fully exposed mechanical gear linkage that looked like something constructed from a Meccano set, and I’ve read that the mechanism was adjustable to alter the position of the shift knob to suit the driver. I’ve never experienced one first hand other than look through the window of show cars. So it seems odd to me that the older car had a neat short gear lever coming through the tunnel near the driver, yet the newer car produced for many more years than the P3 had a gear selection device that looked as though it had been designed by a man in a garden shed!
Hey, Mick! We sure appreciate the history that you've given us about the P3 model. It is interesting how the shifting changed from floor to column back to adjustable floor again. I suspect that Rover may have been sensitive to the stirrings of the convenience of the automatic transmission that was going on over here. In fact, I have ads of Mopar's move of the shifting from floor to column in 1939, referring to it as a "safety" measure. Your hand was not far from the steering wheel! Of course everything changed with the advent of the HydraMatic in 1940 with Oldsmobile. Thanks! :) Jack
Hey Jack,it isn’t too often I see these Rovers.Love the styling of these cars. Interesting cars!.Thanks Jack!.✌️😎
Hey, Lee! It's always cool to see these cars from the U.K. Fortunately we seem to have quite a few avid collectors in central Florida! Thanks! :) Jack
A lovely old British car, I drove one back in the 60's, the knob directly under the ignition key is for fixed or free wheeling, turn it one way & the car would go into free wheeling when you took your foot off of the accelerator. It looks like the carb has been replaced at some point with a modern one. Still a lovely, solid car, we called it "the poor man's Rolls Royce" back in the day.
Hey, Malc! We sure appreciate your discussion of the Rover, and the fact that you drove one some years ago, and the function of that free wheeling control. American cars had a similar device, I think mainly in the 30's, but it fell out of favor despite its fuel saving characteristics because of the lack of engine braking and the potential for so much reliance on the brakes that they would fade dangerously. Thanks! :) Jack
@@coolrides Hello Jack, Yes, it was like knocking it out of gear & relying on just the brakes. Have you ever driven a 2 stroke Saab? very similar feeling, scary when you approach a junction a bit quickish ha ha. All the best Malc !!
It's a very good looking car. Looks like it could have been 10 years older, easily, by the styling standards of this side of the Atlantic.
Yes, the revered older styling stayed in place for many years. Thanks! :) Jack
I had a Rover 75 P3 in 1965 I was aged 19yrs, in Liverpool UK. I went to the auctions with only £5 in my pocket just for a look when suddenly they pushed in this car, everyone was laughing when the auctioneer started the bid, at 10/- it went up to a £1 then increased by another 10/- when it got up to £5 my mate shouted Sold and raised my hand up,,, the whole room was screaming with laughter, the auctioneer banged his hammer, pointing at me and said SOLD!
I couldn’t even drive properly but we got it started and I managed to get it back home.
The car lasted five days before I crashed into a wall.. I then sold the battery for 10/- .. great memories of my youth..
It was a 1948 model
Hey, John! Your friend launched you onto an exciting path of car ownership! Memories that were worth far more than five pounds! I'm glad this video reminded you of that exciting time, your friend, and the unlucky car! Thanks! :) Jack
😂👍🍺
It may surprise you to learn I know precious little about Rovers prior to the P4 and have hardly ever seen them! All I really knew was that the P3 bore a strong resemblance to the pre war cars (even though there were changes made) and that they used an overhead inlet side exhaust valve engine design that was apparently new for the P3, and went on to be used in the Land Rover and the P4. Looking for online information I find the P3 was only made for a little over a year, so it is hardly surprising I don’t see them! I doubt you will see another one! A rare find. What I find particularly interesting to see is this car having a rather short stubby floor mounted gear shift for a rather ‘vintage’ looking car. I think when the P4 first came out (which is often compared in style to contemporary Studebakers) it used a column shift, which was in vogue at the time and was following American trends, but later P4s went back to a floor shift but they’ve always been intriguing to see because they used a rather long, fully exposed mechanical gear linkage that looked like something constructed from a Meccano set, and I’ve read that the mechanism was adjustable to alter the position of the shift knob to suit the driver. I’ve never experienced one first hand other than look through the window of show cars. So it seems odd to me that the older car had a neat short gear lever coming through the tunnel near the driver, yet the newer car produced for many more years than the P3 had a gear selection device that looked as though it had been designed by a man in a garden shed!
Hey, Mick! We sure appreciate the history that you've given us about the P3 model. It is interesting how the shifting changed from floor to column back to adjustable floor again. I suspect that Rover may have been sensitive to the stirrings of the convenience of the automatic transmission that was going on over here. In fact, I have ads of Mopar's move of the shifting from floor to column in 1939, referring to it as a "safety" measure. Your hand was not far from the steering wheel! Of course everything changed with the advent of the HydraMatic in 1940 with Oldsmobile. Thanks! :) Jack
Gem👍👍👍👍👍
It sure is a gem....I don't often get to see British cars of this era that aren't "sports cars"! Thanks! :) Jack
That oldie look like they might be used as police cars at the time. Then again, I don't know. Looks nice.
That's very possible...I could see a constable riding around in one of these! Thanks! :) Jack