holy crap....

[O'Brien]

so i was finally poking around my rover tonight when i got home from work. i've got a decent sized box of spares that came with it. all the normal sort of stuff, bulbs, belts, light guards, etc. so i found my black manufacturers plate, and decided to see what i could dig up on the history of my rover based on it's VIN.

here's my VIN 34300002 A

so i'm poking around on lrfaq.org because i know they are a great resource for information. after slogging through their sometimes gnarly navigation, i found it. here's the link: http://www.lrfaq.org/Series/FAQ.S.ch...ering.343.html

now, if i'm reading this thing right, it seems i have the first NADA 6cyl actually sent to market because 34300001 was sent to Rover Quality Control.

i'm not sure what else to say at this point...

does this mean i sort of have an obligation to restore this thing perfectly now? i know i don't 'have to' do anything, but would i be stupid not to? is this a historical obligation i just purchased? thoughts?

[scott]

gosh! mine was the 112,598th! i guess i can just keep beat'n the heck out of it cuz by the time mine was built they must been like pros or something!

but now with a more serious tone...cool

[LH Drive]

check your frame horn to see if the serial number is a match.

[O'Brien]

ah, well the two front horns have been replaced!

i've got a huge folder full of old paper work on the rover, and im pretty sure it has some of the original registration paper work in it. I know it came from San Francisco through Peter Felton, so i'm pretty sure it's acurate. I don't know why i would have this beat up black plate otherwise. it's no reproduction plate, too aged for that.

[LWB109]

Nice scoop.Obviously you would have bought it anyway because of the condition but to end up with the first NADA in North America is certainly
a bonus!I'm sure it would add value to the truck but certainly not enough to justify a complete restoration unless you planned to do it anyway.

I wonder if #1 was cut up for scrap?

[O'Brien]

i'm no expert on how Rover Quality Control handled their rigs, but i don't know if they would have cut it up. looking at the data in the table, it seems the gap between the completion of #1 and mine was about three weeks. i would imagine they put #1 through it's paces and made any small modifications to the production process they needed to. i guess maybe they destoyed it eventually. but i don't know if that was their SOP.

Label
No. Vehicle
Serial # In Out Colour Dispatched To
1 34300001 24 Feb 1966 25 Feb 1966 Mid Grey Rover Quality Control
D2 34300002 01 Mar 1966 17 Mar 1966 Light Green Rover, San Francisco

[sayers]

Lets see a picture of this one of a kind

[O'Brien]

well i think it's unique perhaps in number only. like a lot of other old rovers, she's going to need some work! thankfully the wife is cool with it

here's a slideshow:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/95704142@N00/sets/72157602156358880/show/

[LWB109]

it seems i have the first NADA 6cyl actually sent to market

Historical note:

Not positive but I think that would make it the earliest surving production 6 cylinder 109 period (including home market etc)?

[sayers]

The nice thing about your rover is that it looks like it is all there on the outside, not modified in anyway and would be somewhat easy to bring it back to its original status, How does the interior look and does the engine run ? good luck

[O'Brien]

well most everything is there, minus the sills on both sides. there has been some tinkering. as i mentioned in another thread, my rover was converted from the original LR 2.6 six to a chevy motor. in fact, it runs really well. i'm sure it's putting a lot of stress on the rear end and the tranny, but i should be ok for a while.

as for the interior, the front seats are totally shot. i'm kind of afraid to start peeling back the layers. looking at them from behind, somewhere in the layers of ripped cloth seat covers, i see the edge of a tarp!


there were no other seats with it when i bought it. i have since purchased two rear center facing benches, with the elephant hide in great shape. I was actually fitting them today. however, upon install, a bolt sheared inside of the RH rear seat rail. I don't have a rivet puller, so i'll just put that off for a while.

during the install, i was also in the LH rear wheel well, lossening a bolt. i noticed some flakey rust on the outrigger, and tapped it with my box wrench. presto hole!

you can see pics of the interior, bent bonnet, and frame hole at the link below. perhaps i'm looking at a nice slog here. thoughts on rolling chassis service?

http://flickr.com/photos/95704142@N00/sets/72157603232795273/show/

[jp-]

That would certainly be a unique NADA.

I have #387, and the frame off #304.

[daveb]

I once did a diesel to petrol swap in the first RHD home market SIII 109 Station Wagon. That truck ended up selling to a guy in Charlottesville, VA.

For whatever that is worth...

Anyway, does this rare NADA 109 have any of the unique features like the limited slip rear?

[jp-]

Dave,

I've got a Rover LSD sitting in my garage. One of the spider gears is broken though.

[O'Brien]

i don't know if it has a limited slip. how would i be able to tell the difference? that's something i had not considered thinking about. tips?