Gray an Original Color??? (New Rover!!)

[Bostonian1976]

Hey all, so today for Christmas I got a "donor" '65 IIa that is VERY original with a rotten frame. It has the ashtray, Kodiak heater, elephant hyde seats, and the body doesn't have a ding on it. It's gray though...and I'm wondering if gray was ever an original color? I know there was limestone, marine blue, and some others, but I didn't know if the gray was original. Anyone know? I'll post pics soon....

[Bostonian1976]

ah, here's a few pics...

[Leslie]

Yep, gray is one of the factory colors... by later on, for ones to the US, you were limited to marine blue and pastel green, and limestone and poppy red was an extra-cost, but earlier on, and in other markets, there were more colors... gray, bronze green, etc....

[Leslie]

http://www.lrfaq.org/Series/Other.paint.Codes.html

[Bostonian1976]

thanks! I'm having thoughts of restoring this Rover instead of using it for parts.

[Leslie]

My pleasure......

Mine was in worse shape before I started, FWIW.....

Get a replacement chassis, a new set of springs, a wiring harness, brake lines, swap the driveline and body over....

It'd be a chore, but, it's doable.....

FWIW...

[Bostonian1976]

thank you!! think it's worth it??? I already have the limestone....but this one is so complete and I'm pretty sure there are only 41K miles on it.....

[Bostonian1976]

ok the responses I've gotten elsewhere tell me this is somewhat of a rare beast....I'm thinking restoration is now in its future

[Leslie]

ok the responses I've gotten elsewhere tell me this is somewhat of a rare beast....I'm thinking restoration is now in its future

I know, I'm over there, too.....


It's yours, you don't have to buy it. It's a complete vehicle. Change out the chassis (obviously), brake lines and bits (safety), wiring (saves on headaches down the road), and the springs while you're at it, and you can get it back on the road.... Expect to do some work on the bulkhead (footwells, pillars, etc). And, realize that you'll spend a lot more than you expect, but, you'll learn a lot along the way. You've already got the other Series, so you've got one to enjoy while working on the other, and you don
t have to feel rushed to get it done.... it will take time.

Best o' luck w/ it.....

[singingcamel]

its worth the time and effort. its all there and appears fairly straight.
the major cost will be in the engine frame,firewall and swivel pins, the time will be in the wiring.
be sure your ready to take this on,its hard to sell a rover all dismantled, easier to sell complete
i'm not talking you out of restoration,i'm just making sure your looking at this from all sides .
good luck and have fun and be sure to keep us posted.
rewire the rig less headaches in the long run and will be much more reliable. marc
www.singingcamel.com

[yorker]

That will be a pretty cool truck when you get it done. Set up a blog or something so people can see how the build goes.

[Jeff Aronson]

You also have a rare vehicle in terms of the liftgate in the rear. That makes it well worth rebuilding. It's really much too straight to make it into a donor car.

Along with your limestone one, it looks terrific. Perhaps this gray one was brought in under an "overseas delivery scheme." Those options were heavily advertised by Rover in North America.

Have fun and share you experiences in The Rovers North News. I know that readers would love to know how you wangled one for Christmas!

Best wishes,

Jeff

[Bostonian1976]

added a new picture...guess I never put one up of the front before! Look at the straight panels

[Jazzop]

I have a RHD '65 that is the same original gray color, except the previous owner had the outside repainted white. I, too, had been wondering about that gray color... Thanks for the post.