Rescued An Old Rover Today!

[Triumphdaytona2007]

hey! i rescued an old rover today! i found it on this forum for sale, it was about 280 miles from me in columbia SC, its in rough shape but the frame is in great shape and so is the bulkhead there are no rust holes in either and only a little surface rust, the inside looks good, the body has a few dents, the fenders were no good they were beat up bad, the engine was froze up and out of the rover, the inside of it looks good but the seats need to be recovered, it came with 5 rims altogether, the rear bumper is in great shape and very sturdy, it still has the tag on it and was last tagged in 1977, the lady i got it from had it for 3 years and she found it out in a field, i think its a 1965 or 1966 the serial number starts with 244, it was a fun trip and well worth it, i paid $500 for the rover, it also came with a soft top, and a bunch of used random parts, i think i got a good deal, heres some pics of its trip home

[Triumphdaytona2007]

heres some more pictures!! also the front grill mount was in great shape, i also have the rocker panels for it, the front bumper is no good

[Wander]

Congrats on the find! It looks like that Rover needed the rescue. That is an interesting IIa as you have the Station Wagon roof but not the Safari (vented) top panel and I see a deluxe interior but a standard bonnett with the spare tire holder. As you probably know, no two of these are the same and it's always fun to see how each is different.

What is the last letter on the data plate? Mine is a B and it is a 64 (also starts with 244). Mine was so faded I thought it was an E at first but that would make it a 68/69 area.

The IIa solid front wings are going to be a little bit of a challenge to find as they are no longer made. You can put the later style wings (with the headlights in the wings) as they are much easier to find. Not having an engine opens you up to the many options of power that will fit, you can end up with a Rover that has some actual power!

[Cutter]

that is a true project

[SalemRover]

Congratulations on your purchase. That is one daunting project you have there! I hope you have plenty of time on your hands as you will surely need it.

-Jason

[stonefox]

Another diamond in the rough

[Triumphdaytona2007]

What is the last letter on the data plate? Mine is a B and it is a 64 (also starts with 244). Mine was so faded I thought it was an E at first but that would make it a 68/69 area.

The IIa solid front wings are going to be a little bit of a challenge to find as they are no longer made. You can put the later style wings (with the headlights in the wings) as they are much easier to find. Not having an engine opens you up to the many options of power that will fit, you can end up with a Rover that has some actual power!

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hey! the ending letter is a D, it has a sticker on the dash that says it complies with british safety standards of 1965, so im not sure what year it is, that is very true about the engine, i was kinda glad to find it out of the vehicle because i wanted to do some kind of diesel conversion to it, i thought about putting a mercedes diesel engine in it,

the rover is definately a project, i have 2 other project rovers so i have 3 im working on all together, i cant quite figure out what color i want to paint it, i have on that i painted beige and one italian olive, so not sure for this one

i would love to fix up the deluxe interior, the seats used to be black leather with a leather head liner, but they are full of tears now, i think what happened was some kids got it running and made it a woods toy, judging by the beat up fenders junk front bumper and scratches going down the side of it, overall i think i got a good deal at 500, you rarely see a rover for sale around where i live, even some in rough shape are severl thousand dollars.... here are some more pics of the rover.....

[albersj51]

Good on ya mate! Congrats on the purchase. I'm in Greenville, SC 100 mi north of Columbia. Had I known about it, it would have been a parts truck for me, so congrats!

[ducttape]

I do so hate to seem like an ambulance chaser... but any chance you will be parting out the soft top frame?

Either way, best of luck with the find.

[Wander]

I think the D code will put you in late 1966 so about what you thought for the year.

Have you read the build thread on the MB engined IIa by the guy in CT?-good engine but I am pretty sure he had to source a 6 cyl bulkhead to make it fit. There are a lot of good choices and I have a feeling that choice is well down the road for you.

Most of the interior bits are still availible, but maybe not in leather. I put new Exmoor deluxe trim seats in my 64 and added the sliding seat frames which wasn't availible in 64 but it's more comfortable. I don't have a headliner or door cards-all metal-all around which does get a bit warm and noisy. The trans tunnel cover and closed cell floor mats I added have helped the heat and noise but I am planning to add insulation and a headliner as well to further reduce that.

I guess my first step if I were you would be to take the body off, have the frame cleaned/blasted and see what you are working with.

[Eric W S]

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i would love to fix up the deluxe interior, the seats used to be black leather with a leather head liner, but they are full of tears now,...

Series Rovers never came with leather. Yours should have had grey leathercloth or elephant hide. Our hosts sells the replica. Nice stuff.

[LaneRover]

Series Rovers never came with leather. Yours should have had grey leathercloth or elephant hide. Our hosts sells the replica. Nice stuff.

Well, maybe it was described as "leather" with the salesman using airquotes back in the day.

Kind of like when they said that aluminum is "Corrosion proof"

[Eric W S]

Well, maybe it was described as "leather" with the salesman using airquotes back in the day.

Kind of like when they said that aluminum is "Corrosion proof"

Close. It was officially called Grey Leathercloth even though it was vynide.

[Triumphdaytona2007]

I do so hate to seem like an ambulance chaser... but any chance you will be parting out the soft top frame?

Either way, best of luck with the find.

im not sure what im going to do with it yet, cant decide if i wanna stick to the hardtop or switch to the soft top. i will let you know if i decde to get rid of it

Series Rovers never came with leather. Yours should have had grey leathercloth or elephant hide. Our hosts sells the replica. Nice stuff.

no idea, looks and feels like leather to me, im by no means an expert

[Triumphdaytona2007]

Im almost finished with one of my project rovers! its a 1964 rover RHD with 2.25L Gas, when i got the rover it was pretty rusty, and certainly ugly, i cleaned up the rover, i painted the rover italian olive, i left the soft top off for now, i still have a few little things to do like mount the rear crossmember, and upholster the seats and find some decent tires, heres a before and after of the rover, let me know what ya think!!