Lot Ended
Description
Rare and handsome four-light, six-cylinder Rover; current owner
since 2003; repainted in 2004; original leather upholstery; in need of
recommissioning following a period in storage
When Spencer
Wilks took the helm at Rover in 1929 and brought in his gifted younger brother
Maurice as Chief Engineer, it ushered in a Golden Era for the Coventry-based
firm as a string of beautifully made cars began to flow from the New Meteor
Works. Handsome, refined and luxuriously trimmed, Rovers became the cars of
choice for the aspirational middle classes, radiating a feel-good factor not far
short of that experienced by the upper-class Rolls-Royce owner.
Typical
of the breed was the Rover Fourteen (P1), introduced in late-1933 with a
silky-smooth 48bhp BH Thomas-designed 1,557cc six-cylinder ohv engine that had
made its debut in the interim Pilot 14 model the year before. Allied to a
whisper-quiet four-speed gearbox with freewheel function for clutchless gear
changes, it could waft along to a top speed of 70mph.
This delightful 1936 Rover 14 has elegant four-light Sports Saloon
coachwork with a roofline some four inches lower than the standard six-light
saloon. Nothing is known of the car’s early history, but the JP number plate
(which is transferable) would suggest that it was first registered in
Wigan.
The story picks up again in November 1995
when it was advertised for sale in The Automobile magazine by an owner
in Lancashire, the ad stating that it had been ‘fully restored in the late
1980s’ and was in ‘very good condition’ with original blue leather seats
and a sliding sun roof. At this point the car was painted in bright yellow
with black wings and had covered just under 88,000 miles.
Our
vendor acquired the car in 2003 from a gentleman in Norwich and promptly sent it
to David Wall of Toad Hall Workshop in Wroxham, Norfolk, where it was repainted
in its current shade of two-tone blue at a cost of £3,600 and successfully put
through an MOT, the mileage at this point being 89,145. The repaint was an
extremely thorough job (wings, doors, bonnet, bumpers, lights, windscreen all
removed) and it still looks great today. Even the radiator slats were removed
and repainted.
Over the next ten years the car
was in light regular use, covering some 3,500 miles and having the carburettor
rebuilt by Burlen in 2012, shortly after which it was put into storage where it
has remained to this day. We are told that the engine was last started a few
months ago but we have not attempted to start it ourselves.
As you can see in the photos, the car looks absolutely lovely with
excellent paintwork, well-fitting doors and a pleasingly mellowed interior. On
offer here as a straightforward recommissioning project, it comes with an
original owner’s handbook, Pitman’s Rover book and sundry useful spares
including a set of aluminium wheel trims, partially-filled tool tray and a spare
cylinder head. There are also 14 old MOTs back to 1986 at 87,876 miles. The
original Viking radiator mascot is also present, along with a less
nickable plain radiator cap for when the car is left
unattended...
Bidders are advised that the V5C
erroneously records the chassis and engine numbers as G22905 rather than 622905
and the cylinder capacity as 1,497cc rather than 1,577cc.
These handsome Rover P1 Fourteens are now extremely rare, especially
in four-light Sports Saloon form, as here. In fact this is the first we have
ever offered in almost 20 years of hosting these sales so you are unlikely to
see another for sale any time soon.
Consigned
by James Dennison – 07970 309907 – james.dennison@brightwells.com