First of all, the structure. The car has had a huge amount of welding over the years, with patches, and sections everywhere. For the most part, the car is very solid, but not terribly pretty underneath. So far, having taken all of the interior out, and had the car on ramp, the only area which gave way to the screwdriver is under the seat on the driver's side, in the rear, so this will be welded in due course, if the car is to obtain an MOT for the summer. There are blobs of fibreglass about it, but these were chipped at, and there is solid enough metal underneath. The D posts are pretty good,with just some filler on the bottoms, as seems to be the case on many cheaper P6s!
Body. The car has a reasonable paint finish. The front valance is completely rotten. The doors are very solid, but bubbling along the bottoms, with the driver's door having a bit of scab at the front. Rear wings are decent, and front wings are solid, with some rust under the sidelights. Bonnet and boot have a little bubbling, likely due to a paint reaction. Vinyl roof is okay, but scruffy. Generally, it'll polish up, but it's been knocked about a bit. The window seals are all good, and the car is very dry inside, particularly in light of the fact that it has lived outside for quite some time. Glass is all excellent
Interior. The seats are black leather boxpleat, and are servicable, though a little untidy. Carpets are brand new. Lots of trim missing around the centre console, but all easy enough to replace.
Mechanical. The engine, gearbox, and differential all perform well, with very smooth engagement of drive and reverse, and a very willing engine, though oil pressure isn't amazing, but no worse than any other cheap Rover V8. The oil light doesn't come on once the engine is running, which is reassuring. The fluids are all clean, carbs have new gaskets, and certainly seem to have been rebuilt recently. Manifolds fitted are the standard ones, with additional rear sections, to accommodate the 2.5 inch exhaust that it had in a previous life. The tubular ones are in the boot. Once we had got a mixture of leads onto it, and got it started initially, it started on the first turn of the key on every other attempt. Today it was run using a petrol can for fuel, picking it up using the fuel pump. Brakes weren't seized, and were very responsive. Unfortunately, shortly after parking it, we noticed a leak of fluid, from a union on the nearside front brake. I'll sort that next time I'm home. Tyres and wheels are decent, but not amazing.
Electrical. Previous owners of the car have messed it about a little, electrically, but after some cleaning, and coaxing, everything functioned.
So, to conclude, it's not bad, but, it will need work, particularly in the longer term. As such, the goal is to get it to a safe, MOT-worthy standard for the summer, and I'll reassess its position at the end of August. Today allowed me to take some photos of the car, and to run it around where it is stored. Here's a video, and some photos from today!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cfV0VW2 ... redirect=1
