<div dir="ltr">Hi Patrick,<div><br></div><div>I think it's fair to say we're always going to agree to disagree.</div><div><br></div><div>Done loads of rear suspensions on P6's and can only say personally I find them very easy, either rolling the whole lot under, or just dropping the diff.</div>
<div><br></div><div>I can drop the diff without an inspection pit in 30 mins whereupon a rear brake overhaul/pad change is a very very easy.</div><div><br></div><div>The biggest problem with front suspension I find is splitting the ball joints, something i sorted by buying a decent splitter. </div>
<div><br></div><div>There wasn't a Ford Escort or Cortine i ever saw in the 70's that didnt had a ruddy great plate welded on the inner wing cos the place 'others' chose to mount their front suspension wasn't actually up to the job, so if thats an example of a 'better' front suspension system give me Rovers every time.</div>
<div><br></div><div>There is no definitive answer to a 'sluggish V8' only differences of opinion, compared to a Morris Minor it's a rocket ship, to a Ferrari it's a skateboard so whist I appreciate it wasn't fast enough for you it may well have been plenty quick enough for others.</div>
<div><br></div><div>If nothing else you've certainly provoked a response on the forum and for that I thank you, it was nearly 15 years ago I first signed up to Rovernet and 'discussions' such as this were not unusual. </div>
<div><br></div><div>Sadly some of those involved are no longer with us but glad their spirit is alive.</div><div><br></div><div>Rose tiinted glasses, yes of course, is that so bad? </div><div><br></div><div>Do we want to disect the Spitfire, the Douglas Dakota, the Saturn 5 etc etc? I;m sure none of them were 100% perfect and could have been improved but I respect what they achieved. if you look hard enough i'm sure you can find flaws in anything, including people, but sometimes maybe it's best not to look to hard. <img src="cid:360@goomoji.gmail" goomoji="360" style="margin: 0px 0.2ex; vertical-align: middle;"><img src="cid:360@goomoji.gmail" goomoji="360" style="margin: 0px 0.2ex; vertical-align: middle;"></div>
<div><br></div><div>Best regards</div><div><br></div><div>Alan</div><div><br></div></div><div class="gmail_extra"><br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Wed, Nov 6, 2013 at 8:03 PM, <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:phing@videotron.ca" target="_blank">phing@videotron.ca</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">Subjective ,Moi??<br>
As a long time Rover nut I bought my P6 in anticipation , I sold it with relief<br>
My comments are based on my " experience with other comparable cars of the era" '<br>
Have you ever stripped out the complete P6 rear suspension ?? It IS Heavy and is not a particularly clever piece of engineering ;<br>
The front suspension IS complex , most people managed with a Macpherson strut or double wishbones rather than a mass of ironmongery to transfer the loads into the bulk head<br>
Like it or not the NASA v8 engine IS gutless, this combined with the incredible weight of the P6 does not produce a performance car<br>
The P6B was the last hurrah of a long serving team of ROVER engineers , the Leyland bean counters weren't let loose until the SDI was born .<br>
Volvo and Mercedes and others were selling ship loads of well built, safe , reliable cars into the NA market at the same time as Rover were shipping unsold P6Bs back to Solihull .<br>
Patrick<br>
From: Alan Francis<br>
Sent: Wednesday, November 06, 2013 2:18 PM<br>
To: Rovernet<br>
Subject: [Rovernet] 1970 3500S NAADA original<br>
<br>
Any assessment of the car, 50 years on, is always going to have the benefit<br>
and influence of hindsight. Whilst your comments may have a basis in fact<br>
some are clearly an expression of opinion rather than fact and phrases such<br>
as "the rear end was heavy" "the V8 was gutless" "a complex front<br>
suspension" are surely subjective and dependent on your experience of other<br>
cars it is being compared with.<br>
<br>
The car was not perfect, no car ever is, it's level of imperfection is<br>
dependent on the expectations of the observer, a gutless V8 to you was a<br>
breath of fresh air to UK motorists used to a 4 cylinder motor in the car.<br>
This gutless V8 in Mk 1 form had a better 0-60 figure than a 3.4 Mk 2 Jag<br>
and only a second slower than a 3.8 which had another 50 bhp on tap...so by<br>
no stretch of the imagination could it be described as sluggish in<br>
comparison with other similar saloons.<br>
<br>
<br>
I agree the Ambla and Formica are somewhat 'tacky' but of course by the<br>
time it was in 3500S guise it was no longer a Rover it was a British<br>
Leyland product carrying all the baggage that being a member of that family<br>
entailed, but you did get electric windows, power steering and an air-con<br>
option when such things were still some way off in the UK. Whilst it may<br>
not of been, with hindsight 'right' for the US market it was a genuine<br>
attempt to meet the expectations of the US buyer and in general did<br>
receive, intitially good reviews from the US motoring press in 4 cyl form,<br>
unfortunately by the time the 3500s arrived the pitfalls of trying to<br>
service the motoring needs and servicing requirements of a country<br>
thousands of miles across had taken their toll on Rovers reputation.<br>
<br>
It's important you don't forget it was, compared to other automobiles on US<br>
highways at the time safe, very safe, and it cost many US lives to achieve<br>
the safety standards now regarded as the norm. Other cars may have had less<br>
complicated brakes and suspension, simpler rear brakes and a livelier<br>
V8............not much consolation as it folds up around you in a hard<br>
shunt and the steering column heads ever closer to your chest because it<br>
had a non complex front suspension with a rack and pinion mounted low<br>
down at the front.<br>
<br>
In the UK Ford still hadn't fitted a brake fluid level warning light in the<br>
1970's and of course the main cause of auto fires in the sixties wasn't<br>
actually fuel, it was brake fluid pouring all over a hot manifold in a<br>
shunt, something Rover also tried to prevent with a flexible plastic<br>
reservoir.<br>
<br>
Personally I love em , warts an all, and accept some of the criticism<br>
levied, but I do think you have chosen to highlight the 'faults' whilst<br>
ignoring the positive aspects of the car, or perhaps you genuinely believe<br>
there were none?<br>
<br>
That being the case I'm happy to take any NADA 3500's anyone is looking to<br>
off-load........well they are rubbish aren't they. ;) ;)<br>
<br>
Best Regards<br>
<br>
Alan Francis (partviking)<br>
<br>
On Tuesday, November 5, 2013, wrote:<br>
<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
Hi<br>
I hate to tell you but this car is priced properly ,any P6B is not worth<br>
more. A NADA P6B cured me of a life long addiction to Rovers. These cars<br>
were hopelessly, stupidly, over engineered . The engine bay was<br>
supposedly designed for a gas turbine !! resulting in a complex front<br>
suspension , the rear end De dion was a heavy rust prone joke [ Triumph<br>
built a proper IRS ] The V8 was gutless even after removing the AED and<br>
smog stuff , the brakes were a pig to overhaul , the rear brakes made an E<br>
type Jaguar's accessibility look good , Rover were too cheap to either<br>
find a decent 5 speed ,manual or a modern auto box , instead they persisted<br>
with that dreadful Borg Warner box. . Build quality was atrocious , the<br>
interior used plastic seats and wood trim instead of leather and tree wood<br>
etc . The contemporary Triumph 6 cylinder sedan was a better car<br>
The P6B was a gas guzzling disappointment .<br>
I was happy to swap it for another British car with a V8, excellent<br>
automatic transmission and A/C a Jensen interceptor which uses similar<br>
amounts of fuel but is a lot more fun<br>
Cheers Patrick<br>
<br>
-----Original Message----- From: GeffMcCarthy<br>
Sent: Tuesday, November 05, 2013 1:06 PM<br>
To: 'Rovernet'<br>
Subject: Re: [Rovernet] 1970 3500S NAADA original<br>
<br>
PPS...! My car is 433000340A, this one is 1552A, and James Taylor's book<br>
shows that 2043 Federal 3500S were produced. I assume these went to both<br>
USA<br>
and Canada.<br>
It is sad that our beloved Rovers do not command higher prices...<br>
<br>
AvMedSafe<br>
Geoffrey W. McCarthy MD MBA DipAvMed<br>
677 NW Melinda Ave Portland OR USA 97210<br>
<a href="tel:503-241-8468" value="+15032418468" target="_blank">503-241-8468</a>(h) <a href="tel:503-799-3809" value="+15037993809" target="_blank">503-799-3809</a> (mobile)<br>
<br>
<br>
-----Original Message-----<br>
From: Rovernet [mailto:<a href="mailto:rovernet-bounces@rovernet.org" target="_blank">rovernet-bounces@<u></u>rovernet.org</a>] On Behalf Of Tom<br>
Rymes<br>
Sent: Tuesday, November 05, 2013 7:10 AM<br>
To: Rovernet<br>
Subject: Re: [Rovernet] 1970 3500S NAADA original<br>
<br>
On Nov 5, 2013, at 9:37 AM, "Ben Saunders" <<a href="mailto:bsaunders@firstva.com" target="_blank">bsaunders@firstva.com</a>> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
<br>
Here is the link to a 1970 Rover 3500S NADA that seems to be very<br>
original and in fantastic condition.<br>
<br>
</blockquote>
<br>
<br>
Here's a better link, Ben's was broken:<br>
<br>
<a href="http://cgi.ebay.com/141105430488" target="_blank">http://cgi.ebay.com/<u></u>141105430488</a><br>
<br>
Tom<br>
<br>
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