Florida Barn Find: 1969 Rover 3500S V8
This 1969 Rover 3500S V8 is a restoration-worthy candidate that resides in Miami, Florida, and looks quite honest for being a barn-find project. The big Rover sedan marked an impressive shot across the bow from the British company to enter the U.S. luxury car market in a significant way. Although not what you’d call a major commercial success, those who own one generally love the boxy four-door. The Buick-derived V8 should make maintenance more manageable than many other vintage European luxury sedans, and the same goes for the Borg-Warner gearbox. This Rover is listed here on craigslist for just $2,000.
As I’ve mentioned in the past, I spend a fair bit of time in Florida owing to the fact that my better half is a native of the Sunshine State. What’s interesting about the old Florida plate is you so rarely see vintage cars still wearing these antique (by Florida standards) tags. I’d argue it’s actually more common to see a black-plate California car than to find a car in Florida with these 60s-era plates that are sought-after by collectors. It also gives you a sense of how original this Rover remains and for how long it’s likely been hidden. The badges are all accounted for, the chrome still looks smart, and the paint – although tired – isn’t too bad, either.
If this Rover was sitting outside for years baking in the Florida sun, it would look much worse, in my opinion. The interior really just shows the typical signs of age as opposed to years of sun damage. Almost every car of this age that’s been left untouched will have a cracked dash, and the leather seats will be dry. The wood trim, of course, has perished and will have to be replaced. I do love seeing that original horn button, and after seeing at least half a dozen of these in boneyards over the years, I feel like that horn button goes missing fairly often. The color combo is quite pretty, with the red interior and carpets seemingly offset by a black paint job. It will look stunning once restored.
The backseat actually doesn’t look bad at all, and I wouldn’t be surprised to learn they were never used. After all, Florida is the land of retirees, and many cars are bought with the interior of having grandkids in the back who show up once or twice a year. The condition of the back seat also provides further evidence this Rover was stored indoors for many years. The lightweight V8 will hopefully need minimal coaxing to come back to life, and a few fluid changes and a gas tank clean-out will hopefully yield a runner. This Rover retains its Florida title, and hopefully those old-school license plates will be a part of the deal as well.
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Comments
The price is right and if the chassis isn’t laden with rust it deserves to be fixed up and back on the road. These have gone unloved for a long time. I think they are really cool cars and from what I heard have a nice ride. It would be fun to own.
I grew up with these cars down under and had friends who had them back in the day. I fully agree with you but this is a car that is already known to rust on the showroom floor and it is from Florida. The rusty chrome INSIDE the car scares the daylights out of me because it means that this thing is more than likely a bag of nails at the chassis level once you unbolt the panels. I am not saying it can’t be restored but I think it is worse than it looks.
While that is indeed a cool old Rover, I think it’s safe to say it’s rusty and crusty and the Miami area salt air did it no favors. Even that lever shown in one of the inside pictures is corroded. It seems plausible to suggest that with the debris in and around the trunk lip and the interior seats, console, and steering wheel being deteriorated to the extent they are, that at some point this car spent a considerable amount of time outside before its apparent barn storage.
I like the vw key in the ignition. The british police used these cars as chase cars back in the day. A properly set up one will give any corvette, camaro, mustang owner a real scare.
I wish some people would keep their assumptions or (safe to say) to them selves. A person once comented on a vehicle I was selling about rust underneath the car, and they were completely wrong. It ruined my sale during that advertisement moment. Finally a person came to see it and were amazed by the condition underneath the car. People pay to advertise their car. Please be kind and keep your assumptions or (safe to say) to yourself.
Ramon, you sound like the seller of this car seeing how quick you are to come to the defense of this bucket of rust.
But since you’re willing to brush reality aside, allow me to provide a bit of reality for those reading the comments:
First off, assuming a P6 is better than it looks is already a recipe for disaster; these cars are unibody but with detachable exterior panels (a-la Citroen DS/ID), making hidden rust an absolute given with them.
Secondly, if you actually looked at the rest of the photos in the Craigslist listing, you’d know it IS a lot worse. Not only are the detachable exterior panels rotted – including holes directly through the A-pillar and the entire rear roof edge; arguably the worst I’ve ever seen on a P6 – the base unit is just as rotted.
One doesn’t need to go past the interior trunk pictures – which were sadly not posted here at BarnFinds – to have seen that the weatherstripping rails are rotted, the lower trunk corners were Swiss cheese, the trunk pan had scaling which looked extremely questionable – likely paper-thin – and every bit of the interior told a story of significant moisture damage.
One can pick up a fairly *presentable* project P6 in the US these days for $2k, and I’ve seen a 2000 with rocker rot and a worn cam – but externally gorgeous – sell for all of $500. $2k for this is well past crack-pipe pricing; it’s highway robbery. Even a P6 collector would be daft to do anything with it other than break it for parts. This is a $500 car *tops,* and even I’d consider that pushing it. $300 would be more reasonable. Period.
These Rovers gave certainly lots of “scares”, due to their legendary reliability and quality faults.
Widely published 0-60, 1/4 Mile, horsepower, and top speed figures (US and European models) show them way slower than cars like Corvettes.
For example:
Corvette 427 0-60 around 5.5 sec, top speed 170 mph.
Rover 3500 0-60 around 10 sec, top speed 117 mph.
Hi Cam, a Corvette has a fibreglass body waying sfa, n the 427ci Motor = at least twice the cc of the Metal Bodied Rover.
So Cam, Don’t you think that would account for the twice differences, Think about!!
My point was that a police spec Rover could not “scare” a Corvette or similar muscle car driver of that era. I did think about it…. the numbers are easy.
A ’69 427 Corvette is actually somewhat heavy for a “sports” car, weighing in about 900 lbs more than the Rover.
The Rover has a 215hp engine, and the Vette could be had with 435 hp.
The Corvette is massively ahead in the power to weight ratio at about 8.55 lbs per hp, and the Rover at 19.52 lbs per hp.
Hood scoops are in for the LS swap.
Please keep in mind, that in the UK, the bad guys were using old Jags, easy to catch!
Interesting find. I hauled one just like this out of Miami to Naples in about 2000.
I used the engine for a MGBV8 project. Still have the Rover emblems in my toolbox. These are sought after by the EU folks for the strengthened bumper parts and hood scoops that the euro P-6 didn’t have. FYI, the center scoop fits the MGB bonnet curve just right.
after they went to the 3 scoops (finally the top displacement) I REALLY kept my teenaged eyes out (’68 intro of bent8, buck’s ’61alu motor). Never even heard of it in the usa car. “Alu motor?” I said. “Wont that melt?” But I was a believer when one showed up (kid’s dad bought each the 2000, 2200, & later this 1) @ skol. It wuz fast(est)! Now I hear of the Citroen DS connection too~
Check out Cold War Motors on YouTube this Summer for some 3500s body repair for a guy who knows Rovers as well as a complete restoration on an earlier Rover. These guys are from Alberta, CA, seemingly a little rough around the edges, but do high quality auto work, love cars, and know their stuff in an unsophisticated garage environment.