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Details
1956 ROVER P4 90 FOUR DOOR SALOON
Registration No. NSG 47
Chassis No. 350600359
Engine No. BA74219-267199
Black with red interior
Engine: six cylinders in line, overhead inlet side exhaust valves, 2,639cc, 90bhp at 4,500rpm; Gearbox: four speed manual with overdrive; Suspension: front, independent wishbones and coils, rear, semi-elliptic leaf springs; Brakes: servo-assisted Girling hydraulic with drums all round. Right hand drive.
Rover's P4 75 was a bold step away from tradition in 1949. The company's first all-new post-war design, and its first "slab-side" model, was heavily based upon the Studebakers of the early- and mid-forties, and this new look was not always received warmly. However, the car's engineering proved itself beyond question and, revitalised by periodic revision and modernisation, the P4 range enjoyed a run of some fifteen years. The first major changes came with the expansion of the range in 1953 to include a basic four-cylinder model, the 60, and a more powerful six, the 90. Using a larger version of the 75's four-bearing, overhead inlet side exhaust engine, the latter was so named for its boasted 90 bhp and 90 mph top speed. However, to concentrate upon the figures alone is to miss the point of the P4. This is a model known to many of its fans as "The 1 ½ Ton Armchair"; the interior was fitted out in traditional wood and leather to a quality that drew contemporary comparison with offerings from Crewe, while the six-cylinders produced their power in a refined and civilised manner appropriate for "One of Britain's Fine Cars" (as Rover were then styling themselves).
This example was supplied by W.B.Stevens & Co. of Biggar, Lanarkshire, having been bought on 25th October 1955 by Mr. R. McCosh of Edinburgh for the sum of £1431:10:6. A 1956 model (as confirmed by the 3506 prefix to its chassis number), it is interesting because it offers the 1956-specification overdrive gearbox but pre-dates the cosmetic revisions that also arrived that year. According to the vendor (an acquaintance of the McCosh family), the car was used by the family chauffeur for shopping and the transport of staff until the Suez oil crisis of 1973, at which point it was put up on blocks until bought by the vendor in 1980 (from the grandson of Mr. McCosh).
Remarkably original, it is in a better condition than one might expect of a fifty-year-old workhorse: the red leather interior is undamaged and even retains the "brown waterproof rear seat cover" specified on the original bill of sale, while the exterior paintwork bears scratches and wear consistent with long service, but nothing large or irreparable. The odometer currently displays 56,500, but we are informed by the vendor that a fault means it records double the mileage actually covered: "Drove to Blairgowrie on the A93, at the "5 miles to Blairgowrie" sign post the mileage was 56,461 - on returning to the same sign post having been to Blairgowrie the mileometer read 56,481, it should have read 56,471. Obviously, I had only driven 10 miles and boringly the beastly mileometer records 20." Sold with the original bill of sale and handbook, as well as with MoT's and bills dating back to 1985, this car is taxed until 31st December 2005 and MoT'd until 24th March 2006, and as such represents an unmolested example of Nineteen Fifties motoring, a solid basis for restoration or an immediately useable classic.
Registration No. NSG 47
Chassis No. 350600359
Engine No. BA74219-267199
Black with red interior
Engine: six cylinders in line, overhead inlet side exhaust valves, 2,639cc, 90bhp at 4,500rpm; Gearbox: four speed manual with overdrive; Suspension: front, independent wishbones and coils, rear, semi-elliptic leaf springs; Brakes: servo-assisted Girling hydraulic with drums all round. Right hand drive.
Rover's P4 75 was a bold step away from tradition in 1949. The company's first all-new post-war design, and its first "slab-side" model, was heavily based upon the Studebakers of the early- and mid-forties, and this new look was not always received warmly. However, the car's engineering proved itself beyond question and, revitalised by periodic revision and modernisation, the P4 range enjoyed a run of some fifteen years. The first major changes came with the expansion of the range in 1953 to include a basic four-cylinder model, the 60, and a more powerful six, the 90. Using a larger version of the 75's four-bearing, overhead inlet side exhaust engine, the latter was so named for its boasted 90 bhp and 90 mph top speed. However, to concentrate upon the figures alone is to miss the point of the P4. This is a model known to many of its fans as "The 1 ½ Ton Armchair"; the interior was fitted out in traditional wood and leather to a quality that drew contemporary comparison with offerings from Crewe, while the six-cylinders produced their power in a refined and civilised manner appropriate for "One of Britain's Fine Cars" (as Rover were then styling themselves).
This example was supplied by W.B.Stevens & Co. of Biggar, Lanarkshire, having been bought on 25th October 1955 by Mr. R. McCosh of Edinburgh for the sum of £1431:10:6. A 1956 model (as confirmed by the 3506 prefix to its chassis number), it is interesting because it offers the 1956-specification overdrive gearbox but pre-dates the cosmetic revisions that also arrived that year. According to the vendor (an acquaintance of the McCosh family), the car was used by the family chauffeur for shopping and the transport of staff until the Suez oil crisis of 1973, at which point it was put up on blocks until bought by the vendor in 1980 (from the grandson of Mr. McCosh).
Remarkably original, it is in a better condition than one might expect of a fifty-year-old workhorse: the red leather interior is undamaged and even retains the "brown waterproof rear seat cover" specified on the original bill of sale, while the exterior paintwork bears scratches and wear consistent with long service, but nothing large or irreparable. The odometer currently displays 56,500, but we are informed by the vendor that a fault means it records double the mileage actually covered: "Drove to Blairgowrie on the A93, at the "5 miles to Blairgowrie" sign post the mileage was 56,461 - on returning to the same sign post having been to Blairgowrie the mileometer read 56,481, it should have read 56,471. Obviously, I had only driven 10 miles and boringly the beastly mileometer records 20." Sold with the original bill of sale and handbook, as well as with MoT's and bills dating back to 1985, this car is taxed until 31st December 2005 and MoT'd until 24th March 2006, and as such represents an unmolested example of Nineteen Fifties motoring, a solid basis for restoration or an immediately useable classic.
Special notice
No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 17.5% will be added to the buyer's premium, which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.