New member and P2 owner

[deni]

Hi all,

I am new on this forum and I own a Rover P2 Sport, 12Hp. The plan is to, with (quite) a bit of help , restore it to the point that I can drive and enjoy it and then keep working on it.

The car is not in driving condition at the moment and I know it's going to take time to achieve this. I am not the most experienced car mechanic either, but my friend and mechanic Dave will help me to get there hopefully.

We will first attempt to start the engine in a few days, to see if it will come to life. If this works out, we will then start with work on the car. We have done some work in preparation for this such as, stripped and cleaned the carburettor, air filter and distributor and bought a new set of spark plugs. It all looks good so far and I hope we will manage to start the engine.

I would also like to buy a new set of HT leads, so if anyone can suggest where to buy them, that would be great.

I have just recently started to research about these cars and I have bought the manual from RSR. If the restoration goes ahead, I will also become a club member.

Looking forward to it and I will appreciate any advice I can get as the project goes on as I will certainly need it, especially when it comes to sourcing the right parts.

Thank you.
Deni

[TonyG]

Demi,
Welcome to the RSR. Good to hear about another member with a fine old Rover 12.

These cars are pretty simple and the workshop manual is invaluable. Also, you need to get a parts book as this explains how a lot of bits goes together with exploded pictures and the correct terminology for parts.

Meteor Spares or Viking Engineering are a fantastic source for parts, particularly the bits that are unique to Rovers. Contact details can be found in Freewheel, the club magazine.

Generic parts can be sourced from a variety of classic car motor factors and it's just a matter of trawling the internet for the right bits at the best price. I think the Green Spark Plug Co do
Plug leads or Vintage Car Parts. You will require about a metre of copper cored lead to cut into suitable pieces for the plugs and coil HT.

Worth spending some time on this site searching through the past threads appropriate to your car. You will see that most things you encounter will have come up before and the links to Luli's web site will give you a goldmine of information.

Good luck and keep us informed of progress.

Tony.

[deni]

Hi Tony,

Thank you for the information, especially regarding the spark plug leads. I have bought a new set of N9Y spark plugs (these were in the engine previously), so I thought it would be great to buy new set of leads too. I already have RSR workshop manual and I will buy the parts list too.

I saw the photos of your car and I think it looks really nice. I have not seen any pictures of it before you have started to work on it, but the latest pictures show you have done a great job with painting it, and the car will look great when it is finished.

Thanks again for your help and I will post an update when I have made any significant progress.

Deni

[TonyG]

Demi, I don’t know what year your car is but N9Y plugs would be too long reach for either of my cars but perhaps this differs with models? Suggest you double check before starting the car. Also, if it’s a long time since the engine has run, it might be worth taking the rocker box off and checking that all the valves open and close properly before you hit the starter, just in case!
Then when you do crank it on the starter, do it with the plugs out or the coil HT removed so it won’t fire. This should get the oil pressure up and avoid excessive wear. The gauge will show the pressure going up.

There are various websites that do comparisons of old to new plugs. I think the last ones I bought for my Saloon were NGK5ES, although my Tourer uses Champion J8 or equivalent because the head has been skimmed.

Good luck with getting the old girl going and thanks for your kind words about my Saloon. The paint looks ok but the pictures are quite flattering and it is far from perfect. However, it’s a big improvement on what it was like and I will be proud when I finally get it on the road. There is still a lot to do with re wiring as the next job and then the headlining and carpets. With luck there will be more club events next year and I will bring it along to one or two.

Tony.

[GOY189]

Usually Champion N8 or NGK B5ES or equivalent plugs work best in a P2. The N9Y's although not that different in heat range have a projected nose.

How long has the oil in the sump been there? If the oil on the dipstick is smelly, it is worth draining the old oil out and removing the oil strainer from the sump by unscrewing the threaded brass hexagon cover on the drivers side. You should wash the strainer in kerosene or paraffin or petrol to remove oily sludge and then allow to dry. You can then assess the state of oily sludge in the sump. It may be possible to scrape that out through the strainer's flange otherwise drop the sump to do that.

Next replace sump plug and strainer and half fill the engine with flushing oil, a straight SAE20 oil that will encourage the gunge in the engine out of its hiding places. When I did this for a car that had been off the road for 20 plus years, with plugs out I turned the engine over for 5 minutes in 30 second bursts allowing time between for the starter to cool down. The by now very dirty oil was drained and replaced with a 20w50.

Hope this helps
Mike

[deni]

Hi Tony and Mike,

Thank you for your replies and advice. Even though the Champion N9Y spark plugs have the same reach, they have a projected nose as Mike said, so I will buy a new set of NGK B5ES spark plugs, just to be on the safe side, and proceed as you've suggested.

I really appreciate your help and advice and I will keep you updated.

I think it would be better now to start a new thread in an appropriate forum section (P2 cars up to 1947), so I will continue posting there from now on.

Thanks,
Deni