The Rebirth of Adam

The story of a two door Coupé by Ray Kendall

First the name; With two Rover P5B Coupés you need to distinguish one from the other, and as the registration is ADM 849H it is obvious that it was going to be known as Adam.

The Search

The rebirth of Adam began in the autumn of 1992 after a day exploring the Forest of Dean for two unloved Rovers mentioned in the club magazine.  My wife, Vicki, required sets of door handles and Rostyle wheels to refurbish, to replace those on her Coupé.  The search had not been successful and a couple of hours after returning home she received a call from a member in Stafford.  He needed to dispose of a Coupé quickly because the space was needed in the barn where it was stored.

We arranged a visit and found a White Coupé with saddletan interior, complete with door handles, Rostyle wheels, two engines and gearboxes (both out of the car), two bonnets, but no radio or tool-tray.  We agreed to remove it and with the help of friends, the car with an engine and gearbox in the boot was dragged onto a low-loader.

During the autumn and winter, the front garden was used as a workshop, while I stripped down the car, removed the mouse-nest and inspected each part as it was cleaned.  As spring arrived Vicki and I were still debating what to do with the shell.  Basically it was a good shell with the usual areas of rust around the sills and the inner wings.  We already had a White Coupé, albeit with a Burnt Grey roof, and I am not keen on white cars, but we were loathe to scrap it.

The Idea was Born

At this point Richard Spratley entered the story; during the spring meetings of the West Midlands Branch we discussed the possibility of restoration.  A straight forward rebuild would result in a second car 98% the same as Vicki's.  It was at this point that Richard expressed his long-held desired to attempt to build a two door Coupé.  We agreed to go ahead and produce a car as it might have come out of the factory.  The shell was transported to rural Leicestershire, where it stood for four weeks before it and Richard's workshop were transported to the Black Country.

The plan for the rebuild was determined by a desire to use the engine, gearbox and other ancillary equipment mounted on the sub-frame complete with wheels as an exhibit at the Top Gear Classic and Sportscar Show at the NEC in May 1994.  The engine, gear-box and torque converter were reconditioned and the unit was duly displayed.

Work on the body was done in parallel, after carrying out the usual repairs with repair panels, the shell was primed, and the engine and sub-frame installed.  The running gear was added and in July it moved under it's own power.  After twelve months discussion the time had arrived to decide on the colour, the interior was Saddletan so grey was out, at weekly intervals it had changed from Arden Green to Admiralty Blue to Bordeaux Red and the week it went into the spray booth it was the turn of ARDEN GREEN.  By the end of July it was ready for the addition of lights, electrics, trim, front bumper and re-chromed wheels.  The only item of trim not put back was the 3.5 Litre badge on the front wings; this was left off so that the line of the side was not broken.

Back on the Road

To go to the National at Tatton Park it had to go minus back bumper and all over-riders which were not back from the chroming company.  As this was its first long run Richard accompanied us and tested the rear seat arrangement.

Adam's third outing was to the Lakeland Rally at the end of September.  On the Friday we arrived at Windermere after a minor over-heating problem as we pulled off the motorway.  On Saturday, in typical lakeland weather, we headed over the Kirkstone Pass to Ullswater and Adam's first exposure to a wider Rover audience.  Generally, three attitudes were detected, the first group consisted of those who accepted the modifications and passed complimentary remarks, the second, looked, stepped back and frowned, then walked away shaking their heads, whilst the third group were indifferent.  I have not worked out what this third reaction signifies but some of this group did not realise, until told, that there was anything different from a standard production model.  To my mind, this reaction means that we have achieved what we set out to do, to produce a "factory produced car".

All these reactions are secondary to me because during the afternoon the person whose opinion really mattered turned up, namely Mr David Bache, the designer of the P5 and P5Bs.  He accepted the modifications and said that they were closer to the style he would have produced if the company could have provided for the extra tooling and production costs.

A Sad Occasion

The fourth outing was a sad occasion.  In late November David died after a short illness and was cremated at Robin Hood Crematorium on 6th December.  The remembrance service was held at Knowle Parish Church and representative cars from each of the classic Rover clubs attended including Adam.

The Technical Details

The Bodywork Conversion

The modifications required to produce the two door coupé as envisaged meant that the b/c post was moved back five inches.  The doors were produced by using two doors cut vertically in the centre to give the extra length.  The back doors had their length reduced accordingly and were welded to the b/c post and the back wing to provide the illusion of one panel.  The beading between the back wing and the tonneau panel alongside the boot was removed and the seam welded to give a line similar to the front wing.  This was repeated on the second side.  The rear inner wheel arches have been enclosed to keep down the spray between the inner and outer panels.

Other Changes

The modified doors required a number of other items to be modified:-

The front stainless steel sill plates were extended, and repolished.  The rear plates replaced by panels to cover the sill and hold the "door" panels in position.

The front door glass surrounds (door frame upper channel) were extended and repolished.

The door lock mechanisms were extended.

The back quarter lights were removed, and the glass surround was hinged at the b/c post and the existing quarter-light catch used to close the window.  The door frame upper channel and the moulding for the door waist were shortened to form the frame.

Larger glass was required for the side windows.  This entailed cutting to shape and drilling the rear glass for the quarter-light catch.

Longer body trim was needed for the doors and the back wings.  The length required means that sill trim or P5 Mark III wing trims without cut-out were needed.

Bigger interior panels for front doors.  Using templates new hardboard panels were cut and holes drilled to suit the existing holes in the lengthened door. To give the necessary tolerance old type panel clips were used instead of the modern equivalents.  It was decided not to have map pockets.

Cut down door casing for inside the back door.  This entailed dismantling the panel, cutting the five inches off the front edge, refitting the panel clips and the hardboard stiffener, and because we had no sewing machine to pierce hardboard we drilled 1.5 mm holes at .125" centres down the front edge.  The existing vinyl covering was replaced because no holes were needed for the window winder and the door opening mechanism.  Vicki stitched the new vinyl to the panel and the outer edge was folded round the back of the panel and glued into position.  The arm rest casing also needed five inches off the front edge, to do this required the vinyl cover and the foam to be turned back and the metal rest cut down .  Because it is shaped the new leading edge has to be filled in before the foam and vinyl is replaced.  The top of the door finger pull is no longer required and was replaced.

Interior cant rail trim over doors was altered to suit the new position of the b/c posts .  The old cover was removed, the cut-out for the original b/c post welded up and a new cut-out provided and the trim was recovered.

Front seats were altered to gain access to the rear.  The seat slide was hinged at the front with a peg and hole location and a catch at the rear to hold it down.  This means that the front seats can be tilted forward.

Rear courtesy lights were operated by the rear doors.  A switch was incorporated in the tilt mechanism of the front seats to operate the lights.