Rover P5B 3.5 litre Saloon

The Rover P5 3 Litre range had established itself as one of the best selling British luxury cars of the Sixties. By 1967 the 3 Litre was beginning to show its age and a new powerplant was needed, enter one the famous British engines of all time, the Rover V8. The V8 engine was really a copy of a 1959 American Buick design, measured 3528cc and give the new model part of its name; the B in P5B stands for Buick.   The engine developed over 144bhp and was still  in production recently although in much modified form!

The body of the new model, known as the P5B 3.5 Litre, remained similar to the old model although the sporty, Rostyle road wheels hinted at the extra performance. Power steering and automatic transmission were now standard equipment and the car continued to appeal to its loyal customer base. As before the Saloon model featured an elegant four door body and sold in higher numbers than the Coupe version. Production of the P5B continued until 1973.

A contributor to Motorbase advises the following:

Power output from the ex. General Motors 215cu.in, V8, as modified and produced by Rover, was 184bhp (gross), 160bhp (net).

Its compression ratio was 10.5 : 1 with a compression pressure of 185-190psi.

The cars ran on Five Star Leaded fuel and had a top speed of 118mph.

In the early sixties, the American market was not ready for the 'compact V8' which had been fitted to the Buick Skylark, Oldsmobile Cutlass and a Pontiac of some sort.

The small-block V8 was 'discovered' by William Martin-Hurst, later to become the ManagingDirector of Rover whilst on a sales trip to Mercury Marine at Fondulac, Wisconsin. His intention was to sell Rover engines in marine applications, but instead returned with the new V8. It was first fitted to a Rover P6 (2000) bodyshell, which became the Three Thousand-Five P6B.

The P5 3-litre became the 3.5-litre P5B.

Buyers Guide Rover P5 1958-1973 featured in Practical Classics July 2011 – available from our sister site Bookbase.  Click Here to view