Rover P5 Sedan Mark IA with Mark I Parts Car

I have for sale two Rover P5 Sedans, the first is a Mark IA, the second is a Mark I. The two are being sold as a set only.

The Mark IA is the one in better physical shape. It is a 1962 North American car with left hand drive and automatic transmission.

It is a barn find that has not run since around 1975. It had an engine problem, so the car sat until around 2000, when the owner started renovations. He removed the head and had it rebuilt, and ordered a lot of parts, but he then had a stroke and could not work on the car. The car then sat for more than a decade. His wife sold the car after he died, and I bought it a year later after the first buyer could not figure out what to do with the car.

The car is in very good cosmetic condition as you can see from the pictures, though the body has some minor dings and chips in the paint. The only damage is to the chrome trim at the lower passenger side of the rear window – a picture of the damage is included above. The interior is intact and in very good shape. Since Oregon does not use salt on its roads, there is almost no rust.

As to the mechanical and electrical systems, I have no idea as to their condition. The engine has had the head off for at least ten years and is seized. The car will roll, and the hand brake works, but I have not tried to make any of the other systems work.

The Mark I is an early 1960 North American model (VIN ends in 000002), originally sold in the Seattle, Washington area. It is equipped with left hand drive, automatic transmission, and original equipment front disk brakes.

I bought the car in December of 2009, well before I bought the Mark IA. It was my intention to fully restore the car and drive it regularly, so I have purchased and installed a fair number of new or rebuilt mechanical parts.
The good thing about the car is that it has been almost completely mechanically and electrically restored. The engine and drive train work, and all fluids have been replaced. The radiator and fuel tank have been fully restored, a new stock fuel pump installed (currently not working), the carburetor has been rebuilt, and new plugs, plug wires, points, and vacuum advance installed. The intake system was removed and painted, and valves were adjusted while it was off. All fuel lines and hoses were replaced with new.
The brakes have had new master and rear cylinders installed and both the front calipers and brake booster rebuilt (rebuild was by J R Wadhams in England), new pads front and rear, and all new rubber hoses. Tires were new in 2010 and have less than 10 miles on them (I've driven it around the block for testing a few times). Wiper motor was disassembled and greased, so it works properly, and other electrical items aside from the clock work. I picked up new turn signal and marker light covers in England as well - they are not the correct color for the car, but the North American style turn signals seem to be unavailable.
It is the cosmetics of the car that need work. The body and trim are intact, with very little rust. There are minor dents in the doors and one on the roof. The paint is original, but the car appears to have sat outside for years under a car cover, and the paint is worn through to the primer on high spots (tops of fenders, trunk and hood). It needs a complete respray, and the bumpers both need to be straightened and probably re-chromed.
Seats will need a re-trim front and rear, new carpet (missing in front), and dash and floorboards have water damage (surface rust). There are also some niggling issues (for example, the left rear outside door handle does not work), and the under-dash tool kit is missing. The foot-powered windscreen washer pump has rusted out, and I have not replaced it. The doors and windows need new seals (replacement door seals included).
Though this would make a good parts car, given all the mechanical stuff I replaced, I really would like to see the car restored and driven. These very early 6-cylinder cars are getting rare even in England, particularly the Mark 1 cars like this one without front quarter windows (wind wings). I was in England on business in 2010 and managed to attend the national rally of the RoverP5 club. It was the club's 25th anniversary, and IIRC there were around 100 P5s there - only two were Mark 1s. I imagine they are even rarer in the USA.

I have tried to be as accurate as possible in my description, but I may have missed something - feel free to ask any questions you might have. Both cars come with documentation that was passed on to me by the previous owners.

My most recent plan was to remove the mechanical parts from the Mark I parts car and swap them over to the Mark IA to create one runner. A change in life circumstances means that I would like to sell both the cars now. While the Rover P5 is rare in the USA, parts are available from several sources in England where the model is much more common.

Cars are only for sale together. Neither car runs currently so they will both need to be towed. I will be happy to work with buyer to arrange delivery, but shipping arrangements are up to you. Deposit of $500 due via Paypal within 48 hours of end of auction.

p.s. The parts car comes with the death certificate of the first owner (it was sold by his estate) - don't see that every day!

p.p.s. The Mark I is titled as a 1959 and the Mark IA is titled as a 1963, but they are actually 1960 and 1962 models based on the VIN numbers, as found in the book "Rover P5 and P5B: The Complete Story".