1936 ROVER FOURTEEN

1701cc. The vendor took ownership of this Rover Fourteen Sports Saloon as a rolling restoration project in 1996. A hand-written note which accompanies the car tells us that in the 37 years prior, the car had only one driver, was always garaged, never put away when wet, and was taxed for only the warmer months of the year.

This Rover originated in the old Coventry factory as a desirable four-door model with freewheel gearbox. According to the car's buff logbook it was first registered on 19th November 1936. During WW2 it ended up in Germany as an army staff car, and its post-War years were spent in West Sussex and Surrey. Works since then reportedly included renewal of the carpets and leather interior by Abbotts of Farnham, installation of a stainless steel exhaust and an overhaul of the engine, carburettor and gearbox in approximately 1984.

It comes with a workshop manual and an original Rover Fourteen handbook. Various receipts and hand-written letters also accompany the car, dating back at least as far as the 1970s, and a collection of MoTs up to 2005. The old-style V5, which is in the vendor's name, is from 1996 and remains valid. The vendor tells us the car has been off the road in dry storage since 2005, and has not been started for several years. It is therefore being sold as a non-runner with no reserve. He describes it as "totally complete with lots of potential." The current indicated mileage is 18,835.

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