These Three 1970 Rover 3500s Are Junkyard Treasure

During the 17 years I've been chronicling automotive history as observed in the car graveyards of the world, I'd found just a handful of discarded Rover-badged cars. Today that all changes, because the U-Pull-&-Pay in Aurora, Colorado, now has three V8-equipped Rover P6s in its inventory, all of which were built from October through December of 1969.

It gets even more Rover-iffic, in fact, because the Aurora UP&P actually has five Rover sedans in total: the three 1970 3500s plus a 1967 2000 TC (also a P6, albeit a four-cylinder one), and a 1980 3500 aka SD1.

Clearly, this is the collection— or maybe just the extra parts cars— of a serious Colorado Rover sedan aficionado. You never know what you'll find in the junkyards around these parts; in recent years, I've found eight Chevrolet Corvairs and five Chevrolet Vegas grouped together at single Front Range wrecking yards, plus at least a dozen Dodge/Plymouth Omnirizons that must have come from a single hoarder collector.

Take a look at the build tags on this threesome: all built at Solihull in October or December of 1969, and all within a VIN spread of a few hundred. Strikes and labor strife were rampant at the Solihull plant at that time, so things must have been exciting on the P6 assembly line while these cars were being assembled.

The V8-equipped version of the P6 was badged as the 3500. In the UK, the version of the 3500 with a four-speed manual transmission was known as the 3500 S. However, every Rover 3500 sold in the United States for the 1968 through 1970 model years was equipped with a mandatory automatic transmission; they were given 3500 S badges anyway, presumably because they looked cooler. By the way, this badge is an NOS unit that I found among many such parts in these cars; it now lives on my garage wall.

These cars are packed with extra parts, some used and some NOS. This is a genuine bonanza for any P6 restorer.

The last time I saw a Rover 3500 S moving under its own power was nearly 10 years ago at East Coast 24 Hours of Lemons races. That's where the Super Grover race car competed for a few years.

The Super Grover car still had a functional winter/summer center hood scoop mechanism.

Yes, that's Vermin Supreme brushing Super Grover's teeth. You never know who will show up to a 24 Hours of Lemons race!

All three of these cars were built with factory air conditioning and automatic transmissions.

One even had a factory-installed Becker Europa AM/FM radio.

The glovebox of that car still had the original owner's manual and maintenance schedule from the dealership that sold it new. Schomp dealerships are still around, though a Kaiser medical office now stands where this car once gleamed on the showroom floor.

The data plate for the original owner shows that he lived up in Fort Collins.

The 3500 was powered by the Rover V8, an Anglicized early-1960s Buick 215. Thanks to all the older Land Rovers in Colorado junkyards, there's no shortage of these engines for those wishing to build homegrown MGB-V8s.

From the 1972 through 1979 model years, the only new Rovers available in the United States were Land Rovers. The 3500 aka SD1 was sold here for 1980 and 1981, but sales were poor and that was the end for Rover cars here. Back in the UK, Rover-badged non-trucks were sold all the way through 2005.

We've got photos galore of this trio, broken up into three separate galleries (below). Enjoy.

With triple hood scoops and Rover V8 (aka Buick 215) power under the hood, this was a powerful and prestigious British luxury sedan in its day.

The "S" designation went on the manual transmission-equipped 3500 in the UK, but all of the US-market versions had automatics as mandatory equipment for 1970.

These were complicated cars and parts were hard to get on this side of the Atlantic, so the 45,333 miles on the odometer might be the actual final mileage.

It has a genuine Rover-branded AM/FM radio, power windows and air conditioning. How long do you think those switches lasted?

A four-speed manual became available on the 1971 3500 S in the United States.

There's plenty of old body filler, but no way to tell if it was applied to cover factory mistakes at Solihull or done by an American body shop later on.

The newspapers are from the summer of 1988, which could be around the time this car stopped moving under its own power.

The rear fenders are removable, just like those on a Checker Marathon.

These are some of my favorite hood scoops of all time. Too bad the outer ones are gone.

This is the famous Rover V8, which was an Anglicized Buick 215. Note the twin SU carburetors.

It really was sold with 3500 S badges, despite being an automatic car. Sorry, British Rover fans!

This is an Icelert temperature sensor, which was available on US-market Rover P6s. Apparently the system would illuminate a dash indicator when the temperature outside dropped below freezing.

Rolled off the Solihull line (between strikes) around the time "Abbey Road" by the Beatles was first hitting record shops.

1970 Rover P6 in Colorado wrecking yard.

1970 Rover P6 in Colorado wrecking yard.

1970 Rover P6 in Colorado wrecking yard.

1970 Rover P6 in Colorado wrecking yard.

1970 Rover P6 in Colorado wrecking yard.

1970 Rover P6 in Colorado wrecking yard.

1970 Rover P6 in Colorado wrecking yard.

The P6 Rover 3500 was sold in the United States for the 1968 through 1971 model years.

This car currently resides (as of October of 2024) at the Aurora U-Pull-&-Pay, with four other Rover sedans. One is a 1980 SD1 located just a few spaces away from this car.

The 1981 SD1 was the final non-truck model with Rover badging sold in the United States. After that, it was just Land Rover for our side of the ocean (and everywhere after 2007).

The papers in the glovebox show that this car was sold new in Fort Collins, Colorado. The 1992 emissions sticker on the windshield indicates that it was still a runner at age 22.

The paint has suffered quite a bit of weathering in the Colorado sun.

Plenty of Rover parts were stashed inside, including extra seats.

The engine is the Rover V8 aka Buick 215, rated at 184 horsepower and 226 pound-feet.

The keys were still in it when it arrived here.

The original owner's and warranty manuals were in the glovebox (and reeking of rodent urine).

All three of the 1970 3500s in this yard have factory air conditioning and automatic transmissions.

It had a Becker Europa radio, which fellow automotive journalist Andrew Ganz bought for a future vintage BMW project.

This car cost more than a new 1970 BMW 2500 E3 sedan.

The boot is full of used and NOS Rover parts.

This is the underside of the optional "boot mount spare" that allowed P6 owners to carry the spare tire atop the decklid.

The interior is mostly there, if dirty. Note the RHD-style glovebox that opened into the driver's knees.

Interestingly, the gauges are Jaeger and not Smiths.

The 1970 Rover 3500 was automatic-only in the United States. For 1971, the four-speed was available here.

The 3500 S was the designation given to manual-equipped cars in the UK, but not on our side of the Atlantic.

The Rover V8 engine began life as the Buick 215 in the early 1960s.

There was a Summer/Winter flapper mechanism for the triple hood scoops, but it's gone.

All three of the 1970 3500s in this yard have air conditioning.

Its MSRP was $5,398 in 1970, or about $45,026 in 2024 dollars. That was more than the sticker on the 1970 Jaguar XJ-6… but then the Jag lacked Detroit-style V8 power.

This is the sensor for the Icelert system, which let the driver know when outside temperature dropped below freezing.