Visits to the workshop have been slightly depressing of late, as each one uncovered more and more previous bodges on the back end of the Rover. Things were not helped by the fact that picking apart those bodges revealed so much rust that at times it was difficult to see how we could start building things back up. Fortunately Alan Denne has seen it all before, many times over and often far worse than this. It is surprisingly reassuring when you are a little down in the dumps to have somebody remind you: ‘We can sort it!’ Especially when he is the one who is going to do the sorting...
My friend and fellow P4 owner David Inch added a little further perspective, reminding me: ‘I’m afraid such rust is usually a problem. I think Rover’s general ethos of over-engineering and their use of a chassis fit for a lorry means a lot of P4s have kept going when a lesser car would have fizzled out decades ago. And don’t forget that even your late car is nearly 60 years old.’
At times like this, you really do have to keep focused on one step at a time, and try not to look too far ahead. The task becomes
