-3.9 Litre Engine Rebuild by Marque Specialists ‘RPI Engineering’
-5 Speed Manual
-Appeared In The film ‘Northern Soul’ Starring Steve Coogan.
-Extensive History File
-63,000 Miles.

It is fair to say that at any one time, there will always be a number of Rover P6 V8’s on the open market for you to choose from. But if you have been looking for something rather special, an example that is a cut above the rest, then your search should be over as KTC 890K has been the culmination of one man’s quest to develop one of the best P6’s he could find into a reliable, economical and exciting daily driver. To achieve this (which he has) well over £20, 000 has been invested in the project.
A few years ago, the owner of KTC 890K, as an airline pilot and passionate classic car enthusiast wished to combine both his interests by traveling to the airport in a classic car. The chosen vehicle would have to be reliable, comfortable, and economical. Now, you may be thinking that a Rover V8 is perhaps not the most economical option out there, but part of the plan was not only to fully rebuild the engine to 3. 9 litre spec but to install an LPG (liquid petroleum gas) system.

So, after a lengthy search of the market the chosen vehicle was found, the one we see today. A vehicle that at the time was just a 2 owner example that had covered a little over 50, 000 miles. It was first registered for the road on the 1st January 1972 and left the factory as a P6b 3500, finished in Almond with an Ebony interior. Price when new being £2176. 88 including tax. Factory fitted extras included, power steering, a radio, heated rear screen and seat belts. Dealer-fitted extras included a Britax sunroof, Lucas square 8 fog lamps, door mirrors, and mud flaps. Rather nicely the history file contains all the original Rover P6 sales brochures.

Despite this low mileage like many P6s, KTC 890K had already been the subject of a major rebuild in 1994 by specialists Rovers Return. It is now over 25 years since this work was completed and the lovely, overall condition we find KTC 890K in today is great testimony to the quality of this work. In fact, such was the standard that some years later in 2011 KTC 890K entered The Rover P6 Clubs car rally and came 3rd in class.

Rather interestingly in 2012 KTC 890K became a “star” by being used in the film, Northern Soul, starring Steve Coogan and Lisa Stansfield. A film exploring this music scene that started in the North West of England during the 1970s. Some pictures of the car on set are contained in the history file.

Before going through the more recent improvements and developments made to KTC 890K it is important to know that all the work was carried out by experienced professionals and the history file contains the invoices to back this up.

The engine was given to respected Rover V8 specialists RPI Engineering who fully rebuilt the engine to 3. 9 litres specification using stage 1 heads. The bores were machined to +20 and new pistons were fitted. The big ends and main bearings +10 and then fitted with ARP stud kit and ARP big end bolts. The new camshaft fitted is a Piper 270. New rocker shafts were fitted as well as a hi-volume oil pump kit. A new Weber 1404 complete kit was fitted with K&N filter along with an LPG Mixer and shroud. There are invoices from RPI for over £5, 500 to complete this work.

The LPG installation was carried out by Gas & Go Ltd at a cost of approaching £2000. It is a very neat system and due to the large size of the P6’s boot still leaves you with plenty of storage. The switch over from petrol to gas is a very simple button system fitted to the centre console. From a physical driving experience, there is no noticeable difference in performance using either fuel.
KTC 890K has also been inspected and registered with the UKLPG vehicle register.

For better performance and reliability, a fully programmable electronic ignition system has been installed along with a sports coil and lead set.
The exhaust is a complete big bore stainless steel system and along with the engine makes a beautiful sound.
Over and above the performance side of things a look through the more recent invoices shows that the owner has not been afraid to invest in other areas as well. The brakes have received attention, a new rear diff fitted, and new Spax shock absorbers. On the cooling side, a new radiator was fitted along with a Kenlowe electronic fan.

The result of all this time and investment is a properly sorted Rover P6 that aside from the upgraded Rover SDI wheels it looks standard. However, as soon as you fire it up you realise that this is something special. The engine has quite clearly been built very well and the exhaust note is hard to describe to do it justice.

We have personally driven this sorted motorcar over 300 miles since coming into stock and has been on the button and a pleasure to drive.




To find out more about this vehicle please contact charlie@brooklandscarsltd.com in our sales team for further details, viewing by prior appointment.
Telephone: +44 (0)1932828545
Mobile: +44 (0)7557 878123