# Team Face V’s Kermit’s 3.5Ltr V8



## Mr Face (Jan 22, 2009)

Team Face V's Kermit's 3.5Ltr V8










This beautiful old banger [Solihull's Finest - Ed / Captain Leyland], a Classic Rover 3500 and commonly known by its project name of 'P6' (short for 'Post War Development Model #6' and, as Michael Caine would say, "Not a lot of people know that" !!) arrived on our driveway a few weeks ago and, with half term looming, we decided it was a good idea to give it 'a-bit-of-a-make-over' and see if we could restore a little life to the paint, especially with a few more of Team Face available for heavy (messy) duties.

Before we 'crack on' a little factoid you probably wouldn't pick up from Steve Wright in the afternoon.

The front suspension & engine bay of the P6 were originally designed to accommodate a gas turbine (aka Jet !!) engine, hence large enough (just) to get a 3.5 litre V8 in there.










Why : Frank Whittle & Rover were in a race with Rolls Royce to provide Jet engines to the RAF. This contract was subsequently awarded to Rolls Royce, leaving Whittle and Rover with their thoughts set on jet-powered cars instead. The first road-going model, launched in 1961, was called the T4 (short for 'Jet Turbine Model #4') and obviously identified one or two (erm - how shall we put this politely ?!) 'potential production problems'. The main ones being, it wasn't fuel efficient enough and (not that I see either as a real problem) it produced 4000 BHP :lol::lol:… .. oh, and it's exhaust gases also tended to scald pedestrians' legs !!

The production car was launched in 1963, sadly sans the jet engine and with a conventional, 2 litre, four cylinder power-plant. This eventually evolved into a 3.5 litre V8, code-name 'P6B', courtesy of a light-weight, all aluminium, Buick engine (hence the 'B' in the model designation) discarded by General Motors in the mid 1960's due to its cost of manufacture compared with typical, iron-block American lumps and which Rover took-over - with great foresight, as it became the mainstay for Rover, Range Rover, Morgan, TVR and other classic, British marques for the next 35 years !!

The last few production runs of the P6 experimentally used the new, 'thermoplastic' paint, destined for the Rover SD1 range that superseded it in June 76, although some V8 P6s weren't delivered to British Leyland dealers until after the SD1's introduction, this particular car - 'Kermit' - being one of them, in its oh-so-period 'Avocado Green', also much beloved of bathroom suite manufacturers at the time !!

The US version of the P6 had triple (Yes- Three !!) air scoops on its bonnet, the central one, directly linked to the A/C system and the outer two to get more air into the crowded engine bay, again designed with a jet engine in mind and not a throbbing V8 and the Californian sun ... .. and talking of the Californian sun, brings me neatly onto the subject of my next thread - but more of that anon !!










That over, it's time for a little OCD

As you can see, she arrived in the rain and it was obvious that she too wasn't particularly protected from the elements.














































My first thoughts including, I wonder if that roof was still water tight & when was it treated last ?










If nothing else now, we knew she hasn't seen any protection in one or two moons.









First things first, a good soak with Valet PRO's wax-safe citrus pre-wash applied from a pump action 5 ltr garden sprayer & left for about 10 minutes to work its magic while the Karcher was set up and Joe, found his wet gear. I really do love this pre-wash and is already a must have. For the last 5 months this has allowed my daily driver to have a regular touchless wash removing 95% of road debris and bird bombs effortlessly.


















Karcher all set up now and time for me to take a sit down for a 'fresh air break' coffee and direct action from a safe distance . This time using Bilt-Hamber Auto-foam & Optimum Car Wash to give us a nice thick covering that lasted a good ten minutes, rinsed down with PW and repeated.


















Washed with 2BM, washmit and Zymol sponge and left. Clayed with Sonus SFX Ultra Fine Detailing Clay & Dodo Born Slippy. Kermit devoured two full bars but the difference to the touch was amazing & justified the effort.

















Snow foamed again and pressure washed clean. Dried with various waffle weave towels and moved into the garage to find out exactly what treats the paint work had in store for us. 




































All parked up and now in a warm garage and the paint defects are easily seen. A lot of swirl marks, rids and hazing leaving a 'milky effect' all over the exposed paintwork. See boot lid area hidden by the spare wheel (where the spare wheel was) 






















































Paint readings taken all over the car and showed ample paint. Some areas have almost certainly been re-sprayed at some time or others in the P6's history.




































Weapons of choice. As we only had the car for two weeks and agreed with the owner(The Captain) this was only ever going to be a paint cleanse and protect. After a bit of trial and error using different pads/polish combinations it was decided we were going to use Megs205 on a Menzerna Finishing pad. This combination enabled us to remove at least 90% of swirls and good proportion of RDS as well. Some area's did require multiple passes and I would say the most difficult thing was leaving some defects we could certainly have lost should we have had more time.


















Milky haze clearly visible. 



























Looking a little better.








































































Big Thanks to The Cueball : The CB RoTex coming into its own, before areas around door mirrors would have been impossible to reach without the RotEx & would have resulted in more manual effort.

Polishing with 205 happened over 5 days as and when I felt fit enough for a few minutes here and there. To say I was satisfied with the finish we had achieved from a couple of passes with 205 and a Menz finishing pad was an understatement considering we set out to just 'cleanse the paintwork'



























After Polishing Kermit was given a full IPA wipe down followed with Lusso Revitalizing Crème applied by DA with a glazing pad. 









With a little help from the youngest member of team face buffing up a beautiful shine.









A happy little face pleased with his contribution :thumb:





















































































































Having tried out Amigo a few weeks earlier on a very sun burnt SD1 (coming to a showroom near you soon) we decided to apply 2 coats of Amigo purely for its glazing ability. Two coats applied in consecutive evenings with DA and an AB HD Poxypad.



























Very happy with what Amigo had left us and chatting with Dave at 'Street Dreams Detail' after looking at what he had achieved with Menzerna Power lock we wanted to protect what we had uncovered, a deep glassy shiny Kermit. 









Power Lock applied with a DA. Spread at speed 1 and massaged in at speed 4 for a few passes until the edges start to go clear & left for 25/30 minutes (until we had applied to half the car) before buffing off. 













































And yes, we even managed to involve the Captain in buffing up what I can only describe as the slickest smoothest slipperiest paint surface I have ever felt. Later that evening while giving the Power Lock another wipe over I put my left hand on the bonnet to steady myself, slipped and face planted the bonnet.








































































After buffing up the second coat of Power Lock with Zaino Blonde towels we stood back and looked at what we had. A fantastic slick glassy finish the camera hasn't really done justice to. This really was a WOW, mouth open moment. 









The Captain being a little keen on Carnauba asked if we could go that extra mile and treat Kermit to a layer or two of wax. This was an ideal opportunity to break out two waxes that were still with their seals intact Zymol Glasur & RG55. The bonnet and near side was given two coats of Glasur and the boot lid and off side was given two coats of RG55. Both waxes applied with Blackfire Ultimate Applicator(s) spritzed with Raceglaze Clearmist Carnauba Detailing Spray which I find helps get a seriously thin layer of wax on the paint.




































Spare wheel cover and Vinyl roof cleaned and protected with 2 coats of Einszett Pro-Line Vinyl Gel









Tyres cleaned and dressed with Espuma RD50









Wheels cleaned, polished with the Britemax Twins & MF's & sealed with Blackfire All Metal Sealant.


















Battery charged & parked out on the drive ready for collection. Apologies in advance for the quantity of finished pictures, I couldn't resist. 





























































































































































































A rather nice rumble from the V8 (apparently the rear silencer has a little hole in it) and its almost gone.


















Bye-bye Kermit 









The Captain appears the following day to share with us how pleased he is & how much attention Kermit drew the previous evening while out on the town. Just then the heavens opened and I ran for the camera. It was ironic ; the Captain and I wanted different things, he wanted it to stay dry and after all the effort cleansing and protecting we wanted to see how the surface we had lovingly prepared would bead and sheet water. The results speak for themselves. Hope you enjoy, we did, even though we got a little wet in the process of capturing a few shots. 









Rain water running off the front of the bonnet 



























Spare Wheel cover and Vinyl roof protected 









Exactly as planned, paint cleansed and protecting 









If you got this far, thanks for staying with us :thumb:

Big Thanks to Joe & Cole for their help and, of course, to the Captain for helping out and letting us loose on another of his 'colourful' classics.

Of course, any comments and questions appreciated :wave:


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## Richf (Apr 26, 2008)

what a great colour


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## pee (Apr 6, 2009)

WOW what a cool car its looks amazing now i love the beading pics :thumb:


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## kristvs (Nov 2, 2009)

Hi mate that is lovely and :thumb: to your work

i remember the old p6 v8 my dad had one with straight through pipes on and you could hear him from miles off.

top work fella it looks great


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## Gleammachine (Sep 8, 2007)

Great transformation guys, a blast from the past!!!

ps, what was Rover thinking when they placed the spare wheel like that on the boot lid.:lol:


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## horned yo (Feb 10, 2009)

very very nice. Does the merzerna power lock need to be applied by DA?


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## GSVHammer (Feb 7, 2009)

Very nice write up and correction Team Face.

I now know where the name came from


> Later that evening while giving the Power Lock another wipe over I put my left hand on the bonnet to steady myself, slipped and face planted the bonnet.


:lol:


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## The Cueball (Feb 8, 2007)

Amazing job....I really like the colour of that car too...obviously looking much better now!

Glad the RotEx was able to help out......

:thumb:


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## gally (May 25, 2008)

Fantastic mate, thanks for posting. Very enjoyable read.


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## MadOnVaux! (Jun 2, 2008)

Fantastic, great car, superb work 

I dread to think what is under that vinyl though!!


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## james_death (Aug 9, 2010)

Really enjoyed that great stuff...:thumb:


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## toomanycitroens (Jan 14, 2011)

What a glorious old boat. I love it.
More, more, more please !
I have owned several SD1s over the years always fancied a P6 but it was never to be.
Fantastic job mate.


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## GlenStaff26 (Mar 10, 2007)

Top job Team Face 

You certainly work on some great pieces of automotive history


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## zippo (Mar 26, 2008)

A brilliant detail and write up. Congrats Team Face on another stunner.

Daz


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## Bass-Evolution (Aug 13, 2009)

My God, that is an ugly car... Great effort, and good results despite that.


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## G51 NAV (Jan 14, 2007)

Absolutely superb!!


Bass-Evolution said:


> My God, that is an ugly car... Great effort, and good results despite that.


It's all subjective mate... those of us who think cars from that period look the business believe most modern cars look absolutely ghastly.

Top job :thumb:


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## swiftshine (Apr 17, 2008)

Bass-Evolution said:


> My God, that is an ugly car... Great effort, and good results despite that.


Wash your mouth out philistine

Been a while since I've seen one of your write ups Mr Face, but I see you are still doing a great job.:thumb:


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## Epoch (Jul 30, 2006)

Cracking work by Team Face there

The car producing a very rewarding experience for all involved by the sound of it too.


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## -tom- (Jan 27, 2009)

mike fantastic how did u find the Valet PRO's wax-safe citrus pre-wash ?


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## AdrianW (Sep 17, 2010)

Great car my dad had two of these and my mom used to make the seats for the p6.


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## c16rkc (Apr 15, 2010)

Wow what a car! Kermit has great taste!

Fantastic turnaround and I must say that is one of the most incredibly interesting write-ups I have ever read. Thank you!


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## magpieV6 (Jul 29, 2008)

stunning job! nice to see the lads getting involved too


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## Ross (Apr 25, 2007)

Nice work,Are you enjoying the Optimum Shampoo?


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## Guest (Mar 1, 2011)

Top work as usual Mike and Team Face ;-)

Paul


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## stangalang (Nov 27, 2009)

Great work mike and another success for team face, you really need to head up north for a trip, with your machine in the boot of course :buffer:


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## GSD (Feb 6, 2011)

What a lovely old bus that Rover is.


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## o0damo0o (Feb 15, 2011)

absolutely fantastic job


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## pete5570 (Jun 11, 2010)

What a lovely car and a top job, it really brings out that great colour. Great to see a P6 again.


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## vegasbaby (Feb 26, 2011)

They certainly don't make them like that anymore! Great pics, superb finish.:thumb:


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## dsms (Feb 1, 2008)

Looks freakin killer!


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## Gizmo68 (Mar 27, 2008)

Great write up :thumb: not seen a P6 for years and never one quite this nice :speechles


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## ads2k (Jul 12, 2006)

What a great finished transformation Mike :thumb:

Well done to you and the 'workers' :lol:


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## damien.wrl (Sep 29, 2010)

A great car and well done on the effort to make it look better


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## Mr Face (Jan 22, 2009)

Gleammachine said:


> Great transformation guys, a blast from the past!!!
> 
> ps, what was Rover thinking when they placed the spare wheel like that on the boot lid.:lol:


Thanks Rob, always appreciate your thoughts and advice :thumb: Think they were thinking that with Frank Whittles engine the rear tyres would need replacing on a regular basis, hence one spare in the boot and another on the lid 



horned yo said:


> very very nice. Does the merzerna power lock need to be applied by DA?


Application Instruction Say : Use soft foam or microfibre applicator to apply a thin layer of sealant. Allow to dry to a haze and remove residue using a clean dry microfibre towel. Can be applied by hand or machine :thumb:



The Cueball said:


> Amazing job....I really like the colour of that car too...obviously looking much better now!
> 
> Glad the RotEx was able to help out......
> 
> :thumb:


Thanks again Cuey, couldnt have got a consistent finish without a lot more effort without the RotEx :thumb:



MadOnVaux! said:


> Fantastic, great car, superb work
> 
> I dread to think what is under that vinyl though!!


Hmmmmm, me too. Thankfully that wasnt in my remit however, now the paint is back to a reasonable shine the Captain is looking to have the roof stripped, prepared and re finished with a new vinyl :thumb:



GlenStaff26 said:


> Top job Team Face
> 
> You certainly work on some great pieces of automotive history


Glen, you certainly are the diplomat sir, I can think of other descriptions that someone without such tact would describe our chosen subjects :lol:



Bass-Evolution said:


> My God, that is an ugly car...
> 
> Great effort, and good results despite that.


My God, that is an ugly car... :doublesho : really ? when you are as ugly as me, you might agree Kermit is a thing of beauty 

Your complements accepted



-tom- said:


> mike fantastic how did u find the Valet PRO's wax-safe citrus pre-wash ?


Hi Tom, seriously loving it and as far as current thinking goes it is the mainstay of weekly maintenance and I cant see that changing until someone develops something that leaves a better finish cheaper. For a quick spray, smoke and PW clean, its great and does exactly what its hype told us it would do.

Thanks again for the intro and heads up :thumb:


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## -tom- (Jan 27, 2009)

Mr Face said:


> Thanks Rob, always appreciate your thoughts and advice :thumb: Think they were thinking that with Frank Whittles engine the rear tyres would need replacing on a regular basis, hence one spare in the boot and another on the lid
> 
> Application Instruction Say : Use soft foam or microfibre applicator to apply a thin layer of sealant. Allow to dry to a haze and remove residue using a clean dry microfibre towel. Can be applied by hand or machine :thumb:
> 
> ...


Mike clad u r liking it its my go to pre wash  yes it isnt cheep but very worth it. you will find like i did it cut throw the curd quite quickly and leaves a fantastic finish, will pm u shortly regards a few bits  clad to see the boys r out.


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## Mr Face (Jan 22, 2009)

c16rkc said:


> Wow what a car! Kermit has great taste!
> 
> Fantastic turnaround and I must say that is one of the most incredibly interesting write-ups I have ever read. Thank you!


Big Thanks c16rkc, writing doesnt come naturally to me (failed O level English twice : ungraded ) so the write up took almost as long as the paint cleanse and protect, comments make it all worth while, glad you enjoyed it.



Ross said:


> Nice work,Are you enjoying the Optimum Shampoo?


Hi Ross, most excellent recommendation sir :thumb: thank you, your crown is safe 



PH1984 said:


> Top work as usual Mike and Team Face ;-)
> 
> Paul


Thanks Paul, as ever, appreciate your comments and advice :thumb: One day I will get to work on a car with paintwork less than 30 years old :lol:



stangalang said:


> Great work mike and another success for team face, you really need to head up north for a trip, with your machine in the boot of course :buffer:


Matt, it would be a pleasure to help out sometime. Glasur was beautiful, no issues with application or buffing off after 30 minutes or so. I really am thinking that using RG QD to prime the pad prior to dipping and half a turn in the pot helps hugely on getting a seriously thin coverage. Blackfire trio soon 



scuba said:


> Great write up :thumb: not seen a P6 for years and never one quite this nice :speechles


Cheers scuba, glad we managed to revisit memory lane for you :thumb:



ads2k said:


> What a great finished transformation Mike :thumb:
> 
> Well done to you and the 'workers' :lol:


Thanks Adam, S2K here soon :wall::wall::wall:


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## Envy Car Care (Aug 17, 2006)

Great work and credit to you all
Sorry to read about your "meeting" with the bonnet, and I know exactly where you were coming from about you and the Captain at odds when it started to rain.
Very satisfying to see nice beading some days, but even nicer to see it when you start to detail a car!

Tim

ps was wondering when the SD1 was coming!!


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## ahaydock (Jan 4, 2007)

Amazing stuff there guys - looks stunning :thumb:


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## Baker21 (Aug 7, 2007)

Very, very nice work there 'Team Face', nice to see something different being worked on and as has been stated, who ever thought to mount the rear wheel on the tailgate was a 'class act'........:thumb:

Do you guys just love these random motors.........


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## Bass-Evolution (Aug 13, 2009)

swiftshine said:


> Wash your mouth out philistine
> 
> Been a while since I've seen one of your write ups Mr Face, but I see you are still doing a great job.:thumb:


Hey, don't speak to your dad like that 

@MIsterFace, Appreciat that.


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## Goodfella36 (Jul 21, 2009)

Hi Mike 

What a great write up. I really enjoyed that and the pictures are very good, nice garage aswell.

You had great results on the kermit something to be proud of looking forward to seeing more write ups from you.

Lee


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## cheekymonkey (Mar 15, 2008)

Thanks again Cuey, couldnt have got a consistent finish without a lot more effort without the RotEx 

where did you get the rotex from.


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## Yun_says (Apr 8, 2010)

Lovely turn around, great beading shots aswell, looks like it was a lot of work but well done to you guys


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## 335dAND110XS (Dec 17, 2010)

That is amazing - nice work!


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## Mr Face (Jan 22, 2009)

GoodFella33 said:


> Hi Mike
> 
> What a great write up. I really enjoyed that and the pictures are very good, nice garage aswell.
> 
> ...


Thanks Lee, appreciate your complements :thumb:



Yun_says said:


> Lovely turn around, great beading shots aswell, looks like it was a lot of work but well done to you guys


Thanks Yun, it was but helped having the boys along to help :thumb:



335dAND110XS said:


> That is amazing - nice work!


335D, thank you. appreciated muchly :thumb:


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## FrazzleTC (Jul 4, 2009)

I don't know how I missed this thread as a fellow P6 fan! I do love avocado on the series twos, very smart indeed! I'd love a series 2 V8 in Avocado, Paprika or some similarly loud colour. I like my series one 2000, but a V8 is something I do hope to own in the future. Is this one that was one car and classic until recently? It looks lovely, and your hard work has really paid off! Excellent.


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## Mr Face (Jan 22, 2009)

FrazzleTC said:


> I don't know how I missed this thread as a fellow P6 fan! I do love avocado on the series twos, very smart indeed! I'd love a series 2 V8 in Avocado, Paprika or some similarly loud colour. I like my series one 2000, but a V8 is something I do hope to own in the future. Is this one that was one car and classic until recently? It looks lovely, and your hard work has really paid off! Excellent.


Hi Frazzle, glad you caught up with it :thumb: yes you are correct it has been in C&C recently (confirmed with owner) Thanks for the complements, it all for love and the kick of making it shine.


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## Guest (Mar 9, 2011)

those car's rare as hen's teeth,very good work as well :thumb:


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## Jesse74 (Jul 19, 2008)

Awesome work Mike and Team Face! I can't believe that thing has a V8 stuffed into it! Wow!


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## Captain Leyland (Feb 28, 2011)

*Thanx from Captain Leyland*

*Hey Folks,*

Am (very) belatedly posting on DW and, first-of-all, would like to offer a HUGE THANKS to Team Face for transforming 'Kermit' from a frog into a Prince !! ... .. Thanks, also, for all of your great posts and comments about The-Ol-Girl and, for the one-or-two people who didn't appreciate the finer virtues of Rover's P6 - as made by the real Rover company that is - we pray for them in their darkness !!!

To answer a couple of queries / questions re' the 2000 / 3500 range generally, "Yes", they really were originally designed as a Jet Car and, with regard to the spare wheel being on the boot-lid, when they were launched back in the early 60's, customers - and especially the Americans - were quick to complain about the lack of boot-space in what was supposed to be a luxury / executive 'sports sedan', hence Rover rushing-out a 'continental' option (thereby freeing-up half the 'trunk' in one fell swoop).

Mr. Face still has some interesting - and colourful !! - cards up-his-sleeve (some of which have may have a slight Leyland connection, you'll be surprised to learn) and, should anyone have any Rover, Triumph, MG or other BL related queries, I'd be more-than-happy to have-a-go at answering them or you.

Glad to finally be on DW and thanks, again, to Mr. Face for his tireless work on Orange, Yellow and Kermit Green paintwork.

All The Best,

*Captain Leyland * :car:


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## Planet Man (Apr 12, 2008)

Hi Mike.

Cracking read and a top turnaround:thumb: Know what you mean about the camera not picking up what you can see in the flesh however the pictures still look excellent in this case.:thumb:

Hope you did not ding the bonet when you planted the boat race


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## Luan Cordeiro (Mar 24, 2011)

Good paint correction!


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