First operation is putting the hexagonal indent in the washer.

This operation puts in a special dished shape.

After 30 years of making parts for Rovers we have decided to pull out from storage the very car – P5B SALOON – that started the business. After priming the oil pump to avoid damage to the engine and putting the fuel pipe into a container with fuel – as the fuel tank was completely corroded – the car started on the first turn of the ignition key!

This was the first time this car had been run in 30 years since it was taken off the road due to severe corrosion. It was the need to repair this corrosion that led to start of the business.

You can see the date when the first inner sill was developed and produced by Jon Wadhams, all the panels on the car have lasted for 30 years during which time the car was kept either in unheated damp workshops and most of the time outside in a yard! As you can see we still have a long journey ahead of us but this will also give us an opportunity to test some of parts.

These manifolds are machined in our factory.

P4 hinges welded up. Please note – this video contains some flashing images.

This is the P4 door hinge pin being parted off on the Ward 3A.

P6 seal retainer channels being made in our workshop on a unique wide punch flypress, one of the largest presses ever made developing many tonnes of pressure by hand..

This is our Second WW Capston producing female tube for P4 hinge pin. Please note – suds are switched off to make the video clearer.

This video shows the third stage of forming the steel, after the laser-cutting and pressing of the metals.

The disc of steel is placed against a former, then spun at high speed and formed using a variety of tools of which most are made by each skilled craftsmen to their own preference. These Wilson lathes made in Birmingham before WW2 are sought after around the world.

They were the main stay of 1000’s of workshops in the Birmingham area and used to make a huge variety of spinnings from Lucas headlamp parts to chandelier components. We have in storage a variety of large disc cutters and spinning lathes to ensure we can produce in the future for Rover cars.

Have you ever wondered how P4 front bump stop cones are made?

Video showing the re-grinding of a worn 1956 P4 75 camshaft on a 1940’s John Lund camshaft grinder. All old camshafts are bent and twisted and have to be straightened first on a flypress. They are then checked between centres to allow no more than .001″ run out before they can be put onto the cam grinder.

Each lobe is re-profiled from a master which is run on the LH side of the machine. This governs the grinding of the lobes by tilting the bed as it rotates the camshaft against the grinding wheel. The lobes are inspected carefully to ascertain when the grinding can be reduced to a point when grinding action literally ‘sparks out’.

After all of the lobes are completed, the cam is then sent for hardening. After which it will need to be checked and straightened due to the hardening process. Finally it will be chemically plated.

Video showing the main milling operation of facing the output ports of a Rover P6 V8S cast iron exhaust manifold. Cast in the midlands and machined within our works on a 40 year old heavy duty Polish miller. This is just one of 10 machine operations that will eventually turn a rough casting into a finished product ready for sale.

Video showing 1950’s 150Ton British Clearing press drawing Rover P5 inner D-posts using a single strike. Blanks are laser cut and positioned on locating pins which are then welded and finished afterwards.