Letters From Readers - Good Old Auntie Rover, March 1975

Sir,

I was more than a little taken aback (almost affronted in fact) by Mr. Powrie’s disturbing revelation concerning Auntie Rover’s dangerous habit of imbibing her own brake fluid by way of her servo. Not one of my eight P4 Aunties has displayed this strange addiction though I shall watch the brake warning light rather more carefully from now on. Nevertheless I, like Mr. Powrie, have nothing but the highest regard for these quiet and superbly comfortable cars. Mine have all been more than seven years old when bought and none cost more than £300, most considerably less. I read W.B.’s report on the “100” in 1961 (I think) and was very favourably impressed. Since then my motoring has been mostly by P4 and my costs have been limited to the replacement of the usual wearing bits such as brake linings, exhausts and tyres. To begin with I accepted heavy oil consumption as one of the beast’s natural weaknesses but I have since found that taking the head off and replacing those tiny rubber oil seals that live half way down the inlet valve guides invariably improves the situation from less than 100 m.p.p. to the point where no oil is needed between changes. It’s now more than 10 years since my present “110” left the works, and it was one of the last, yet the roads still seem to be well populated by ‘Aunties” – there really ought to to a “P4” Club,

Finally, may I thank the staff of MOTOR SPORT for what is undoubtedly the finest motoring periodical on the market.

Huddersfield REG SYKES