Rover 800 Series

[Junkman]

In a quest to make my fleet cent pour cent anglais and thus become independent of further currency dips of the Sterling vs. the Roro when it comes to buying spares, I want to get rid of all the French chod I have and replace it with proudly manufactured in England tat, complete with ye olde walnute and leathere.

What strangely takes my fancy is the Rover 800 series (is this wrong?), of course preferably an 827 Sterling Coupe, although this may not go down well with the missus, so it'll be more likely a saloon. I think it's now time to get one of those, before they appear on the radar of the mainstream muppets.

 

What do you think? Bargain road burner, or constant drain?

[seacow]

In a quest to make my fleet cent pour cent anglais and thus become independent of further currency dips of the Sterling vs. the Roro when it comes to buying spares, I want to get rid of all the French chod I have and replace it with proudly manufactured in England tat, complete with ye olde walnute and leathere.

What strangely takes my fancy is the Rover 800 series (is this wrong?), of course preferably an 827 Sterling Coupe, although this may not go down well with the missus, so it'll be more likely a saloon. I think it's now time to get one of those, before they appear on the radar of the mainstream muppets.

 

What do you think? Bargain road burner, or constant drain?

 

 

I love them and its on my chod bucket list if I ever do anything other than kick tyres on line! Now is certainly the time to buy and there are some bargains to be had. Some chancers asking big money too especially on the coupe. I think one of the engines is best avoided especially if the miles are low - is it the KV6? The rover 800 forum has some useful stuff on and they have links to the bay etc

[dollywobbler]

They have their faults, but so do most cars on our 'radar.' Brittle expansion tanks seem to be an issue, electrics can be a bit Lucas-like and interior quality is not first rate but I still very much want an 827 Mk1 fastback in bright red.

 

The ten minutes of this video are probably why.

[Junkman]

The ten minutes of this video are probably why.

 

Right. That's it. My tentacles are reaching out for one now.

[Lacquer Peel]

My 825D was one of the best cars I've owned* - £140, comfy, quick, ran on 100% vegetable oil when it was 50p/l at supermarkets.

 

They're rare, but 820 Sterlings exist, with 2 pedals too.

 

*That might say more about my car choices than the quality of Rover 800s.

[Mr_Bo11ox]

I’m with Lacquer on the 825D, brilliant cars those and mine literally CEMENTED my love for the 4-headed monster VM engine. Love em!

[Junkman]

Oh nononono. I had my first coal burner ever as this Winter Beater of Distinction, and frankly, never again.

It'll be either an 827 with two pedals only, or walk.

OK, 820 if I must, but aren't there head geasket horror stories out there regarding the 4 bangers?

I do realise that a car that survived the past 20 odd years should have its teething problems mended by now, I am just curious whether they have common and obviously recurring trouble spots.

[shedvan]

I think the early 800s are M Series (revised ) Series) engines which don't suffer from the same sort of head issues as the later K series on the hole, bit unrefined though

[Mr_Bo11ox]

T series is a great, tough old thing, although terrible for oil leaks.

[Lord Sterling]

I have 5 of the bloody things

 

Bargain road burners, but also a constant drain. Be very careful of Coupes, whilst they are indeed great lookers, most of them are now suffering from crispy sill issues. Boots tend to like immitating small pools. The 2.0 non-turbo Coupes are pretty surreal cars when your driving a nice looking Coupe that sounds (and a to a certain extend, drives) like a Montego.

 

The T-series is ok, not my cup of tea, as Bol said they are prone to oil leaks, but seem pretty robust. Dont believe the hype about the difference between earlier and later KV6s, they are all as badly designed and built as each other.

 

The Honda V6, in my own humble opinion, isn't as robust as people like to think, so far 2 of the 3 Honda powered V6 800s have suffered some form of engine trouble, the first was HGF, but this was mostly down to how bodged the coolant system was, its amazing to think it lasted as long as it did. The second and most recent was a fairly low mileaged engine that has suffered a suspected piston ring problem. Thier coolant channels are quite thin too so be careful using radiator leak solutions.

 

If your not bothered about engines but just want wood 'n' leather, you will find them in top V6s drom 1986 to 1996. After 1996, the top spec Sterlings also came with 2.0 engine. A post 1996 Sterling saloon auto would be the best choice, they aren't stupidly expensive, or have a complex engine like the V6s yet still come with all toys, look fresh and drive pretty well, only downside is they don't sound as great as the V6s.

 

Can't comment on the Diseasles, never tried one but I do know they are very rare having not exactly been a big seller in the first place.

[Geep]

I ran a 2.0 turbo vitesse sport for a couple of years. Recaro seats, saloon in silver. Loved it, rubbish lock so 12 point turns anywhere tight but held the road well and was bloody quick too.

It was a lateish one, the one with 17 inch wheels and a bit extra boost. Mine was ok for oil leaks but right hand side of the head is a favourite (as you look from front) and gearbox's can

need new bearings if used in anger too much. Not too difficult and bearings from bearing supplier makes it affordable. You can up the boost a bit as well with a screw adjusting boost

control thingymabob. Inside was nice and seats comfy, bit of a wolf in sheep's clothing and the one car I got a speeding ticket in without trying.

 

 

That was mine.

[warren t claim]

Surely the shiters choice would be the 2 litre O Series 820?

[HillmanImp]

The ten minutes of this video are probably why.

 

Thanks for that. Most enjoyable.

[Wilko220]

Apart from the fact that it basically fell to bits and drank like a fish, my nightfire red, 1993 820 Vitesse fastback was the all-round best and most enjoyable car I have owned. Absolutely loved it.

[Wilko220]

^

Have a couple of out-of-focus, in the rain photos, for old time's sake...

 

 

[RichardMoss]

I think the early 800s are M Series (revised ) Series) engines which don't suffer from the same sort of head issues as the later K series on the hole, bit unrefined though

 

I trust that when referring to "K" series you are thinking of the 1996-onwards 2.5L KV6 not the K4 (which was never fitted).

 

M series on the mk1 820 (although the 8 valve M series is really an O series!)

T series from the mk2 onwards

 

To paraphrase Victor Kiam and his "I liked it so much I bought the company: "I like them so much I setup a forum". www.rover800.info/forum.