Rover 414SLi - General update 04/06.

[trigger]

Did you tow it to the scrappy like that?, I was in the understanding that if a car was towed on all four wheels it had to be road legal and insured? I'd be interested to know if that's not the case. (This isn't a dig at you, purely just interested to know btw)

[Rover414]

It was towed like that aye, I'm not sure of the legality of it myself but we've towed like this before without any hassle (had police passing on occasion too). I'm sure someone in the know will be a bit more clear though.

[Lankytim]

The law is mega sketchy on that point. It depends if plod want to call it a car or a trailer.

[dollywobbler]

I think we all know that the law is pretty sketchy on A-framing as a general rule. As long as you do it knowing that it might be considered sketchy, then fair enough. I've done it, and people on here have done many, many miles doing it.

[Pillock]

The law on towing is very simple. You're allowed to do it unless the police decide you're not, in which case you're not allowed. I don't know why everyone makes a fuss!

[trigger]

On a normal car I can't see any problem but in this example the Rover obviously doesn't look road legal, I was just curious to what the law said about towing cars like that. 

[dollywobbler]

The law is more vague than the steering on a neglected Austin Seven. The Police don't have an easy job when there are so many conflicting laws bouncing about the place. One copper will turn a blind eye and another will reach for his little notepad. That Rover might look dreadful to your eyes, but I've seen trailers that look worse. I don't believe there is a specific A framing law, so I guess it comes down to driving without due care or something like that.

[stuboy]

the mighty mondeo

[chaseracer]

Plod didn't seem to mind when I overtook them on the A40 with two-thirds of a 2CV Charleston A-framed to the back of the XM.  They were too busy pissing themselves laughing... 

[overrun]

I think we all know that the law is pretty sketchy on A-framing as a general rule. As long as you do it knowing that it might be considered sketchy, then fair enough. I've done it, and people on here have done many, many miles doing it.

 

 

Newcastle - Hereford. Cat C. First time using an A-frame, and could only see its aerial out the back of the Terrano.

 

No issues.

 

Great to see the Rover resurrection, btw. Long may it continue!

[Rover414]

 

Finally! Got it home last night, needs a really good wash so I've taken the cop out route and got a valeter in to come around on Saturday and give it a good once over inside and out. Tomorrow will see the bonnets switched over too. A fair bit of work is required but we knew all this at least. Had a real hard time getting the front wheel changed over yesterday because some grease monkey helpfully rounded on one of the bolt covers some years back. Happily it came off with a bit of encouragement and now it's only onwards and upwards from here.

[AnthonyG]

Ooohhh... a Racing Puma. Bet there was some money to be made there, or was it a keeper?

 

Good to see the Rover's return!

[Lord Sterling]

Sweet as, man! That car will get a good lease of new life before you know it. Keep the old bonnet stored away if you can for the future, if its not rusty or bent, its worth keeping.

 

How much is the valeter going to cost. I like 'valeting' my own cars, but I often get to a point where I can't be arsed anymore so it'll be good to get an idea of how much it is.

[Shep Shepherd]

This topic makes me nostalgic for L913 OWG, my hapless Carribean Blue 1994 214Si, which I scrapped in 2004 because I was seriously pissed-off with it after the lacquer started to peel from its roof after I spent a lot of time and money getting it half-decent. I replaced it with The Volvo

[Rover414]

Well since the last update we managed to swap the bonnet over:

 

 

Today it was given a good valet:

 

 

This shows more of what is needed body wise. The wing was actually painted on this some years ago and is showing up badly now so that'll need repainting. There is a small dent on the drivers door which needs fixing, hopefully it can be pushed back out into shape though. The bonnet latch which was seized on this has also been replaced with the donor one and is fully working. Next step is to replace the mirrors with the donor ones.

[KruJoe]

You had it valeted before the engine swap?!

Well, she looks great now, it must be a real mojo booster to get her done.

 

I should have been on to reply before, but I just put this in the other thread in reply to your inquiries:

 

 

 

Sorry David, you did PM me, I needed to go outside to check and get back to you, but work has been rather full on, and I'd forgotten about you - apologies mate.

Yes, my 214 breaker is still here.

 

... I would be interested in those rear light seals you mentioned on the thread, I had a brief look at the lights on the car and they look OK but the spiders lurking around the bushes put me off from looking too much

Also, do you have the rear window winders with the chrome bits? I'm missing the chrome bits on mine (spare car ones are a bit tatty too)...
Cheers!

 

The chrome bits from the back winders... do you mean those big chromed plastic washers fitted between the winders and the door cards?

I have found the ones from my breaker, but they've been in a box of bits on my bench for a while, and they're no longer pretty because they're peppered with rusty grindings now. So you're better off with yours I think. How about lashing them with black Hammerite or something, they won't stand out then. Dunno why they're chromed ayway - there's no other chrome in the interior. Edit that - the handbrake button is!

 

About the rear light seals - scroll down this post and see what I did for mine:

http://autoshite.commlm/topic/13248-r8-loveliness/?p=409306

I will gladly make you a set and send them to you, but I'd like to know that you really need them! It probably won't be obvious until the car is back in use and moving around regularly. So I say get her up and running right, keep an eye open for boot dampness, and let me know.

Hope that helps!

 

 

 

[Rover414]

It needed it! It had been sat for 5 years so the interior was very stale and the bodywork really did need a good seeing to, the engine swap is a few weeks away so it made sense to do it now. We'll only be working around the engine bay anyway so it was worth doing as now the interior is spotless and was a much more thorough job than I would have done.

 

I found my chrome bits for the rear window winders, ended up being in a box too but are in OK nick. The bits I could do with now are the rubbing strips that are on the doors, wings and such like. They seem to clip on but the ones on the breaker had been broken (not sure how) so they were a no go. They're not absolutely vital but they would be nice to have.

 

I saw the rear light thing you were on about, it would be handy to get some done for this. Although I don't know if water is getting in, the boot was pretty dry and is full of various tools, wheels etc for the moment.

[overrun]

Ooohhh... a Racing Puma. Bet there was some money to be made there, or was it a keeper?

 

Good to see the Rover's return!

Bought and repaired when Cat C. Sold to a mate, then Cat C'd again. Now is full S1600 spec.

 

Has had an 'interesting' life!

They do drive nice. I was no stranger to Puma engined mk4/5 Fiesta conversions etc, but the wider track and LSD make all the difference.

 

@414, congratulations on finding a proper valeter, in this age of detailers being everywhere.

I look forward to seeing the engine swap.

[Rover414]

He did a great job on the valet and I'll definitely use them again. Anyway, stuff has slowed for now while house decorating takes priority. All I managed to do was fit the rear window winder (which was missing it's pin and is now sorted) and fit the wheel trims back on to it.

 

[Shep Shepherd]

What a transformation! Looks like a totally different car now

[Rover414]

Just a small change today but the previously droopy broken mirrors (kicked off by some dickheads a couple of years back) have been replaced with the ones off the donor car which look better as they are colour coded and more importantly work.

 

Before:

 

After:

 

Also managed to T-Cut some long standing finger print marks and hopefully will be able to push out the small dent on the drivers door sometime soon.

[Mr Lobster]

Just a small change today but the previously droopy broken mirrors (kicked off by some dickheads a couple of years back) have been replaced with the ones off the donor car which look better as they are colour coded and more importantly work.

 

Before:

 

After:

 

Also managed to T-Cut some long standing finger print marks and hopefully will be able to push out the small dent on the drivers door sometime soon.

 

I notice its had one of those de-cat conversions that all the kidz are on about.

[Rover414]

Well, it's been a while since there was any form of update here. Previously this was on my own driveway but was evicted to allow two Fiestas to come for a '2 week repair' (this was late June), suffice to say both are still there. The Rover moved to dry storage but was booted out from there a few weeks back so has been deposited on a relatives driveway around the corner. This has frustrated me greatly because it means the engine change never happened, so that's on hold for the time being. But being closer to home meant some interior jobs and other smaller bits can take place and some other various spares can be sourced (hopefully KJ can help out here!).

 

Another long term goal is to get a full body respray, here are some shots as it is now:

 

 

Hopefully with situations changing more money can finally be put towards getting this back on the road again.

 

[KruJoe]

Does it really need a respray? That paint looks lovely in the sunshine!

 

Which bits other than the wheel trim do you need?

[vulgalour]

Still a very handsome thing, I can empathise with the cleaning before the oily jobs.

[Rover414]

I'll get some photos of the bad parts of the paint work, around the rear glass between the rear door and the boot and the nearside front wing and bumper all need paint, the nearside wing being the main culprit. As for parts, I'm not entirely sure what exactly I need, but I was after the door trims (with the chrome inserts) and also the black strip across the drivers door at the top (clips have snapped on mine), this last bit being a real key part I need to be fair. Any help with this is greatly appreciated.

[Rover414]

Hi all, a bit of a different post this time but I thought it might be of some interest. Came across a fair few old pics that showed some previous cars of the household, all of these ran alongside the 414 at some point or another.

 

First up was this Rover 115SLD which was a lovely little car:

 

 

That only left the fleet to allow this Rover 420 to take its place:

 

 

This was a lovely motor, a 2 litre turbo that really shifted. In hindsight, it would have been lovely to keep this one as it really was immaculate.

 

That made way for this:

 

 

It was nice enough but ultimately never really ticked the same boxes as the 420, it went on to give a good few years of service before being involved in a minor accident and came off the road. It was eventually sold to someone for spares.

 

A bonus shot of the 414 outside the unit we used to have (fixing smashed motors, a fair few pics there but all newer tat) looking pretty dirty:

 

 

Finally, everything is in place for the 414 to have its engine changed some time soon.

[phil_lihp]

Well done, nice to see one being given a second chance, the general public doesn't seen to have much love for these at the moment if values are anything to go by.  It's good inspiration for my recently acquired 220SLi!

 

I noticed your fight with the door cards on the first page, can I ask, how did you get the bolt behind the top of the grab handle out?  I got everything else off but there's something attaching the card to the door behind the top of the handle and I cannot for the life of me work out how to get it off as there's no access to it from the other side.  I need access to the door's internals to reconnect whatever has come adrift from the central locking.

[Rover414]

On my one there is a screw hole at the top of the grab handle that on this one was at an angle so I had to get a long screwdriver to go in at an angle and turn it off carefully, it took a while but it did eventually come loose. It should just pop off after that but it's worth checking around all the edges too as there is some screws on the edge closest to the wing too if I've remembered right.

[phil_lihp]

Thanks, might have another bash at that tomorrow.  Good luck with the engine swap!