Jump to content

Reginald Nutsack's K-series Kapers - ROVER 623 MOT GUFF


Mr_Bo11ox

Recommended Posts

That saga is why I felt it needed to be 'saved' again (on a much smaller scale) when the MOT came up, I couldn't let it go to the scrapyard after all that effort.  Well worth it, still a superb car and so much better than it looks to the untrained eye.  For sheer simple, bargainous motoring though that 214 is hard to beat.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I got the lads up the way to chuck the 25 GTi in for a test today. it only flipping passed!

 

P1060704.jpg

 

Its all up and running now and with all the work done on the engine ought to last a good while before the rubber beads come off that payen gasket. Of course now i have the problem of deciding what to do with the bloody thing. I can't get terribly enthusiastic about selling it for £400 or whatever which is about all its worth. Any regular shiters fancy taking it on for a few months via one of these RANDOLPH McBUMCRACK SHITE CONTRACT HIRE deals? Might be a bit easier with the advent of monthly tax payments etc. Check out this thread http://autoshite.com/topic/13353-krazy-argenta-loan-scheme-plan/for an example of how this can work.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I could be up for a bit of shite hire on this Mr B, wouldn't mind seeing what these are like to live with. I'm gagging to buy more shite but must resist, so this would be the perfect compromise. It's the 1.4 innit so I'd be paying the cheaper rate?

 

You could even borrow the 220 gratis for old time's sake, as the tax is paid until April and it'd free up my garage so the 25 would be kept secure.

 

I'll check to see what the insurance will be like as I may have maxed out on my multicar classic policy, but it only cost me 60 quid to add the 75 which was a bit of a win situation!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...

Looked doubtful with all those skitters oozing from every waterjacket, pipe and whatnot but well done on this one! I was explaining to Senior_L about 75s at the weekend, hopefully he understood about plastic dowels, chocolate slave cylinders nd how a sorted example is meant to be grand.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Alright!!! This hopeless case 75 1.8 is at least up and running now so lets have a recap and see whats been going on with it. I think last time it looked summert like this:

 

P1060788.jpg

 

I spent a not inconsequential amount of money on new parts from eBay, Rimming Brothers and my favourite local car parts shop SMITHSONS of stoke:

 

P1060794.jpg

 

New water pump going on:

 

P1060795.jpg

 

Lets get in there for a closer look:

 

P1060796.jpg

 

OH YEAH BABY WORK IT

 

Next I gave the block face a good clean up. There was a bit of corrosion on the top edge, no doubt caused by weak antifreeze or summert:

 

P1060797.jpg

 

I cleaned it up as best I could but there was still a,little roughness there. Ithink the payen gasket will handle that better than an MLS effort

 

P1060798.jpg

 

Next it was time to look at the head. I put all the hydraulic tappets etc back in and the camshafts with new cam seals and whatnot (incidentally, to my complete amazement, the inlet and exhaust cams are interchangeable!!!) and sealed them on with the old Loctite. Forgot to take any pics of that lot though.

 

Elsewhere I'd had 0.5mm skimmed off which fortunatley gave full clean up of the head surface. I bought one of these stainless shims to replace the skimmed-off metal:

 

P1060799.jpg

 

These get glued onto the head surface with the 'Stag Wellseal' magic gloop which you spread all over everything in a Yotam Ottolenghi style. It looks and smells suspiciously like flippin Bovril to me:

 

P1060800.jpg

 

Here it is glued into position:

 

P1060803.jpg

 

For some reason, next I drained the sump. about 5 litres of clean water came out then another few litres of coffee cream muck:

 

P1060804.jpg

 

 

P1060807.jpg

 

NICE

 

While that lot was draining out I got ready to lob the head on - heres the PAYEN BW750 ready to do its thang:

 

P1060802.jpg

 

 

And heres the head luzzed back on and torqued up. The new bolts did not tighten very smoothly, I backed them off and lubed under the bolt heads but they were very 'sticky' at the higher torques. I think the threads must have been full of coffee cream which did not lubricate them properly as I tightened. The upshot is I'm not convinced I have the torque exactly right on them which is a matter of mild concern.

 

 

P1060805.jpg

 

It was all going fairly smoothly so far. The timing belt lined up well, suggesting the shim was keeping everything in the right relative positions. I drilled out one knackered stud from the exhaust manifold-downpipe connection and replaced it with a bolt. New gaskets all round of course;

 

P1060809.jpg

 

Including the all-important inlet manifold gask which was a pukka MG Rover effort from Rimmers.

 

Amusingly, while I was fitting the alternator, the rubber thingy covering the output post on the alternator had come dislodged and as i pushed the bolt through it contacted the terminal, causing a right old fireworks display as the battery was still connected. I wondered if I might have fried the ECU or something with all the sparks and contempleated whether I would attempt to fix that problem if it arose, or just kill myself instead as the easier and cheaper alternative.

 

P1060808.jpg

 

 

Eventually I had it all back in one piece:

 

P1060814.jpg

 

I filled it up with oil and water and spun it over on the starter with the ignition coils disconnected just to see if it sounded OK while cranking. It did, so i reconnected the coils and tried again:

 

P1060812.jpg

 

YEAH BABY!!!!! To my amazement it fired immediately and settled to a smooth tickover!!! I hadnt fried the ECU fortunately so there was no need to kill myself at this stage. One tappet was a bit noisy but it shut up after a few minutes after which the engine sounded really nice. Flipping unbelievable!!!!

 

P1060813.jpg

 

I let it run for ages and there was no overheating and no bubbles in the expansion bottle although theres still loads of oil in there (it needs a few flushes I think) and the coolant temp was steady at halfway on the gauge. the heater was a bit shite but I guess the matrix is probably blocked with coffee cream shizzle so presumably that will improve after a flush or two.

 

I took it for a cheeky midnight blezz up the lane and it drove pretty well, handles quite nicely although its predictably a bit underpowered. It actually drags itself along reasonably well but the K-series has to work hard and the engine sound and vibration lets you know all about it. The engine does not seem as sweet at other K-series' i've experienced but I think thats becuase its just working harder all the time.

 

anyway jobs still to do are:

  • attempt to polish the scratches out the windscreen where the wiper blade has marked it
  • Fix the shitty handbrake
  • fix the bonnet catch
  • remove the 2 remaining locking wheel nuts and replace them with some ordinary nuts
  • Attack the paintwork with the buffer
  • strip out the interior and flippin steam clean it or something
  • flush the coolant and replace with proper antifreeze
  • find a use for the bloody thing!!!

 

Im super chuffed its alive again though, now its just got a load of snagging stuff to sort not a massive headache. PLus so far every time I've wanted to work on it I've had to push it about!!!! Now it can be driven in and out the garage which feels like the height of luxury!!!

 

More soon as I feel a bit of a mojo resurgence might be underway.

 

 

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Top work as always! I'm amazed how much latte keeps coming out of the thing, hopefully you're almost shot of it all. Is this the one with the interior that stinks of old dog? Mine still stinks of fags despite a couple of mega cleaning sessions with shampoo shiz, so not sure what else to do to get rid.

 

BTW, is shite hire still available on the 25 GTi? I got an insurance quote on it a few weeks back, just 50 quid extra to add on, but then forgot all about it, sorry. Real life getting in the way etc.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...