220SLi: Roverdue Maintenance

[scruff]

Nice old Deere, Joe.

And top work Phil

[philibusmo]

Just read this thread from the beginning for the very first time. What a nail biting tale full of drama and uncertainty. Glad to hear it's not going to end in a tragic fragging. You're not a million miles away from me, so if you need a hand with it then give us a shout.

 

It's also reminded me just how much I want a Rover 400 tourer...

[phil_lihp]

Thanks Phil, I'd love to return the offer as well but having seen what you can achieve with the Y10 I could probably only stand around and watch in awe! (and make tea).  I appreciate the offer, you may come to regret it 

 

A tourer would be useful.  Given your skills, I'm sure it would be but an afternoon's work to drop a 220 lump into a tourer with a kettled K series.

[Mr_Bo11ox]

They did em from the factory i think

[Rover414]

There is a 420GSi Turbo on eBay at the moment:

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/rover-420-gsi-turbo-/231076682763?pt=Automobiles_UK&hash=item35cd3e5c0b

 

There was a red one on there a few months back that needed a bit of work that went for a few hundred, something if I had the money I'd have loved to have taken on. Great work with this one.

[Voltastic]

Great to see one of the last great British family motors on the road and giving enjoyment

[phil_lihp]

Finally, the day of reckoning has come.  You can sit back from the edge of your seat, unclench your buttocks and breath normally.  Relax, the waiting is ®over.

 

 

 

Yes, two pages, a personal first.  I take issue with the handwritten brake light note, it does work, just not all the time due to some iffy wiring.  A quick thump in the right place and it's all well again. The cheek of it.

 

However, this evening I also have this.

 

 

BooM!  I can get rid of two of those advisories pretty easily, the rest can wait.  Not sure if he's mistaking the coolant leak for power steering fluid but I doubt it.  Oil leak just means it's a T series, no worries mate.

 

I had a chat with the mechanic and his MOT tester is, as I suspected, extremely strict.  If it can get through his test, it'll pass anywhere.  Hence this was a close one.  Brake calipers were cleaned up and squeaked through by a gnat's whisker.  

 

Oh, and get a load of this:

 

 

I don't have a 'before' but suffice to say that's a way better finish than I ever expected, you'd never know it was a lumpy brown mess along the top of the screen.  Also, brand new windscreen, proper tinted jobby with the green sunstrip too.

 

Big, big thanks to KruJoe who is a proper gent, thanks to his quick action and generosity the suspension arm is now as good as new and I am not entirely penniless from having to buy a brand new one.  In fact, the repair bill is less than originally thought, steep but not appallingly so.

 

Pampered car indeed, not that you'd know it to look at it.  Tomorrow morning, weather permitting, a little bit of spit and polish and an attempt to fix the central locking on the driver's door.  

 

I am glad I had it done now, it's still ace to drive and I'm looking forward to putting some more miles on it. As if to confirm that it was the right course of action, yesterday before I even got it back I had a request from the kayak club so on Sunday it's a day of dragging a heavy trailer around North Devon to earn its keep.

 

At ease people, we'll reconvene next November for another installment.  

[Shep Shepherd]

Great result!

[HMC]

Great!!! Really pleased the 220 lives! must feel great to hold the crispy new MOT in your hand, and full credit to you for seeing the job through. Its goading me into persevereing with the Sierra whatever the tester finds!

 

This is my fave Autoshite thread

[KruJoe]

That's ace news is that, Phil!

I was just packing up some R8 bits for 'Black_GT' and 'Rover414' this evening and wondering how you'd gone on this week.

By way of celebration, I'm now treating myself:

 

[phil_lihp]

Cheers Joe, I was going to make a comment about your choice of beverage, then I looked at my half a glass of water and couldn't really.  You're fast becoming the one stop shop for 2nd hand R8 parts.

[vulgalour]

^ cover image for the 2014 calendar, I think.

[rml2345]

If there was an OBE for services to dilapidated R8s you'd get one no bother. That windscreen repair looks like a quality job too so hopefully it'll last a good while.

+1 on the Calendar cover pic idea btw.

[Black_GT]

Great to see this one saved yet again!  Congrats on the MOT pass

[phil_lihp]

Cheers guys, it's been out and about today and even got treated to a jetwash so it looks presentable from a distance.

 

I tried sorting the central locking but can't work out what's going on.  The driver's door is the only one that doesn't operate on the central locking, the motor makes a lot of noise as though it's disconnected and spinning, I've had the panel off and can see bugger all inside, there's a metal rod with hooks on the end which is loose hanging off the driver's door handle rod which I assume should be attached to something but cannot see what it should be.

 

Anyone got any ideas?

[Rover414]

The HBOL for the 214/414 has a diagram for the front and rear door locks and a quick how to remove and refit. I can't really make heads or tails of it but it could be of some use. (Chapter 11.7). I had a look at the 414s door lock on the breaker I had and couldn't really make much sense of it. I can scan the pages if you like.

[phil_lihp]

Cheers, I do need to get a Haynes so will have a look when it arrives, thanks for looking on the breaker, appreciate it.  It's all hidden behind the door's framework so it's hard to see what's going on.  I won't be attempting it again this weekend now, took an age to get the door card back on properly!

[KruJoe]

central locking ... Anyone got any ideas?

They all do that, sir.

Or rather, they all do something wrong. I haven't yet seen an R8 whose central locking behaves perfectly!

My 216 hasn't been locked since February, when the factory immobiliser was playing up. I could unlock the car, but turning the key to start it just set off the alarm. Repeatedly.

By locking/unlocking, and trying to start, I finally got away, but it wasn't the most dignified exit from a funeral.

[Split_Pin]

This is a right Bobby_Dazzler of a thread. I don't know what I'm more happy about, the Rover living on by what was originally by the nick of a bollock hair, the great nick its now in, Phil_hips tenacity, other members encouragement or Krujoes generosity.

 

When next years annual Autoshite forum implosion occurs, someone should jump start this thread and drive it to the front of the forecourt.

 

Hurrah!

[KruJoe]

Hey, don't over-egg the pudding Ian, I'm from Yorkshire! I made him pay the postage.

[RoadworkUK]

Realy glad things are working out something like as planned. Re. Manuals; do you have a copy of RAVE, the Rover electronic manual?

 

KruJoe; How foul actually is Tesco Value Bitter? I've often thought about picking some up instead of Adnams but never been brave enough. I bought Tesco Value Corn Flakes once but threw them away after the first mouthful. It tasted like they were working in reverse, actually exctracting flavour from my mouth.

[saucedoctor]

Tesco Value Bitter is fine if you're already a bit drunk. A risky strategy, though, depending on what/how much you're imbibing - I necked 3 cans of Carlsberg Spesh one night when I was already bladdered, and didn't wake up for 20 hours.

[KruJoe]

How foul actually is Tesco Value Bitter?

It's no pint of Deuchar's IPA, but it stays down, so that'll do for me when I want something cool and wet. Maybe best avoided if you can't handle own brand cereal (a corn flake is a corn flake, is it not?) but you can't go wrong at £1 for a four pack. It's better than the similarly priced Asda offering - that causes my throat to constrict after a few! It's no Special Brew either, so a night on pish of this grade won't do you much harm. I actually sobered up as I drank six cans of Smart Price Bitter after going to the pub with the Shitefest attendees; it's only 1.8%abv or something!

[Mr_Bo11ox]

£1 for a four pack! LOL

[KruJoe]

Aye, it's cheaper than that posh water Phil drinks!

[cort16]

I remember reading ballwaxes thread on retro rides years ago when he took the engine to bits and found half the valves missing . I thought it was toast then but it's a definite survivor

[phil_lihp]

Ah yes, that'll be in the best thread on the interweb: http://retrorides.proboards.com/thread/37171/xbolx-blog-rover-commerce-update?page=16

 

I've looked through that before and it's seriously impressive, not least what was done to the 220 over the time Mr B had it.  One of the reasons I felt it justified one more go at an MOT.

 

Incidentally, the whole cheap beer thing made me smile last night, no matter how cheap it is, still can't be as good as tap water though!  And for the record, I agree that supermarket cheapo cornflakes are indeed tasteless to the point of impossibility, as are the bran flakes.  

 

RW: I don't have the manual but to be honest I am a bit special when it comes to electrics so it would probably be of limited use to me, I tend to avoid any job that involves a wiring diagram (perhaps I should man up and try harder).

[Grundig]

 

KruJoe; How foul actually is Tesco Value Bitter? I've often thought about picking some up instead of Adnams but never been brave enough. I bought Tesco Value Corn Flakes once but threw them away after the first mouthful. It tasted like they were working in reverse, actually exctracting flavour from my mouth.

Has own brand beer, poured over own brand corn flakes been tried ??

[KruJoe]

Er.. you first!

[hauserplenty]

California Car:

http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2012/02/junkyard-find-1990-sterling-827-sl/

 

It's the electrics wot done it, mate:

http://www.aronline.co.uk/blogs/category/the-cars/rover-800/

 

From scandalous to astronomical:

A brilliant all-rounder!

 

What could possibly go wrong?:

http://hooniverse.com/2013/11/05/the-carchive-rover-800-part-ii-arcona-and-the-sterling/

 

Comment from LarsVargas:

I nearly bought a used Sterling in the early 90s. Gorgeous car. And English luxury with Japanese mechanical dependability: what's not to like?

Well a lot. On the test drive, there were issues like gauges that would work and then go to 0 and work again. It was a low miles car but rattled and clanked ins scary ways. It ran great, but man the build quality was atrocious. A damn shame, too. Could have been a nice step up from an Acura, but it was a rolling shitbox.

I ended up with a 10-year-old Lincoln Mark VI in perfect shape that I got for $2,000, one quarter what the Sterling was and at least twice the car.

 

http://jalopnik.com/5975072/these-commercials-probably-didnt-convince-anyone-to-buy-a-sterling

 

"We only carry the few parts that interchange with the Honda, but those don't ever break. Only the British parts did."

 

http://www.littledoggarage.com/sterling.html

 

"I just can't explain what white witchcraft is used to build these machines from the Midlands. Maybe there's something in the organic components, something in the weave of the cloth, or the tanning of the leather hide or wood treatment. But it gets into your head, and you fall in love them. Mass-produced they were, but somehow there's a soul in every one."

*    *    *

The engine parts, from Honda, were no problem to obtain. Not so for the engine and gearbox mounts. "I wouldn't even know where to look for those," ...Luckily, I found out about a man named Dale Charles who lives in a place called Bainbridge, Pennsylvania. Some years ago, Charles bought out all the remaining Rover 800 spares in the USA. He has some 60,000 NOS parts. He goes by the name Sterlingfixer on various Internet forums. You can e-mail Dale Charles at [email protected] in the future, I am going to have to interview Mr Charles and find out why he's so devoted to the Rover 800. If you own a Sterling in the USA, sooner or later, you will deal with Mr Charles.

 

http://www.roverparts.com/Model/Sterling827.cfm

 

Right, that's enough...