Sold Autoshite bike Rover 220sli £sold

[HMC]

Lets have a throo t' keehole look at clues around this familiar looking old Rover and ask-

 

Who drove a car like this?

 

For the love of dogs...

 

Previous drivers had to have a soft spot for an old dog.

Why else would a basically worthless old car have lots of time and attention thrown at it to sort out various maladies?

It had a whole load of work done in 2010, as commemorated by a freshly installed Aston Martin style/ autoshite heritage plaque...

 

Where Rover group subsidiary Powertrain LTD engineered the longevity out of a honda design (the basics of the PG1 'box) Mr B rose to the challenge and put it back. The old engine was binned and replascement t series sourced from an 800 series. The 'box was rebuilt with uprated bearings. What a war all that must have been! This plaque marks where sweat, and possibly blood was shed. But the 220 lived on.

 

A-frame state of mind

 

A hacked out rear bumper with tow bar. Perfect for hauling tat out of fields/ rescuing broken down Fiats.

 

Obviously, this is the ex Bo11ox/sixcyllinder/phil-lhip/robt Rover 220.

 

ex robt- cos today we shook hands and I'm the new custodian

 

After continually scanning over the for sale ad, and trawling over countless old threads charting its ups and downs, I came to the conclusion, brought to me by man logic, that I had to buy this car.

After a bit of a chat with fellow shite conspirator Rob, we hatched a plan. He would come over on an all expenses paid* trip in the 220 (by all accounts he had a blast thrashing it down the A303) For the homeward leg buying some old tat seemed a better bet* than the train back. In the end stuff either sold fast, vendors were unreachable or the tat in question was MOTless, so Rob ended up on the express to Paddington rather than the hard shoulder!

[Felly Magic]

This car really is an Autoshite bike!

[phil_lihp]

Love it!  Well done, it's great to see it staying in the fold.

 

The Dogs Trust sticker was mine, I thought it seemed kind of appropriate.  Surprised it's still there!

[M'coli]

Good stuff!  More photos please - let's see what we could've bought!

[dollywobbler]

I like the plaque, and that this car lives on in the hands of another capable shiter. Shame Rob couldn't find anything else to buy. It isn't easy to buy for a trip home, as I found when I bought my own white Rover. 

[twosmoke300]

I love that engine plaque. A touch of class.

[hairnet]

ROFL hugely at the plaque

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Who did the plaque? It wasn't me.... I love it though!!! Cheers!!!!

[HMC]

The plaque was me! After reading about all the trials and tribulations in the tat fixing blog i felt it appropriate.

It arrived in the post today, basically my take on those ones on Aston Martins/ the blue ones you see on historic buildings etc

[phil_lihp]

That plaque is a new one on me but absolutely brilliant.

 

I'm slightly worried about how near this has ended up to me.  Still one of my all-time favouritest cars.

[vulgalour]

Oh thank FUCK!  I don't have to try and find the money for this anymore and then agonise what to do with it afterwards.

[HillmanImp]

Oh thank FUCK!  I don't have to try and find the money for this anymore and then agonise what to do with it afterwards.

 

But you will have to one day. Don't forget that.

[outlaw118]

Indeed, Mr Himp, i reckon we should ALL start saving now, so should / when the opportunity arises there can be no excuses, and the next ownership is determined by some kind of lottery process like Baz Shitpeas and teh Volvo.

[bub2006]

I think everyone here needs to have a ride in this old girl. We should all pay for the privilege at some point before James Brown sings

[Mr_Bo11ox]

I thinkif James brown started singing at this car I would buy it back and replace the head gasket again with a non-MLS one (if I could find one)

[Lord Sterling]

Excellent stuff Brooks, it really couldn't have gone to a better person. Had it come to me (unlikely now for probably a very long time) I reckon it would stay with me for quite a long time.

[Pillock]

Mustard Mitt I could picture myself cruising the streets in this. I hope it just bounces round the forum every few months and our destinies collide one fateful day.

[RobT]

Home at last after a thoroughly pleasant day delivering the old bike. Matthew is the perfect new custodian, as shown by his investment in an Engshite Heritage plaque for the engine (made me LoL!).

 

What a way to see the old girl off. I left London at 6.30am and arrived in West Devon about 6 hours later, the car was fautless. I'm regretting my decision a bit after such a stonking road trip, and was a tad emotional but that could just be delirium through lack of sleep.

 

I'm off to scour ebay now for cheap tat as I've got two empty garages to fill...

[vulgalour]

Could this be the first true example on this forum of fleet reduction that sees the number of cars owned decreasing?

[RobT]

Could this be the first true example on this forum of fleet reduction that sees the number of cars owned decreasing?

Probably not. It feels a bit odd only having two cars to think about, three is my optimum.

[dollywobbler]

I have also managed a fleet reduction. It surely can't last much longer though.

[Bamboocarman]

Am also thinking of fleet reduction; it is an agonising thought process. What to do, what to do?

[Angrydicky]

I'm also down to four cars for the first time in quite a while. Really trying hard to avoid buying anything else (although that Chrysler Alpine on Ebay is tempting me rather a lot!)

[HMC]

Finding the right balance is difficult. I find one vehicle quickly leads to boredom, it never lasts! whilst 4 is too much of a stretch with time and money.

 

SWMBO repeatedly tells me I can only drive one at once. Three for me seems the sweet spot. (he says as he browses the e bay thread)

[HMC]

Been using this old tub all week for the commute. I browsed over old threads before I bought it and the common theme seemed to be how well it went, and in fairness it does shift in an effortless sort of way. It looks very soberly presented and sat anonymously in the range, in its own way a bit of a Q car. Its also pretty compact by modern standards and quite airy with a high screen/ low scuttle and decent glass area. It feels very different from more modern stuff that seems to hem you in and are a right pain to see out of.

 

 

As I mentioned in news 24, I got an attack of number plate OCD and have ordered a new plate for the front, in the old style font. I sent DMB pics of the old man egerton rear plate and they are able to replicate it. I chucked them a bit of a curve ball when I asked if it could match the odd dimensions of the old plate (its a bit deeper than usual) but even that wasnt a problem. Should be with me next week.

 

 

Meanwhile I dug out an old Rover group brochure from the period to see what else was on offer If I had popped in for a browse at Mann Egerton St Albans in 1994.....

(scanning disclaimer- dont expect trigger's road test standards)

 

 

 

I was suprised to see some old stagers still listed...

 

In amongst some new arrivals.....

 

Looking over their breathless excitement and reverence over the 600 and flicking back to the old monty estate a few pages earlier, I wonder what would a 600 'tourer' have been like? A suppose the short answer would be simply too expensive for them to develop at the time.

 

They were certainly stretching the brand thinly on limited resources-

 

I reallised 'scanning' through, for the money I could well have bought my Rover 220, although after calling it  'an executive express....which virtually surrounds you with  burr walnut veneer' I wondered if they were talking about the same car!

Full marks for effort though lads.

[NorfolkNWeigh]

That brochure was the one I ordered my last company car from I think. The Montego might seem as if it was outdated by this time , but they were very well equipped compared to low spec 600s and much roomier as family cars. I chose a pearlescent blue 2.0D Montego Countryman complete with 15" crosspokes,electric sunroof and 7 seats, but then it was really a car for my wife. I used posh things every day and fleet demos at weekends, one of my favourites was a flat white 420Sli on steels that was proper quick,often keeping up with ( and beating) some big Mercs,Jags etc when used as security chase cars. Or more accurately on the way home after dropping our principals off at night.

[Christine]

That arse end  of the Maestro , looks rather sleeker than they really are !  Ultra smoooth window rubber..tight panel gaps...

Me mum used to live next door to an artist who did those pictures..so good , that they look like photos, all with an airbrush..

 

 

 

[HMC]

For some while theres been something up with the brakes on this. On phil_lip's collection thread the NSF caliper seized and off and on its had a habit of sticking and/or graunching every so often. I had a look around and things could have done with a bit of a clean up (especially the caliper pistons) and the front discs were worn down, not really bad, but there were MG rover vented discs going cheap on e bay so I got a pair, and a few other bits and bobs that looked a bit tired. These have a 'floating' caliper and everything came apart ok except the screws that hold the discs to the hub that were seized and soon they were rounded off. I welded some bolts on top of them and with a combination of the heat and having something I could put a socket on meant they unwound fine after that. Whilst the nose of the car was in the air I changed the oil and filter. I was going to go over the front subframe and arches/ box sections with some dynax but ran out of time for this weekend.

 

Hard to tell being careful with the brakes as they bed in, but so far so good.

 

 

I fitted the new front plate too and lined up what is most of the fleet (rover p4 excluded) for a quick pic in what counts as afternoon sun Dartmoor way...

 

[trigger]

Now that's a great fleet photo!

[Angrydicky]

Looking good! Love the correct front plate and AA badge, that's exactly what I would have done with it.