The Rover 400 WBOD Now with dent free doors and brakes

[Vince70]

Well today has been quite entertaining as I've been and bought myself a nice little low mileage Rover 400 for £250 as a WBOD and have now locked the keys in it and wondered if anyone has any ideas on getting into the thing.

Here's some pictures of when the doors did open.

And with an added bonus of no K series to contend with.

[cpjitservices]

Has the boot lid locked too ? 

 

I have known boot lids on these fail when locked - might be worth checking if its open.

[Vince70]

Yes it's looked nice and tight it's completely my fault I got talking to a neighbour closed the boot then wondered what I've done with the keys.

[gadgetgricey]

Nylon packing tape.....

Like the stuff they wrap boxs of paper in.

 

Make a small loop with the packing tape and prize it into the top of the door seal, so that the loop is in the car.

 

Then using a push pull action on the tape , move it down the door frame to the button itself.

 

Adjust the loop so that its over the button, until it catches and then carefully pull upwards so that the door unlocks.

 

Never done it on a Rover, but had success with Nova;s etc in the past.

 

Hope that may be of some use.

[jonny69]

Hmmm. Tricky. Ok, try this:

 

[Vince70]

I've tried packing tape but it seems to panel fit is good (can't be a rover) so I can't get the tape through the door seal.

[Slartibartfast]

I've seen the same trick done with fishing wire.

[gadgetgricey]

long screwdriver at the top of the door to lever door ever so slightly , just trying to give enough gap to get the tape through.

Or thicker tape to get past the seal

[Junkman]

Do you have home call with the RAC or AA or etc?

They can get any car open.

[Vince70]

Would you believe it but I've just phoned up to check and my cover ran out a couple of weeks back lol.. I wouldn't mind but I've never called them out in all the years I've had them.

I've used a plastic pry tool and the packing tape and I'm not getting anywhere.

 

I wouldn't mind but I'm parked up on someone else's drive at the moment .

[Talbot]

You need to lever the top of the door open harder.  It's quite disconcerting how hard you have to lean on it to get any kind of gap.

 

use a length of string, or preferably something more slippery like fine nylon rope with a slipknot and loop.  Use a "sawing" action to get the loop and slipknot inside the car, with one end out near the door handle, the other end out near the doormirror.  Get the loop over the lock, pull both ends to tighten the loop.  Job done.

[Junkman]

I usually use a length of welding wire I bend to shape.

Insertion through the weatherstrip between door frame and b-pillar is usually easier than at the roof.

 

You can bend the end of the wire like a hook and insert it between the window and the belt trim at the bottom

right where the door lock knob is and try to 'fish' for the lock rod itself, then just pull it up.

[JohnK]

I had an MG ZS and did the same

 

Rear quarter windows remove quite easily and quickly with two flat blade screwdrivers, hand through to lift the lock then climb in and release the boot.

 

Window is easy to put back into place too just take your time and be careful

[oldcars]

I see in pic 3 you have picked it up and attempted to shake they keys out. Any joy?

[phil_lihp]

I can't help with the lock issue but that looks lovely, well bought and welcome to the HHR club!

[mercrocker]

Being as your cover has now expired, use the membership card (or bank card) at the loop end of the packing tape to force it through the door.   As stated above, you sometimes need to literally lever the door partially ajar.   The packing banding trick does however depend on how slippery/protruding the lock buttons are.   We got into a bloke's pre-bubble 400 at work this way.

[mercedade]

Keep talkin'

 

[sierraman]

Bent wire like you hang exhausts with, bend the top of the door with your foot or knee towards the centre of the door, pry it with a jemmy. Use wire to hook the keys out or whatever.

 

Alternatively can you access the brake lamp from the outside, sometimes you can access the loom enough to find the boot release power of it’s got electric boot release, put 12v to it and it would pop the boot open.

 

You could also break the rear quarter light. Less mess then.

 

Failing all that break the glass. Take you half hour to swap it. Use one of those glass hammers save getting it everywhere.

[Mally]

Would you believe it but I've just phoned up to check and my cover ran out a couple of weeks back lol.. I wouldn't mind but I've never called them out in all the years I've had them.

I've used a plastic pry tool and the packing tape and I'm not getting anywhere.

 

I wouldn't mind but I'm parked up on someone else's drive at the moment .

 

I would have thought if you pleaded insanity and offered to renew at once they may well have come out.

[UltraWomble]

Hammer a smaller Rover over the top of it...

 

Thump the key hole to the drivers door with half a potato...

 

Wedge top of the door open & insert object of choice (arm, bit of coathanger wire, small urchin) to try and pull door catch into unlocked position...

[cpjitservices]

Wheres the spare key? lol

[overrun]

I'd favour the Nova method. Levering the quarterlight sounds a good one, too.

Can you not pull the window scraper off one of the front doors and then act on the rod to the lock, like you could on a Mazda 323?

[overrun]

Keep talkin'

 

 

I think these lads just go straight for door frame bendage, then insert a spindly, thieving forearm inside to pull up the door pin.

Nowt to worry about, here.

[purplebargeken]

Sure I spotted sumfink about half a tennis ball over the key aperture. Hold on, that might have been down to painkillers. 

[JeeExEll]

[Jams]

Pick a window! Preferably not the drivers as you will get glass in your bum.

 

Fronts are the easiest to change btw

[mercrocker]

So THAT's how Dennis got rid of the tanker.....

[Slartibartfast]

Sure I spotted sumfink about half a tennis ball over the key aperture. Hold on, that might have been down to painkillers. 

Not sure if joking™ but this method is a hoax. It may arguably have worked on certain vehicles with pneumatic central locking (very old ones) but even then I doubt it. Any videos on youtube showing it working are fake.

[Vince70]

I'm now sitting in a Rover courtesy of my next door neighbour we used the junkman method and used what looked like welding wire.

I've got to admit I'm very impressed with the old car as its drives spot on and now have a car again that I don't mind getting a few battle scars on the way.

I'm glad no one bought it when I put it up on the for sale thread the other week.

I just need the stereo code next so any ideas on how I find out what the code is plus I now need a new door seal lol.

[gadgetgricey]

I've never been this lucky, but have you removed the stereo.

Sometimes a previous owner will have written the code on the stereo itself.

 

If its there, buy a lottery ticket for the week as well.