Sold Ex-Bo11ox Rover 623 - HGF, Game Over. £50

[RobT]

Bit late seeing as I've owned it a month now, but I thought I'd start a thread on this.

 

Bo11 had been using it as his daily for about a year, and had done loads to it (more on that later).  I'd expressed an interest a while back, and he then offered it to me recently for a very small sum, so here we are.

 

Collection day was just before the snow chaos in February, and I made it home from Derbyshire without drama.  Despite being knackered I double-backed on the North Circular as I spotted the famous ex-Derek Ketteringham dealership on the opposite carriageway.

 

 

It's now called Webbs of Ealing and sells vans and boring moderns, but good to see they've kept the old signs up.

 

 

 

A few days later it still felt arctic but the Rover took me to work when the trains didn't.  Topping up the air as it had a slow, but both front tyres have now been replaced and hold air.  I'll get the rears done soon so it wears a full set of new boots.

 

 

I've since done a fair bit of cleaning including oven cleaner on the wheels to remove lots of caked on brake dust, which worked surprisingly well.  I'll do the same on the Cavalier at some point as the alloys on that look shite.

 

This car's trump car.  Frickin' caramac, everywhere...I love it!  The previous owner to Bo11 was a tad eccentric apparently (and there's nothing wrong in that) but he painted the gear lever and steering wheel which look naff IMO.  So on angrydicky's recommendation I used T-cut to remove the paint on the gear lever.  That worked a treat but took ages so I need to work on the steering wheel another time.

 

 

 

Engine bay is very clean for a car that's done 162,000 miles, and hopefully I don't need to spend too long in there as I just want to drive the thing.  I did perform an oil change today, although I managed to buy the wrong filter so will do that another day.  Not my fault, the poxy Halfords flip chart thing telling me porkies.

 

 

So far I've done 2,000 miles in a month, nigh on 1,000 of those were last week including a trip to northern France.  Apart from squeaky rear brakes (to be fixed when it's stop raining) the Rover has been fautless, and now I've sorted out the seating position I can drive it for hours with minimal aches.  Here it is adding a touch of class to the Grand-Place in Arras.

 

 

In terms of driving experience it's very relaxed, and rides much better than I expected.  The engine is a bit harsh when being ragged but has plenty of poke if needed being the 2.3 DOHC.  My old 416 GTi with the Honda lump was a tad thirsty, and this is the same.  On the France trip I think I got around the 30 mark which is a bit rubbish considering most of it was on rural roads and autoroute.  But I can live with that if it means being sat in caramac lined splendour all the time.  It's also bloody lovely to look at!

 

Next up are the aforementioned set of rear tyres, sorting out a few rust spots on the rear arches, and perhaps even breaking out a clay bar to spruce up the paintwork.  It will be my Shitefest transport, and the plan is also to do a road trip to Sweden sometime this year.  That might turn out a pipe dream but I reckon the old crate is up to it!

[RobT]

I've been through Reg's Rover thread and he did plenty to it, including:

 

-New main (4-point) electric window switch

-New exhaust back box

-One rear shock.  As he said at the time, yes it should be done in pairs but I can't tell any ill effects.

-Brake pipes

-Cam cover gasket

-ATF change

-New rear brake pads (had a seized up caliper slider one side, Dec 2017)

-NS front wishbone

-NS front brake hose

 

The big one was wheel arch and sill welding.  A tidy job, wish I was this competent at stuff.

 

 

 

I haven't got any close ups of the finished article, but they still look MINT.

[Cavcraft]

Bloody lovely car and no mistaking.

[Pillock]

I still can't bring myself to like the outside of the 600, but the good news is that when you're sat in that gorgeous interior you don't see it.

[83C]

Along with a W201 a 600 is on the 'to own' list. They were both contenders when I was 18 (I ended up with an Omega instead), and for whatever reason I just never ended up with one. A mate had a 620Ti, which lasted nearly two months before it suffered OMGHGF, possibly brought on by being driven everywhere on the redline. A nice 620i would do for me though.

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Yo Rob! I never did change the autobox fluid, I bought some new stuff then failed to make time to glug it in!!!

[SierraMikeHotel]

I'll see your pic of a Rover with caramac interior at the Place d'Arras and raise you a pic of a Rover with a caramac interior at the Place d'Arras.

 

[RobT]

Yo Rob! I never did change the autobox fluid, I bought some new stuff then failed to make time to glug it in!!!

I'll add it to the list then as some shift ups are a bit jerky! What fluid did you get? Internet says it should be Honda DW-1.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

That's better. 

 

 

 

[carlo]

Have always fancied a go in one of these, so look forward to the impending roffle..

 

Be even nicer with some nice comfy velour trim.  Liking your picture of Arras Rob.

[RobT]

As is the way with most 600s, this suffers from a cack window regulator, which annoyingly is on the driver's side.  It goes up and down but is slightly on the piss so it does't sit flush.

 

 

That's two-thirds up and the gap is bigger when the window reaches the top.

 

Door card off and nothing broken, so that's a good start.

 

 

A friend who also has a 623GSi told me adding a washer to these bolts helps secure things and make sure the window goes up level.  The other one is less accessible but wasn't too much of a faff to undo.

 

 

I spent an hour tinkering shifting the runners about, loosening and tightening the bolts, but with zero effect.  The window popped out the guide at one point and fell down inside the door which made my sphincter twitch.  I didn't want a repeat of what happened to the Mazda's window, so I just lobbed the door card back on and had a cup of tea.  A job for someone who knows what they're doing I think...

 

Two hours in total down the pan, I ended up giving it a good wash so the afternoon wasn't totally wasted.

 

I also noticed my Rover badge is missing.  It must have fallen off when I 'did a Millbrook' along some cobbled streets in France last week.  I swear it was there before.

 

[Mr_Bo11ox]

you can get the window to shut properly, but its a right faff on - you have to use your fingers round the doorframe to hold the rearmost edge of the glass downwards as the window goes up. Obviously this precludes closing the window while driving!!!

[inconsistant]

A fine purchase Rob.

[RobT]

you can get the window to shut properly, but its a right faff on - you have to use your fingers round the doorframe to hold the rearmost edge of the glass downwards as the window goes up. Obviously this precludes closing the window while driving!!!

That's what I did last week at the ferry terminal. Window down to show the passports then waiting in the queue I guided it back up whilst Mrs T pressed the button. It helped having an assistant, but I've put a bit of gaffer tape over the switch now to stop me from using it!

[RobT]

...both front tyres have now been replaced and hold air. I'll get the rears done soon so it wears a full set of new boots.

Got them done today.

 

 

A previous owner had incorrectly fitted 205/55s, so order has been restored with another set of 195/65s. I do like a tyre with plenty of sidewall.

 

 

I recall Bo11ox mentioning the brake backplates were shot on this. Most of it is still there, and it'll have to do anyway as I think they're NLA.

 

 

For those of us in south London, I can thoroughly recommend the guys at Economic Tyres, West Norwood. I normally buy from tyreleader and get them to fit (which they're happy to do), but they are actually pretty competitive so I just got the whole lot done by them today. They also do a thorough job filing down the alloy rims on whatever pile of shite I take to them. So many places I've been to before don't do that so I've ended up with rim leakage. Wouldn't wish that on anyone...

[stuboy]

looking smart

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Ooofff, I'd love to have a shot in this now with 100% new rubber, i bet it's transformed

[clayts450]

Am I alone in giggling like a schoolboy at the tag RoBT has helpfully added to this topic ?

[Ghosty]

I'll add it to the list then as some shift ups are a bit jerky! What fluid did you get? Internet says it should be Honda DW-1.

 

Dexron IID should be fine.

[Shep Shepherd]

Quality tyres on a cheap old car = winning at life ^^

[RobT]

Ooofff, I'd love to have a shot in this now with 100% new rubber, i bet it's transformed

Sure is. The rears in particular have made a big difference to ride quality, which also means fewer trim rattles!

 

Quality tyres on a cheap old car = winning at life ^^

I've now spent more on tyres than I paid Bo11 for the car, but a few upcoming road trips means it's definitely worth it.

[RobT]

Seeing as the 623 will be my Shitefest transport, I wanted to test out its roadtrip credentials.  Plus work is doing my head in at the moment so I needed a short break.  Therefore Mrs T and I headed off to Normandy on Wednesday, somewhere I haven't been for 18 years.  Shocking how time flies isn't it...

 

It didn't begin well, as I'd booked the ferry the wrong way around.  So we were due to board the 09.05 that didn't actually exist as it was leaving Calais, not Dover.  IDIOT.  I'd booked via direct ferries and seeing as they wouldn't answer the bloody phone I couldn't be bothered waiting, so booked a new crossing.  £141 and two hours later we were off.  I spend the majority of my life being a mingebag, so when it comes to holidays I don't care, I'll just stump up the cash to get me there.

 

Once we arrived, cue plenty of autoroute and me feeling smug as I pass through the 30km lane with my liber-t tag.

 

 

The days of faffing around at the toll gates are gone now I've got this piece of plastic, and invariably Mrs T is zzz-ing catching flies anyway so it's a double win.  Talking of which, I acquired this lot over the course of the trip.

 

 

It was warm, and I hadn't been organised enough to get the aircon fixed (assuming it can be) so much of the 250 miles from Calais was spent with the windows open.  Buffeting, but cool.

 

Pez stop photo in honour of Bo11ox.  OK they should be 1s, but you get the idea.

 

 

Sightseeing, eating and a fair bit of drinking (whilst not driving obvs) was done over the next few days.  Here we are at Le Mont St Michel.  At this point the driver's window had come off the runners, so 20 minutes was spent jiggling it about and gaffer taping it to the frame, just in case it decided to collapse into the door whilst I was driving.

 

 

Pointe du Hoc felt a magical place at sunset.  But sobering when you consider the battle that occurred there as part of the Normandy Landings.

 

 

Saturday and time to go home.  Sigh.....This trip has made me gel with the 623, as apart from the window caper and needing nigh on 2 litres of water (more on that later) I really entered 'the zone' on the way back to Calais and could have kept driving for ages.  The nice weather and scenery may have helped this, such as the Pont de Normandie bridge at Le Havre.

 

 

Calais achieved on time and a Megane Sedan loaded with giffers at the ferry terminal.  Rare to see one of these on UK plates, and RHD too so it's not an import.

 

 

960 miles done in total over 4 days.  2 litres of water, plenty of pez (it does like a drink this car) and a few new noises later, it got us home.  Despite new tyres there's still a fair bit of road noise, so I'm wondering if I've got a bearing on the way out or something.  That'll need investigating soon.

 

This made me LoL.  On Saturday I'd travelled all that way from near Bayeux and 2 miles from home saw this when stopping for grub.

 

 

Driven by an old lady it was perfect in every way.  Moss growth in the gutters, flat paint, threadbare seats and the rusty wheels just set it off a treat.

 

THE END.

[RobT]

As mentioned above, this is losing water at a fair old rate.  It's leaking at the base of the radiator, and has suddenly got worse so I'd better fix it I suppose.  I also notice it's lacking a few fins...wonder if that happened on the trip!

 

 

I've managed to find one for 42 quid which isn't too bad, I just need to check the locating pegs are in the right place as there's a couple of versions apparently.

[beko1987]

That's what my air con radiator has done, shed some fins and pinholed. But because it's not the coolant rad, I've not marked it as urgent. Yet... Trying not to

[carlo]

Great stuff Rob, we need more road trips!  I'm hoping to take the (newly fixed) 405 to France this year so will have to post a thread.

[Lacquer Peel]

The radiators on 1990s Japanese derived stuff are made from nori. The only cars I've had to replace radiators on are - Rover 623 and Rover 825D (tenuous), Nissan Primera P10, Isuzu TD Astra (tenuous again, does it have an Isuzu supplied radiator?)

 

600s are so handsome.

[RobT]

The radiators on 1990s Japanese derived stuff are made from nori. The only cars I've had to replace radiators on are - Rover 623 and Rover 825D (tenuous), Nissan Primera P10, Isuzu TD Astra (tenuous again, does it have an Isuzu supplied radiator?)

600s are so handsome.

I've only ever replaced three. Metro, Rover 114 and my cuŕrent Mk3 Cavalier The latter two were tricky to find as both required rads with the additional oil cooler gubbins being automatics. I half expected the 623 to be the same, seeing as how some parts are becoming quite scarce for them.

[sierraman]

Definately best car Rover made the 600.

[RobT]

As an observation, although the engine is OMG reliable Honda (164,000 miles and counting) I genuinely would prefer a T-series mated to an auto ‘box, if such a thing was possible.  The Honda lump is just too harsh under acceleration for my liking, but that’s a minor thing really as it has enough poke so you don’t have to deploy kickdown that often.  When you do it makes an almighty racket!  I much prefer the grunty noise the C20NE in the Cavalier makes (or is it 20NE, I can never remember).

[Lacquer Peel]

I had a manual Rover 623 for a while, it was super refined even up to the redline. Is the exhaust blowing a wee bit or is it the nature of the auto box?

The 800 was available with a T series and autobox combination but not the 600 - the T series isn't a paragon of refinement.