Bidding finger - chop it off!

[Mr_Bo11ox]

I have really played a blinder here. The other day i was ratching through ebay and found this, a Rover Metro 1.4 GTa in the parts dept. Its got 30k on the clock and looks pretty smart. However its got hydrolastic problems and no MOT. Oh and its got the Jake-the-peg shift option, which must make for a thrilling drive its only 5 miles from me so I stuck £50 on it. Lo and behold I won the bastard (cos no-one else bid)

 

 

As I had car problems coming out of my ears last week I forgot all about it till the seller tracked me down! Lord knows how, but fair play to him. Anyway i'm picking it up on Saturday. Its probably popped a displacer, I have got a spiffing home-made hydrolastic pump so might be able to level it up again for next to nowt, a more likely scenario though is that Ms_Boll will go ape and i'll end up wizzing it round to the metal recyclers in Crewe once I have drained the full tank of pez it has supposedly got! Dear god

 

The seller sounds quite posh like, its bin in his family since it was a year old and you've got to be made of stern stuff to spend £500+ servicing an old Metro so you never know, it might be nice enough to justify a bit of fettling, but I am absolutley stowed out with projects and have no time to do it so i'm not too optimistic.

[wuvvum]

Didn't the automatic Metros have a CVT gearbox? Those GTAs are quite a fine-handling little beast though if the suspension's sorted. I had a 1.4 Si (basically the same thing) that I accidentally bought for £80 (again cos nobody else had bid) and it was actually great fun to scream around in.

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Yes I think they did actually, it says 'semi-automatic' against it on the DVLA records, what does thast mean in practice then?

[Torsten2001]

I would've been tempted with that, it looks quite lovely!

[Guest]

Pump the suspension up and stick it up on Gumtree/Carandclassic for £100, it's a small hatchback with cheap tax, low miles and an autobox so I can't imagine it being too much of a nightmare to punt on.

[M'coli]

Mr B, keep us up to date on the displacers thing, if they're sound but it's still heading over the bridge, I might take it off your hands if need be.

[garethj]

Yes I think they did actually, it says 'semi-automatic' against it on the DVLA records, what does thast mean in practice then?

Semi auto used to mean there's no "drive" on the selector, just 1-2-3-N-R although nowadays they're full autos but selectable.A CVT is different again, it's as per DAF used with the little 66 and it's a stepless gearchange. I didn't know Metros had it, Ford had a go with the Fiesta but I thought Metros only had the 4 speed autos made by AP?Anyway, top car Mr_B. As I walked to work this morning and cycled home on Friday through the monsoon I thought I should get a £100 car, but it's just a minefield. Better all round if you get one, pump up the suspension a bit and lend it to me

[M'coli]

I thought Metros only had the 4 speed autos made by AP?

A-series Metros had this, but the K-series had CVT, and IIRC, it wasn't too shabby compared to the old AP job.

[r.welfare]

Deffo a CVT on a "Rover" Metro, by all accounts they are quite a nippy thing allied to the 8v 1.4 K. The security bloke at my old work had one (a 114 anyways) and raved about it until he hit a deer at 70 and wrote it off.If it can be pumped up OK and the rear arches aren't full of plod I reckon it's worth selling on rather than weighing in.

[Guest]

I think the semi-automatic thing is a red herring, transmission type doesnt appear on the V5C anyway does it? In any case these things are the complete opposite as you can't hold gears, with the exception of a low ratio position which is presumably for pulling away on mountains and extra wheelspin on snow.I've driven a couple of these in Rover 100 flava, not too bad if I had to be honest, bit boring mind and it would be nice to have a "direct drive" so as to get round the slipping-clutch sensation when accelerating from say 50 to 70. The CVT doesnt have a good reputation in the smaller Fords, though the Fiat Uno it was also fitted in usually rotted away before the box had a chance to implode

[pogweasel]

Hey, fifty squid for a running old motor is good going, eben if it is a Metro(I can excuse an element of hatred on the basis of it being a whizzy version, not some deplorable 998cc shitbox)I reckon if you pumped up the jam on it and boshed an MoT on you'd get a tidy little profit as Mills, Bader & co fight over it. Then simply spunk your gains on mig-wire and P100 starter motors.

[Mr_Bo11ox]

We'll see.... I am also collecting this tomorrow night!

 

[Mr Lobster]

Kwality! That looks a tidy, full OAP spec edition judging by the AA / Vehicle Watch stickers randomly applied in the windscreen.

[ashmicro]

Dunno if it's the same, but here's the CVT as fitted to the bubble Rover 200

 

[ashmicro]

HOLY FECK!Sorry about that, bugger wouldn't resize.

[Guest]

That Bluebird's in Sheffield isn't it? A-frame it to me as some kind of awkward "gift", then you'll have room for the Rover.Edit: More usefully, if you're really in a bind I could probably store it for a bit, but I dunno if you can be bothered making multiple A-frame trips.

[michiel]

[not helping at all]Ooh, nice Bird![/not helping at all]

[andrew e]

Hey I was reading an old copy of car (92 with an XJ220 on it) and there was a road test on those beasts! Stick an MOT on it and sell it to Ben on Macdroitwich

[155V6]

Deffo a CVT on a "Rover" Metro, by all accounts they are quite a nippy thing allied to the 8v 1.4 K. The security bloke at my old work had one (a 114 anyways) and raved about it until he hit a deer at 70 and wrote it off.If it can be pumped up OK and the rear arches aren't full of plod I reckon it's worth selling on rather than weighing in.

& if there's any front floorpan left,my GTi had perfect arches,but the floor had rotted out on both sides

[pandamonium]

I'd hit it.

[RedSparrow]

Pity its not a manual, but anyway METRO=WINNAR in my book.

[Guest]

Never mind it can't be any worse than the Amazon Estate I bought, (whilst under the influence) just because it looked like the one I'd had that got written off, before it got written off.Paid for it without seeing it, had it transported without seeing it. Saw it, gave it away for spares.

They fucking know how to rot, do Amazons.Mine was still stout as anything, but you could put your fist through the floorpan. Worringly it passed an MOT like that without any bungs......

[Father Ted]

Ive a metro sized space in Preston if you get really stuck for storage.

[gearoil]

Brilliant. How many cars do you have now Mr B...?

[andrew e]

[Guest]

Anyone heard owt from Bollox? I was hoping his new motor would have made an appearance, concerned that he might be pulled up on the hard shoulder clutching his "Autoshite Assistance" card whilst his sump fills up with petrol again.

[fotorabia]

Never mind it can't be any worse than the Amazon Estate I bought, (whilst under the influence) just because it looked like the one I'd had that got written off, before it got written off.Paid for it without seeing it, had it transported without seeing it. Saw it, gave it away for spares.

me guilty as charged..bought a Viva HA in similar circumstances..arrived...piece of ripped off rotten shit..cost all up $800..then sold it $300 to a Dad and teenagers who warned his boys about an awful lot of work..now learned creature..nice but immobile Viva HC..i offered $650..they came back with offer of $1200..see ya...

[MrRegieRitmo]

Anyone heard owt from Bollox? I was hoping his new motor would have made an appearance, concerned that he might be pulled up on the hard shoulder clutching his "Autoshite Assistance" card whilst his sump fills up with petrol again.

I think Pogweasel was planning on heading over to the stranded Bollox in the morning, A-frame at the ready, should be with him by say...mid afternoon

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Hey has anyone got a Haynes for these Rover Metros (and a scanner)? If so, any chance of scanning up the page showing a schematic of the suspension? This Metro will no doubt be sitting on its bumpstops at one side, and i'm wondering if it can be wedged at a slighlty higher position to aid the job of A-framing it the 5 miles to my house.Bluebird scooped up last night, what a winner it is! Pics to follow tomorrow probably

[Guest]

I want to hear more about the Bluebird, I don't want to have to wait until tomorrow! TELL US RIGHT NOW!