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All about that BASE - Rover 820 END


dollywobbler

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Oh wow. A Mk1 for free! Lovely old barges these. You may or may not remember when I had a very similar one but a saloon some years ago.

 

10713255176_f803797df0.jpg

 

Can I call dibs on this...

 

EDIT* Just actually read your post. No Mk1 800 Fastback for me then which is good because it'll have a better chance of being looked after properly.

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Oh wow. A Mk1 for free! Lovely old barges these. You may or may not remember when I had a very similar one but a saloon some years ago.

 

10713255176_f803797df0.jpg

 

Can I call dibs on this if it needs moving on? Particularly if it at the end of a month so I can juggle stuff around. I'm sure (hoping) it'll be out of my price range.

 

This is even lower spec than an 820e! Not even fuel injection. Situation is complex, but I'll keep everyone posted.

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There was an absolute cracker of an 800 for sale about 80 miles from me about 2 weeks back, think it was the facelifted version of this, green, higher spec...

 

Have to say, if found the state of the roof very Hubnut, not many people could find a way to go from a leaky Mazda to a potentially even more fundamentally leaky Rover. Most people would have went the other way and made certain their next car had a roof not held together with hope and best wishes.

 

Well bought.

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"Hello, British Aerospace here. Yes we'd like to buy a car please, but can you make it as simple as possible without any of that complex nonsense like fuel injection. No, we don't trust computers and things"

 

"But make sure it has a spoiler, because that's a bit like a plane."

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Britisher Architect..............................................

Sorry you have to be a certain age and have had a very boring childhood to have the faintest idea what I'm on about.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJ-DEi1LP50

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That looks like a little cracker! These 800 fastbacks just look fantastic, such a great design all over that has aged very well in my eyes.

 

I think this should make an excellent member of the fleet, even if it is only temporary.

 

Question, are the hubcaps correct? they look far too modern. I think a set of SD3 hubcaps would look right on it (or even early R8 ones).

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....

 

I have acquired a vehicle. This is when I was trying to fix it so I could drive home.

D3jpQY3WsAABisp.jpg

 

The car was offered FOC to the Rover 800 Owners' Club. They weren't really in a position to take it on directly, so it ended up being pointed my way. It's an 820 base model - SU carburettor-fed 2-litre O-Series! BAe was the first owner, for eight weeks, then it was sold to the father of the chap I bought it off, who sadly passed away last year.

 

It has covered 105k, has a fair bit of rust in a few places, but is pretty tidy and looks bloody fantastic. It has a few weeks of MOT, delicious dealer plates, unexpected lumbar adjustment and electric front windows. One piece of wood on the dash, none on the doors, manual tilt/slide sunroof, spoiler!

 

It had barely moved since July last year, but sadly, I got a whiff of hot brakes on the M55. I pulled onto the hard shoulder and the nearside rear wheel was smoking. I limped at 30mph down the hard shoulder to the next junction, which was not fun. I then limped gently back to the vendor, where I stripped the brake, used entirely the wrong grease (as it was all he had) to try and improve things, considered this a success and drove 180 miles home.

 

I seem to have mostly taken photos of the rear.

D3j9tLGWAAEU5Lg.jpg

 

There is a petrol station shot, but you'll have to wait. I developed a horrible migraine on the way back and had to stop for a while. Most unlike me. 

 

Eventually made it back.

D3k0U0KWkAA1XCt.jpg

 

 The brakes are SHITE. It could be air from boiling brake fluid, so I'll see if a bleed helps, but I reckon all the calipers are buggered.

 

...you might be able to revive/get the remaning % life out of the calipers by 'exercising them' - I used to do it to my landrover disco's rear brakes; after a bleed, remove the pads n either insert old pads with zero meat on them/just the backing plate , or an offcut of 3/4mm plate between the piston n disc n get strips of 400/600 sandpaper n thread them round the exposed piston to clean them up- mine passed a few tests doing this, but the rear braking was always near the minimum pass rate - it gets them 'just about working'...

 

I do like these old hatch 820's - my old fella had an 820e automatic for daily duties for about 18months or so - he got it cheap off a golf buddy of his having detonated his old mondeo TD.... similiarly it sat about his gaff unused for the next 18months after he bought an new fangled primera; no one; even the banger lads I knew wanted his old 820, n scrap was worthless at the time... Im not sure how he got rid of it TBH.

 best of luck with the future 'shenanigans' with it.... 

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The caliper pistons wind in, with an unusual pattern that you can't just wang a screwdriver across (like you can on a BX). I don't have the right tool for that. We went for owner presses brake pedal and releases, I twat the caliper with a hammer a few times, repeat etc, after lubing the piston and pad sliding points with entirely the wrong sort of grease. Got me home!

 

Brakes are shockingly shite though, but it's chucking it down today, so I can't investigate. They were crap to start with, but notably worse after that caliper got hot. I suspect it boiled the fluid.

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Totally addicted to base! I think that wood trim was retro fitted. :D

 

Very pleased to see that this has joined the fleet, having watched the live video. I think for a moment we thought it was going to be an MG Metro. :)

 

A used Rover 800 was on my dad's my shortlist back in 1993 when he wanted to replace the MG 1600. It had to be a 4 cylinder 820 because '6 cylinders use too much petrol' but he wanted a few toys as well so the 820e was off the shortlist, as was any with a beige interior. He eventually bought a V' Hall Carlton 2.2i CD instead.

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