Harrison's Garage - Mini City, back on the road!

[RoverFolkUs]

Sounds like a tractor, beautiful 😁

[MJK 24]

Great thread!  Loving the Sierra D!

[Tommyboy12]

Mmm silky smooth diesel goodness

[Noel Tidybeard]

you cannot mistake the noise of Indenor 😁

[Dick Longbridge]

I've now got a slightly disturbing image in my mind of Nicholas Cage finally returning to his coveted diesel Sierra after some time away from it.

'Indenorrrrrrr!'

[rob88h]

No Sierra update (or Granada update) (or MX-5 update) (or Mini update) (or Volvo update) (or Focus update)…

I have been working on some of my other hobbies that become kinda relevant here in the form of an ongoing 14-day-high-stakes collection. I’m not really into doing my own live collection threads, I’m more of an after the fact article writer sort of poster, but I’m part way through this current caper and thought you might like what I’ve been up to. 

The plan: Cycle Lands End to John O’Groats, buy a cheap car when up there then drive it back and sell it on later.

On Saturday 2nd April we loaded the bicycles on the roof of the Focus and drove down to Cornwall. CycleShite by the way, my FIL wanted me to sell this old GT Palomar that’s been in his shed for a few decades.

It was a comfy fit so I repaired it and planned this trip and kept it for myself. Thirteen days later And I’ve cycled 950 miles up the country with various adventures, but the last one is still to come…

Harrison’s History #55 - Rover 45

The trains home for two are over £400, even trying to pre-book. I figured petrol should be less than that and a car can be bought and sold for net zero cost. Possibly. I’ve just sold the Audi so have an insurance policy sitting idle. Basically, I didn’t need much convincing…

In the days approaching getting to John O’Groats I started cruising FaceBook Marketplace et al, getting in touch with some prospects, and then I came across… a 2004 Rover 45. I’ve just collected it.

After finishing my mammoth bike trip I had to cycle an extra 30 miles to pick up this wee Rover 45. I know nothing about it. It has spent it’s entire life on the North Scottish coast. It’s a Rover. The engine warning light is on. Tomorrow I’m driving 700 miles back home in it. What could possibleye go wrong?

 

At least it doesn’t have a saddle. 

[Tickman]

You really don't do things by halves.

Excellent use of man maths as well, we all know it makes sense.

[wesacosa]

blimey, just reading this as I am scoffing second takeaway in two days.  top work @rob88h

[BorniteIdentity]

Great stuff, Robin. Safe travels home and hope to have a Sierra MeatUP soon x

[timolloyd]

Amazing effort, well done. How did the Palomar hold up?

[rob88h]

Quote

Description 

ROVER 45 IMPRESSION .1.4  4 MONTHS MOT WILL TEST AGAIN NO PROBLEM. ONLY 68,000 FROM NEW FSH. YOU WILL NOT FIND ONE CLEANER FOR THE YEAR IN THE UK. 

 

 

[rob88h]

The Rover got me home 👍 

Before setting off I had to remove the driver's Sun visor because its resting place is annoyingly in the down position right in front of your face blocking the view of the road. Yesterday when I picked it up, I just leant forward and balanced it on my head, but I didn't fancy that for the remaining 700 miles we covered today... Front tyres are nice, rears are starting to crack a little but look sufficient for the journey (optimism points+1). Oils and fluids are on their mark. Starting cold this thing sounds a bit fruity, of the not an unholy exhaust variety, but a quick visual check shows it to not look like it's been dragged from the bottom of the ocean, in fact it looks quite new right up to the headers, so I'm thinking it's just not installed right (optimism points+2). The MIL was on and it's pretty knocky-tappy, but it's the life choices I'd made up to this point - so I guess I'll just go for it and set off (ignorance points+1).

To be fair to it, there was no real drama. It’s fairly frugal, comfy enough and was at least a nice clean place to sit for several hours.

 

After a couple of hundred miles the Airbag light came on and has stayed on which was disappointing, but 100 miles later on the MIL went off and hasn’t come back, which I think overall is a net win. The only other development was the increased rasp from the exhaust becoming further unhappy and the more concerning increased knock under load (oh and under cornering the CV joints were and still are toast).

It’s a bit of a dilemma now really – the Rover is pretty nice, certainly not the cleanest one in the UK as advertised (unless he meant soap and water clean) with a lot going for it, but I’m fairly sure the engine is borked. Now I’m home I got my stethoscope out and the worst of the knock is from the block as close to the crank pulley as I can get. I'm not sure how well it'll sell like this and I don't want to spend any time or money on it. It gets you where you want to go though.

[rob88h]

And I just remembered. Me and my mate worked out the Rover wooden dash thing - it's not posh/ deluxe aspirations, it's so you can "touch wood" that things will be alright because it's a Rover.

 

10 hours ago, timolloyd said:

How did the Palomar hold up?

Palomar's a tank. No issues. It seems to work on the principles of conservation of momentum, especially when loaded up with panniers.

[rob88h]

Airbag light AND engine warning light on the Rover are fixed! 😄 

No warning lights now, despite the fact that it sounds like a bag of nails.

Theory on the engine light was the pressure in the fuel tank. Apparently that’s a thing on these. It did go away a few startups after a monumental suck-off when I opened the cap to fill it up for the first time - and has not been back since.

The Airbag light was the connector to the drivers seat under the chair. Contact cleaned and happy. 

I’m falling for the Rover dammit, even though I’m likely to have to scrap it, but seeing where I can get with it before the V5 arrives. 

The exhaust is still blowing. It a nice new system welded to a grotty old flex and obviously the welds have started to perforate. 

The knock is the worry. I’m planning to drop the oil later and see if it’s showing any metallic traces. I’m hesitant that it’s the hydraulic tappets or piston slap that this engine is prone to according to the forums as both of those should improve when it’s warmed up and mine does not…

Also, it’s not as clean as it looks in the 10 yard photos. See the boot hinges:

I really should start proceedings with Dear @jamescarruthers for this, but hate to scrap anything these days. Bollox isn’t around these pages anymore I think? I know he’d find love for a knackered K-Series having read his K-Series Kapers a few months back. 

[rob88h]

I’ve been messing around with the 45 again this evening. Those of a nervous bodge disposition look away - I took the edge of the exhaust blow with a Gun Gum bandage. It may be a bodge, but it’s a relatively neat and precise one. I even used the heat reflective metal layer first and a nice jubilee clip to hold it all in place 😉

(rolling the car on it’s roof made access easier apparently. I’ll flip the pic when I’m on a PC…)

The main task was changing the oil so I could inspect it. To be honest, the old oil looked fine, maybe it’s not so bad after all. The knock is still there but it’s more of a tick now and I’m sure not as bad (actually it sounds a bit more like the video above now, as I don’t think the mic on the phone really picked up the sound right to start with). 

I’ve not run it up to temperature yet as I was waiting for the exhaust to “dry”, so I’ll see what it sounds like when warm at some point tomorrow evening. If it is just tappet noise I’m expecting it to improve when warm. 

[RoverFolkUs]

It's incredibly hard to tell on video, but that doesn't quite sound like rod knock to me as rod knock is usually closer to a bang and sounds a bit like diesel pre-ignition. 

I think there's a few different noises there, that main noise is definitely not lifters, it almost sounds like it's a massive hole in the exhaust manifold!? 

I don't know, maybe it's a lost cause but I share the feeling it would be a shame to bin it

 

[rob88h]

I’m pretty much done with the Rover I think. This was supposed to just be an alternative to a train ticket 😡. I’ve spent a few evenings trying simple things so at least I’ve eased my conscious if it does go to scrap. If anyone wants it for £350, be my guest.

The oil is changed, I tried some Wynns Valve Lift cleaner additive and some high rpms, I’ve removed each HT lead one by one to see if it’s dominant to a particular cylinder (inconclusive) and I’ve had a look under the cam cover (inconclusive). 

Annoyingly the timing cover has a threaded bolt that’s just spinning and not releasing, meaning I couldn’t get in so haven’t been able to check the idler or get the cam shafts out to remove the lifters for a clean. 

I’m stopping there. 

With a stethoscope it’s worse on the block low down at cylinder 1, or anything that bolts directly to that area like the PAS pump bracket or Alternator bracket. 

The video is at idle. Just off idle the noise sort of goes away, but will come back in again higher up the rpm range. It’s loads worse when driving under load and completely gone on overrun. Cold or warmed up makes no difference. 

Rover put out a service bulletin for severe piston slap on this engine, so I’m wondering if this has got that. It drives alright, fine for power and no warning lights, just this uninspiring noise. 

[mitsisigma01]

I've heard worse , it almost sounds normal , video it when you're revving its tits off

[rob88h]

Sierra time!

Where I’ve stored the DieseL Sierra is no good for brakes work, so it needs to come round to my  driveway so I can jack it up. I’ve not had it on the drive because the drivers side window keeps falling out and I don’t like cars under covers on the drive, I’m weird like that. 

I was going to make a joke about it being a “Protected Vehicle” because all the windows now stay up (huzzah), but I think it’s more apt if you think of it as an endangered species. 

The window had just come off the runners, and the little wheels we’re sitting in the bottom of the door for me still, so all’s good. Amazingly the membrane was still intact after 40 years, so I was careful to peel it up and stick it back with all purpose adhesive. No parcel tape here!

None of the door card clips bust and all the door furniture (love that term) came off and on intact. Very pleased. 

It’s a biohazard still though:

So after getting consumption while working on the door I decided to kill off an old hoover bag and let Henry chow down on all that grot. 

Better, but still gets on your chest. I kept hold of some choice finds:

Star find (not pictured) is a working! classic Casio calculator in a little faux leather case. Presumably it was used for calculating the millions of mpgs this thing no doubt does. 

One more photo for giggles. Nine, count them, attempts at hanging the rear view mirror! The previous owner was clearly insane. Or bought a multipack of sticky pad and thought to use them up before trying something else (giving up).

It still sprang to life keenly this morning, but now it has no oil in it after a botched oil change due to multiple incorrect oil filters. Once the Rover’s out I’ll bring it round the front and get going on the brakes and tyres. 

[Noel Tidybeard]

wow a large glove box short dash!

[rob88h]

21 minutes ago, Noel Tidybeard said:

wow a large glove box short dash!

I don’t know much about options and specs - is that a special one? Can I retire on the proceeds?

All I do know about the dash is it’s f**ked. 😆

[Noel Tidybeard]

early low spec models got a shorter dash with an oddments tray in front of gearstick and a larger glove box cos no speakers

[rob88h]

1 minute ago, Noel Tidybeard said:

an oddments tray

The perfect place to store old pound coins fished out of seat rails 👍

[rob88h]

We have Lights!

I also found this horn upgrade in the boot whilst looking for clues of this cars original supplying dealer. As yet untested 😆

[stuboy]

13 hours ago, rob88h said:

fabulous!

[rob88h]

I thought I’d share this as I’m sure I’m not the only one who goes through this dance every now and again...

 

The Shuffle

Mow the lawn, it’s clear, find all the keys, the set with the immobiliser wand for the Volvo, where’s the Crook-lock key, is this the fob that works, sheet off the Sierra, pump up the flat rear tyre, get the Rover off the drive onto the street, move the Focus to driveway position 1, open the gate, chug the Sierra from the back round to driveway position 2, reverse the Mini in from the street, careful round the trellis, into garden spot 1, (pre-approval from the wife brokered), un-parallel park the Volvo with a million shuffles from the street where I’m sure the neighbours are passive aggressively trying to tell me I have too many cars by pinning me in, reverse Volvo into rear drive spot, cover the Volvo to prevent bird poo devastation, shut the rear gate, sigh, be thankful the Granada and the MX5 have no wheels on, go inside, consider buying a jailers keyring.

[NorfolkNWeigh]

7 minutes ago, rob88h said:

I thought I’d share this as I’m sure I’m not the only one who goes through this dance every now and again...

 

The Shuffle

Mow the lawn, it’s clear, find all the keys, the set with the immobiliser wand for the Volvo, where’s the Crook-lock key, is this the fob that works, sheet off the Sierra, pump up the flat rear tyre, get the Rover off the drive onto the street, move the Focus to driveway position 1, open the gate, chug the Sierra from the back round to driveway position 2, reverse the Mini in from the street, careful round the trellis, into garden spot 1, (pre-approval from the wife brokered), un-parallel park the Volvo with a million shuffles from the street where I’m sure the neighbours are passive aggressively trying to tell me I have too many cars by pinning me in, reverse Volvo into rear drive spot, cover the Volvo to prevent bird poo devastation, shut the rear gate, sigh, be thankful the Granada and the MX5 have no wheels on, go inside, consider buying a jailers keyring.

I feel your pain , it was bin day yesterday . I needed to move 3 cars to get the green waste wheelie bin out…

Fuck it, it can wait to next week.

[Matty]

11 minutes ago, rob88h said:

I thought I’d share this as I’m sure I’m not the only one who goes through this dance every now and again...

 

The Shuffle

Mow the lawn, it’s clear, find all the keys, the set with the immobiliser wand for the Volvo, where’s the Crook-lock key, is this the fob that works, sheet off the Sierra, pump up the flat rear tyre, get the Rover off the drive onto the street, move the Focus to driveway position 1, open the gate, chug the Sierra from the back round to driveway position 2, reverse the Mini in from the street, careful round the trellis, into garden spot 1, (pre-approval from the wife brokered), un-parallel park the Volvo with a million shuffles from the street where I’m sure the neighbours are passive aggressively trying to tell me I have too many cars by pinning me in, reverse Volvo into rear drive spot, cover the Volvo to prevent bird poo devastation, shut the rear gate, sigh, be thankful the Granada and the MX5 have no wheels on, go inside, consider buying a jailers keyring.

Similar but with less room to do it in 😁

[High Jetter]

1 hour ago, NorfolkNWeigh said:

I feel your pain , it was bin day yesterday . I needed to move 3 cars to get the green waste wheelie bin out…

Fuck it, it can wait to next week.

Be thankful, our bins go fortnightly. Oh wait, they're on strike Monday for 2 weeks

[sierraman]

I think you are over worrying the engine noise on the Rover, I’ve heard much worse. I’d just run it.