Cars of Crackers (contains a modern. Sorry.)

[Crackers]

9 minutes ago, Six-cylinder said:

I don't know what @Mrs6Cthinks she knows about this problem anyway as her Metro has a working pull and twist choke!

Ah, but for how long? 

We're talking about BL products here remember! 

[Mrs6C]

26 minutes ago, Six-cylinder said:

I don't know what @Mrs6Cthinks she knows about this problem anyway as her Metro has a working pull and twist choke!

Your Morris Minor Traveller didn't!

[2flags]

Great purchase. I had a couple of these many years ago. So smooth, so comfortable, so thirsty. I bought mine 37 years ago, we brought my eldest home form hospital in it. We got it as my wife's Mk1 Escort was rotting out and I fancied a Rover. My favourite car. It is the one I regret selling.

[Talbot]

22 hours ago, Six-cylinder said:

I don't know what @Mrs6Cthinks she knows about this problem anyway as her Metro has a working pull and twist choke!

What, you mean it's never actually be used?

It's Schrodingers choke cable.  It only works because it's new and has never been used.  As soon as you use it it'll be broken.  Hence it's both working and broken at the same time.

[Six-cylinder]

1 minute ago, Talbot said:

What, you mean it's never actually be used?

It's Schrodingers choke cable.  It only works because it's new and has never been used.  As soon as you use it it'll be broken.  Hence it's both working and broken at the same time.

Almost true it is a 30,000 mile car!

[Tadhg Tiogar]

1 hour ago, Talbot said:

What, you mean it's never actually be used?

It's Schrodingers choke cable.  It only works because it's new and has never been used.  As soon as you use it it'll be broken.  Hence it's both working and broken at the same time.

My work here.....is done.

[Crackers]

Few more miles under its belt this evening, a lovely evening down at Selsey with a mate for a Chippy run. 

It really does amaze me how competent this thing is. It really doesn't drive like a 50 year old car - yes, you have to take your time with it and be sensible, but the brakes are strong, the power delivery is silky smooth, the ride is fantastic and the steering is light but precise, you'd never guess it's a steering box rather than a rack. 

The ride quality is sublime. Not so much in terms of ironing out potholes and bumps, but more in the way it smooths out undulations like they aren't there. Heading up Goodwood hill, just by the racecourse entrance, there's two big dips in the road about 50 yards apart. At 60mph in my Focus, they noticeably unsettle the car. In the Rover, you barely even notice them. 

And yet is still handles surprisingly well - again it masks its age here. Once you're through the initial (massive) body roll and the weight shifts onto the suspension, it feels utterly sure-footed. 

Properly, properly impressed with this thing. We Brits could build some cars back in the day. 

[mitsisigma01]

The best time of day in Selsey is when it gets dark... so you can't see what isn't there 😬

[Talbot]

6 hours ago, Tadhg Tiogar said:

My work here.....is done.

Am I missing something here?  You've lost me somewhat.

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

That's beautiful. Excellent buy, you'll love it. 

Now you've got the choke working properly, does the choke light work? It should come on when it's time to push the choke in a bit.

The intermittent wipers don't work on anyone's. Even Rover gave up on them when the cars were current - very late P6s had an electric delay instead of the vacuum bullshit, and there is a fascinating internal communiqué telling dealers to rip out the vacuum delay and install the electric one if the former stopped working. It also states that every P6 has wiper delay, except some where they just don't, and if one of these cars is discovered the dealer should fit the electric delay device. 

 

[Crackers]

46 minutes ago, Conrad D. Conelrad said:

That's beautiful. Excellent buy, you'll love it. 

Thanks awfully. 

46 minutes ago, Conrad D. Conelrad said:

Now you've got the choke working properly, does the choke light work? It should come on when it's time to push the choke in a bit.

Not sure. The choke is still very much Jerry-rigged with some adjustable cable ties. I *think* the light seems to stay on for as long as the choke is pulled out, but I could be wrong, I haven't really watched it as I tend to be standing outside the car as it warms up. 

When I get the cable fixed or replaced, I'll find out. 

46 minutes ago, Conrad D. Conelrad said:

The intermittent wipers don't work on anyone's

Again, not needed to use the wipers yet, beyond a single wipe. I'll give them a go on Friday and see what we get. I do know the motor is VERY slow on mine so there may be an underlying issue there regardless. 

[danthecapriman]

@Crackers I didn’t realise you’re a local! I’m just up the road near Waterlooville. 
You’ll have to bring your superb Rover to the next Solent Shiters meeting whenever we have one next! It’d be great to see it in person. You and I could compare V8’s then too! 

[Crackers]

13 minutes ago, danthecapriman said:

@Crackers I didn’t realise you’re a local! I’m just up the road near Waterlooville. 
You’ll have to bring your superb Rover to the next Solent Shiters meeting whenever we have one next! It’d be great to see it in person. You and I could compare V8’s then too! 

I'm well up for that. Will keep my eyes out for any local meets! 

[mitsisigma01]

@danthecapriman, are you unveiling your long term project soon 🤔🤔🤔

[danthecapriman]

1 minute ago, mitsisigma01 said:

@danthecapriman, are you unveiling your long term project soon 🤔🤔🤔

At my current work speed you can expect to see that this time in 2031 I think!😆

 

Actually, now I’m not having to waste time at work I should be getting stuck into it again asap. Spring now too so the weather is looking better for car restoration! 
All I’ve got left to do is fit exhaust, fit front - rear fuel pipe, build up doors and fit a few bits of trim and badges... won’t take long. Hopefully.

[High Jetter]

1 hour ago, Crackers said:

Thanks awfully. 

Not sure. The choke is still very much Jerry-rigged with some adjustable cable ties. I *think* the light seems to stay on for as long as the choke is pulled out, but I could be wrong, I haven't really watched it as I tend to be standing outside the car as it warms up. 

When I get the cable fixed or replaced, I'll find out. 

Again, not needed to use the wipers yet, beyond a single wipe. I'll give them a go on Friday and see what we get. I do know the motor is VERY slow on mine so there may be an underlying issue there regardless. 

I have a very vague memory of a wiper delay module, need to consult a parts manual.

[Crackers]

A quick jaunt out to grab a bottle of milk. 

25 miles to the shop at the end of my road, obvs. 

Did confirm a few jobs I need to get sorted - wheel alignment (pulls right slightly) and some slop in the driveline which can make gear changes feel a bit ugly. 

The brakes? Yeah they work really well. 

So does the horn. That works very well too, it's loud.

And the full beam headlights. They're good. 

No prizes for guessing what that means... Yes, tatty silver Corsa, decided that the gap between me and the car in front was plenty big enough to get into, joining 60mph traffic.

A real "no, you're not going to do th... O'Shitt yes you are BRAAAAAAAAAKE" moment. 

Had I been in something of this era with less braking performance, I think I'd probably have ended up "adjusting" their rear bumper. And also my face.

[Minimad5]

Since having a small jaunt in Junkmans V8 powered P6, I've always been a bit taken by these.

Yours looks like a lovely example.

Will own Rover V8 one day 🤞😎

[cort16]

My choke cable was missing when I got mine and someone told me a mini one would work. I ordered one and it was about 800 ft long.

I take on a mini the cable runs through the back seats, over the headliner, down he a pillar then into the engine?

I did eventually get it to work but when it was out I had to hold it out. My  advices is try to get a real one for the p6 if you can.

[PhilA]

Well, these were advertised as being designed for safety. Glad to see that's still applicable. 

You can see why the cops liked them as motorway patrol cars, can't you?

Glad you're getting out and about in it, they're great cars.

Phil

[mitsisigma01]

18 hours ago, Crackers said:

No prizes for guessing what that means... Yes, tatty silver Corsa

Dash cam needed,

1; for the shots of Rover wafting.

2; for the evidence against the dickheads 

 

[Crackers]

We have ourselves a pretty significant shudder when taking up power, lifting off the clutch from a standstill. I knew about this one but currently pondering the fix. 

It only starts doing it once it's got nice and warm, which kind of leads me to to think it's not the clutch (which is fairly new, but has plenty of miles on it be properly bedded in). 

I'm think it could be the gearbox mount rubbers? They could also point to the apparent 'shunt' in the driveline if you're too heavy handed with a gear change or mash the throttle open in a hurry. 

Does any of that sound like a reasonable assumption? 

[High Jetter]

Instant thought has to be oil on the friction surface. Really hope it isn't.

[Crackers]

11 minutes ago, High Jetter said:

Instant thought has to be oil on the friction surface. Really hope it isn't.

It could be, yeah. However the rear oil seal has been done a few thousand miles ago and the clutch was changed at the same time, so with a bit of luck it isn't. I would have thought that would cause a judder all the time, not just when it's hot? Could be entirely wrong of course, but the amount of shunt in the driveline definitely makes it feel like a bush or mount is knacked. 

[High Jetter]

Gearbox mount yes, or I'd be looking at the prop UJ's. We used to sell loads of them.

[Talbot]

knackered gearbox or engine mountings (as they are of course mountings for the engine/gearbox assembly) can absolutely cause this.

The modern way to diagnose this is with a Mag-Mount go-pro (or other camera) pointing at the mounting as you drive.  Some mounts can look OK but be absolutely shot to hell when in service.

[Crackers]

Good news! 

"Choke Broke" = no longer! 

Firstly, heres the cable tie arrangement:

Managed to get the cable out of the carbs, and gave it a bloody good lubing:

Reinstate cable, minus slack:

So: Result! (excuse me missing knob, it still works and I'm currently making something up to prettify it)

Who knows if it'll keep working, but at least for now, that's a fix! 

[Crackers]

Well it ain't pretty, but it only bloody works!

[High Jetter]

Nice bodge! Is the knob completely missing?

[Crackers]

22 minutes ago, High Jetter said:

Nice bodge! Is the knob completely missing?

Yes, fell off quite a long time ago and had something else in its place, but the chock block is more comfortable. 

I canny be bothered to hunt down an original-style hooked choke lever so this'll do until either it seizes up again or I replace the cable.