Rover 827 update.... 2025 update! Inching closer to an MOT

[St.Jude]

You’re doing great work sir!

As much as the RAV4 broke my heart, I do look back at the welding of the arches as some of my best work. It was quite cathartic too - which doesn’t mean I wish to see any of this rot on my own 827 when it gets home!

[Noel Tidybeard]

can you a honda filler pipe?

[Marina door handles]

11 minutes ago, Noel Tidybeard said:

can you a honda filler pipe?

Possibly, I haven't ruled anything out, the two factors I care about is cost and can I make it fit? 

[St.Jude]

6 minutes ago, Marina door handles said:

Possibly, I haven't ruled anything out, the two factors I care about is cost and can I make it fit? 

I mean while Rover 800 parts are getting scarce, Honda Legend parts of this vintage must be unicorn teeth?

[Marina door handles]

28 minutes ago, St.Jude said:

I mean while Rover 800 parts are getting scarce, Honda Legend parts of this vintage must be unicorn teeth?

Most likely but I try not to bring reality into this.........

[St.Jude]

3 minutes ago, Marina door handles said:

Most likely but I try not to bring reality into this.........

Drain pipe from Wickes it is then!

[Marina door handles]

July update time.... Thanks to my Subaru repairs and other family related maters, this project has inevitably got delayed and delayed some more.  Its got me really wondering. I am starting to see the Rover as a never ending time and money black hole, rather than a car. There are things about the Rover I like but I don't feel emotionally attached to it. It wasn't supposed to be a big project really it was supposed to be backup for the Subaru and it utterly failed at that, hence I now own a Honda Acccord after the Scoob let me down!

It's also stopping me getting to my actual projects (The Scimitar and the Freight Rover Coupe...) My motivation is pretty low! I have decided to finish the sill, wheel arch repairs and any other rust repairs but after that I may well park it for a while but maybe I will sell it as an unfinished project, not sure really.  

Anyway, more welding, the final part of the inner arch, yes I forget to take a picture of the rot or the hole were I cut the rot out. So basically just new metal welded in...

And tidied up a bit.....

Still quite enjoy the process of welding and making repair panels though.

Then I noticed something else that annoyed me, now I know ideally this car will need a new windscreen (bit of a crack at the bottom which maybe an MOT fail) but it looks like it might need a bit of rust treatment under the screen, possibly some welding... FFS!

Maybe just petrol and matches might be the answer!

Sorry if this is a bit of a wingy thread but I have new sponsors to keep happy#

 

#Please do try the wonderous products at www.FirstWorldProblems.Com and also the www.Worldssmallestviolinshop.com! 

 

[St.Jude]

26 minutes ago, Marina door handles said:

Freight Rover Coupe

I’m intrigued, what is it?

[Marina door handles]

10 minutes ago, St.Jude said:

I’m intrigued, what is it?

Big clue I am trying to make the car sound more interesting than it really is.... 

Its a coupe, based on a convertible built in the Seventies but the basic design dates from the Sixties and the under pinnings are even older than that and a lot of people would call it boring..... 

[St.Jude]

1 hour ago, Marina door handles said:

Big clue I am trying to make the car sound more interesting than it really is.... 

Its a coupe, based on a convertible built in the Seventies but the basic design dates from the Sixties and the under pinnings are even older than that and a lot of people would call it boring..... 

see in my head I am just picturing a drop top Sherpa.

so it’s working 😂

[Marina door handles]

Behold the majesty....... 3dr Sherpa FHC

[High Jetter]

Yer wheel's falling off M9

[Marina door handles]

3 minutes ago, High Jetter said:

Yer wheel's falling off M9

Nah its Stanced init......

[chodweaver]

Behold the majesty....... 3dr Sherpa FHC

See, I STILL think that's one of the prettiest looking cars ever

Good luck with the Rover of Demotivation. The work you're doing on that is an inspiration in itself

[Marina door handles]

Another Rover update, more sparky, zappy grindy work. This time I am attempting to put the lip back  on the wheel arch, yet again I have failed to provide a decent before picture but suffice to say the wheel arch looked like this but in red primer - pic borrow from page 2!

And as you cannot see, cause the angle is wrong, there is no lip!   

After a bit of head scratching I managed to clamp a strip of metal in place and started tacking.

Then slowly worked my way around it. Cleaning up the welds as I went.

I ended up with a slight issue the, the strip of metal making up the lip is pretty straight the arch curves back in at the rear leading to an overlap.

I attempted to cut this off with shears, couldn't get a good angle of attack, so I took the grinder to it with a slitting disc. This started to cut nicely then caught the metal and twisted it out of shape! A bit annoying I ended up having to cut the very last couple of inches off so I will need to to the last but separately.

Oh yes and I managed to blow an annoying hole in the arch and couldn't fix it as I ran out of welding wire! So I painted it with weld through and ended it there for today.

Spot the mistakes!

 

That's all until my next bit of spare time.

 

 

[Marina door handles]

Well I am as they say "Back on it like a Shakespearean sonnet", or some such.....  Any way, I have finished bodging my Honda, that is now back on the road, still not entirely happy with it but its running. So the Rover, I have finished welding on the wheel arch, I added more lip and filled a couple of holes with some more sheet steel.

So now for the bit that I really am rather learning as I go, the fillering (is that an actual term?) . I started off with an old tub of Isopon and got a reasonable start.

Then I got so far and ran out....

At this point I ordered up same Evercoat rage, partly because its called Rage!! And also because a couple of body shop people I know through work swear by it, so if its good enough for them, I might as well try it.

Its a bit green looking but goes on well, this is basically a first thin layer. I am aiming to try and get it on as thin and defect free as I can, then build it up a little at a time.

Glooping the filler on is weirdly satisfying and so is sanding it to shape but the mess you make when sanding it drives me slightly mad, my garage is filled with dust and that is with me hoovering up after each sesh.  I am a slightly untidy person by nature  but even I have my dust limits and this really does breach that! 

Might be another update tomorrow, might just be photos of Henry the vacuum doing his thang! 

Thanks for Reading.

 

 

[Marina door handles]

So much for another update "tomorrow"......  Life does have a habit of getting in the way. Anyway back on the Rover for the final real push to get it back together and water tight so it can go back on the drive whilst I figure out what to do with it.

I have to confess I got a bit fed up with the fillering, not helped by the fact I had to undo some of my work to expose a hole in the wheel arch which is a trim fixing point.

No fixing point

Now with some primer and a hole, just by the door trim.

It took ages to get to that point and my second go at fillering really wasn't as slick as the first but at this point I  did not care!

More primer, then paint (allegedly the correct colour) was the applied....

Just try not to look to closely at the pictures..

The good news is that the metal is now slathered in nice protective paint and the sills also have a load of dynax wax oily stuff in them, they have no excuse to rust. The not so good news is it just doesn't  look that great.

With that kinda done, time to re fit the drivers door. Theses doors are heavy and awkward, my method was to sit the door on a sturdy box then lift it roughly into position whilst my better half carefully fitted the bolts, definitely a two person job. So no pictures to document the processs as we both had our hands full but here is a sort of before and after....

Ta dah... Ta door ?

Starting to look like a car once again! Also if you look at the wing you can see the two tone effect, the supposed correct paint doesnt look very metallic and isn't the same colour...... 

Next jobs are going to be NSF wing and wheel arch liner back on, rear shock absorber and trailing arm back in and rear wheel back on. Then it will be taken off the support and the driver side will be put back up in the air to clean that sill as the primer reacted weirdly and its got a load of surface rust on it?!!  What seems to have happened is the primer went on when it was too cold and possibly damp, it has cracked and let moisture in which is obviously no good. I didn't spot the issue until I was deep into working on the passenger side, the primer on the passenger side sill was removed, the sill cleaned and rust treated with genolite and then a better quality primer was applied using a hair drier to warm the metal work, this seems to have worked really well with no further issues.

Anyhoo thanks for reading, the next update will be along at some point!

 

[St.Jude]

Had a proper Father Ted moment here, admiring your rear arch thinking “doesn’t look too bad”.

Then I see the rest of the car 😂

[Marina door handles]

Small update, a few more bits and bobs done....

Door wiring looms re fitted... It took me a while to figure out all the plugs on this. After plugging in the electric window motor and the central locking connection, I still had this little lot hanging out of the door.....

For starters the plugs in the dark blue circle are for the wing mirror but one of them is redundant! The multi plug in the red circle is for the window switch, the green circle is for the speakers, with little extra connections you cant see for a tweeter that was hidden in the door handle surround and finally the oval I figured is the door light.  This makes canbus looks like a really good thing....

Door cards back on...

One damper back in, managed to find 2 out of the 3 nuts that secure it at the top 🙄

And one wheel arch liner casually re fitted....

That its for now......

 

[RoadworkUK]

This thread is a proper boost to the Rover mojo. Fantastic work.

One thing led to the next this year and my 825 has only seen the light of day a few times this year; it's been slumbering in the garage. I started it up last weekend and spent a while sitting in it, though. Magical.

I've just now pulled my finger out and joined the 800 club. Finally.

[Marina door handles]

Thanks , glad your enjoying the thread! 

[grogee]

I hope you've regained some mojo for this, your efforts are stirling work. 

I think selling as a project will just attract chancers who would probably think you've discovered something terminal and given up, thereby offering derisory amounts. 

On the other hand, by continuing to power through, you're closer to a 'finished' car. 

I agree the rust above the windscreen looks tricky. @Cluffy found something similar on his Golf and treated it, maybe he's got some tips. 

[Cluffy]

I had a short thread on the rust above windscreen but struggling to find... 

I just patiently rubbed down the rust where I could access and used a blade to cut some out. I  then worked in some layers of touch up pen as tidily as I could. It would be a glass out job to make perfect. The car has been our (fabulous) family hack for 8 years so it would never win awards for its paintwork...!

[St.Jude]

I completely missed the rust above the windscreen.

I would guess the rust may well have extended to the lip the rubbers cling on to. But!!! Line up a replacement windscreen first. You don't want to go at that, break the windscreen, then have the rust fixed but no windscreen to fit on the car.

[2flags]

Sod law states that if you have a replacement screen lined up then it will come out and go back no problem, if you don't however...

[Marina door handles]

Slinging the 827 back together continues....

Suspension assembled, ignore the state of the brake back plate! 

Brakes back together and trailing arm on....

Front wing wanged on.....

Wheel back on, bonnet shut, you could be fooled into thinking its nearly a car??

 

Fin!*

 

 

 

*For today 

[bezzabsa]

still have a 2nd gen 800 fastback on my wish list

[Marina door handles]

Another update, yesterday I had a bit of a fight with the trailing arm, so much so it didn't get bolted in properly at the body end. Today I took it back off and then had a bit of  an epiphany, I suddenly remembered that it might have an issue...

Its not easy to photograph but the threaded end is slightly bent.....

Unfortunately you cannot just replace the threaded end. I have ordered a tap for the thread, I will try and straighten it by heating it up and whacking it with a carefully selected hammer,  then I will re tap it just to make sure.   

So I have refitted it for now, its just a bit loose! Doesn't really matter as the car isn't really going any were. 

Now with the passenger side back down again I can get back on to the surface rust afflicted sill on the drivers side. 

Firstly go a bit mad with the masking...

Then attack the sill with a paint removal disc on the grinder and wizzy wheel on my drill for the more awkward bits....

Then finish with some  ku-rusty stuff, or spooge as its known on some other forums. Then it was time for tea! 

Thanks for reading.....

 

 

[fatharris]

Fantastic thread, always great to see other peoples threads, warts and all!

[Marina door handles]

I am currently watching an ebay auction for a filler neck, maybe I haven't totally given up on getting the barge MOT'ed at some point in the near future......