Rover Streetwise restoration: The thinking man's Rover

[michael t]

Hi all, been a little while since I posted on here, but with good reason.

I've been after another Rover for quite a while since I owned a 600 a couple of years back. Being Ireland based means old Lonbridge products are rare and don't come up for sale very often.

I love old Rovers. There's just something about them. Whether it be their (often) poor build quality, K-series head gasket issues and OAP image their poor reputation really appeals to me. Motoring oddities also hugely appeal to me, so put the two and two together and the Streetwise is born. 

As far as I can recall there hasn't been a Streetwise for sale in Ireland since the summer of 2021. According to the most recent NCT (Irish MOT) statistics for '21, only 6 were presented for the annual roadworthiness test. 

I first became aware of this particular example when I happened to glance into a driveway whilst passing in the summer of 2022. Two weeks later I stopped, knocked the door and handed over my number. A very polite lady answered and said her daughter will be learning to drive in it and so I assumed that was that.

Fast forward to October this year and my phone rings. Assuming a scam call I was reluctant to answer. But answer I did and thank goodness. The Streetwise was for sale, and I've got first dibs! Before the owner could even utter another word I said "yes!" Apparently someone else had enquired and offered €200, so for that exact price it was mine. A car with four wheels, four doors and an engine for €200 in these times of skyrocketing used car prices. Not bad.

That was until I actually went to pick it up. Myself and my old mucka John made the journey to Dublin to meet the new misery machine. I knew it'd been off the road for a few years but hugely underestimated just how much damage a car can sustain sitting outside all of that time with a leaky sunroof. 

The interior was horrendous. Full of cobwebs, moisture and mold. It housed almost the entire Irish population of house spiders and had even began to develop it's own eco-system. I had a cough for about two days after just sitting in it. The pictures below are screenshots from the collection video because I stupidly neglected to take any photo's...

 

Amazingly she fired up after a battery change and with some fresher oil she ran perfectly. The brakes were a little sticky but with a lead boot it changed gear, moved and stopped. Good enough for me!  We rang for recovery who eventually arrived, loaded it up and headed home. I'd bagged myself a real motoring oddity, and in an Irish context, an extremely rare one.

 

The collection video is here. Keep an eye on the channel and on Instagram and Twitter for regular updates.

Cannot wait to get this back on the road!

[RoverFolkUs]

Great save! I've always wanted a streetwise, just for how quirky they are, in their own way

I put a deposit down on one from a bombsite dealer, must have been well over 10 years ago now, but he returned my deposit the next day upon realising it had OMGHGF 🤣

[catsinthewelder]

Top stuff!

I've also fancied one for a while, I had an early R3 for a bit but got talked into selling it to a mate who needed a car when I won a knackered R8 in a Roffle.

Still got the headlining in storage for when I buy a yellow Streetwise diesel.

[SiC]

The design of these was utterly ridiculed at the time. Yet look at how many pseudo crossover things we have now on the roads.

[AnnoyingPentium]

Knowing that you're more active on Instagram and suchlike, you'll have spoken to a chap called Brian Frawley? Lives in Co. Clare, and also has a Streetwise.

He's been documenting the remaining ones, so may be worth getting in touch if you haven't done already.

[grizz]

I like the look of those. 
 

Colour is great too. 

[tooSavvy]

When considering source of Roof rails, for MrGetz, I studied Streetwise (megga bucks/rare eBay 🙄) ones.... Bit too much like a towel rail.

Great catch 👍

🚙💨

[shampooefficient]

6 hours ago, SiC said:

The design of these was utterly ridiculed at the time. Yet look at how many pseudo crossover things we have now on the roads.

Yes! This was closely followed by the equally ridiculous Polo Dune (I think) before the explosion in Jukes and Kumquats and all that.

[bezzabsa]

well bought...

[HMC]

Love these, i had one a couple of years ago and was very impressed. Rover again showing forward thinking product innovation. It was a late one with the facelift dash and the cool separate rest seats.

Looking fwd to updates!

[ruffgeezer]

I had one and loved it, ace little thing.  There is one in a local scrappy to me if you get stuck for any Streetwise specific bits.

[hairnet]

yay not fucked corolla or jetta running on red (kidding)

revenue need a slap tho

enjoy

[taxi paul]

Good man. Rover were ahead of the game with the streetwise. Considering everything since is that style. 

[barefoot]

SFQ - do they ride more softly than a normal 25?

[Marina door handles]

Just skimmed through your latest video on the car, I cannot believe you removed the plastic sill cover, didn't you know they are structural!! Anyway I hope you are okay doing a bit of metal work or know somebody who is, good luck.

PS  Sill covers make me twitch a bit, you just know they can become rust traps and virtually every modern car has them.....

[michael t]

On 14/12/2023 at 08:30, AnnoyingPentium said:

Knowing that you're more active on Instagram and suchlike, you'll have spoken to a chap called Brian Frawley? Lives in Co. Clare, and also has a Streetwise.

He's been documenting the remaining ones, so may be worth getting in touch if you haven't done already.

Indeed I have, this was was unknown so the Irish population has increased. He's done great work identifying those that remain. Gotta to be a few stored away or sitting in gardens somewhere.

[michael t]

On 16/12/2023 at 17:24, Marina door handles said:

Just skimmed through your latest video on the car, I cannot believe you removed the plastic sill cover, didn't you know they are structural!! Anyway I hope you are okay doing a bit of metal work or know somebody who is, good luck.

PS  Sill covers make me twitch a bit, you just know they can become rust traps and virtually every modern car has them.....

Yep I was dreading removing them. I think I'll just have to learn to weld. Been meaning to for a while. How hard can it be?

[cort1977]

Great work with the streetwise, I never thought much about them before but to be fair to Rover they were ahead of the curve with this design.

[Marina door handles]

2 hours ago, michael t said:

Yep I was dreading removing them. I think I'll just have to learn to weld. Been meaning to for a while. How hard can it be?

I learnt ARC welding on a short college course, after years of not using what I learned I bought a cheap gas MIG welder (which is quite different) consulted a few you tube videos and figured it out. If you can get someone to show you the ropes it will be a massive help! Its all about finding the right setup with the equipment, making sure you can see what you are doing and being patient.  Good luck! 

[Mary]

I have a rover streetwise 2004 , failed nct but Just wondering does anybody want it for parts

[The Old Bloke Next Door]

Location? and welcome to Autoshite.