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Thank you all! Sorry for not saying anything, but I've been very, very busy! But the 213 is now better, as I will show you with this update! These cars REALLY like to rust! But in Portugal that is a problem only if you live near the cost... Which, unfortunately, is my case. Hi... Welcome to retrorides... Eu estava a ver a 1ª foto antes de começar a ler e pensei... «Ei lá, até parece em Portugal !?!» Depois comecei a ler e realmente é... De que zona és?!?! Algarve?!?! Eu sou do porto... Sou das Caldas da Rainha, mas estou a estudar em Coimbra! Devo ir aí a cima durante o verão
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Last Edit: Apr 4, 2013 2:09:45 GMT by jacinto
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In December las year, someone decided do leave their mark on my car. They left no note, as usually people do in Portugal. I just freaked out when I saw it. So, to make me feel better, I got some presents for the Rover! Rear lowering springs and front shock absorber mounts. As I wasn't able to get them in Europe, they came from the US. They really like the equivalent Civic, there! And so, lots of material can be sourced. It wil be fitted soon. And also, my dad got some company to my car: It is a mk1, not a mk2 as mine.
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The result: Well, still, it is far more confortable (mainly because before I barely had front shock absobers, and now it doesn't leans at every little provocation on the steering wheel). It is quieter, the engine vibration on idle is almost none (I still have to get new engine mounts), and it is quite a pleasant car to go around corners, now. And it isn't too much "dry", you only feel it harder on those big city speed bumps, and on those holes with a metal "cap" on it (forgot the name, sorry ), as well as on those worse pavements, with considerable damage. Even on those old pavements, which aren't entirely concerete, he still goes quite smoothly.
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Both 213 at the MG-Rover clube de Portugal National Meeting, last month: My 213 and my brother's 220 Diesel: And if I like the 213, that day I had the opportunity to do something I always wanted to! Drive an immaculate 216 Vitesse! God, does it go like hell! And the steering is better than mine! I really, really loved the experiente! Here's a picture of both of them: And that's it! Soon, I want to lower the front a little more, to stay more "equal" with the back. But I don't know how to do it, I promise this time I will give news more briefly!
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Last Edit: Apr 4, 2013 2:13:34 GMT by jacinto
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Nov 24, 2015 23:44:11 GMT
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One more update (from April 2013): By the time the Easter holidays arrived, my brother started to help me to get the alarm fitted. But then, I remembered that it was best for him to go to his MoT that week, as I wouldn't have time to do it after that (and it had to be done before April 14th). So, we needed to work on him! It is said that these cars rust as hell. I agree! The "intruder": The coolant was looking good. So, my brother decided to recover all that area: The steering rack: I thought it had some wear in the plastic piece inside it, but no! Everything was pretty much solid, no play at all! So, now I really don't know were the steering play and noises come from. An oil leak, which was fixed: i1176.photobucket.com/albums/x336/JacintoIMA/Rover%20213SE/DSC02661_zpsfc86387d.jpgIn the process: Result: (Already with the larger aircon model NOS radiator, which I bought from the UK ) And this is the MoT mode: ON (I still have to legalize the 15" wheels)
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Nov 24, 2015 23:45:52 GMT
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more soundproofing work: Originally, it looked like this: The roof bars were loose. After the first afternoon of work, this was the result: By the 2nd day: And then everything looked like it was before: The difference can be easily noticed! And also, I made something which was my main complaint on those longer trips. It would got worse if I'd drive my 213 after driving the 416 Tourer, or any other car with armrest. So, I went to a scrapyard to check for some compatibility, and I came up with a armrest from a Lancia Dedra. Just a curiosity... After driving a Civic from the same generation (mk3, 1984-1987), O immediatly said that the front seats were not, by far, the same. Now I know where they came from... The left one is from a Metro! Which are the same as the Montego's and Maestro's. The main difference for the 213 ones, are the foam (which give the 213 a better driving position), and the reclining mecanism (by wheel on the Austin cars, and with a handle and spring on the 213). Some slight changes to accomodate it:
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Nov 24, 2015 23:46:53 GMT
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Nov 24, 2015 23:49:11 GMT
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Then, the alarm: There was a problem with the central locking. If I wanted it to work with the remote, I sould have a "pistol" on the driver's door. But I only had an actuator, as these cars only operate the central lock with the key on the driver's door. So, I decided to dismantle the Concerto's rear left door, and take the "pistol" out of it. As you can see, the locks are exactly the same (so, must be identical to the Rover XWs). (On the bottom, there is the 213's lock, beneath the Concerto's) Both the actuators (213 vs Concerto) Believe it or not, this is from the Honda! From mine: And this is the rest: Then, I just had to add some wires and connect some sensors, and that was it! After this, another job. I always wanted to delete the "H", "Honda Motor Co" and "16 Valve" letterings on the rocker cover. In my engine, it is like this: Then, I discovered that there were some Rovers with Honda 16v non twin cam engines, with this cover: But this is hard to find in Portugal, only maybe from a Rover 416 Tourer, pre K-series. So, I got a spare Honda D-series cover, and started to work on it! And this was it!
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Last Edit: Nov 24, 2015 23:50:48 GMT by jacinto
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Nov 24, 2015 23:53:26 GMT
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Nov 24, 2015 23:55:04 GMT
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Nov 24, 2015 23:57:16 GMT
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Well, it's time for a new update. The torsion bar height adjustment bolts I used were only to have a preview of what I could do with the front height. So, I ordered new ones, just like the original ones, but with more thread to play with. They were installed... And I thik I overdone it. No worries, nothing that a 17cm spanner and a jack couldn't solve, now, in less than 5 minutes. I lifted it a bit, and took him to the MoT, which he passed: Back to the 15" wheels: And so, he was ready to be my daily drive, again. I have to say I really missed it! The front suspension modifications were spot on. It didn't got the car harder (or maybe it did, but slightly), but I noticed it could handle the bends better, leaning a bit less. The rear suspension is still the problem. It is quite bouncy over bumps, but not so bad at higher speeds, on B-roads or highway. I think the problem is due to the shock absorbers. THey are not working as they should, so, I will have the original pair of shocks adapted to the lowering the car had. I hope this will sort it out. I'll leave these shots here: And this is it! It has been a real pleasure having the 213 back
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First, some photos taken when a friend of mine with a "grandson" of my 213 came to visit: In the meanwhile, he got the 235 00km mark. And my birthday gift, from by brother and his girlfriend: I just loved it! Then, after some days away from home, when I decided to take my dad's 416 Tourer because I had to transport some thing which wouldn't fit on the 213, I saw this when I arrived home. The car had been almost one year just sitting in the garage, without any kind of trouble... But this time, after just a couple of days, this happened! I think it was my brother's dog (she was the only one sleeping in the garage). On the door: Front wing: This is the only scratch that could be noticed after the first stage. Bonnet: After the bath: The deeper scratches on the wing corner are much older than these new ones These on the door were the ones that scared me. And on the "eyebrow", just like if the rock marks weren't enough... I didn't want to use the polisher just yet.... I was just going to do it when the rust was repaired and the car painted. But I couldn't see him like this, so I worked on the afected areas, just to see if he would need a more "hardcore" treatment. So, I started here... Since it was a panel that would need to be painted soon, I had nothing to lose. As I liked the results, I decided to go for the front right wing. These are relfection lines, not scratches:
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Always in good company! In the end, what scared me the most got completely "clean". Mainly the door and bonnet. As a bonus, the "eyebrow" now looked much better, without some older scratches. But still, the rock marks were still there, as well as some of the consequences of my small accident, just after I had the drivers' license. So, even knowing that now I feel it will be a shame, this will still be painted (as was already planned). Not everything went that well, and, even after some practice on other cars and after being warned, I made my first "burnout" on a paint job. The scratches on the front right wing were still too much noticeable, so I insisted a little bit. Not as much as I thought that could make this, but there was already a tiny lack of varnish, so, it was fragile, and I shouldn't have done it. So, one more thing to be painted, in the near future! Then, I had to replace a bulb (oh, these unreliable British cars... The just keep giving trouble! Or maybe not ) When I tried to remove it, it just broke. So, I whent to my old "lamp box" to see if I could find something. There was just one. After that, time for a quick bath. But first, some photos with the slightly older brother! When I was drying him, a package arrived: I know that, by then, it was still November... But it seemed that Christmas got there earlier, last year Finally, the much needed NOS rear panel, so that I could start the bodywork on the 213
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Love this! Can't remember the last time I saw one on the road in the UK but they were really popular in the '80's. You've put a lot of work into it - really impressive.
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