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Oct 14, 2012 21:15:51 GMT
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Say hello to my new old Rover... Only joking! This is my Rover... 2 hours after buying, the clutch slave cylinder decided it had had enough. The problems don't stop there. A bit of background on the car: It's a Vitesse Sport, which means it comes with a Recaro interior and (had) 200bhp coming from a T-Series turbocharged engine. Other than that, there's a whole load of smallish problems. Perfect for a daily driver then . The plans are to tidy it up, make it shiny, fit BBS rims (harking back to SD1 Vitesse style wheels) and a modest tap de la baton. I'll summarise the issues my positive attitude has allowed me to remember, and cross off/add as I go: - Engine runs very badly at low revs when cold.
- Engine runs quite badly at low revs when warm.
- Paint is bad. Occasionally very bad.
Failed clutch slave cylinder.
- Failed exhaust manifold gasket, caused by...
- ...snapped exhaust stud in head.
- Radiator missing most fins.
Headlights don't work.
Headlights and indicators fogged internally.
- Front fog lights don't work.
- Coolant pipes around engine bay heavily corroded.
- Power steering cooler heavily corroded.
- Electric windows hit and miss.
- Electric mirrors hit and miss.
OS door mirror smashed.
Interior STINKS!
Carpets stained.
- A few bits of interior and exterior trim fallen off.
Buttons falling off radio, backlight failed.
- Speakers sound broken.
Needs new number plates.
- Windscreen cracked.
- Battery shot.
On a positive note, the important bit looks ok from this side: And the interior is still looking sharp: Within a few hours of the AA man dropping me off at home I'd made an A4 list of problems in the engine bay alone. Apart from a new clutch slave cylinder, top of the list was a new radiator... ...but that'll have to wait. I found a radiator for an 820i on Ebay, which is on its way, but I've feeling it might not fit with the front mounted intercooler or the water cooling pipes from the turbo. While waiting for more useful parts I had a look at why my headlights weren't working. That's probably it then! I got a new H4 connector from Halfords (they do have some useful stuff ) and soldered and heatshrunk it in Progress! Other bits and bobs, I cleaned the carpets and fitted these: I tended to a rusty battery tray: Finally the slave cylinder arrived. With that fitted I took it for a drive. It's really quite quick ;D I think I'm going to have to save up for more tyres soon.
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Last Edit: Nov 4, 2012 22:37:47 GMT by SamR380
I've got Rovers.
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crazymonkey
Posted a lot
ummm....what was I doing again???
Posts: 1,981
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Oct 14, 2012 22:09:45 GMT
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not too much work then ;D
that rad appears to be well and truly knackered. as for those light kits, yeah I was sceptical at buying a cheap bit like that but it fixed our old sunny nicely.
don't see many of the 800s driving round now especially not turbos. never found out much info on these....do they use the same engine as the 620ti? if so it should be pretty quick (depending on weight differences) but know a couple guys with 620ti's and they really do shift.
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whoever said dogs were man's best friend....obviously never heard of cable ties
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fred
Posted a lot
WTF has happened to all the Vennies?
Posts: 2,957
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Oct 14, 2012 23:30:51 GMT
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Rare old chaps now, nice to see one being rescued
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'79 Cossie ran Cortina - Sold
2000 Fozzer 2.0 turbo snow beast
'85 Opel Manta GSI - Sold
03 A class Mercedes
Looking for a FD Ventora - Anyone?
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Graham
Posted a lot
Posts: 1,282
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Nice old motor
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Maximum signature image height: 80 pixels
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I had one of these about four years ago.Was a nice car apart from a few niggles!Electrics mainly, windows opening by themselves, that sorta thing.I had two 620 Ti's too, and I'm pretty sure they have the same engine, although the top end on the 820 was faster?!0-60 was about the same though.
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Oct 15, 2012 13:04:23 GMT
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Yeah, it's the same engine as in the 600 turbos. It's the fastest car I've ever driven, feels like its just getting going at 70mph! Much quicker than the mx5 I've just come from, although it has a galleon-spec turning circle compared.
I think it may be related to the leaking exhaust manifold/gasket, but it runs very badly (lumpy) below 2krpm when cold. The whole car shakes when trying to pull away! It calms down a bit when warm though, I guess because the metals have expanded and the leak reduced. There also seems to be oddly placed flat spots in power which I hope will be cured when all that is sorted.
Drove to work with the driver's window down today. Not by choice I might add. I think it's the window controller box (like a little ecu) as it closed ok after I turned the car off and on again. Haven't dared check the price for one on Rimmer Bros, but I design and program control systems for a living, so I could cobble some microcontroller system together.
The high level brake light has fallen off and a boost hose blew off (loose jubilee clip).
Hopefully the radiator will arrive this week and I'll be able the fit it this weekend.
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I've got Rovers.
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Oct 15, 2012 15:24:27 GMT
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I loved mine it is one of the few I wish I had kept, you think its fast now I broke the boost controller on mine so it had infinite boost but would give you whip lash if you just put your foot down, but careful controlled application of the accelerator meant it kept pace with an RX7.
When I figured out what had broke I replaced it with an MBC and gave it a little bit more than standard boost, but I was always looking to refresh the chassis on it as it had gone a little saggy in its old age.
Am still looking for another bargain one should one pop up, but it has to be a Vitesse with Recaro's and climate control.
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Some days you just need to take a grinder to an inanimate object, just to make your day a tiny bit better!!
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Oct 15, 2012 18:31:16 GMT
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Great to see one of these being cherished. These are cool cars with lots of space and good power. I don't understand why these turbo rovers don't have more of a following.
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Oct 15, 2012 19:34:21 GMT
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Absolutely love these cars, the Vitesse Hatchback my fave. Was going to buy one yrs ago, but never did, always regretted that.
Good to see one getting looked after, i think of these as the 'classic' successor to the SD1.
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tuner
Part of things
Posts: 62
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Oct 15, 2012 21:58:18 GMT
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Had a `92 vitesse for 7 years yes 7 and loved every minute(even the day i broke the gear box)they don`t like 250 brake so it did just that and broke ,repaired properly and never missed a beat paid £850 for it and sold it 7 years later for £350 guy was well chuft,got my eye on a `99 reg gold one only done 2,800 miles absolutly mint in every way just bidding my time,good luck and enjoy i know you will!
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marcp
Part of things
Posts: 91
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Oct 16, 2012 18:47:55 GMT
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Saw this, headed straight to eBay....
Oh dear..... my sights are set on a Turbo 800 Coupe....................
My dad had a 1996 820, and I clearly remember the electric windows, and sunroof opening as far as could be in the middle of a rain storm, I found it highly amusing, he did not.
Awesome car!!
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Oct 17, 2012 11:32:35 GMT
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My girlfriend and I took a 2 hour drive to the Midlands recently and we saw 3 broken down cars on the way, all of them Rovers. But I reckon yours is a good 'un!
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Currently: 1974 Beetle - Golf -
Previously: e38 735i, e34 525iSE, 1972 Beetle, 1991 Scirocco Scala, Morris Minor, 1983 Polo Breadvan, 1991 Mazda MX6
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hoody
Part of things
Posts: 44
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Oct 17, 2012 19:08:32 GMT
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Had a couple of these,your electrical problems are usually resolved by re-soldering the fuse box in the drivers side footwell(very common ),really liked the cars i had good choice.
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Oct 17, 2012 22:24:31 GMT
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86242 I'm glad this is provoking some interest The radiator turned up today, completely wrong unfortunately. I'm struggling to find one, it seems to be unique to the 800 turbo. Looking on Rimmer Brothers, the 600 turbo rad is different. I'm considering a re-core but this car is my daily, I'd rather not catch the bus to work if I don't have to. I've not made much progress this week, I've been working away. I've done some reading on why the electric windows don't work, the internet seems to suggest the PCBs fry and can be repaired with a bit of solder. I tried to get at the window ECU before leaving work so I could look at it there (we've got decent soldering gear), but it looks like the passenger seat will have to come out and it's held in by Torx bolts. I'll have a look tomorrow night when I get it home. I did have a look at the driver's switch pack, unfortunately it's fine so the problem isn't there. (top and bottom toggle switch tops removed so I could get the PCB out...) and the healthy looking PCB: I gave it a blast with some switch cleaner and put it back together. On Sunday I decided to investigate why the stereo sounded rubbish. I hoped it was just a knackered headunit, but I tried a good one and it still sounded bad (high-ish frequency buzzing/rattle). Up next were the speakers... Think I've found it! Now what about some replacements? You wouldn't (I didn't, at least) believe how hard it is to find some plain old 5" speakers. Everything is either metric or these silly 'co-axial' speakers with a tweeter in the middle. Also these are 4 ohm speakers, I'd like to keep it the same, although I've not checked how it's all wired up. If I'm going to do a complete upgrade I can use whatever impedance I like. Also on the list is a new head unit. I know there's quite a few folks interested in car audio on here, I could do with a recommendation. I want something to match an interior designed in the 80's with red/orange backlighting. This is what it's replacing (not my picture), I just want something similar, but of decent quality. It'll only be playing Radio 4 or chewed up old Dio and Megadeth tapes anyway. So if anyone is having an ICE clearout, let me know My plan for changing the rad this weekend has been scuppered, so I'll probably just give it a good service. I'll try changing the plugs and leads to see if it helps the lumpy running at all too. Also the towbar is coming off, I don't have a caravan so it's only good for bruising my shins. Oh, and the brakes and clutch need bleeding again. Think I'll cobble together some tool to help this time. And the windscreen now has a 4 inch crack in it so that needs replacing. And the battery is about kaput. And the 3mm left on the Chinese tyres don't grip until halfway through third when the road is wet. I love this car
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Last Edit: Nov 4, 2012 22:38:34 GMT by SamR380
I've got Rovers.
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86324 So... a bit of an update. I've done a bit of work to it but it always gets dark before I remember to take photos! Anyway, towbar here: Towbar gone: I don't know if this is standard practice, but it was mounted (along with some other anchor points) through two holes drilled in the spare wheel well. It was getting close to causing permanent damage: Tidied all that up and gave it a lick of paint, only it was 11pm on a Sunday night when I finished and didn't bother taking photos. While I had the back end over the pit I gave the fuel tank a quick brush down and a lick of stonechip. ...and slapped a bit of Waxoyl over the whole lot: I think this backbox will need to be replaced at some point, it looks to have been formed using a hammer. It also rubs on the anti-roll bar making a nasty noise. (photo pre Waxoyl) : I also got some new number plates made up. I'm not normally one for bashing Halfords, but I don't recommend getting plates from them. They're fine enough quality, just incredibly expensive. This weekend, I've fitted a new CD changer in the boot and run the cable to the back of the headunit. Unfortunately the previous owner cut off all the connectors from the head unit, I want to remake them so I don't need to cut up the Rover's wiring. The unit in question is from a second hand shop, I saw it winking as I was walking past. It has red backlighting and was cheap... I'll get a decent HU when I find something suitable. Other than the radiator (found one online now!) and the rough running (I've got plugs and leads waiting for me when I get back to the office), the next major problem is the paint. It's always hard to show up paint defects in photos, but here goes. This is a newly cleaned bonnet and no, those aren't dry water marks... I can only assume the car was parked under a tree popular with birds for a very long time. Some more pics of the general poor health of the paint: Anyone with any experience in bad paint want to give an opinion on the salvagability of this case? And how much to expect a full MOP to cost on a car of this size? (It takes three times as long to wash as my MX5!)
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I've got Rovers.
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hamps
Posted a lot
www.medwayrscentre.co.uk
Posts: 2,077
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I have a soft spot for these old things, i loved my mk1 827 vittesse was an ex police cid car get that paint detailed, bet it would come up a treat, but a basic mop and polish i would charge about £100 if i was doing it
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I hope so, £100 sounds reasonable. It will need some paint on the front bumper at least, I think I can get away with the rest though.
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I've got Rovers.
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learn to spray urself on the bonnet? (save money n learn a new skill?)
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A decent machine polish should improve the paintwork quite a bit. Failing that learn a new skill and and wrap it like I have done with my old slag. If you get sign writing vinyl to practice with it wont cost a great deal. 5m x 1.2m is £12 plus delivery for the cheap stuff. During Complete don't think you can live too far from me either, happy to lend a hand if you wanna give it a try
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Last Edit: Nov 5, 2012 14:04:51 GMT by pervypaul
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Have you thought about mopping it yourself?, A day spend using a bit of elbow grease can be very rewarding and much cheaper then a professional. I invested in a Silverline mop of Amazon, www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0021L95WA/ref=oh_details_o05_s00_i00 Ignore the reviews, It's a excellent piece of kit, use it with a G-Mop pad off ebay www.ebay.co.uk/itm/120720622555 and a tub of Farecla G3 compound www.ebay.co.uk/itm/320864294603Use a water sprayer to keep it damp (it stops you burning though the paintwork) and have a play, practice on a low panel or a old door first if your not confident, the rule is not to linger to long in one spot and keep of the edges, finish with a hand polish and it should come up looking great. Ok you'll have to spend £80 for the gear but it's then yours so you use it all again at a later date on another car.
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