620 v 820

[sidepants]

yeah man, sorry about that any chance you could slip a dead rat aboard and give a quick call to environmental health? hit him where it hurts

would be good to see some good cars with enthusiastic owners like yourself but i'm strapped for time. already taken my eye off the ball looking for a car so really need to crack on properly, projects don't materialise from nowehere sadly. not that i'll stop looking of course

[Squaddiemodo]

LOL damn good idea i didnt think of that

[Recon-Technician]

Cheers for pointing that out squaddie, signed my name up. Have you finished grooming the apprentice?

[Squaddiemodo]

LOL hes getting an education, lets leave it at that lol

[sidepants]

lmao

grooming...

can't say that in these p.c. times

and then to follow it up with "he's getting an education". well, really....

[Squaddiemodo]

at least its a positive grooming lol

[Recon-Technician]

There are a couple of chaps I know who adore the 827's, one has 6, the other has 20!!!!

[Squaddiemodo]

I firmly believe it was the best engine put in the 800, OK it didnt have the ferocity of the viteese sport, but its deceptivly quick and V reliable, and most V6s had a really good trim spec too. Get a V6 and a Vitty sport swap the suspension to the 827 (and manual box (if you can find one))and its a winner

[Recon-Technician]

My next toy is to do that to a 827 coupe, Brian Gunn got as far as all the suspension components but stopped short at the gearbox. (I actually have his konis and springs off that coupe on mine now )

[Squaddiemodo]

Barsteward lol, need a set of vitty sport for mine, more difficult on the MK1s due to the self leveling suspension lol

[sidepants]

sounds like a nice idea, but sadly time is against me. i'm off in early june to france and have neither time nor the space to carry out any work on the vehicle really. hence the need for a good solid working one that isn't gonna break on me.

i do like the idea of the 827 cos of the higher spec. effectivly the car i get is gonna be a hire car, bought for 1 job. but if i do get a gem by some fluke i may well hang onto it for longer. but i do like the vitesse sport, i'm a turbo boy at heart. much as i shouldn't admit this here this is one of the cars i must own in my life

[Squaddiemodo]

Dont get me wrong The R5 tubby are real fun cars, i just like my barge comforts lol

However trust me, they have their charms

I predict 2 cars in your future an 800 and an R5 Tubby lol

[Recon-Technician]

That Coupes got Vitty sport springs and dampers on now, Rich Moss found the ride a little too hard, so I gave him a good price for them and he swapped the ones that he'd recently put on his 820 sterling. As I recall you just have to swap the top mount for a non-leveling mk1 820 one to put sport dampers on yours :idea:

[sidepants]

I predict 2 cars in your future an 800 and an R5 Tubby lol

you know, you may just be right there

[Squaddiemodo]

Thats the trick, its just finding a vitty sport to ripp off lol

[Recon-Technician]

sounds like a nice idea, but sadly time is against me. i'm off in early june to france and have neither time nor the space to carry out any work on the vehicle really. hence the need for a good solid working one that isn't gonna break on me.

Both Engines have their merits, would never toss in my T-16, but would love to have a honda unit aswell

[Recon-Technician]

Thats the trick, its just finding a vitty sport to ripp off lol

We're always keeping an eye out for dead vittys on 800.co.uk, if one turns up that we intend to break will let you know

[Squaddiemodo]

Cheers buddy, keep an eye out for a TWR rear bumper too if you could lol

[Recon-Technician]

know someone whos got 2.5 kits about (CHRI5E), don't think he'd let you have them though (hes the one with 6 827's , an 820, and 825D), but will do

[Squaddiemodo]

The TWR kits are just so damn difficult to get hold of lol

[sidepants]

ok, so today i have seen this car:

http://www.sellyoakmotors.co.uk/vehicle ... hicleid=23

90900miles, some history etc. haven't driven it yet cos it's trapped and has a flatish tyre (clearly been stood for a long time). had to jump start the car but it fired 1st time, slight evidence of white smoke/steam out the back but that cleared quickly. no blue or black thank goodness.

front bumper appears to have dropped a tad, water in the boot (does that happen to all of them??) but all electrics etc worked fine. there are a couple of problems that i noticed that i could do with some help on.

first, the alternator belt is crazed and will clearly need replacing soon. also some corrosion on the pipe over the exhaust manifold nearest the cam cover. couldn't her turbo spin up, is that common? engine ran ok, will have better idea when i drive it later.

but! the sound deadening on the bonnet had been damaged and is drooping down touching the cooling system stuff and maybe the exhaust manifild. is it cureable with gaffa tape or does it need specialist attention? should i use it as a bargining point?



also the steering arm gaitor (?) is not attached and broken



and on full lock to the right it makes a clicking noise like something connecting with someting else, then i notices this on the passenger side wheel arch



clearly the wheel has been catching the inside of the wheel arch for a while and i don't know is this is a simple problem with the car or symptomatic of something more severe. going back at 3pm to take it for a drive and study the history, so any help before then guys would be great. cheers all

[sharky]

Ti in my opinion is a much nicer car, but the rear legroom in a Ti is much less than you would expect.

for a long jouney, go for a vit

[Recon-Technician]

The sound proofing on the bonnet can be bodged with gaffa tape thats no problem. As for the coolant pipe, corrosion is common, but how bad is? If its bad then thats not good since you don't want it spurting a leak in frogland and cooking your engine.
The broken gaiter, clicking, and wheel rubbing suggests to me that the tracking has been knocked serverely out of alignment, so check that when you test drive it (mine was out by nearly 1/4 wheel turn when I picked mine up and got that clicking, I believed it to be due to the positive centre power steering system)

[mach1rob]

Sound deadening isn't hard to swap for a good one, should be cheap from a scrappy, the boot would need changing, and I suspect a CV joint would to as thats the normal culprit for clicking on full lock. All T series have rusty pipes across the top don't worry too much if it feels solid not crumbly. Belt is a 5 min job to swap, just need a long 15mm ring spanner, enough room on the 800s to get in from the top to thread belt round. As for the inner wheelarch, 1st check is what size tyres it has, standard should be 215/45/17 anything wider that 215 or higher than 45 then could cause problems with rubbing especially if it's been lowered at some stage. Take a tape measure with you and measure from rim to wheelarch on both sides compare, if the side thats got rubbing is less then theres a chance its been clobbered up a kerb rather heavy and bent something. If he'll fix and put a brand spanking new MOT on it then fair price, however as is, theres a very good bargaining point, and if it has been sat there that long he may be pleased to see the back of it, to be cheeky I'd offer £1000 as is go from there

EDIT oh and you probably wont hear the turbo spool up if its got the standard airbox fitted

[sidepants]

cheers guys, off to have a look and a drive now. dunno if i'm cheeky enough to start at £1000 but def much lower than the asking price. will depend a lot on the history that is available to make up my mind, but by the sounds of things i'm looking at spending a whack of cash getting it up to spec properly.

oh, and unsurprisingly, the expansion tank is crazed & slightly cracked, but it didn't overheat when left running earlier.

wish me luck, i'm going in!

[mach1rob]

Good luck and remember these 2 things!

You never know your luck and you can always offer more you can never offer less after Be brave

[sidepants]

well, had a look. drove nice, felt good, turbo spun up well (heard it inside the car at about 4500rpm. always a nice noise ) and overall good. needed some things do ing to it (see above) and an MOT, but i don't think he's gonna be that flexible on the price. that n the fact it'll need a full service when if i get it cos there's no history from 44K to current level. so time for a good long think.

vitesse saloon being checked out monday morning when i get home, so we'll see how this one goes.

thanks again for all the help guys, i have never found a forum as friendly and helpful as this one i shall keep this going til i find a car if no-one objects as i feel it could be of some use to someone else in a similar situtation.

also is there any kind of record for the longest thread for a first time post? hehehe

[Squaddiemodo]

i dont know mate, but i have whored my way through it lol

[mach1rob]

There's plenty of 800s out there so no need to buy the first one you see, if he's not flexible on price then his loss he can have it stuck on the forecourt for longer then can't he

[Scott]

that bonnet damage looks suspicously familiar....

http://www.roverturbo.com/scott/websize ... d/bang.jpg

this happened when the top rad hose did this:

http://www.roverturbo.com/scott/websize ... whoops.jpg

The wheel arch thing sounds like its been disturbed and not put back propperly, cant think why anyone would be messing around on that side anyways... So look out for possibly HG failure, pressurised cooling system etc... maybe the HG was replaced, but that looks recent with the bits dangling down from the bonnet lining. I removed all the loose bits, and left it as is, no problem yet with paint discolouration or nowt...

From what you describe, it doesnt sound too bad, you cant generally hear the turbo spin up either..

[Punx0r]

That coupe looks nice, but I don't think it's worth £2000. It may have bent suspension/subframe etc, horrible noises on full lock may require a new steering rack.

You can get a decent 827 sterling 93-95 for about £400. Might have a couple of rust scabs but otherwise without serious mechanical faults. The 2.7 honda engines are very reliable.

[sidepants]

that bonnet damage looks suspicously familiar....

hmm, almost identical in fact. the hole was directly situated over the junction of the pipes by the lower left corner of the engine (as you look at it)

no signs of any other gasket failure but there was enough general dirt to show it hadn't been changed in a while.

There's plenty of 800s out there so no need to buy the first one you see, if he's not flexible on price then his loss he can have it stuck on the forecourt for longer then can't he

yup, and if it's still there is a week or so i may just go and make him that £1000 offer

That coupe looks nice, but I don't think it's worth £2000. It may have bent suspension/subframe etc, horrible noises on full lock may require a new steering rack.

You can get a decent 827 sterling 93-95 for about £400. Might have a couple of rust scabs but otherwise without serious mechanical faults. The 2.7 honda engines are very reliable.

yeah, i dont reckon i'd pay him £2000 for it. as i said, if he repaired everything that i spotted, new MOT and a major service inc belts, then i'd consider paying the upper end of what he's asking. as for the 827, i think i may have been convinced but it's finding the right one. and i've got this car to look at on monday

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Rover-800-Vitesse ... dZViewItem

so we'll see how it goes. any ideas on prices for these things? i still can't wrap my head clearly around what they're worth.

i dont know mate, but i have whored my way through it lol

me too come on! 5 pages and counting...

[Recon-Technician]

As you said, if the chap were to take care of all the niggling problems it would be worth the 2K, but as it stands theres too much to do for that kind of money. This saloon you're looking at on looks good on paper, the chap has made sure the cosmetics are in good order, but obviously check all the mechnical points, but you seemed to find all the unusual problems with the coupe so you'll be fine.
The search continues....

[sidepants]

yeah man, search continues when i find a goodie i'll have to catch up with the local guys on here and see what you all think (be gentle,please )

i like to give cars a thorough going over and find all the faults i can. i find being hyper critical to begin with a good thing, then lighten up as i go along. guess that's the engineer in me. the vitesse does look good on paper so i hope the reality is as good as he said. if so, then i may very well be tempted.

[mach1rob]

Certainly looks ok from pics and description so worth a nose around, ask how they've bodged the switch panel! If you go go for it, I've got a good working one here, if it's just a case of unplugging and swapping, may be a bit more involved if they've chopped and spliced wires about