New (old) Member

New to the forum? Tell us a bit about yourself here :)

Moderators: guru, SJG

Post Reply [phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file [ROOT]/vendor/twig/twig/lib/Twig/Extension/Core.php on line 1266: count(): Parameter must be an array or an object that implements Countable
hickmick
Regular Visitor
Posts: 55
Joined: Sun Aug 20, 2017 11:01 am
[phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file [ROOT]/vendor/twig/twig/lib/Twig/Extension/Core.php on line 1266: count(): Parameter must be an array or an object that implements Countable

New (old) Member

Post by hickmick » Thu Aug 24, 2017 7:34 pm

Hi,
I've just rejoined, as I can't remember my password for my original username and the email address I used then is defunct, I was mickhick1.
Anyway I've rejoined because after a long lay up (4 years)I've finally got my Vitesse Coupe back on the road. It's a '97 in flame red and I've owned it since 2001. It's been great driving it again and I plan to do the few things which need to be sorted to make it completely up together.
I've been a life long fan of Rovers, caught it from my Dad. I have had one P4 (Rover 100), one P6 (2000TC), four SD1's (2300, 2600, 2600, 3500), and four 800's (mk1 820SE, Mk1 827 SI manual, mk 2 827 auto and the Vitesse Coupe) I've also owned a dolomite 1850, Triumph 2500 TC and MG ZTT 190. Current main car is a 61 plate Jaguar XF 3 litre diesel.
The Vitesse has just had a new head gasket, new rear wndscreen, new brake discs and pads all round. Everyhing now works except the aircon, which is on the list of things to do. Needs a minimal amount of body work, just the rear arches at the bottom where they meet the bumper a small area in the rear wing where it meets the boot lid. Paint is mostly very good.
Mileage is 78000. The sills were replaced in 2011.
I would like to take it to some gatherings and as I live near to Beaulieu I will take it to the auto jumble in a couple of weeks time. I hope to see some more 800s, well you never know.
Mike

User avatar
SJG
Site Admin
Posts: 3413
Joined: Mon Sep 01, 2008 9:39 am
[phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file [ROOT]/vendor/twig/twig/lib/Twig/Extension/Core.php on line 1266: count(): Parameter must be an array or an object that implements Countable

Re: New (old) Member

Post by SJG » Thu Aug 24, 2017 7:38 pm

Welcome back Mike, where did you get a rear screen from, they are like hens teeth now.
Simon

Rover Vitesse Coupe - 1997

User avatar
scoobyh123
Rover Guru
Posts: 12149
Joined: Sat Jul 11, 2009 10:27 pm
Location: Next door to Top Gun, Suffolk
Contact:

Re: New (old) Member

Post by scoobyh123 » Fri Aug 25, 2017 12:02 am

Another welcome back Mike from another Coupé owner! I second the other bit Simon said, Coupé rear screens are indeed like hens dentists!

Good to hear your Coupé is getting some TLC and will be frequenting a few shows/meets as well! The air-con is probably just lack of gas, i've used a DIY re-gas kit to great effect on mine, the A/C on my Coupé is now so cold, on a cold day i can set the cabin temperature to 29C and even with a hot engine, the heater only blows lukewarm air! Hit the "ECON" button and a sudden blast of furnace-like air comes through the system!

When you do get it working again, make sure you use it regularly to prevent leaks! :wink: :D
Cheers,
Dave

'02 Honda CR-V SE Executive
'99 Jag S Type 3.0 V6 SE


Image
'94 827 Sterling saloon
'88 Volvo 760 V6 Estate
'95 827 Coupé LPG gone but not forgotten!

hickmick
Regular Visitor
Posts: 55
Joined: Sun Aug 20, 2017 11:01 am
[phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file [ROOT]/vendor/twig/twig/lib/Twig/Extension/Core.php on line 1266: count(): Parameter must be an array or an object that implements Countable

Re: New (old) Member

Post by hickmick » Sun Sep 03, 2017 7:08 am

SJG wrote:
Thu Aug 24, 2017 7:38 pm
Welcome back Mike, where did you get a rear screen from, they are like hens teeth now.
Thanks for the welcome back. I got the rear screen from Auto Windscreens, £330 fitted. I could only get the screen for an earlier model, without the necessary brackets for the high level brake light, I will devise a way to fit it though.
Mike

hickmick
Regular Visitor
Posts: 55
Joined: Sun Aug 20, 2017 11:01 am
[phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file [ROOT]/vendor/twig/twig/lib/Twig/Extension/Core.php on line 1266: count(): Parameter must be an array or an object that implements Countable

Re: New (old) Member

Post by hickmick » Sun Sep 03, 2017 7:18 am

scoobyh123 wrote:
Fri Aug 25, 2017 12:02 am
Another welcome back Mike from another Coupé owner! I second the other bit Simon said, Coupé rear screens are indeed like hens dentists!

Good to hear your Coupé is getting some TLC and will be frequenting a few shows/meets as well! The air-con is probably just lack of gas, i've used a DIY re-gas kit to great effect on mine, the A/C on my Coupé is now so cold, on a cold day i can set the cabin temperature to 29C and even with a hot engine, the heater only blows lukewarm air! Hit the "ECON" button and a sudden blast of furnace-like air comes through the system!

When you do get it working again, make sure you use it regularly to prevent leaks! :wink: :D
I don't think it just needs a re-gas, when it was last on the road I had it recharged at Kwik Fit and it worked fine for 24 hours and after that the pressure had gone, so obviously I have a leak somewhere, hopefully just the condenser, but I guess it could be the compressor or worse, the evaporator.
I used a local, old school garage, to do the necessary repairs to put it back on the road and they have aircon testing/charging facilities, so I will get them to do some tests for me soon.
I am also on the lookout for one front fog light, as the N/S one is rusty and looks terrible!
Mike
PS. I went to the Autojumble at Beaulieu yesterday, had a good day out with my kids, but didn't see another 800. They really are scarce now. Later on, when I returned to my car after collecting a take-away, a person parked next to me asked me about the Vitesse, what is it, never seen one before etc. and complimented me on such an attractive car!
Mike

User avatar
scoobyh123
Rover Guru
Posts: 12149
Joined: Sat Jul 11, 2009 10:27 pm
Location: Next door to Top Gun, Suffolk
Contact:

Re: New (old) Member

Post by scoobyh123 » Sun Sep 03, 2017 9:16 am

It may be the seals in your A/C system Mike, the various "O" rings throughout. When KwikFit regassed the system did they add a leak sealer or a leak detector dye?

Also do you know how much gas they added?


As for the front fog light, they all go rusty! It's a design fault. They are however available new :

http://www.mister-auto.co.uk/en/fog-lig ... 67552.html


Alternatively you could fit a pair of aftermarket lamps such as the Ring Microline variety :

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ring-Microlin ... Swd4tT57By

You'd have to make a bracket up for it, 7" long x 20mm wide, one hole centrally drilled to mount the lamp (through the body of the lamp) and two more holes each 3" from the centre to mount the bracket to the car.
Bracket to car mounting holes need to be 5.5mm, bracket to lamp 8mm or 10mm depending what size bolt you use/is supplied with the lamps.
Don't be tempted to "convert" the 3" from centre to metric, the bracket won't fit if you do! :shock:
Oddly for what is (pretty much) otherwise a Metric car some things are still Imperial measurements - the fog lamp mounting hole centres are one such thing and are 6" apart. One of the other things that is Imperial is the distance between the mounting holes on the front anti-roll bar drop links, it is 1 7/8", not 48mm but 47.875mm which directly correlates to the Imperial measuement.
There are a few more things but can't bring them to mind yet, too much blood in my caffeine stream! :shock: :lol:

You're right about the 800 being rare now, last i knew there were less than 30 827 Coupés left on the road/SORN - can't remember the split between on the road and SORN but with so few it's borderline academic whether they're on the road or not!

https://www.howmanyleft.co.uk/?utf8=%E2 ... mit=Search

Just 5 827 Coupés left in manual form and only 24 automatics! Those are the figures for taxed/on the road, just found the SORN numbers separately after clicking each model but even that only brings an extra 12 manuals and 53 autos to the party.
It no longer even lists the 827 Sterling, some years back they were "lumped in" with the 827 SLi models as there were so few of either left.
By contrast, my (still relatively rare) V6 Volvo 760GLE is still showing about 1200 taxed and a similar number SORN, however for 1988 registration year, only 39 are taxed and 42 SORN - i only add these figures in to show just how rare the 800s are compared to something similar from a similar era.

A further comparison between the 827 Coupé to the 820 Vitesse models shows just 76 taxed and 168 SORN for all 820 Vitesse regardless of body type.

https://www.howmanyleft.co.uk/vehicle/r ... tesse#!tax

Remember those are spread out all over the UK and those are Q1 figures for this year. I know of at least one 820 Vitesse that has gone to the car park in the sky recently so that's at least one less.
Whichever way you look at it, there's a good chance many younger people will never have seen an 800 in any form, especially one of the "special three" namely the Vitesse, Sterling and Coupé models. I call them the "special three" as there was a time many so-called classic car insurers would only insure those models, the "run of the mill" 827SLi, 820 SLi etc weren't considered "special" enough to warrant classic insurance status.
However if you search simply for "Rover 820" on howmanyleft it brings up all 26 of the different 820 models and many of those are in single digits!
I think you may find one parked outside the Hens Dentists and purveyors of Rocking Horse Manure and sellers of Unicorn Horns though! :wink: :D
Cheers,
Dave

'02 Honda CR-V SE Executive
'99 Jag S Type 3.0 V6 SE


Image
'94 827 Sterling saloon
'88 Volvo 760 V6 Estate
'95 827 Coupé LPG gone but not forgotten!

hickmick
Regular Visitor
Posts: 55
Joined: Sun Aug 20, 2017 11:01 am
[phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file [ROOT]/vendor/twig/twig/lib/Twig/Extension/Core.php on line 1266: count(): Parameter must be an array or an object that implements Countable

Re: New (old) Member

Post by hickmick » Sun Sep 03, 2017 9:35 am

Thanks Scooby,
I don't know how much gas KF added nor if any leak detection fluid was added. It will be nice to get it sorted, but by the time I do summer will be over for this year!
Thanks for the info regarding the fog lights, I had seen they were available new, but a bit pricey. I remember replacing the offside one, not long after I bought the car, because the glass was smashed and I think even then it was about £30 from the local Rover dealer.I might have a go with the after market ones you suggested, then I could sell off the one good one, if it is .
My kids love driving in the Vitesse, and we play a game where we score points for every other 800 we see, so far in the last few weeks none, and/or Jag XF as that is my main car, and we obviously see a lot more of them.

User avatar
scoobyh123
Rover Guru
Posts: 12149
Joined: Sat Jul 11, 2009 10:27 pm
Location: Next door to Top Gun, Suffolk
Contact:

Re: New (old) Member

Post by scoobyh123 » Sun Sep 03, 2017 10:03 am

Air-con isn't just for summer Mike - it's great at clearing a misted windscreen and for helping keep the interior dry and mould free.
Switch the heater controls to demist the screen in your XF (assuming it doesn't have a heated screen of course) and you'll find the A/C compressor kicks in as dry conditioned air clears the mist on the screen much quicker than damp, unconditioned air.
Your 800 will do the same but the compressor won't kick in if it's lost gas, however the "ECON" light will go out on the control panel. :wink: :D

You're welcome on the fog lights, i did recently find some LED versions that should have been a straight swap, even with the same mounting holes etc as the OE lamps. Ordered a pair and the listing disappeared, on the day i was meant to get them the seller refunded my money and said the last pair in the warehouse was defective.
I've since bought a pair of LED flood-beam work lamps that should bolt in quite nicely with a bracket as i described above, when i get them fitted to my Coupé i'll let you know.
Cheers,
Dave

'02 Honda CR-V SE Executive
'99 Jag S Type 3.0 V6 SE


Image
'94 827 Sterling saloon
'88 Volvo 760 V6 Estate
'95 827 Coupé LPG gone but not forgotten!

Post Reply
[phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file [ROOT]/vendor/twig/twig/lib/Twig/Extension/Core.php on line 1266: count(): Parameter must be an array or an object that implements Countable
[phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file [ROOT]/vendor/twig/twig/lib/Twig/Extension/Core.php on line 1266: count(): Parameter must be an array or an object that implements Countable

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 19 guests