Rover 825 Sterling Diesel Coupe

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tonewheeldude
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Rover 825 Sterling Diesel Coupe

Post by tonewheeldude » Sat Jun 14, 2014 5:25 pm

I thought today's events needed a new thread as the car is now in our possession!

If you have not been following you can read the 'ebay thread: http://www.rover800.info/forum/viewtopi ... 16&t=12242
So today we hired the trailer and drove to Coventry to collect the car. I was not sure what to expect, photos normally make a car look better...to my surprise the car actually looked better than the photos. Here are a few pics I took today

I have already discovered a few things and I am now 90% certain its a conversion and not a factory job. See if you can spot why in the engine bay photo.

ImageRover 825 Diesel Coupe by T_W_D, on Flickr
ImageRover 825 Diesel Coupe by T_W_D, on Flickr
ImageRover 825 Diesel Coupe by T_W_D, on Flickr
ImageRover 825 Diesel Coupe by T_W_D, on Flickr
ImageRover 825 Diesel Coupe by T_W_D, on Flickr
ImageRover 825 Diesel Coupe by T_W_D, on Flickr

Engine runs very nicely, brakes work, lights, work, clutch works, handbrake works, power steering is fine
one wiper arm has come away, tyres are perished (to be expected), air con...you work it out! Driver window doesn't work (seems to be the switch)

I am going to have a cup of tea and then make a start on recommissioning 'Tara'
Last edited by tonewheeldude on Sun Nov 15, 2015 10:17 pm, edited 6 times in total.
Rover 825 Sterling Diesel Coupe (1999)

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rovercoup
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Re: Rover 825 Sterling Diesel Coupe

Post by rovercoup » Sat Jun 14, 2014 5:31 pm

tonewheeldude wrote: I have already discovered a few things and I am now 90% certain its a conversion and not a factory job. See if you can spot why in the engine bay photo.'
Anything to do with the expansion tank?

Looks very nice in the photos, with a small amount :roll: of recommissioning we should see you at the BMC rally in Peterborough. Fingers crossed for you and good luck with the old girl.
Rover 827 Vitesse Fastback Man Mk1 89
Rover 827 Sterling saloon Auto 90
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tonewheeldude
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Re: Rover 825 Sterling Diesel Coupe

Post by tonewheeldude » Sat Jun 14, 2014 5:45 pm

rovercoup wrote:
tonewheeldude wrote: I have already discovered a few things and I am now 90% certain its a conversion and not a factory job. See if you can spot why in the engine bay photo.'
Anything to do with the expansion tank?
Good answer, but its not right :) The 'expansion tank' is in the correct place under the windscreen in the middle. Will give you a clue..its to do with the air con.
This might help:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/48495939@ ... 0/sizes/o/
rovercoup wrote:Looks very nice in the photos, with a small amount :roll: of recommissioning we should see you at the BMC rally in Peterborough. Fingers crossed for you and good luck with the old girl.
Thank you, although its been under cover - it was just a 'car port' and so the underneath of the car has a layer of surface rust. This likely means if its rubber its perrished and if the brake lines are the original steel ones they will probably need changing too. But the target is two weeks. So all being well it will be on the road by the end of the month. When is the date of the Rally? I must check it out as we have two classic Minis also :)
Rover 825 Sterling Diesel Coupe (1999)

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Re: Rover 825 Sterling Diesel Coupe

Post by tonewheeldude » Sat Jun 14, 2014 5:53 pm

By the way, I need to find some Vitesse alloys quickly (tomorrow would be good) within reasonblae driving distance of Northampton

http://www.rover800.info/forum/viewtopi ... 14&t=12287
Rover 825 Sterling Diesel Coupe (1999)

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Re: Rover 825 Sterling Diesel Coupe

Post by rovercoup » Sat Jun 14, 2014 5:55 pm

What air con?

link for BMC rally below. This is a good event with a good member showing, we had 20 cars there last year.

http://www.bmcblrally.co.uk/2.html
Rover 827 Vitesse Fastback Man Mk1 89
Rover 827 Sterling saloon Auto 90
Rover 820 Fastback 2.0 MPi Auto 90
Rover 820 Coupe sport 94
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Re: Rover 825 Sterling Diesel Coupe

Post by SJG » Sat Jun 14, 2014 8:03 pm

Great to see the pictures and well done. The 75 looks on the limit, did it tow it okay?

Look forward to reading of your progress and about this special car.
Simon

Rover Vitesse Coupe - 1997

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Re: Rover 825 Sterling Diesel Coupe

Post by tonewheeldude » Sat Jun 14, 2014 9:41 pm

rovercoup wrote:What air con?
Indeed. The car obviously had it but the pipes have been cut and not replace, condenser is missing too. That alone tells me it is a conversion. If all else goes well with the car then the air con can be my own project.
rovercoup wrote:link for BMC rally below. This is a good event with a good member showing, we had 20 cars there last year.

http://www.bmcblrally.co.uk/2.html
Looks interesting (the rally that is) Sounds like it might be a good place to 'Launch' the car :)
Simon Hubbard wrote:Great to see the pictures and well done. The 75 looks on the limit, did it tow it okay?

Look forward to reading of your progress and about this special car.
Thanks Simon. The BMW diesel is a superb engine and that 75 is the best tow car I have ever owned. I thought I was going to be over the weight, but as I have both owners guides to hand it was easy to calculate and we were legal. The VM diesel engine is a heavy lump though and could have done with being nearer the axle...but the car handled it. It helps as this is an XPOWER 135 version.

SO this evening we had a good look around the car. My wife got on with scrubbing the interior whilest I started on small tinkering jobs and the obvious things that will annoy MOT testers. The car is low on 5 year old fuel and the filler flap was stuck. Opening the boot made me realise how well the car had been looked after up until te last actual 'user'. I removed the trim panels in the boot and freed up the solonoid. Job done. Here are a couple of pics in the boot:

ImageDSCN1235 by T_W_D, on Flickr
ImageDSCN1233 by T_W_D, on Flickr

I also removed some loose rubber trim from the lower of the front off side wing. The glue had come away from the captive 'trim clips' so I removed all the old glue and stuck them back on with epoxy resin. By the time we had finished the glue was dry and the trim is back on the car.

Next..... the wipers not working. Only the nearside wiper works.

Here is a photo of the offending part:
ImageDSCN1236 by T_W_D, on Flickr

The wiper shaft and ball-joint had seized and consequently the plastic snapped. I drilled a small hole in the plastic and squirted penetrating oil in to release it., also freed the shaft up and drilled a hole through the arm. using two heavy duty cable ties through the hole and around the ball joint, worked fine as a temporary fix for the MOT tester. But I am going to need some new parts fairly soon.

It was caused by the black metal panel below the screen being rusty and allowing water from the screen to get underneath - (another part I need to get).

My wife was surprised how good the interior is, although its very dirty. 2.5 hours later and one seat, drivers door and drivers half of the dash (inc wheel) had been cleaned and looks good.

So that's it for tonight....to be continued :)
Last edited by tonewheeldude on Sun Nov 15, 2015 10:18 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Rover 825 Sterling Diesel Coupe (1999)

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Re: Rover 825 Sterling Diesel Coupe

Post by SJG » Sat Jun 14, 2014 9:56 pm

Good start, well done!

We have a tourer (it is actually my wife, Michelle's car) 75 with the diesel engine and use it for towing our caravan, it is an automatic also. I would like to get the power upgrade, to either 135 or 160bhp.

It was nice to read that your wife works on the cars as well, my wife does to.

Keep up the good work both of you
Simon

Rover Vitesse Coupe - 1997

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Re: Rover 825 Sterling Diesel Coupe

Post by tonewheeldude » Sat Jun 14, 2014 10:10 pm

Simon Hubbard wrote:Good start, well done!

We have a tourer (it is actually my wife, Michelle's car) 75 with the diesel engine and use it for towing our caravan, it is an automatic also. I would like to get the power upgrade, to either 135 or 160bhp.

It was nice to read that your wife works on the cars as well, my wife does to.

Keep up the good work both of you
Its one of the reasons I married her - common interests are important as you will appreciate with your own wife. She owns two classic minis and has enjoyed all of our 800 series cars. It was her that encouraged me to go for this one.

If everything goes to plan I will have to sell the 75. I have mixed feeling as its a perfectly sensible car, tows our caravan well and is very useful for work.... and the Xpower 135 really makes it fun to drive on country lanes (manual so gives you a little more control keeping the revs in the max torque range through the gears), along with the half leather seats and black leather steering wheel that I added. But unlike the 800s, I have not developed an attachment to it. If Rosalind didn't own her two pet minis we probably would keep the Coupe and the 75, but she will never part with them!

Anyway - it really depends on how the Coupe (Tara) project progresses and how she runs once the MOT is passed.
Rover 825 Sterling Diesel Coupe (1999)

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Re: Rover 825 Sterling Diesel Coupe

Post by scoobyh123 » Sun Jun 15, 2014 3:00 pm

tonewheeldude wrote:
Simon Hubbard wrote:Great to see the pictures and well done. The 75 looks on the limit, did it tow it okay?

Look forward to reading of your progress and about this special car.
Thanks Simon. The BMW diesel is a superb engine and that 75 is the best tow car I have ever owned. I thought I was going to be over the weight, but as I have both owners guides to hand it was easy to calculate and we were legal. The VM diesel engine is a heavy lump though and could have done with being nearer the axle...but the car handled it. It helps as this is an XPOWER 135 version)
Crikey! What is the towing limit on a 75 Tourer with the CDTi engine then? I used my old Volvo to drag my coupe back from Bristol last year and thought i was fine as it had a towing capacity of 1600kg. What i forgot was the 4-wheel car trailer weighed in at a hefty 550kg on it's own and the coupe is 1470kg (yours is probably heavier being a diesel conversion) so i was dragging a hefty 2020kg behind!
Cheers,
Dave

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Re: Rover 825 Sterling Diesel Coupe

Post by SJG » Sun Jun 15, 2014 3:06 pm

The towing capacity for the 75's is 1600kg Dave
Simon

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Re: Rover 825 Sterling Diesel Coupe

Post by scoobyh123 » Sun Jun 15, 2014 3:10 pm

Simon Hubbard wrote:The towing capacity for the 75's is 1600kg Dave

Thanks Simon, looks like Darren was accidentally over-weight on towing, same as i was with the Volvo!
Cheers,
Dave

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'99 Jag S Type 3.0 V6 SE


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'88 Volvo 760 V6 Estate
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Re: Rover 825 Sterling Diesel Coupe

Post by tonewheeldude » Sun Jun 15, 2014 4:07 pm

I just realised reading the above; when I checked on the maximum towing weight (1600kilos and the coupe is around 1500k), it was because we were going to buy a rigid towing pole, but then changed our mind as there is a question of legality. So ironically, unless the trailer weighed 100kilos we avoided breaking one law, only to...nah, I am sure the trailer was les than 100 :?
Rover 825 Sterling Diesel Coupe (1999)

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Re: Rover 825 Sterling Diesel Coupe

Post by scoobyh123 » Sun Jun 15, 2014 7:25 pm

tonewheeldude wrote:I just realised reading the above; when I checked on the maximum towing weight (1600kilos and the coupe is around 1500k), it was because we were going to buy a rigid towing pole, but then changed our mind as there is a question of legality. So ironically, unless the trailer weighed 100kilos we avoided breaking one law, only to...nah, I am sure the trailer was les than 100 :?

Unless i'm mistaken, that's a tipping trailer to allow for easier loading/unloading in which case it would be even heavier than the one i hired which turned out to be 550kg. I didn't have the excuse of originally planning a towing pole though as mine is auto so a trailer or supsended tow was mandatory. Of course, it should be mandatory on manual versions too as i belive extended tows with the front wheels on the ground can damage the gearbox - unless i'm thinking of either the SD1 or perhaps another car.

People like the AA/RAC use towing poles all the time so should be legal - not on a motorway though i don't think? Perhaps someone "in the know" could clarify that one?
Cheers,
Dave

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'99 Jag S Type 3.0 V6 SE


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'94 827 Sterling saloon
'88 Volvo 760 V6 Estate
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Re: Rover 825 Sterling Diesel Coupe

Post by tonewheeldude » Sun Jun 15, 2014 7:48 pm

it wasn't a tipping trailer : http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... 1378731956

Good price and it must be around the same weight as the one you hired.

Rosalind cleaned the rest of the front interior today. The wiper 'fix' doesnt work properly (wiper doesn't retract fully) so I will have to get the linkage before taking it for an MOT. The rear view mirror had fallen off so i brought one of those self adhesive pads - they are a joke. OK its on the screen and will pass the MOT, but it wobbles around like a pair of furry dice!
Rover 825 Sterling Diesel Coupe (1999)

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