Rover 200 & 400 Owners Club

Hey all! Just thought I'd start a thread about this 216 which I acquired on Tuesday, on a bit of a whim because it was local and cheap! I don't have a whole lot of experience with Rovers beyond my parents owning them when I was a teenager, so this should be an experience! I'm primarily an aircooled VW bod with a side interest in Mazda MX5s, so this is a bit of a departure for me!

With my Beetle project not moving anywhere fast, my MX5 still on the road but in need of work soon and a modern Skoda daily to keep fuelled and serviced, the most sensible thing to do was buy ANOTHER old car. What else?

I suddenly found myself wanting a 'bread and butter' car from the 90s, and after missing out on a bargain Volvo 900 series, instead went for this 216, found locally in Facebook marketplace:

20201020_163102 by Sam E, on Flickr

It's a 1995 216SLi, it's got 89k on the clock and is family owned from nearly new... the chap who owned it from 1996 to his passing in 2019 was a former Rover employee. So while it's got issues, it's been looked after where it counts.

20201020_163414 by Sam E, on Flickr


The issues are mostly cosmetic. Has some battle scars, and some lacquer crazing on the roof and tailgate...

20201020_163107 by Sam E, on Flickr

20201020_163127 by Sam E, on Flickr

20201020_163122 by Sam E, on Flickr

20201020_163113 by Sam E, on Flickr


But... all this aside, like I said it's been looked after where it counts. A folder of old MOTs and receipts...

20201020_163725 by Sam E, on Flickr

The interior needs a bit of work, but it's very original. Even down to the (working) original radio! Although it currently only makes noise out of one speaker...

20201020_163607 by Sam E, on Flickr

20201020_163258 by Sam E, on Flickr

20201020_163250 by Sam E, on Flickr


Where this one really shines though, is its structural integrity. Arches, sills and boot floor have never even seen a welder on this. In fact the only significant rust on the whole car is a small patch on one door.

20201020_163353 by Sam E, on Flickr

20201020_163401 by Sam E, on Flickr

20201020_163236 by Sam E, on Flickr

20201020_163152 by Sam E, on Flickr

20201020_163131 by Sam E, on Flickr


So there we go. The owner who I bought it from was the daughter of the chap who'd owned it for most of its life, and had inherited it upon his death. She was very attached to the car and wanted it to go to someone who could look after it. Unfortunately I answered the ad first. In all seriousness, I'll definitely try my best.

As for WHAT I'll actually do with it... I really don't know. Short term plan is to sort a few of its less signficant niggles such as windows, headliner and locks, then maybe investigate the high bite point (my wishful thinking side says clutch cable... but in reality I'm budgeting for a clutch kit!).


Overall though, really happy with it so far. It surprised me just how genuinely nice it is to drive, feels very planted and solid on the road. There's a nice weight to it all.

20201020_170242 by Sam E, on Flickr

(Controls are heavier than I'd expected though - 2 minutes after I took this photo I jumped into my 2017 Skoda having just driven the Rover for an hour, and very nearly stamped the pedals though the floor!)

Looks like you've got yourself a nice R8 there

You'll find several owners undertaking similar projects one here to help you with yours.

2 items to look at the try to ensure continued mobility are the radiator core , which rots out from the bottom, and the fuel pump relay, which causes the car not to start, especially when warm.

Luckily both are relatively easy fixes - radiators for manual R8 appear easy to source and the relay can be bewildered to cure the dry joint issue.

Enjoy

Looks very nice love the colour and no rusty aches , to add to John's list if i may of continuous mobility check the petrol neck filler were it goes into the fuel tank on some car they rust away abit of TLC now and that another job done .

Is anybody going to tell him/her about the high bite point........?

I saw your post on retro rides

redandwhitE wrote: ↑Sat Oct 24, 2020 7:41 am Is anybody going to tell him/her about the high bite point........?

Him. And go on, I'm intrigued..? I always assumed a high bite point meant the clutch probably doesn't have long to live?

That looks like a really solid example that you’ve got hopefully you can turn it into a great looking car without too much problem.
Good luck

Soundwave wrote: ↑Sat Oct 24, 2020 8:51 am

redandwhitE wrote: ↑Sat Oct 24, 2020 7:41 am Is anybody going to tell him/her about the high bite point........?

Him. And go on, I'm intrigued..? I always assumed a high bite point meant the clutch probably doesn't have long to live?

Well there are much more knowledgeable folk on here but the five Rovers I've owned have all had the 'high bite', it's just how they are. I've never had to replace a clutch.....yet.

As I say, there are smarter people on here who will be able to explain a bit more about it but from a layman, I wouldn't worry too much just yet.

Enjoy the car, the R8's are brilliant......

redandwhitE wrote: ↑Sat Oct 24, 2020 11:34 pm

Soundwave wrote: ↑Sat Oct 24, 2020 8:51 am

redandwhitE wrote: ↑Sat Oct 24, 2020 7:41 am Is anybody going to tell him/her about the high bite point........?

Him. And go on, I'm intrigued..? I always assumed a high bite point meant the clutch probably doesn't have long to live?

Well there are much more knowledgeable folk on here but the five Rovers I've owned have all had the 'high bite', it's just how they are. I've never had to replace a clutch.....yet.

As I say, there are smarter people on here who will be able to explain a bit more about it but from a layman, I wouldn't worry too much just yet.

Enjoy the car, the R8's are brilliant......

Good to know, thank you!

Now, another possibly dumb question from the completely uninitiated (me!)... when a car's got the remote fob locking, is it normal for it to not have a keyhole in the passenger door? Appears to have some kind of plate over it. My mum used to have a 200 and that had a keyhole on its passenger side, although if memory serves it didn't have the fob locking. Just trying to figure out if that's a normal thing or whether I need to get a lock barrel for the passenger side? Last owner wasn't sure either.

Normal I pretty certain. The early cars do have lock both side but the later ones only drivers side.
Ours are quite high bite point on both of our 216 D16 honda engines and have done clutch on one which was worn out at about 210K I think and other is starting to get that way about 200K ish. Howver the bite is still the same on both the new clutch car and the going not sure how far gone its is car!

If you think the controls are hard work try a pre war crash gearbox car! I then stamp the rover controls and brake particularly to the floor with the result head bang to the screen if I am not careful!

Looks a lovely car - nice to have so few welding issues too.

Welcome to the radiator users club! Funny how the air cooled and radiator groups do not always mix that much like MG and Triumph owners!