[rover216GSIman]

I couldn’t help myself. After searching endlessly for my next project classic car, I knew had to have this little R8 Rover 200. I couldn’t shake it out of my head. I tried distracting myself, I spent more time with my girlfriend, going for a swim or even working longer hours. But it was all hopeless. Afterall, it was a one family owned car from new, had only covered 64,000 miles, and still wore a clean interior. Being local I had to go and see it. I was surprised, it was an honest motor, with an engine that burst into life at first turn of the key, and then purrs once warmed up. The bodywork had had its fair share of wounds, with lacquer peel on the roof and tailgate, knocks and bumps to the doors and wings and a saggy headlining. But it was looked after where it mattered most, and … I wasn’t complaining. It drove perfectly, it has light steering, smooth and quiet ride and good fuel economy and best of all, for just £600 it was mine!



Heater Controls
What was needed:
• 1 short Philips screwdriver – about two inches max
• A new heater resistor
• New heater dials (ones from the newer 200, and 25 will fit)

After having had J731MDO for all of 5 days I set about thinking about all the bits I was going to need to fix. I’d be looking to run the Rover as my daily car over the winter so having it working as it should was my goal. The first and most pressing on my list was the heater. Part of the reason why I had my offer accepted was the fact that the heater had stopped working just prior to sale. Turning the control dial felt scratchy and it wasn’t clicking properly and no power was coming out of the unit. I began fearing the worst. Taking the speed control dial off I noticed how it had split and cracked and broken inside.



Removing the old pieces and testing with the direction control dial saw it burst into action - albeit on settings 3 and 4 – result! I managed to get hold of a set of Rover dials through word of mouth, a local contact known as the “Roverman” supplied all 3 (so they match) for just £5! Now I have the original two spare should any more break.



Never one to leave a job half finished I wanted to make sure the heater was working on all 4 settings. Behind the glove compartment sits a little heater resister unit. I unclipped the cable and unscrewed the two Philips screws and gently pulled out the unit.



Note: this can be done with a small 3 inch Philips screwdriver without unclipping the glove compartment door. My unit had split in 3 places. I ordered a new one from ebay and 4 days later had it fitted following the reverse process. Heater now works on all 4 settings! Toasty!

Photo of old and new resistor


Thanks for reading - next on the list is to look at the rear wiper motor

[Topcat Tomcat]

Keep up the good work.

[henryiett]

Nice work there keep it up

[rover216GSIman]

Thank you!

I have been trying to figure out how to resolve the rear wiper motor fault - will post this next

[RoverRevival]

follow the loom from the bootlid into the cabin, i'll guess you'll find some broken cables