[Plodder]

Well managed to get to all put together and no leaks on the 100 mile trip to South West Rust Proofing in Westbury yesterday, although the lack of use for 2 months meant I got the sluggish clutch back again between a couple of the gears, still a second transmission oil change is due so hopefully that will relieve the problem.
They got it up on the ramps today and removed all the wheel liners for the steam clean and rust check. Car’s not been classified yet as Good, Ok or Bad ,but from the pictures it looks ok.
They’ve highlighted the corrosion on the roll bars but I’ve scheduled some of the suspension parts to be powder coated this year along with replacing the 30 year old bushes.
We’ll see what else they find, if anything, when they get stuck in to the rust proofing over the next 2 days

[RoverRevival]

Superflex bushes come in oe coloured black now, so all the benefits but looks stock.

[Plodder]

Superflex bushes come in oe coloured black now, so all the benefits but looks stock.

Are these normal hardness/stiffness or track day hardness/stiffness? I’d hate the car to transmit every bump in the road as I’ve got enough fillings in my theeth as it is
Are they better than the Powerflex poly bushes?

Do you know how well the trailing arm bushes work as they seem to require the outer case and inner part to be cut away from the bonded rubber on the part fitted to the car and then the poly bush is then assembled to these parts.
Bit concerned that manufacturing tolerances of the existing trailing arm bush might not work with the poly bush.
I’m coming up to the 10 year cycle when the bushes seem to need replacing on my car

[RoverRevival]

We do the job quite regularly and they are fit and forget about on almost all the bushes. The only real one that I feel does effect the handling is the main rear trailing arm bushes. You do loose a little of the rear steer capabilities but for people driving “normally” you wouldn’t notice the difference.

[Plodder]

More Pics from SWRP. Hopefully they are in the right order.
Masked up ready for treatment:



Followed by surface rust preparation (rust removal with wire brush and rust converter):



Stonechip protection under the arches and then underbody protection:




Cavities should be done tomorrow with the car ready for collection on Friday.

[Plodder]

Well car back and looks good.
Hopefully all the repair work done previously is fully protected now if it wasn’t previously.
Technicians were very complimentary about the state of the car generally so it seems that in general the original rustproofing underneath was very good.
Great run back , slow gear upshift between 2-3 got better over the journey, along some of the lovely Wiltshire and Somerset A roads.
My very capable 16 plate Astra doesn’t give me anywhere near that level of entertainment

[Plodder]

Well 3rd time lucky with the door mirror!

Having broken the original electric door mirror adjustment mechanism many years ago when I clipped another car I brought a secondhand door mirror from ebay. But this mirror on the extremes of its movement gave me mostly a view of the side of my car and a glass that seemed to vibrate at every opportunity .
Still reckon it was for a left hand drive car.

A second purchase from Rimmers Mega sale gave me a coloured mirror, which I am hoping to get resprayed to the same colour as the car at some point, but appears to have two very troubled motors that appear to over heat and stop working after a few seconds.
A third purchase off a club member last week has finally yielded a mirror that works completely ok , allowing me to see the road behind without having to embed myself on the steering wheel for a good view .
Before and after shots of the two mirrors set to their extreme limits


I will now try and see if I can repair the original one with parts from the ebay unit and dismantle the Rimmers unit to see if I can get the motors running properly. That's if I don't break them trying to get them apart

[RoverRiggott]

Really enjoyed reading this thread. I've been looking for a 416 gti auto for some time and finally found an early one with full leather and air con. Trouble is, it hasn't moved since the late 90's, so is a non runner and has been stored in a damp garage. Although the bodywork and cills look solid, the engine components, alloys and rear suspension / brakes in particular, are badly corroded which is putting me off. My local garage have said they will recommission for me though I have no idea of the potential cost. I'm thinking about £700 for a full engine recommission, £500 tyres and exhaust and £1,000 for brakes and suspension. Paintwork is reasonable, so I can touch and buff up myself. In your experience am I in the right ball-park?

[Plodder]

Depends I guess if you are doing any of the work yourself or you want it to be done by a garage.
You might be a bit heavy on the brakes and suspension and a bit low on the engine. Probably ok on the others.
My car sat for about 8 years under a car cover with very little running. Main problems from standing were jammed brake callipers and sluggish gear change with the Auto .
So the auto box could probably do with a flush and oil change. I was quoted £250 to do this . The alternative is 3-4 oil changes to clear all the old oil out which will still cost you £120. Once moving the sluggish gear change goes away if you use it weekly
The engine never didn’t start even when left for six months but clearly yours will need recommissioning. The cylinder head on my D16 engine has never been off in 30 years but its on my list of to do in the next couple of years
My suspension bushes are all original except for the trailing arm bushes and drop links on front roll bar. So these may not be urgent to do.
Suggest you talk to Rover Revivals he’s on this forum or you can find their website on the internet they would
have much better idea of costs and have a lot of experience with Rovers. Even if you are not local I’m sure they can collect the car from you if you want some of the work done by them.
As a car they’re great, sporty but very relaxing to drive on A roads. Bit noisy on the motorway with the revs 500 rpm per 10mph.
Definitely need to save these as there are very few about
Hope this helps good luck

[crepello]

JOHNDQ of this parish had to swap an engine out of a barn find 216 because standing
so long had caused irrecoverable internal engine corrosion. The story has its own
thread on this forum!