S525 OVP - Restoration: The Long Road Back

[Pete]

So, we bought a car. And an unusual one to boot.

S525 OVP is a pre-production 1.8 Classic, used by MG Rover for publicity work and later in its life was the security/ambulance for the factory. It's had something of a chequered life, featuring in television dramas when not pounding round the factory in support of the security teams as they try to keep less savoury characters out of the grounds. It's also undergone something of an identity crisis too, turning into a ZT when the Rover name faded away and Nanjing took over the rights to MG.

Recent months saw the car suffer a seemingly terminal decline in health and it was parked in a standing area, almost resigned to eventually disappearing inside a crusher - until some gallant club members stepped in and asked if it could be saved. They hard work and persistence paid off and MG very kindly offered the the car to the club for a nominal sum. All we had to do was collect it and get it back to its original specification. Easy. Ahem....

So, this thread is an ongoing update into the trials and tribulations into refurbishing a Rover 75. We'll be aiming to restore it and cover the work in detail to help club members and fellow owners understand their cars better. We hope you find it a fascinating project and one that will be great fun to follow.

This project is all down to the dedication of a lot of people, and we are delighted they are involved. Folks like Andy Garcarz, Martin Green and Lewis Rabett in finding the car and Gary Egan at MG Motor for allowing us to purchase it. And of course there is Lates, the ever-popular man-in-the-know who not only took the car under his wing but got it all sorted out too. Then there are the commercial members including Corin (Messenger) and Les (SMC), who have been tremendous in helping out with spares. And lastly, and certainly massively importantly, to all the club members who have similarly helped with parts and donated their time and money to do so many tasks on the car that would otherwise take an age to get done. It's a testament to the following that this club has that there are so many people willing to help, and they will all be recognised later on.

Anyway, it's time to kick things off. Happy reading! :)

[Pete]

Date: Friday 30th October 2009. Location: Longbridge, Birmingham. The event: Fetching our fist ever club car from it's home for the last 9 years.

That little lot perhaps simplifies the job we had on a rather cold Friday morning. The car had two flat tyres and only one was holding air, while it was also effectively blocked in by a Tourer waiting for the crusher. Thankfully security were on hand and they were very kind enough to clear a way in to get at the car. Oh, and it doesn’t start, mainly due to an electrical fault (most likely the battery was defunct but the connections didn’t look too clever either) but I just remembered a security guard mentioning something about a fuel pump too.

Anyway, time for a few pics and some comments.


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Here it is in all it's glory. Sort of. When you consider that this car is not just 11 years old but has also been used for the majority of its life 24/7 round two large factory complexes then it's done remarkably well to be in one piece. As you can see the transformation into a ZT also included ditching the original steel wheels for a set of alloys.

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As it slowly inched up there was some good news - no big dents in the sills! Overall it's straight but looking tired

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It was a bit of a squeeze getting on the trailer, not helped by the terminal tyre being on the front. Now, the more eagle eyed amongst you will spot something a little odd about the front. And I don't mean the projector lights which will be replaced for original units

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Once again S525 hits the road. On a trailer admittedly but that's just detail. The journey to the batcave was thankfully painless.

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And here it is, offloaded and wondering where on earth it has been taken to.
Remember I said it had been shod with alloys? I forgot to mention that this didn't extend to having a matching set. There's actually a simple reason behind this. With there being so much debris on the roads round Longbridge punctures were frequent - it was simpler to just grab a wheel and tyre instead of trying to get something fitted on a rim.

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From the rear it doesn't look too bad. Note the MG plinth, which has above it a huuuuge MG badge. The bodywork is tired overall - just about every panel has signs of corrosion or dents - and there is evidence of it being Dover White too for some reason. However, the plate states the code as NNX so we can say pretty confidently that is should be Arran White.

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Lifting up the bonnet shows a dirty but also healthy-looking K series. No oil marks, water leaks, not a drop of mayo on the dipstick before you ask. We'll know more when it fires up though.

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The interior is not too good. Well, it's had a hard working life so in fact it's not fared too badly at all. The wheel is wrong of course and it also has MG dials which will need replacing. The dash has some scratching which will either mean changing it or repairing the lacquer. We may try the second option to see what results we can come up with. Now, if you were looking at the front end earlier then this next pic will pretty much confirm your suspicions.....

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There! If you thought the car didn't have aircon then you had guessed correctly. This is one poverty-spec motor, with keep-fit windows in the back too. In this respect it's exceedingly rare now.

And that's about it for the moment. Over the next couple or so weeks it will have a thorough inspection to determine what needs to be done and we will then be posting up the information as part of a regular rebuild report. We will also be making some anouncements on how members can help in the rebuild, which we hope you will enjoy reading.

[Pete]

With the car safely delivered to Lates the next day provided an opportunity to start conducting the evaluation of the car. As this vehicle has been so active during its life it has also got to be assumed that literally every aspect has to be looked at – and on what is a reasonably complex car like a Rover 75 this will need time and a methodical approach. So the first tasks today were to try and get the engine running and switch the flat front tyre for the spare – which will at the same time allow a cursory inspection of part of the front suspension.

With the car jacked up it very quickly became clear why the front tyre wouldn’t inflate – the spring had snapped and torn into it. Very nasty and, as we all know, something that the factory was concerned enough about to issue a recall for dealers to fit retainer systems to prevent exactly such a scenario happening with owners. It’s ironic to discover that this modification was not done at Longbridge to one of their own cars....

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So, with the car now much easier to move about it was time for Lates and Pete to have a bash at getting it to start. As it had stood for a pretty long period of time the spark plugs were removed and oil squirted down into the cylinders, the booster cables were attached and the key turned. The engine turned, but it was struggling despite having plenty of oomph running through the jump leads.

With the car making some God awful schreeching noises,despite having plenty of power to it, Lates and Pete looked at each other and sort of went "hmmm..... does that sound internal or a belt tensioner bearing, water pump bearing or more ?" Taking a step back to allow the battery recover somewhat a burst of inspiration came over them..... out came the side cutters to say goodbye to the alternator drive belt. Well, the battery wasn’t interested in holding a charge so it was pointless worrying about that for now. Lo and behold, the engine starts to turn a lot faster – so we can add a duff alternator to the list. The bearings within the alernator were shot.

While the engine was turning over fine, actually starting was another matter. A good ten minutes passed until it began to kick into life but slowly it reawakened and white plumes of smoke puffed out the exhaust – a legacy of the oil poured into the cylinders.

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By holding it on a fast tickover to encourage it to warm up Lates and Pete were able to watch and listen to it for any early indications of problems, but it seemed fairly happy until it eventually used up the old fuel in the tank and coughed and died. Some fresh fuel next time will have us taking a deeper look into its health.

With the electrics now wide awake from their slumber the instrument pack has become a real source of interest. As you can imagine from a car containing bits hurriedly replaced to turn it into a pretend ZT it was having a little trouble recognising itself properly. But some of the error messages the instrument panel was displaying are not exactly what you may expect. What seems to be a warning that the self levelling suspension has failed for example is a real curio, along with a traction control warning – the 1.8 didn’t have this even as an option. And with the dashboard making a bonging noise with the driver’s door open while the key is in the ignition does lead us to suspect that it may be an export spec IPK that was put in.

While mentioning the driver’s door it became very obvious that the check strap has gone AWOL too. A minor part but really rather important if you don’t want to get bruised shins!

So, the next step is to move on with evaluating the car and see what else we can find that is unusual, broken or missing. We’ll be back next week with an update.

[Pete]

Saturdays seem to come round very quickly. Well, they do for me anyway. After another week spent toiling away it was a relief to put on some scruffy jeans and head down South of Coventry to continue the analysis of S525 OVP. Maybe it will even fire up for a while and do the white smoke trick again. Ah the joys of tinkering with an old car!

And so we gathered once more, with the temperature dropping and the wind increasing, to get closer to forming a better picture of just what on earth we’ve let ourselves in for. During the week Lates had removed the rather destroyed front tyre and fitted the spare so at least it can now be pushed round much easier than previously. So first job was to get it fired up again to do some fault finding – which meant it needed some fuel.

On the way to Lates a fuel can had been filled to the brim and it was soon chugging its contents down the filler neck. Until it mysteriously stopped. A cursory check of the filler didn’t throw up any blockages, so the rear seat was duly swung aside to get at the tank. Seconds after starting to remove the pump the problem was diagnosed – despite the gauge insisting there was barely a drop inside, the tank was full. Yep, we can add a fibbing fuel sender to the list of things to sort out.

With the jump leads attached we once again turned over the engine. Nothing. Even after attempting to persuade it to burst into life it continued to sulk.

We’re certain the engine is receiving fuel so it must therefore mean the cam or crank sensors – or both – have waved goodbye to this cruel world. And when a car like a 75 displays such symptoms there’s only one thing to do. Plug it in.

Out came the diagnostic unit, on went the ignition and the unit was soon hooked up. And we soon found out that, er, the car is in a real state of confusion. Despite the diagnostic unit identifying the software and last update – January 2004 – it simply didn’t want to go any further. The sheer number of odd bits added to this car over time looks likely to have finally overwhelmed the MEMS software and it’s shrugging its shoulders now.

Looking at the instrument panel gives you a clue to the probably vexatious position the system is in. Turning on the ignition gives a long list of issues the electronics are trying to talk to, the instrument panel grappling with a host of features it can’t find and items it thinks are not working as the IPK was originally either from or destined for a ZT Tourer.


But hey, it was right to say the doors were open.

In the meantime the bodywork was looked at more closely. Starting from the rear all seems pretty good, with the bumper and bootlid only requiring new paint. We’ll know for certain once that huge MG badge and the rear plinth have been removed though, but it looks rust-free and straight. Lifting the boot carpet revealed some interesting build codes, with a dye mark stating R2 98 09 10 20H00 and a steel strip showing 4MB 10P 00987Z. What these state we’ll find out in due course. No signs of any accident damage and the wheel well was rust-free.

Moving along the offside the rear wing again is in good shape, with no rust around the filler aperture and the wheelarch is problem free. Only a dented chrome trim marks it down. The rear door is similarly fine, although the lack of any sound deadening does make it shut with an annoying clang. Which begs the question whether we should fit any at a later date of course. Things start to get more interesting with the driver’s door. The skin has a nasty foot-long scar which has rusted, and that can be rectified. More tricky to resolve will be the shutline with the sill, which closes right up about 4 inches before meeting the front wing. It means that the door rubs on the sill finisher when opened and although it doesn’t look to have suffered greatly as a result, it’s a scruffy detail that has got to be sorted out when the bodywork is attended to. Opening the door reveals another quirk. Virtually no sealant between the doorframe and the skin and some significant gaps as a result.

Moving forwards, the front wing also looks a bit odd, with the rear lower section simply not looking quite right; it isn’t a square fit along the sill, indicating it’s either been modified at some point or it’s a pre-production panel – the first ones off the line had a far better fit and finish than this. Overall the wing is repairable but the tinworm has got a good hold in the front edge and this will need some time to sort out.

The front of the car is as straight as the rear, with the bonnet displaying some minor corrosion along the folded edge at the front and a little bubbling nearby. Not necessarily something to be worried about but it will need a good session with the BiltHamber range to cure it.

The nearside has some issues. The front wing has had a bit of a hard time and is wrinkled in an awkward sport at the front above the chrome trim, and rust around the folded edge next to the A-pillar, while both doors contain minor dents. The nearside front door fits just as badly as its opposite number by the way. The big concern is the state of the rear wheel arch where it meets the sill - which for some reason is a weak spot. Overall it looks to be okay but it is showing some signs of corrosion here, so it will have to be stripped back to bare metal to make sure.

The roof thankfully is absolutely fine, although the gutter trim looks scrap, and the window trim is all in good shape. Finally, one big sigh of relief – the sills are fine too, no dents and no rust.

But what of the front panel? Well, you will recall it had been fitted with a ZT front end and I may have mentioned it will be put up for grabs. Unfortunately, when we extracated it from the back seat we discovered it had been butchered to make it slide inside the back door. It's scrap. But never mind, we've salvaged the indicator lights and driving lamps from it.

So, not too bad on the bodywork side but the oily bits are potentially a very different story. How are we going to start it up?

[Pete]

It's been a while since I last posted here, so a quick update for you all.

This weekend sees the first series of tasks being performed by Lates & Pete to get OVP back on the road. The initial tasks are to sort out the non-starting issues - believed to be down to the fuel pump - and from there give the engine a good thorough going over for the usual signs of wear and tear before treating it to a good service if all seems well. Moving on, it's a case of doing the obvious - front springs - and not so obvious - electrical maladies - so it's going to be a busy time coming up.

I'd like to thank Corin, who you all know as Messenger, for generously donating a replacement fuel pump, and David Spriggs who not only pitched in with a replacement set of front springs and steel wheel but also collected the remaining three we needed before bringing them up to Lates last week. They're being shod with some part-worn Continental EcoContact tyres we've sourced and will be perfect for while the car is shuttled round the yard being renovated and sprayed. Which also means we're going to have an increasing number of bits we no longer need to be shifted! :D

So, the next big update will be Sunday evening, and fingers crossed it will be all good news.

[Pete]

I won’t keep you in suspense. The project Rover 75 now starts, runs, and moves quite easily under its own steam too. But that perhaps makes light of what has been quite an eventful first proper day of work on this car. With S525 being a pre-production model we were expecting to discover perhaps one or two anomalies, but we seem to be uncovering more and more as we progress – little things, like a gearbox oil sensor that goes nowhere, and earth wires that don’t look right at all. Couple this with some very truculent items like the rear seat squab and it’s safe to say while the project is moving along quite nicely the car at times is quite willing to put up a fight.

But we’re getting there. So let’s go over today’s fun and games.

The day was in fact preceded by a trip down to see Corin to pick up a healthy hoard of bits and pieces, including a prized replacement fuel pump and lots of new pieces of interior trim to fill in gaps and damaged items. So the session began with us approaching the car once more, towed from its corner and sitting in the warm sun of an otherwise cold afternoon, with the priority it get it started and begin checking it over.

With the replacement fuel pump submerged into the tank the slave battery was hooked up and the ignition turned on. We were greeted by the sound of the familiar whirring noises and, encouraged, the key turned. A steady hugging, followed by a hesitant cough, then a gathering acceleration as the cylinders began to chime and the engine awaken from the dead. Slowly but surely, the car spluttered into life, idling lumpily but responding to a dab on the throttle with an unsteady, drunken eagerness. But then, just as Lates began to gently drive it towards the workshop, it once again died. Cue the first bout of what would be regular sessions of head scratching as it became evident that while there was a good flow of fuel, a spark and nothing wrong with the air supply, the car simple wasn’t having any of this nonsense with actually running.

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Checks, and more checks, were rapidly undertaken to get to the root of the problem. The wiring in the ECU was fine. The air filter wasn’t blocked. The earths around the engine bay were all in place. And the fuel was gurgling from the main line. But then it dawned on all of us that the petrol, with its cloudy and slight white colour to it didn’t really look too healthy. With the pipe directed into a container a sample was taken and our suspicions were confirmed. Contaminated fuel, or to be more accurate, contaminated water. Somewhat mysteriously, the car had a full tank when we collected it – but it wasn’t filled with unleaded. Little wonder the car had ground to a halt, and it points to it being affected by the leaking fuel tanks beneath Longbridge.

With the fuel pump temporarily wired to push the water out of the tank into a spare container, eventually the liquid cleared and began to smell an awful lot more familiar. Back the fuel line went, back in the slot went the key, and within a few seconds the engine burst into life. This time with no lumps, no lurching, no soggy pick up, just a clean and eager K-Series. In fact, a clean and very crisp sounding engine, with little smoke from the exhaust and no overt signs of wear either. We had been quietly warned of a rumour that the engine might have worn rings, but the rude health of the engine points to it being a pretty well-cared for unit. Shame about the rest of car, but there again this one has had to earn its keep.

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It Lives! The 75 drives in for it's first serious bit of work

For the first time in many months, the car was now able to move under its own power – albeit with no IPK as it was swiftly removed after it went bong enough times to madden the patience of a nun, and Lates gently crawled it under cover for the first job of the day. Which got delayed during a coffee break and my usual habit of distracting everyone, resulting in all the exterior MG trim being removed. Well, it kept me happy, and made the car look a bit better. By this time the replacement bumper had also been put on, mainly to just help make the car look a bit better than for any useful purpose, and it was starting to look dangerously more roadworthy. Fair way to go before that’s a reality.

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The front of the car was soon up in the air and the first strut being removed to sort out the broken springs. It was surprising just how quickly everything came apart, perhaps due to the fact that, while the car had done way in excess of 90,000 miles the vast majority of them were at quite low speed round mud free roads in a factory complex. No seized bolts or mud crusted assemblies, just a simple and fast job which soon had the car back proudly sporting a new pair of front springs. While we had the front in the air the brakes were bled to push through some fresh fluid and the discs wire brushed to remove the surface corrosion. Moving to the rear the missing damper bolt was replaced before the brakes were bled some more and the handbrake, discs and pads checked over. Overall the brakes and suspension are pretty much usable for now and so they can all stay as they are.

Moving inside the car it was time to do some clearing out and get the rear seats back in. Simple job eh? Nope. For some reason the inertia reel on the centre belt was sticking , so the seat couldn’t be turned round to fit back in correctly. Not a huge problem, just unbolt it and then do the job. Except now the seat squab simple refused to relocate back on the hooks. It was riding on its pivots at the base, meaning the wire bars weren’t even close to their clamps, and it took an awful lot of cursing before it eventually slipped home. Of course, this is just an example of how the pre-production cars were in many details not to quite the same standard as the one to run off the track, and such minor niggles would be spotted and dealt with before launch. A good reason why you will also find me extremely reluctant to go anywhere near the folding rear seat!

With the car now working, sat on fresh springs, secured with brakes that now stop the car, and an interior that is almost driveable, we can now get ready for part two of the refurb. A nice big service, including belts, replacement alternator, oils, coolant, fresh wheels and tyres, and a good scrub-down to prepare it for the bodywork.

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See you on the 20th.

[Pete]

While the egg timer slowly runs out of sand before the next installment, we're running around amassing more bits to replace or fit to get the project car looking and running a lot better than it is at present. One such issue to resolve is the wheels, which as you will know by now was shod with steel wheels. In the grand scheme of things this is quite an irrelevant tale, but it serves to show how you can save money and get a great end result if you take a few minutes to shop around and ask the right folk.

After being alerted by David Spriggs to a parts supplier selling off brand new steel wheels for just £15 each, he was most kind to fetch 3 of them and hand them over to Lates with a spare he had lying around, where they were scooped up last weekend for some tyres. A search on the bay of fleas came up with a company selling a set of part-worn Contintental Premium Contacts for £80. These are close to the Eco Contacts that the car would have worn originally (I like these sort of details ;) ), and they were ordered and fitted on Wednesday.

And here they are.
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Did I say they are part-worn? To the extent that 2 of them rolled about 100 yards if that! The remaining two can't have done more than a thousand miles, they are that good. So, at long last we'll no longer have different alloys on the project car and S525 will continue to look better and better.

[Pete]

Unfortunately, Pete - Lates' spanner-wielding partner in mechncial magic - is still recuperating from an operation and so we have had to delay the next installment. Best wishes to Pete and hope he has a full and speedy recovery.

With this in mind I thought I would let you know about what's coming up in the project. Earlier this week I popped over to XPart's head offices in Desford to pick up a service kit from the ever helpful and patient Liz, and also over over to see Corin to collect a couple of items he has generously donated. finally, lots of bits are being repaired and cleaned ahead of being refitted, such as the interior light console, which had been rather clumsily wrenched from its fixings, snapping the locating lugs in the process. So there's lots of bits all ready to be put on the 75 and it will be steadily returning to its original specification.

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While I was working away I also had delivered a parcel from Bilt Hamber Laboratories, who make excellent products in the ongoing fight we all have in removing and protecting parts from corrosion. Although the 75 and ZT range are pretty hardy vehicles and rust is not a major issue at present, some examples are starting to show the effects of the tinworm and we think you'll find the next instalments on how to deal with this problem will be incredibly useful. Bilt Hamber is very highly regarded in this area, and we are delighted to be using their range as we think it will be a big help in keeping S525 away from the welder's torch for a good few years.

[Pete]

And so we head into August, with a long list of jobs to do and pretty much all the spares to get them sorted. Sunday morning duly arrived and with it the opportunity to take a major step forward towards S525 passing a MoT test. A car loaded to the gunwhales with bits, wheels and kit to get cracking, boxes containing more presents to compliment the delivery already at the workshop, and a grim determination that today was going to see this car burst into life and get ready for the road.

S525, evidently enjoying its well-deserved rest, had other ideas.

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Making a start; the wheels are finally replaced for OEM steelies

Bang on 10am we approached her in earnest and, shorn of it battery, stood behind it to push the pre-production 75 into the workshop. Except it wouldn’t budge, largely due to the flat rear tyre on the rear nearside. A more committed shove eventually had it creeping forward and down the gentle slope to meet the trolley jack and axle stands. Within five minutes the mix n’ match alloys were off and the original-spec steelies, wearing Continental tyres, were filling the arches. Just doing this was a significant item ticked off the list; for too long the car has had to put up with incorrect round bits, and while the bare black steel wheels may look a tad functional, just getting them out of storage and into action was a relief. But that was the simplest job of the day, with much more to come.

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Pete and Lates get their heads around what to do next
(above right)Good timing: the covers are off and time to change the belts

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Out with the old - coolant being drained
(above right) new belts ready to be installed following new tensioner, water pump and alternator

First big job of the day was to complete a major service interval, requiring new belts, fluids and plugs. This would be joined by installing a new alternator – the old one had suffered a huge crack in its casing and is scrap – along with plugging in a new IPK courtesy of XPart. Plugs straight in, timing cover off, sump plug undone, filter unscrewed and bottom hose unclipped, things were beginning to move apace. The new alternator demanded a small amount of fettling to the upper bracket, but that and the belts soon slotted into their new homes and Castol Magnatec flowing down the oilways with fresh OAT following suit - I’ve seen it used several times now but the vacumn tool still fascinates me. With the service completed the battery was hooked up and three seconds churning saw the engine cough, then purr into life, the cam followers rapidly taking up the hydraulic slack and the K series unit settling down into a quiet, rhythmic idle.


When you consider the life this car has had, and indeed the level of abuse thrown at it from being a factory hack, the engine is in excellent health. Actually, forget all that, the engine is in superb health anyway, with both Lates and Pete commenting that it sounds the smoothest one they can remember. A pity then that the bay in which it sits looks so awful, but that’s just a cosmetic thing and thirty minutes with a power washer will see the underbonnet in Arran white rather than the grey dust and muck it presently displays.

For a short interlude the passenger front door card was whipped off for the replacement to be slotted on. Not difficult job, but the leading edge clips decided to not locate and so it was flapping around – it will be coming off soon again in any case so for appearances we left it as it was. More important was the instrument pack, which you will recall was a later ZT item the rest of the car plainly didn’t want to know. Out of the brown box it came and the plugs duly connected before testbook was hooked up and the install began. And in just a minute decided it was still not happy and really didn’t want to play. The issue now lies with the Light Switch Module, which we now realised was also not original, and will have to be replaced by a new one. So the instrument pack was disconnected and put back in its box for the next session in a fortnight’s time.

Although we were evidently not going to progress quite as far as we hoped there was still time to do a couple more things, one of them being to give it a short test drive on the private lane available, and this pointed out two things to us. First, the car is very quiet and surprisingly nippy, partly due to the new rubber and the absence of heavy, power-sapping air conditioning and electrical toys such as the rear window motors. Okay, the car doesn’t exactly leap off the line in the thunderous manner of a ZT260, but it certainly moves away quite smartly – which immediately showed up a failed top engine mount from the rather dramatic bang as the engine rocked backwards under load. An easy fix thankfully, and will be done asap. But overall the new springs and correct wheel/tyre combination really do transform the car and it feels planted yet light, giving the driver a lot of confidence very quickly. The great thing to report is that S525 now starts, stops, steers and literally glides along, and that the mechanical issues are – bar the IPK and engine mount – now all resolved. It really does feel like the 100,000 miles it has so far put under its wheels were little more than a stroll round the block and there’s loads more life in it yet.

http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa302/r75pete/S525OVP/S525010806.jpg
90 minutes of wiping down and a session with the mop got rid of the grime and old paint. Now it just needs a wash....

If only the same could be said of the bodywork. We knew it would need some quite detailed work before it could face a spraygun, such is the number of dents and scrapes it has accumulated. But we have so far not been completely sure just how much work was really needed, and to get a definitive list together meant a the car had to be given a wash and mop down. As there is little point in being fussy at this stage a nylon bristled brush went inside the chrome trim and all the shutlines to remove the algae and hardened dirt, followed by a slightly diluted spray of engine cleaner and a wipe down to get the grime and muck off the car. With the worst of the Longbridge film now removed, it was time to get the T-Cut and the mop out for a session. The intention was to get rid of the inevitable fade the colour was hiding under, as well as remove the adhesive from the security markings and give us a much better idea in spotting what might be rust, a dent or just some limpet-like tar hanging on for dear life. One bucket of soapy water to remove all the resulting muck later and we finally had a car we could go over properly. Under the rather off-putting grey-white exterior the paint was in quite good condition. The car had not, contrary to earlier belief, been sprayed before in another shade of white – it was purely the amount of fade in the top coat that made it look so much darker, and the mopping had brought it back to life, matching up with the coat exposed from the careless removal of the security decals. Those markings have in fact proved to be a real annoyance as their application and subsequent removal using razor blades has left the bodywork scarred with tramlines, effectively forcing the decision to go for a new coat of paint in the future.

So the list for chapter one of the refurb is finally drawing to a close. The outstanding tasks to have the car ready for the MoT are:

New LSM & code IPK
New top engine mount
Fit new front indicator housings
Refit rear high-level brake light
Replace grille
Replace steering wheel
New pedal rubbers
Refit rear plinth


So we’ll set a deadline for the car to have its ticket before the end of August – that allows for rectifying any other issues that crop up – and get ready for the next two stages; the interior and the bodywork. We know one thing for certain though – this car is putting up a good fight!

http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa302/r75pete/S525OVP/S525010807.jpg http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa302/r75pete/S525OVP/S525010808.jpg
Looking better and better, S525 actually has a bit of a shine about it. Now it looks half-decent and runs sweetly, thanks to the magic of Lates.

[Pete]

August. Not perhaps one of the most memorable months to have occurred, mainly down to the miserable weather, but at least we can now say that S525 is ready for taking through the MoT. Oh yes, it’s now got the all-important bits installed and working. Joy, and even, of joys!

Another Sunday morning, grey and a bit windy, and over to Lates to hopefully overcome some critical hurdles. You may remember from the last instalment that we were unable to get the instrument pack installed as the light switch module was shaking it’s head at, well, everything. It meant sourcing a new one – and due to the spec of the car, the basic version as well – but as ever Liz at XPart came up trumps and had one waiting for us. At the same time we got a new top engine steady as we knew the original was shot, and fingers crossed that would cure the rather loud bang every time the car moved off.

Changing the upper engine steady mounting is a doddle really; just three bolts hold it to the inner wing and two secure it to the rest of the assembly. A fifth bolt, hidden roud the corner, is for locating the mounting so it just needs to be slackened off. With the old out the way – and looking even worse than we thought – the new one went in and the engine felt immediately far more rigidly secured to the car. Well, I thought so.
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa302/r75pete/S525OVP/s525v3_02.jpg

http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa302/r75pete/S525OVP/s525v3_03.jpg

A test drive confirmed that the loud bang was now a rather quieter, but nonetheless still very audible thump, which pointed to the bottom mounting being the most likely culprit. Thankfully Lates had a spare old one on the shelf in excellent condition, and with the car on stands it was quickly installed. The original one was absolutely wrecked, with the centre pin detached from the voidal rubber casing, and it must be down to the low speed driving the car endured round the factory, having to constantly accelerate and then brake while doing the rounds. It’s great to report though that there appears to be no knock-on damage visible, and now the car drives extremely well. We’ll come back to that later.

http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa302/r75pete/S525OVP/s525v3_04.jpg

That was the first easy job, now for the second and third and fourth. The centre rear brake light was hanging by its cable in the rear window, which was a common fault with the early models, but some two-pack clear adhesive soon fixed that problem. The MG gearshift was removed and the correct 75 version put in place. And finally, the number plates were taped into position. At long last, it was actually starting to look like a road legal car again.

http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa302/r75pete/S525OVP/s525v3_01.jpg

http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa302/r75pete/S525OVP/s525v3_05.jpg

While the easy stuff was being sorted (which is about my level), Lates and Pete got on with the big issue of the day. The new instrument pack was once again connected along with the new LSM and testbook fired up. Some anxious seconds passed as it started to cycle through before, and with a big sigh of relief, getting everything to shake hands. The diagnostics ran merrily along, checking lights and switches before confirming that it was pretty much all fine and dandy. Apart from minor items such as the exterior temperature sensor the electronics appear to be happy bunnies. We have got an idea to try something a little later one, which closer to the time we’ll let you know about, but for now the car starts, stops, steers, and generally works fine. A small run up and down a private track showed the car felt positive and sprightly, as well as very smooth. There’s a lot to be said for having a low-spec car as they tend to be very good to dive, sometimes better than bigger engined siblings as the lower weight and simpler set-up can make for a nicer experience. Having said that, I couldn’t live without heated seats these days. Or air-conditioning. Or heated power mirrors. Or driving lamps. Or a lot of other toys too.


Leaving the car to tick over for a while it was immediately apparent that S525 is also eerily quiet, with it difficult to tell if the car is ticking over from as little as five yards. Put that down in part due to the lack of so many bits whirring away and needing to be kept cool; the fan cut in eventually but the gauge never veered from a rock-steady horizontal position. So we can add having what seems to be a very healthy K-Series under the bonnet to the new parts gracing S525.

And it’s here that we can begin to look forward to the next stage of the refurbishment of S525. Mechanically it may be bang on the button, but cosmetically it’s not nice at all and needs a concerted effort to bring it back to as it left the production line twelve years ago. We’re fortunate that the issues are all relatively superficial but that also means we do need to start to plan out the bodywork, and that means we need a team to get cracking. On that basis we’ll be making an announcement on the formation of a group focused on bringing – and keeping – S525 to its former glory. But for now, I hope you enjoyed the little mini-series thus far. Not that this is the end of course, no sirree. Not even the end of the beginning, or the beginning of the end, or even the end of the beginning of the end, or the beginning of the end of the beginning, or even..... blimey, you know what I mean!

[Christopher]

Just a quick update on progress on this car. I spent some time with Lates today going over what is left to be done.

It appears that most, if not all, the "mechanicals" have been done and it should not take much to get her ready for an MOT. I will be buying a few bits and pieces for her now to hopefully get her to a MOT ready state. And will spend some time there with Lates/Pete to do all the last minute things. After that she will need a lot of care and attention to restore body parts, trim and bodywork to get her back to her former glory.

My thanks go out to Lates and Pete for their help in getting the car this far and for allowing her to be stored over there - I will also be paying him any outstanding payments because he has done this all off his own bat at this stage. Once the next phase is over I will be moving her to see if we can get the trim etc done.

I will update as and when I can.

Best

[Christopher]

Further to the above, in the next week I aim to:

- buy battery and install
- buy spare lamps and replace as necessary
- buy wiper blades and fit
- buy front and rear number plates and fit

- source number plate bulb circuitry and fit
- install the boot handle and wire up
- try and fix rear door card
- source steering wheel and airbag and fit
- source front indicators and fit
- fit front bumper


If the above is done - and it can be comfortably done in an afternoon (assuming no problems) - the car can go for an MOT ...

Of the above is the bits in red I think I need help sourcing please - any suggestions gratefully received.

Best

[pab]

After discussions with the team about my desire to take this project one step further,
we had a meeting with the club's director and several moderators in Warwickshire over the weekend.
After discussing the plans at the meeting, we decided to go over to Lates garage
just outside Rugby to take a look at the car first hand.


http://i630.photobucket.com/albums/uu22/pab17964/P6260071.jpg~original

http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn105/reebspics/ovp1.jpg~original

Having arrived at the garage the old girl was parked towards the front of the unit,
looking at each other we walked towards the car, opened the bonnet and turned the key..
to our amazement she started first time..


http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn105/reebspics/ovp2.jpg~original

http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn105/reebspics/ovp3.jpg~original

http://i630.photobucket.com/albums/uu22/pab17964/P6260072.jpg~original

http://i630.photobucket.com/albums/uu22/pab17964/P6260073-1.jpg~original

http://i630.photobucket.com/albums/uu22/pab17964/P6260075.jpg~original

Lates has completed all the mechanical work on the car and says that it is to MOT standard.

http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn105/reebspics/ovp4.jpg~original

All that is required is an outside temperature sensor and loom, as well as a front indicator lamp,
which are very kindly being donated by Corin Messenger.

Looking at the interior of the car, we noticed certain parts
had already been fitted thanks to past donations from members.

http://i630.photobucket.com/albums/uu22/pab17964/P6260076.jpg~original

http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn105/reebspics/ovp5.jpg~original

We have a smokestone steering wheel, and matching airbag cover to replace the black MG ones.

The old ZT IPK and LSM modules that had been retro fitted and gave out so many
error messages have been replaced by the genuine low line Rover instrument pack.

http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn105/reebspics/ovp6.jpg~original


and now apart from the missing airbag and outside temperature sensor,
it is ready to have its mileage resumed, as soon as it's driven.


http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn105/reebspics/ovp7.jpg~original


The car does have some interesting oddities too, a rare optional extra
fire extinguisher under the passenger front seat

http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn105/reebspics/ovp9.jpg~original

A printed label hidden in the glove box which reads "cauton rear strobes work on reds
only when f strobes are off", obviously harking back to its days as an ambulance.

http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn105/reebspics/ovp10.jpg~original


A good carpet shampoo and some pedal rubbers are required

http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn105/reebspics/ovp11.jpg~original

The high level brake light is adrift

http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn105/reebspics/ovp12.jpg~original

The MG gear knob has now been replaced with an original Rover one,
but curiously there isn't a driver’s side cup holder.

http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn105/reebspics/ovp15.jpg~original

We also noticed that the driver’s door stay isn't working,
so the door just keeps swinging shut.

http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn105/reebspics/ovp16.jpg~original

On a positive note, although the car is a Classic trim specification,
it actually has Club seats fitted with speckled velour,
fold-down action and rear cup holders.

http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn105/reebspics/ovp13.jpg~original

http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn105/reebspics/ovp14.jpg~original

and the upholstery and roof lining are all in very good condition.

Sadly, the car's exterior is where much TLC needs to be given,
with scratches, rust and lacquer missing in several places.

http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn105/reebspics/ovp20.jpg~original

http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn105/reebspics/ovp22.jpg~original

http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn105/reebspics/ovp21.jpg~original

The roof rails have some additional holes drilled in them

http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn105/reebspics/ovp18.jpg~original

and the d post rover badge trim has been MG'd up, but that's an easy fix.

http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn105/reebspics/ovp19.jpg~original

There are boxes of spares kindly donated to replace things with,
including a set of bullet wing mirrors to replace the skull caps -
although we'll need to acquire / paint some Arran White covers

http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn105/reebspics/ovp23.jpg~original

http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn105/reebspics/ovp17.jpg~original

But the car still has its MG Rover group number plates

http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn105/reebspics/ovp25.jpg~original

Now to the future...onwards and upwards as it nudges ever closer
to its much needed restoration.

http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn105/reebspics/ovp26.jpg~original

[pab]

After Lates had enjoyed long summer holiday to Egypt, we have been back in touch about the project. For the MOT test a number of items were required so I had them sent down to his premises.

Lates gave the car a pre MOT and advised me that the rear brake pipes were badly corroded and needed replacing, for this job the fuel tank had to be removed..



http://i630.photobucket.com/albums/uu22/pab17964/b94a717c.jpg~original

Which reveals the full extent of the job.



http://i630.photobucket.com/albums/uu22/pab17964/98946524.jpg~original

The lower rear wish bone bushes were replaced, to keep the costs down non OE components were used.



http://i630.photobucket.com/albums/uu22/pab17964/08aafbb1.jpg~original

With the front bumper loom and indicators fitted, the car was loaded, unconventionally, onto a trailer



http://i630.photobucket.com/albums/uu22/pab17964/f60b74eb.jpg~original

Ready to be taken for the test in the week.



http://i630.photobucket.com/albums/uu22/pab17964/40016eaa.jpg~original

[pab]

On Sunday morning having taken a few hours off from the club stand at the NEC, I made my way over to Dunchurch to meet up with Christopher.After a discussion the previous afternoon we decided to move the car to his house.

As previously stated the car now has a current MOT and the rest of the documentation is in order.

The car was ready and waiting for our arrival having had a telephone conversation with Lates on Saturday evening..



https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585bf0a3c6c1cdc.jpg


With Christopher behind the wheel I followed behind to make sure that everything went well,this is the first time the car has been on the open road under it's own steam in such a long time..and she looked quite at home on the open road.


https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585bf0a3c70ee03.jpg


The next stop is the body shop..

[pab]

Well she made her way to the National, albeit on a low loader. Many thanks to CDTi for the wheel trims and to Mofo for the fog light blanking covers.


https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585bf0a1a18330c.jpg

[pab]

The car is suffering from fuel starvation, she will start and can be driven gently, but under acceleration she will cut, and become very difficult to start.

Andi Willi managed to get into the car with his Delphi Diagnostic equipment and discovered a few old fault codes which he printed off. Interrogating the car again nothing out of the ordinary showed up to concern us with the problem.


https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585bf0a1a1b6d1b.jpg


https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585bf0a1a1eb1ef.jpg


The previous evening Sworks and myself discussed the issue and agreed that the fuel pump and possibly the filter could be the issue. The car had been stood for a great length of time with water in the fuel tank, which has probably damaged the pump.

Also during the course of the cars life it will have been topped up with gerry cans containing contaminated fuel, so the filter could be clogged.

The plan is to source a good second hand tank containing the pump and filter, which will be the easiest and cheapest option.

[Reebs]

The poor running issue (which caused it to arrive on a trailer for the National) has been fixed as of last Tuesday.

The fuel tank had a gallon of mud and rubbish in there so Christopher tells us, the fuel filter was on the verge of collapse so a replacement tank/pump/filter combo has been put in and the old fuel for the most part discarded as it was so contaminated. It ticks over and pulls fine now and Christopher has taken it for a good run to road test it.

The car is taxed and insured so not on retention as such. What it needs now is a bodyshop quote or two. Cleaning and cosmetic refurb now required as I understand it.

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585bf0a1a2192c7.jpg

[Reebs]

Christopher sent through some pictures of the work he has been doing in cleaning the interior up by the way.

The inside was filthy to use his words, so required a strip down of the centre console area and removal of the door cards.

Before:

http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn105/reebspics/a18d38d5.jpg~original

During:

http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn105/reebspics/e5ba0000.jpg~original

http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn105/reebspics/ad031837.jpg~original

The black MG steering wheel has now been replaced with a light smokestone Rover one and a smokestone airbag is on its way up from Bexhill On Sea courtesy of Seancar :bowdown:

http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn105/reebspics/44acae8e.jpg~original

http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn105/reebspics/c0150476.jpg~original

After:

http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn105/reebspics/b9ea8307.jpg~original

There are new carpets on the way too, as the ones in the car are beyond repair. The seats will be removed when the carpets go in and they too will get a thorough clean.

[Christopher]

To add to Paul's update I have also repaired the following:

- Fitted the door cards properly
- properly wired in the mirrors as they we non adjusting and unheated (bullets to be fitted when backs are sourced)
- fitted driver door stay
- tightened loose bits on the inside everywhere
- removed dangling 3rd brake light, cleaned up and now need sticky taope to affix to rear window

Faults that need to be looked at:
- SRS warning is on (could be seats will check when they come out when new carpet arrives)
- fuel gauge is reading EMPTY all the time and temp is -30deg out side! These two were a recent fault and happened together - last week in fact so had no time to diagnose (Was in New York until yesterday!)
- knocking at engine firewall at low revs (goes away at higher revs)
- click-clicking when steering at full steering lock

Cleaning yet to do:
- complete engine bay clean
- refit carpets
remove and clean all seats and refit
- remove rear doorcards, clean and refit

Apart from that she drives quite well - however the carpets have NEVER been cleaned and they stink to high heaven, I did a bit to make it drive-able but the sooner they are changed the better!

Cheers

- boot area - entire remove, clean and refit

[Reebs]

OK, high time we updated everyone with the rather laboured :o progress of the restoration of our unique club car. So lets get cracking.....


With the major mechanical and oily bits now sorted, and a series of MoT tickets awarded to her in the intervening years, OVP spent a rather relaxed period with Christopher while he periodically stretched her legs and tinkered here and there with the car which included sourcing an original and similarly aged Arran White front bumper to replace the stop gap later Wedgwood Blue one we had, but with his work calling him abroad a great deal of the time the project stalled somewhat and OVP's paint finish still needed addressing of course.

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585befdaa4a5c93.jpg

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585befdaa4e4ce7.jpg

Also, someone had decided to liberate the rear nearside steel wheel trim which was nice of them...NOT.


With the knowledge that this car was approaching it's 20th Birthday in November 2018, and that we were going to have another stand at the NEC that year, it seemed a good opportunity to show the car off to the public if at all possible, so it was arranged that it would travel down South where I and others could spend some time preparing it for its regeneration.

First and foremost, OVP only ever had one key given to us from the Longbridge plant, so a trip to forum trader cb750chris in Fareham was a top priority.

He was able to supply a fob and immobilisation chip, cut the new blade and program it to the vehicle. Whilst doing this he did of course have to access the car's EWS engine immobiliser ECU and he soon discovered that through a water leak many moons ago, the board and pinouts had become corroded

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585bf1366853e37.jpg

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585bf13668e1c25.jpg

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585bf136692353f.jpg

This would account for the random issue OVP suffered from when sometimes the key fob would lock the doors and sometimes it would not, and the only way to secure the car would be by manually central locking it from the inside then opening the drivers door, getting out and locking that from the outside using the key in the lock :duh:

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585bf13668a16d7.jpg

So once the contacts from the car's plug had been cleaned up, Chris produced a replacement ECU which he magically coded to the car and 'hey presto', a brand new key and 100% functioning locking system were restored.

It just so happened that Chris had on his drive, another 75 classic trim vehicle which had seen better days and I asked if I could take a look inside.

One of the oddities of OVP is that over the years at Cowley & Longbridge, it had been subject to random original bits being taken off and then later replaced with whatever was to hand, and the car was littered with examples of this, including the drivers door window switch pack which although correct in being for front windows only, was wrong in that it had the later mottled finish, not the original smooth design. This meant it didn't match with the panels on the other three doors.

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585befdb0bcf02f.jpg

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585bf13d0ba6cb4.jpg
Later mottled finish switch pack found on OVP (notice bent pins too)


https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585bf13d0be1b36.jpg
Earlier smooth finish switch pack - from donor Classic car

So after a bit of negotiation, a direct swap was agreed upon :D, Chris also let us swap the passenger side sun visor over. OVP had a vinyl covered one, where it should have been fabric. Both of course not having illuminated surrounds as this is a base spec car.

A huge shout out and big thank you goes to cb750chris who worked wonders that rainy Sunday, he's a top bloke and can't come more highly recommended. :bowdown:

[Reebs]

Time to address a rather holey problem. As can be seen from this screen grab, part of OVPs career was as a police car appearing in various television dramas and as such needed to have a set of 'Blues and Twos' added.

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585bf050258f1cd.jpg

However, when the time came to return it to Longbridge as an on site ambulance and security car, they were removed, but no thought was given to plugging the holes :eek:

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585bf014cd6c821.jpg

The car had two holes on the passenger side, and three on the drivers, the middle one for the wiring.

Our initial thought was to simply acquire the standard plastic studs used on all saloons for the optional roof bar mountings, but as these holes were drilled in a non standard adhoc fashion, the studs were far too big and wouldn't fit.

The solution came from elsewhere on the car, we finally managed to find an exact size fit using the black plastic fir tree clips that fasten the carpet edges to the door sills.

Though, curiously with OVP, these were not present, instead all four doors had their carpet edges secured by philips screws :shrug:

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585bf146bc3a379.jpg

Anyway, after a raiding party at the local breakers, said fir tree clips were obtained and finally fitted to plug the holes. The larger centre hole for the wiring harness, did in fact fit using a standard roof plug BTW

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585bf014cdac939.jpg

Next it was time to address the interior and the first thing to do was reinstate it's Rover looks, over the MG appearance it had been given.

A light smokestone airbag was fitted to the now matching steering wheel and the ZT gear knob and handbrake grip and gaitor were replaced with the correct Rover ones.

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585beeecc23b795.jpg
Before as an MG


https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585beeecc277d92.jpg
After, back as a Rover

Next a thorough deep clean of the carpets and seat covers using a wet carpet cleaner, detergent, elbow grease and a fair amount of Febreeze, to make it smell better. New pedal rubbers were fitted too.

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585befdaa521ed9.jpg
Before

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585bf014ccad016.jpg

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585bf014cd29cb2.jpg

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585bf014cce357b.jpg
After

[Reebs]

The interior light cluster was ill fitting and the push buttons were very temperamental, sometimes working and other times not having any of it, so we investigated and discovered that the plastic mounting screw brackets of the cluster had broken at some point in the past and been glued back, rather badly. The metal conductor tracks had signs of corrosion on them too, leading to the temperamental behavior, so a light smokestone replacement assembly was substituted and the problems eliminated.

While off however, we noticed an additional set of wires running into the cluster, thick orange cables with a multi pin connector on the end

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585bf16cb959b2b.jpg

I asked Trikey about these at the NEC show and he was convinced they were for a built in car phone.

There was also another white multi pin connector present, perhaps for the activation of the Blue Police lights?

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585bf16cb9ad08f.jpg

The driver's door internal pull handle was loose and the chrome surround was hanging off, coupled with the fact that both the driver's and rear off side door were missing their door lock pins meant the cards had to come off.

Once again a trip to the friendly neighbourhood breakers yard, this time accompanied by forum member SD1too proved fruitful as a replacement door pull, and two locking pins complete with the important green plastic clip needed to secure them into the door lock assembly were obtained.

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585bf17453a2e38.jpg

and with Simon's help soon both door cards were back on and working properly again.

Another job that needed doing was to replace both front door internal door rubbers as both had been damaged by the seat belt buckle getting trapped in the door shut when folk got out too quickly.

As it's an early car, we needed to replace them with the velour fabric finished ones, not the all rubber versions of later cars, and here's a top tip if you didn't already know, the front door rubbers are not 'handed', so you can fit a driver's or passenger's one to either side of the car.

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585bf179fbd3f59.jpg

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585bf179fb90397.jpg

I should also mention that while the car would have originally had a driver's side cup holder fitted, it would have been one of the first things to get swiped while at the Longbridge plant as a company vehicle. But with the assistance of forum trader Mickyboy, we were able to reinstate one back into the car along with some other pieces of damaged exterior trim that it badly needed and a driver's side carpeted heater closure panel for the footwell, so another shout out here to a forum trader; Mickyboy thanks for coming up trumps for the club :bowdown:

[Reebs]

Time to turn our attention to the engine bay. As you can see, it was rather dusty and tired looking

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585befdaa5cf481.jpg

So who better to call upon than forum member Teflon and his excellent skills with a polishing mitt. :cool:

Cliff came over on two separate occasions and got to work straight away on all of the black plastic components, pipe work, and metal surfaces. His fine brushes and detailing experience working wonders on the 1.8 NA power plant, I've never seen a man happier in his work.

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585befdaa5f37d1.jpg

One thing we both agreed on was that there is plenty of space to work in, on these 1.8 engines, in stark contrast to the BMW M47R or Rover KV6 derivatives.

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585bf29e3ed2f47.jpg

Slowly but surely the transformation started as a beautiful swan began to emerge from an ugly duckling (OK, a bit of artistic licence there :o )

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585befdaa555033.jpg

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585bf29e3e5a131.jpg

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585bf29e3e9c5c0.jpg


One thing you might notice now you can see it from under the grime, is that on the earlier cars the battery strap retaining bolt is huge. It's long enough to stretch right up to the top of the battery box lid, which makes it so much easier to tighten and loosen than the later type that as we all know has to be dropped down to the base of the battery box floor in order to do up. It's a shame they didn't retain this original design.

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585befdaa5949d4.jpg

Also, worth noting is the fact that the coolant expansion tank is not black plastic as was the case for many of the early cars, we don't know if this was replaced at some point with a later cream tank, or whether it was original to the car. :shrug:

[Reebs]

Back to the bodywork and trim and as part of MG Motor UK's mission to convert the car into a ZT, the D pillar Rover badges had been replaced with MG generic ones, so we lost no time in sourcing the originals to put back on the car (and notice in the pictures the terrible Stanley knife cut lines in the paint work which had allowed the dreaded tin worm to establish itself)

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585bf29e3e1d320.jpg

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585bf29e3dc2786.jpg

Back in 2012, we were lucky enough to obtain a set of plastic steel wheel hub caps for the car kindly donated by club member CDTi. The majority of 75s were produced with alloy wheels not steel ones, so these trims are exceedingly rare and we were grateful to get the ones we did, even if they did have the later facelift Rover badges on them.

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585bf29e3f04c92.jpg

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585bf29e3f28344.jpg

But the purist in me got the better of me, so while hunting for a replacement for the missing hub cap from the nearside rear wheel, I began measuring the centre badges and discovered that they are exactly the same size as the replacement boot plinth badges for the Longbridge built Mk 1 saloons i.e. DAB000100

http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn105/reebspics/IMG_0338.jpg~original


So a few ebay clicks later and we were in business, another job sorted :cool:

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585bf29e3f5e3c2.jpg

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585bf29e3f92784.jpg

[Reebs]

Let's take a closer look at the bodywork of OVP. As said, the vehicle was used for filming dressed as a police car by MG Rover and when the time came to remove the reflective decals, no care was taken to protect the paint finish, a Stanley knife was used to cut the police stickers to size and when peeled off, along came clumps of lacquer. The result was that nearly every body panel was damaged and had gone rusty as a result. Take a look......

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585b106452f2f25.jpg

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585bf2b04b561cd.jpg

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585bf2b0c2a6a01.jpg

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585b105aac74a20.jpg

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585b105aac4b22b.jpg

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585beeeb4335cfc.jpg

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585beeeb42e945e.jpg

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585beef3ee5e47c.jpg

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585beef3edc75d3.jpg
Here you can see that the wrong piece of waist trim has been fitted to the left of the door handle, it's from the other side of the car :duh:

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585beef3ee1de22.jpg
Wot, no lacquer :eek:

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585befdb0b7c84a.jpg
Skull cap mirrors painted in Dover White - the wrong colour for the car, and the wrong mirror shape for the era :duh:

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585bf2b16ccbb82.jpg

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585bf2b25ac482d.jpg
Note the delaminated number plate

http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn105/reebspics/ovp22.jpg~original

http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn105/reebspics/ovp21.jpg~original

Time to get ready for the body shop at last.............

[Reebs]

As with any body shop work, you know it's going to cost as it's a highly specialised process if done properly, so to help manage costs, it was a good idea to remove as much of the trim ourselves as practical, still leaving enough of the cars functionality to physically drive it to the body shop.

So began the big strip

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585bf2f95836b85.jpg

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585bf2f95881161.jpg

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585bf2f958c19f6.jpg

The muck and grime of twenty years was evident underneath, as was this tiny sliver of Police Car Battenburg :cool:

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585bf2f9590c770.jpg

Oh and those black trim clips cost a fortune now on ebay, its a pity they are single use only.


Daryl Parker who runs Prestige Paint Hampshire, is a master craftsman and embraced OVP with open arms, we explained its heritage and the fact that we wanted it for show at the NEC Classic Motor Show, and away he went.

I must apologise at this point if my description of the restoration process isn't as accurate or detailed as it should be, Daryl did explain as he went, but it's hard to remember every detail. I'm sure there are some body shop professionals in the club who would know exactly what he was up to, but I'll give it my best shot....

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585beee8466e7f9.jpg

Firstly, every panel had to be marked up showing the locations of damage and defects to be rectified.

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585beee847a8f47.jpg

At this stage all the doors, bonnet and bumper are removed

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585beee6df7db22.jpg

Next, rust patches needed rubbing down to bare metal, and any holes welded to fill them in

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585b1064531ef41.jpg

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585b1064533cd06.jpg

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585b106453588ff.jpg

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585b10645374dc1.jpg

Then filler material is applied to build up the profile of each panel once more

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585b106453a2f72.jpg

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585beee6dfbb33f.jpg

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585beee6e178c8d.jpg

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585beee84770af9.jpg

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585beee846e753f.jpg

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585beee6e07db73.jpg

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585beee84731953.jpg

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585beee6e005d5a.jpg

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585beee6df38f24.jpg

As you can see, it wasn't just the exterior panels that had rusted, the inside of the boot lid where the hinge was attached had been badly affected too

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585beee8462ff01.jpg

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585beee846ab5e6.jpg

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585beee845e41e5.jpg

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585beee87360bd0.jpg

Then after a good rub down and masking up, the panels are sprayed in primer as a base for the fresh paint to adhere to

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585beee6e0bb386.jpg

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585beee845a151b.jpg

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585beee873234f0.jpg

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585beee6e141e71.jpg

Before a base coat of Arran White (AKA Old English) paint is applied

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585beee847cdfce.jpg

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585beee872d6ccd.jpg

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585beee6e101767.jpg

The rear wheel arch had been badly dented and creased, so would need additional work

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585b105aac74a20.jpg

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585b105aac905ad.jpg

Here, Daryl had to use a stud welder to attach loads of small pins to the crease line, which he could then gently pull on, one by one, using the tool pictured until the panel popped back out.

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585b105aacaacd0.jpg

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585b105aacc6ae2.jpg

Then, again it was a process of filing down and applying filler

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585b105aace2f57.jpg

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585b1060bcde066.jpg

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585b105aad0ab95.jpg

You can see why it takes the man hours it does, and the end result looked something like this when we went to collect the old girl.

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585bf3f8c8ecce6.jpg

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585bf3f8c95aeb1.jpg

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585bf3f8c993fce.jpg

[Reebs]

So the final piece of the puzzle was to 'bling' the car up again with all its bright work.

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585bf406f9455b4.jpg

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585bf406f99457b.jpg

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585bf406fad00f3.jpg
Had to acquire that missing little bit of trim from forum trader Mickyboy, as well as a couple of other bits from
member KeithA :bowdown:

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585bf406f9d5897.jpg

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585bf406fa1c980.jpg

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585bf406fa5d753.jpg
Managed to find a brand new never used boot lid badge on ebay :cool:

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585bf406fa9132e.jpg
Nice couple of numbers too, I drew a stencil from my own car for reference of where to place them on OVP

Teflon came over once again to refresh the engine bay as it had become rather dusty after the paint shop work, and he even got his polisher out to do the headlamps

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585bf41e7544c12.jpg

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585bf41e7587a38.jpg

Then a quick trip to the forecourt to fill her up for the journey to a rather special show in Birmingham

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585bf41e75ca273.jpg
Notice the correct bullet type door mirrors with Arran White covers now on the car too

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585bf41e760e730.jpg


And show day arrives, Hall 4 of the NEC for the Classic Motor Show 2018

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585bf41e1a38d8c.jpg
Notice on the video screen behind, footage of OVP as a police car in 'New Tricks' a BBC1 drama

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585bf41e1a6ad70.jpg

Finally, the crowning glory and the end of her epic journey, reunited with her creator Mr Richard Woolley no less

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585bf41e1aa554a.jpg

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/9585bf41e1ad6fdb.jpg

Long live OVP The Rover 75 & MG ZT Owners Club Car, born 25th November 1998 :driving:



This thread will be kept closed for neatness, please use the following thread to post any comments
:smilie_re: S525 OVP - Restoration Comments Thread (https://the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?p=2688369)