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.
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..
Lates has completed all the mechanical work on the car and says that it is to MOT standard.
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.
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error messages have been replaced by the genuine low line Rover instrument pack.
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.
The car does have some interesting oddities too, a rare optional extra
fire extinguisher under the passenger front seat
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.
A good carpet shampoo and some pedal rubbers are required
The high level brake light is adrift
The MG gear knob has now been replaced with an original Rover one,
but curiously there isn't a driver’s side cup holder.
We also noticed that the driver’s door stay isn't working,
so the door just keeps swinging shut.
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.
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.
The roof rails have some additional holes drilled in them
and the d post rover badge trim has been MG'd up, but that's an easy fix.
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
But the car still has its MG Rover group number plates
Now to the future...onwards and upwards as it nudges ever closer
to its much needed restoration.
