[RoverDan]

Overly harsh, IMHO, and singling the R75 out for typical faults of any 10 year old car.

We have a 52 plate Fiesta (nicknamed "the Fester" due to the damp smell) on which I've finally resolving a persistent but niggling leak through the rear lights. The final(?) fix was to soak and scrub the foam seals, dry them, clean the body and light units first with soapy water then panel wipe to remove any traces of dirt, then liberally grease the seals with red rubber grease before re-assembling. The simple fact was that the 10+ year old foam seals around the lights were failing due to having been compressed in situ for so long, compounded with much fine grit/dirt having worked its way into them over the years. Not a Ford issue, or a Rover issue, etc.

OP, do you have a dry garage to work in? That makes a huge difference (with any old car) especially for jobs like stripping out the interior and drying after leaks. Having an alternative motor can help at times too.