My little project...

Sebastienclement · 24th October 2019, 09:48

About 3 years ago I had settled in a new job and finally was able to start looking around for a suitable Rover 75 project again. At the time I was running a diesel connie SE which was lovely, but very much a workhorse as I was commuting a good 10 miles a day. Through another general car forum I'm a member of, an eBay advert was brought to my attention for a car located in Fleet. One owner from new who had been advised to give up driving. The car had been maintained throughout its life by the same mechanic, having set up a garage on his own after the disappearance of MG-Rover. I made a cheeky out-of-eBay offer to the seller, and eventually came to a reasonable agreement with him.

It is a Connoisseur SE (with walnut wheel / headlamp wash, too) sporting the 2.0v6 engine, automatic gearbox and finished in Damson Red. The car has a full service history with printouts / written invoices for every job ever carried out, including the full original bill of sale. I has never been driven for more than 5000 miles without a service / oil change in its life. The mileage when I bought the car was 103,592.

Over the past three years this has been my toy - living in a dry garage it has come out only on 'high days and dry days' and in the meantime I have had the opportunity to get stuck in myself with replacing some slightly worn interior items (driver's seat, gear knob, couple of loose kick panels) and my mechanic has had the time to get stuck in to the mechanical side of the car - it has spent significant time with him to do at his leisure as obviously it has not been my main car.

Starting to feel like after 3 years I'm finally making significant headway with this car, and it's getting to the point of very much being a 'rolling resto'.

Since buying the car it now stands me in at a grand total of £5809.45 - including the cost of purchasing the car. A brief recap of the work carried out is as follows:

Track Rod Ends
Front Top Mounts
Full (custom / stainless) Exhaust (inc cat)
OSF lower suspension arm + bushes
Aircon investigation / regass
Full timing belt kit / water pump / ancillaries
Auxiliary belt
Engine breather hoses / system
Replacement ECU
Gearbox fluid flush & change
Thermostat replacement
2x Rear coil springs
Wiper blades
OSR jacking point sill repair
Gearbox fluid flush & change
NSF lower suspension arm + bushes
Set of Goodyear tyres
Gearbox investigation / replacement of solenoid set
General servicing x3

This works out at an average of £264.07 per visit to the garage - relatively happy with that, although as I'm a total mechanical ignoramus, I do have suck up the hourly rate of my local MGR specialist (he's very worth it though!).

My attention really must turn towards the car's cosmetics next. Both front and rear bumpers are grotty in places - it looks like they've both had previous fibreglass repairs. Also some idiot wheeled a trolley into the rear quarter which has left a small dent, and there are some slightly unsightly scratches (although no dents) on the NSR door from the previous owner. From 10 yards away the car looks lovely, but when you're up close there's definitely things that could be improved.

Onwards and upwards!

upload

richw · 25th October 2019, 22:21

Wow, looks nice. It is probably still a bargain compared to a modern on PCP...

What was the deal with the gearbox?

24th October 2019, 09:48	#1
Sebastienclement Posted a thing or two Rover 75 Connoisseur SE Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: London Posts: 1,237 Thanks: 136 Thanked 160 Times in 85 Posts	My little project... About 3 years ago I had settled in a new job and finally was able to start looking around for a suitable Rover 75 project again. At the time I was running a diesel connie SE which was lovely, but very much a workhorse as I was commuting a good 10 miles a day. Through another general car forum I'm a member of, an eBay advert was brought to my attention for a car located in Fleet. One owner from new who had been advised to give up driving. The car had been maintained throughout its life by the same mechanic, having set up a garage on his own after the disappearance of MG-Rover. I made a cheeky out-of-eBay offer to the seller, and eventually came to a reasonable agreement with him. It is a Connoisseur SE (with walnut wheel / headlamp wash, too) sporting the 2.0v6 engine, automatic gearbox and finished in Damson Red. The car has a full service history with printouts / written invoices for every job ever carried out, including the full original bill of sale. I has never been driven for more than 5000 miles without a service / oil change in its life. The mileage when I bought the car was 103,592. Over the past three years this has been my toy - living in a dry garage it has come out only on 'high days and dry days' and in the meantime I have had the opportunity to get stuck in myself with replacing some slightly worn interior items (driver's seat, gear knob, couple of loose kick panels) and my mechanic has had the time to get stuck in to the mechanical side of the car - it has spent significant time with him to do at his leisure as obviously it has not been my main car. Starting to feel like after 3 years I'm finally making significant headway with this car, and it's getting to the point of very much being a 'rolling resto'. Since buying the car it now stands me in at a grand total of £5809.45 - including the cost of purchasing the car. A brief recap of the work carried out is as follows: Track Rod Ends Front Top Mounts Full (custom / stainless) Exhaust (inc cat) OSF lower suspension arm + bushes Aircon investigation / regass Full timing belt kit / water pump / ancillaries Auxiliary belt Engine breather hoses / system Replacement ECU Gearbox fluid flush & change Thermostat replacement 2x Rear coil springs Wiper blades OSR jacking point sill repair Gearbox fluid flush & change NSF lower suspension arm + bushes Set of Goodyear tyres Gearbox investigation / replacement of solenoid set General servicing x3 This works out at an average of £264.07 per visit to the garage - relatively happy with that, although as I'm a total mechanical ignoramus, I do have suck up the hourly rate of my local MGR specialist (he's very worth it though!). My attention really must turn towards the car's cosmetics next. Both front and rear bumpers are grotty in places - it looks like they've both had previous fibreglass repairs. Also some idiot wheeled a trolley into the rear quarter which has left a small dent, and there are some slightly unsightly scratches (although no dents) on the NSR door from the previous owner. From 10 yards away the car looks lovely, but when you're up close there's definitely things that could be improved. Onwards and upwards! upload

25th October 2019, 22:21	#2
richw Avid contributor Rover 75 Saloon Join Date: Sep 2017 Location: Stockton-on-Tees Posts: 243 Thanks: 6 Thanked 64 Times in 49 Posts	Wow, looks nice. It is probably still a bargain compared to a modern on PCP... What was the deal with the gearbox?