Midsomer Murders car BX04 WMC

[david75]

Now that my car has made an appearance on the 2021 Club Calendar - the black Rover 75 Facelift at the top of the front cover page – I thought I would share a bit more detail about it.



The car is a 2.5 v6 Auto Connoisseur SE, Raven Black (PMF), and as a high-mileage, 16 year-old car, with scars to prove it, it is not in itself very remarkable. But its history makes it quite interesting.

If you are a fan of Midsomer Murders, you might have recognised it already, but if not, this is one of the cars that appeared in the TV series Midsomer Murders driven by John Nettles aka DCI Tom Barnaby.

As most members will know, DCI Barnaby drove several Rover 75s over a number of years, but this car was the only facelift model, and indeed was the last Rover 75 to be featured before MG Rover ceased trading. (They used Jags after that, and, later, Volvos). So my car was in Series 8 which was filmed and first broadcast in 2004/05.

Picture: Series 8 Episode 3


I have done quite a bit of research on the car, and I have various provenance to back it up.

All the dates stack up because the car came off the assembly line 6th April 2004 and was delivered to the MG Rover Group Press Garage on 20th April 2004. Filming of Series 8 Episode 1 took place in May/June 2004, and filming of Series 8 of Episode 8 was completed in March 2005.

After Midsomer, and having done about 16k miles in its first year, the car was sold on, and had several owners and quite a hard life, reaching about 170k miles by 2015. (Since then it has slowed down a bit and is now just approaching 177k).

In 2015 it was picked up by forum member Rabett_Rover who stored it for a while and then in 2017/18 did a major and very necessary overhaul, including major engine work by forum member 2Diesels. Then in mid-2019 in its newly revitalised state, it was sold on to forum member woody804. He only kept it a couple of months, at which point I bought the car in November 2019.

It is a well-equipped car with 17” Meteor alloy wheels, heated leather seats with drivers seat memory, wood/leather steering wheel, sunroof, cruise control, electric rear sunblind, trip computer, rain sensing wipers, rear parking sensors, and xenon headlights and washers.

Picture: May 2020


In my ownership I have done basic servicing plus fixes such as new battery, 2x front tyres, replaced missing battery box lid, washer bottle filter unclogged, plenum leaf guard added (from forum member Jules), replacement chrome handle on the glove box (the other one was badly scratched), new leather handbrake and gear selector gaiters, under-seat airbag connectors replaced to solve warning light issue, various paint chips fixed, replaced boot lid handle (due to broken mounting stud), new number plate light circuit board (from DMGRS), fixed irregular idle speed (throttle control linkage was sticking), aircon recharge and seals replaced (although its still not very good, so that’s a job for this summer), T4 visit to forum member Trikey to change various settings, new IPK display screen (from forum member Rick-Sta), and solved an electrical gremlin that was causing the IPK to forget all its settings when the ignition was turned off.

As always, the list of ‘to-do’s carries on. MOT was passed in 2020 but with an advisory on some rust on suspension parts. I’d like to get a new undertray as the current one has several broken fixing holes and some of the fixings are cable ties. Aircon needs attention – possibly still a leak, or could be the aircon radiator. Door card linings are saggy. Headlights need a polish. New Shannon tube needed. And on and on – you’ll all know the feeling!

Picture: May 2020


I inherited a good file of records from the previous owners, and I have added to the provenance with my own research especially about the Midsomer Murders period. I was particularly pleased that, after quite a lot of trying, I found a route to contact John Nettles directly, and he sent a nice personal note of his recollections of the car, and signed a photo for me.

I intend to keep the car to the best of my ability and use it for special days and holidays (I have another Rover 75 for daily). Having bought it just over a year ago (November 2019) I had intended to bring it to some events during summer 2020, but obviously by then the world had changed. Hopefully there will be opportunities in 2021, and perhaps people will be interested in seeing the history and provenance that I have collected.

[VVC-Geeza]

Great write up David and I am glad it has ended up with someone who will truely appreciate it.I look forward to seeing it sometime in the future.

[trikey]

A great write up, and you made Deb very happy by letting her have her picture taken with the car as she is an avid Midsomer fan 👍

[2Diesels]

Nice to see that car still around, I put many hours into it in the time it was at my place, it still needed a lot doing at the time cosmetically, I did a small amount but I was really only tasked with the mechanical stuff. I fitted a low mileage engine from an older written off 75, which included a timing belt change, swapping the early coil pack set up for the later type & swapping the flywheel for a flex plate for the auto box, IIRC I replaced the wishbone bushes & sorted the brakes & fettled a few small electrical gremlins.
It’s fairly well known that I don’t have a lot of time for the V6 variants but I used that car as my daily transport for a month or so as a bit of a shakedown before I returned it to Lewis & I actually bonded with it a bit. It drove nicely & performed well & was surprisingly good on the fuel.

[david75]

Originally Posted by 2Diesels

Nice to see that car still around, I put many hours into it in the time it was at my place, it still needed a lot doing at the time cosmetically, I did a small amount but I was really only tasked with the mechanical stuff. I fitted a low mileage engine from an older written off 75, which included a timing belt change, swapping the early coil pack set up for the later type & swapping the flywheel for a flex plate for the auto box, IIRC I replaced the wishbone bushes & sorted the brakes & fettled a few small electrical gremlins.
It’s fairly well known that I don’t have a lot of time for the V6 variants but I used that car as my daily transport for a month or so as a bit of a shakedown before I returned it to Lewis & I actually bonded with it a bit. It drove nicely & performed well & was surprisingly good on the fuel.

Thank you for filling in those details. I have the MOT record for the car that donated the engine, so I know the mileage was genuine, and it’s great to know that the belts were definitely done.

You are right about the cosmetics. It polishes up well, even though there are some areas where there are underlying paint issues . I am torn between keeping it as nice as I can on the original paint, or getting some paint done as time and money allow. Much to ponder.

Thanks again for all the work you did.

[2Diesels]

I think to be fair, I would go for it & get the bits done. I know a lot of the car has had paint in the past so I don’t think you’d be spoiling the originality.
It always did scrub up well & I know Lewis had some bits sorted on the car after I had it........the TV crews don’t treat them with any respect, clamping cameras on here and there, they get a hard life.
I remember swapping the carpet on that car & sorting the sunroof drains & generally replacing a lot of missing bits.
I think it’s worth a little investment, especially the way values seem to be going these days

[trebor]

This was another of the Midsomer Cars which was owned by Lewis who is in the picture on the right , I believe that the 75 enthusiasts group then owned it but not sure if they still have it

[david75]

Originally Posted by trebor

This was another of the Midsomer Cars which was owned by Lewis who is in the picture on the right , I believe that the 75 enthusiasts group then owned it but not sure if they still have it

Yes, BU03 AHA appeared in Series 7, which had 7 episodes filmed between May 2003 and February 2004.

According to the MOT checker on gov.uk, its last MOT was on 7 June 2018 at 119,103 miles, and expired 6 June 2019, currently SORN. Does anyone know the location? Would be nice to get a pic of it with mine some day.

[Sjonnie]

I enjoyed reading the cars history! I am a fan of Midsomer Murders but hadn't recognised the car (it has been a while since I have seen series 8 ). Will have to re-play the episode on my media center!



I hope you will take good care of the car in the coming years. It would be a shame to see a television celebrity loose its grandeur

[trebor]

Originally Posted by david75

Yes, BU03 AHA appeared in Series 7, which had 7 episodes filmed between May 2003 and February 2004.

According to the MOT checker on gov.uk, its last MOT was on 7 June 2018 at 119,103 miles, and expired 6 June 2019, currently SORN. Does anyone know the location? Would be nice to get a pic of it with mine some day.

Thanks to Jake from the 75 enthusiasts I have some more information for you

The 03 car was owned by the 75 Enthusists and Jake has sent the pictures below just before they were both sold on. The 03 car went to a chap in Derby, before moving onto a collector in Belgium. The 04 car was a project Lewis did on his own