Pass me a pipe and some slippers!

[moss]

Ive been given a free car!
Unfortunatly its a K-reg Rover 420SLi 16v saloon in silver and im quite a bad rover basher

Although its got lots of good points,

Taxed til the end of November
Tested til Feb next year
All 4 tyres have at laest 4-6mm left on them
Some service history and all the original books
Last MOT it only failed on a single tyre, a side light bulb and a piece of exhaust which was replaced.
54000 genuine miles
The bodywork is a pretty good condition all round, no dents by the looks of it, a couple of small rust patches and a slight scrape on the front bumper, it actually looks pretty decent though, I would have expected far worse on a 14 year old Rover
Engine seems to run well and starts without problem, all the electrics seem to work perfectly too.
Also came with a load of free Dean Martin etc tapes and about 40p in change in the coin holder and an AA badge on the front.

The only reason I took the car was because my GTi's going off the road for a couple of weeks to give me the chance to fix a few (major) problems.
I do feel about 45 years too young to be driving it though, my girlfriend now covers her face when shes in it and the local kids now laugh as they are used to seeing me in the GTi instead of this grandad chariot.
What series engine is in these things? I know its a 2.0 16v afaik they dont suffer HGF failure as often as the k series?

And in a few weeks/months whatever, whats the best way to sell this thing, im thinking about just sticking it in the free ad paper?
Tbh as much as I hate Rovers I think its really too good just to give away, overall its in pretty good condition and drives very well.
They guys just bought an Audi and couldnt be bothered with the Rover anymore.

Pics to follow tonight.

 

[agw_01]

Ooooo, can I have the AA badge? I wouldn't mind putting it on mine for when it's turbo'd

Pretty sure it's the M-series at that age. A good, very reliable, bullet proof engine... the T-series is based on the M.

It's nothing to be ashamed of though. Performance is good and will upset a lot of Saxo/Corsa drivers who try it on.

A bargain for free though! Where the hell did you find it? I could never find a free car when I needed one.

Pics needed though. Once I've seen it, I'll be able to tell you what to do to it to get it looking fairly respectable

 

[moss]

It's nothing to be ashamed about though. Performance is good and will upset a lot of Saxo/Corsa drivers who try it on.

A bargain for free though! Where the hell did you find it? I could never find a free car when I needed one.

Some friend of the family, I dont know them at all, but they just wanted rid of it without hassle. I was looking for a cheap/free car a few weeks back but stopped but this came up yesterday so I accepted it.
Performance does seem alright, gets to motorway speeds fairly quickly and cruises along quite nicely.

edit: agw, it does look like a grandad chariot, it'll take a lot to make it look anything else im not too bothered about driving it tbh, the gf wants me to pick her up around the corner from wherever she is now though

 

[ajgoodfellow]

Good car

Looks more grandad than the 200 but it's identical save the boot

Far far better than the Escorts et al of the time. A class leader

There's no reason to be ashamed driving a Rover. Who knows why they have such a bad image

The engine is fine and you won't need to worry about HGF. It's far stronger than the nasty Endura engines from Ford at the time

 

[agw_01]

edit: agw, it does look like a grandad chariot, it'll take a lot to make it look anything else im not too bothered about driving it tbh, the gf wants me to pick her up around the corner from wherever she is now though

Lies

I'm guessing it has the earlier style bumpers and not the 94-95 GSi bumpers, like this...

The things I'd do to it (if I was going to keep it of course) are...

SEi or Turbo style rims
Lowered
420 GSi Boot spoiler
GSi style front bumper with Laguna splitter

I absolutely love the 420's and would do anything for a 420 GSi Turbo.

 

[moss]

There's no reason to be ashamed driving a Rover. Who knows why they have such a bad image

Im probably guilty of that, im really not a Rover fan, maybe due to the fact I work in car parts and seem to continually sell k-series headgaskets. Ive got to be honest though it does drive better than many cars of a similar age that ive drove and its quite comfy too.

 

[moss]

I'm guessing it has the earlier style bumpers and not the 94-95 GSi bumpers, like this...

It looks exactly like this...

http://www.channel4.com/4car/media/features/2004/rover-100/03-large/1993-rover-420-sli.jpg

I'll get some pics tonight before it dark if i can.

Ive got no plans on spending any money on it, its meant to be cheap bargain motoring

 

[agw_01]

Ohhhh... it might even have the T-series engine then.

 

[moss]

Just VRM it at work and it came up with...

1993 Rover 420 SLI (mk1)
1994cc 4 door saloon
Engine no: 20T4HG........

Does the T mean its the T series?

 

[agw_01]

I'm not sure tbh. Not clued up with engine numbers.

Could be though, if the 20 means 2 litre.

If you want to e-mail me the reg, I'll put it through the Rover EPC.

andrew.w "at" chase-security dot co dot uk

 

[cymatty]

I'm not sure tbh. Not clued up with engine numbers.

Could be though, if the 20 means 2 litre.

Does the HG at the end stand for.........

 

[agw_01]

That's what I was thinking...

 

[moss]

That's what I was thinking...

Me too

email sent.

edit: Just checked the parts catalogues here at work, it seems to be the T series, although that really doesnt mean a great deal to me anyway.

Parts are nice and cheap too, not that im planning on spending anything on it

 

[D4VE]

Must be nice and comfy after driving a 106

 

[agw_01]

Damn it, I had a nice reply typed but had to close the window when some idiot started talking to me

Anyway...

Class 3.1, 4 Door Saloon, Petrol, 3 way catalyst, Normal Aspiration, 4 Cylinder, 16V, Multi pnt inj long track inlet std, T Series, 2000 cc, RHD, K4BS, K6BS, K7BX, Manual, K4BX, 5 Speed, K7BSUT

Yep, it's the T.

Something to look out for is an oil weep from the front right hand side of the block, where it meets the head. Older cars suffered from the oil weep due to the head gasket weakening at an oil way in the block.

I think, after 96, all cars left the factory with the 3 layer Klinger gasket. To check whether yours has this, just look at the front right hand corner for a metal tab, about an inch in width, sticking out from the corner of the block.