What have you done to your car today?

[mattyprice4004]

Is that ANOTHER new Rover?! Do any of them ever last more than 2 months?

It is indeed, a cheap 600 diesel I found on Autotrader.

Nice interior, decent Recaro half-leathers and 4 new tyres. I only went to view it with a friend, however upon inspection it was a really nice, solid and non-****ed feeling car.

I got offered a silly amount for all the bits on the ZS when I mentioned I may be breaking it, I'm quids in with 7,000 miles of motoring too. Altogether I'm due to come out with about £300 after what I paid for it.

It was just a case of finding something to replace it with before I could crack on with breaking it. It feels like a good move

 

[mattyprice4004]

You say that every time and every time it turns out its a nail and gets scrapped

As a rule I never lose money, and it's a pretty fun hobby too. Each to their own.

 

[mattyprice4004]

As soon I saw the photo of the front wing and wheel I thought "hang on, that's not a ZS"

When did this happen? And why did you decide to break the ZS? Did I miss a thread?

It's all on .org, decided last week when I had a good few people wanting parts from it.

Got the 600 on Wednesday night.

 

[mattyprice4004]

Is it anything to do with the bent conrod it had?

A little, but mainly down to how much it was worth in bits.

At the end of the day if there's cash there, you gotta take it

 

[mattyprice4004]

Fair enough, but surely it would have been worth fixing and keeping if it was in the good condition like you said it was? Just seems like you actively look for Rovers with pre-existing issues, rather than decent examples in the first place? Yes we get that you like Rovers; each to their own and all that, so get a good one and stick with it

It was a great car save for the engine, but likewise there's loads of tatty ZS owners looking for decent quality spares.

I always try and negotiate price based on issues, which I did rather well with the ZS. I guess with a new commute involving lots of traffic, it'd be better to have something both comfy but with a solid clutch system - ruling out a 75/ZT as the clutch hydraulics in those hate traffic. Yay for plastic parts.

Seems good enough for now, we shall see.

 

[mattyprice4004]

Went to rebuild my driver's side front caliper as it felt a fair bit warmer than the passenger side...

Turns out someone hadn't bothered grinding the pads down to fit in the carrier properly - I had to use a 4LB lump hammer to get them out!

Braking is much better now

 

[mattyprice4004]

You have to grind pads down to make them fit Rovers?

*facepalm*

Standard Longbridge working practice

*facepalm*

No I think what he meant was the carriers (Or maybe just a rover thing?). Over time brake dust and crap builds up on the carriers causing the pads to stick. When ever I change brake bads I always give the carriers a quick once over with a wire brush where the pads go to make sure it is nice and smooth.

This

You not come across this issue?

Any aftermarket pads need tweaking if you actually want the brakes to back off once you've use them.

And this

 

[mattyprice4004]

This weekend promises to be fun, I'm rather liking my 600 so going to shower some love on it.

- Getting an 80k old rear suspension strut from the scrappy to see if it cures my twitchy rear end (oooer). If so, ordering 2 new rear shocks from BPB
- Fitting new front pads
- Doing a full service inc oil/filter/air filter/fuel filter
- Fitting new rear pads if Halfords have them (trade card!) and rebuilding rear calipers while I'm at it

Total cost of the above: about £40 (excl new shocks, which are £90 a pair if ordered) - Lindt luxury for penny-sweet prices

It feels so much nicer than any other 600 I've had.

 

[mattyprice4004]

DOWNFORCE M8

 

[mattyprice4004]

Fitted a £5 shock and spring from the scrap yard.

Rear handling issue sorted, plus I picked up 2x VP30 fuel pumps worth £100 each for £30. So really I made a profit

 

[mattyprice4004]

New brakes all round for the 600 ordered, wasn't going to bother until I found out how cheap the bits are. May aswell

 

[mattyprice4004]

Not so much done, but the 600 has been a really nice ride on the 80 mile per day commute, so I'm ordering a few bits and bobs:

- Front discs and pads (Delphi discs, Mintex pads)
- Rear pads (Mintex)
- CV joint grease (a little clicky, hopefully will sort it out) and gaiters
- MTF94 gearbox oil (it's on its first clutch, so gear oil has probably never been done)

Should set me back about £65 for that lot.

 

[mattyprice4004]

Gave it a quick wash:

Running well for a £600 shed, averaging a rather meagre 40MPG though. Need to learn to waft on the motorway rather than do sillyMPH

 

[mattyprice4004]

In all honesty, I don't really know either - just didn't gel with the 75 as well as I thought I would. It felt too 'modern' - you weren't really involved with the drive and I just prefer a more 'direct' drive where you can feel the road and really feel connected with the car.

I didn't go out to buy this 600, merely drive it to see if it was a decent example (people are always after low mileage 600 diesels, so was worth a punt if it was OK) but fell in love - I didn't even do that much bartering on price.

I'll bring it to a meet so you guys can see what I mean - drives absolutely 100%, no rattles, interior is lovely and clean and it still has a fair bit of grunt despite it's age. Mechanically everything is great, although at 100k it could probably do with a clutch at some point.

I'll probably end up shifting it at some point, when I move closer to work I'm after an Octy VRS or an MG ZT-T 190. Until then I'll use this for mile-munching.

40+MPG, half-leathers that are wonderfully supportive, a nice interior and a quiet ride. Quite impressed for the money. 2,000 miles down already!

 

[mattyprice4004]

Ah yes, an OcUK meet with a Rover driver 'Showing us what it'll do'

Fun times.

If you bothered to read the post, it was 'show you what I mean' and not 'show you what it'll do', as I was referring to how clean it was, and how smooth the drive is.

Funny story - when I'm doing 80 miles a day on a busy motorway, I'm not bothered about how fast I get there, just how comfy the ride is.

Anyway, you'll recall Andy's Rover having around 250bhp and the last one I brought to a meet having 200bhp, so there are some relatively quick ones around - it's just the brain dead anti-Rover crew like you that bore the **** off us owners to the point of hardly posting about our cars.

Put your glasses on, read the post and get a grip.

 

[mattyprice4004]

JERRY JERRY JERRY!!!

Just fed up of the 'hating' brigade spouting their useless drivel.

I enjoy the car, I believe it's one of the few nice examples left, yet bringing it to a meet is a reason to mock because apparently I'll want to show people 'what it'll do', when I'm just proud to have a nice, clean car I can enjoy.

 

[mattyprice4004]

What just happened?

You were stupid for no reason, and I came up with a well reasoned argument discussing such stupidity.

 

[mattyprice4004]

Bloody hell, was it parked in the sea?!

 

[mattyprice4004]

Buggered about with the fuelling and boost, however I've cocked it up as when you put your foot down you can't see anything behind you. Shifts better though!

Better sort that out before it destroys a full tank in about 80 miles.

 

[mattyprice4004]

Went on a 15 mile hoon with a ZT260, a ZS180 and a Rover 25 GTi. That was fun!

Forgotten how much fun a revvy NASP petrol really is. The 600 is going to have fun winning back my heart after I've spend all day at 7,200RPM

Rear discs are worn, so ordered a new set (£6.72 a disc and £10 for Mintex pads).