A wash and a brush up saw our GTi looking good as gold... Note the smooth rear panel - and my resistance to make it body-coloured...
Raced (I mean rallied) to Naples and back as part of the Staples2Naples challenge in 2004, we thought we'd seen the last of our 216GTi after selling it off for charity after the event.
However, the owner offered it back to us after a couple of years... and who were we to say 'no'?
Zing-a-ding...
A wash and a brush up saw our GTi looking good as gold... Note the smooth rear
panel - and my resistance to make it body-coloured...
KNOW it seems daft, but I'm sure
that as a car enthusiast, you'll understand what I mean by the concept of bonding.
For a start, how is it possible to feel warmth towards a pile of steel, plastic
and rubber - an inanimate object - especially one that most 'normal' people
would conclude is good for nothing more than being scrapped?
But as you're reading this website, I can only conclude that you're far from 'normal' and the idea of entering into a 'money-no-object' relationship with a 1990 Rover 200 with over 100,000 miles on the clock seems perfectly feasible to you. But here we are.
But why is this car so special to me? Back in 2004, I entered the Staples2Naples banger rally, and was donated this car for free by site correspondent, Scott Woodcock. The 216GTi in question had almost zero clutch to talk of, and a fair few other niggles to deal with - but as it was free, Brian Gunn could fit me a new one at 'mates rates', and, well, I love R8s, it seemed like a no-brainer to me. After picking it up from Scott's place in Oxfordshire, driving back gave team co-pilot Declan a fair few headaches - but between us we nursed it back, and within a few more weeks, Brian had got it prepped for its big adventure to Southern Italy.
I won't bore you too much with the details of the event (besides, you can read all about it elsewhere), but Alexander, Declan and I finished in second place, and the car was incredibly capable on its trans-continental dash. It took four days to drive down to Naples - but even more impressively, it took two to get home. It worked hard on the way back, topping out at an indicated 135mph in Germany, and at one point in the middle of the night, at a splash 'n' dash, we checked the oil level, only to find the manifold glowing red hot (something I've never seen before on my travels).
Did it miss a beat? No. Was it fun to drive? Oh yes... you should have seen just how many people we overtook in the Alps.
Suffice to say, GTi and I bonded, and I was sad to see it go to fellow S2N competitor, Les Hedaux (or Inspector Gadget to his friends).
Misaligned front bumper would need to be sorted - and as for those red pin-stripes...
I thought that was the last of it, but being regulars on these events, I kept in loose contact with Les - reminding him that if ever he wanted to get rid of his GTi, I'd be more than up for it. Sadly, he liked it as much as I did, and there was little chance of this happening. However, when he saw I was selling my Project Rover 825 Coupe, he couldn't resist doing a deal.
So, after two-and-a-half years with Les, the GTi was mine again.
While with Les, the Rover's mileage had clicked over another 15,000 miles, and other than the need for a few sundries, it had served him proud. On the outside, it still bore the battle-scars it had when last in my ownership, but other than that, it looked, smelled and felt just as it had done back in 2004. However, the gearbox differential bearings were howling, and that would mean we were looking down the gun barrel of a serious repair job - and expenditure. But never was I in any doubt that I'd be keeping the car...
In the end, the solution was simple - get myself a secondhand gearbox,
and have it fitted. Easy huh? Well, actually yes if you know the right people
- and thanks to this website, I do. I got in touch with Terry Brown of the Freckleton
Rover Centre, and asked him if he had any in stock. The answer was a negative,
but he was heading up North, and knew he could lay his hands on one from a 416
GSi (with very welcome longer gear ratios) there. Obviously, that suited me
fine.
While Terry was there, he met up with Village Land Garage's Steven Ward - an ex-Rover Group sales executive - who supplied a brand new Unipart Clutch kit with an RRP sticker of £147. Excellent stuff - that meant we were on our way, and the arrangements were made.
I drove up to Terry's place trying to ignore the whining 'box - but once on the motorway, it had to be said, that the noise from that sweet spinning, zingy, Honda DOHC lump easily drowned it out. At UK motorway speeds, one always feels that this car is being constrained from giving its best, as this engine's at its best anywhere between 4500-6500rpm - way above the speed limit in fifth gear.
The
gearbox swap itself was simple enough - for Terry - and took a lot less than
the full day I'd been expecting. In fact, Terry couldn't stop apologising for
the slow job, but he enjoyed nothing more than a good old yak about cars (just
like me). Can't say I thought he'd been dragging his heels, but I guess that
shows you what a nice guy he is. Once completed, We took it for a test drive
- and there was some clutch judder, but given that it was late, sorting it would
wait until another time.
With that done, I could start thinking about the other problems we would have to contend with, not least the wandering front end, weak and juddery brakes - and the cosmetics, such as the mis-aligned front bumper and undersized wheels.
But as the car wasn't being used very much, priority wasn't given, and following another call to Terry, I arranged to leave the car with him while he went investigating.
In the meantime, I sourced some bumpers from the forum, and did a deal with fellow R8 enthusiast and owner of June 2007's Car of the Month, Mark Gomer, for a set of natty OZ Super Touring alloy wheels - my favourite design of all time. With the new bumpers and alloys on the car, it suddenly looked like an altogether different proposition - the red pinstriping, which may be oh-so 1980s but looks out of place, had gone - and the wide 16-inch alloys gave the car an altogther tougher stance, even if it could have done with a lowering job (I have the springs to do it in my garage) to do away with the slightly Streetwise ride height.
Refurbing the alloys was easy. However, we were indecisive about using them
after being seduced by a set of OZ Super Touring wheels. We're on the originals
again now. For the moment...
It's amazing what an improvement a little satin black paint will make to a set
of old and scabby wiper arms...
Replacement OZ alloys fitted - then removed after four weeks. Chrome inserts
have since been fitted to the door rubbing strips, thus matching the new bumpers
- improving the looks no end, in our opinion...
We then packed off the car to Terry's again - and when it returned, he'd done a fair old amount of work to it. Various arms and bushes had been replaced, as well as the front brake discs and pads - and rear discs - giving me plenty of confidence that the old girl would be around for a few years yet. However, on the drive home, it soon became apparent that the clutch judder - although improved - was still very much there, and the wobbling under braking also remained.
I put the original alloys back on, and the situation hasn't really improved - so further investigation is required.
A new set of dampers, wheel alignment and balancing need to be done before I draw any concrete conclusions - and as for the clutch judder, I think I'll need to get the GTi on the ramps at the Practical Classics workshop, crack open the gearbox and engine again, and just check that everything is correctly aligned. AR Deputy Editor, Alexander Boucke, has offered me some nearly new SPAX uprated dampers to go on (as well as a GSI spec full-leather interior), and I'll be picking these up on my next trip to Germany...
It might sound as if the 216GTi's been a pain in the proverbial, but in truth, despite the niggles (which I'm determined to sort), I really do rate this car. So much so, that currently, it's my daily commuter. And do you know what? It's becoming a rare old thing. Ask yourself just when was it that you last saw a G- or H-registered R8 on the road... and if so, did it look like someone's sad old banger?
Yep, these things are disappearing fast - and that's why ours won't be going anywhere for the time being. How's that for irrational?
Update: 8 November 2007
Project R8 gets a new interior...
Poor old Project R8 must be feeling a little unloved at the moment. Stuck up at the workshop, the juddering brakes and clutch weighing down my enthusiasm to get the old girl tip-top again, it's easy to understand why. Assuming cars have feelings, of course.
However, my recent trip to Poland came with a bonus package. Thanks to a 216 GSi that Alexander Boucke's been breaking for spares, there was the opportunity to pick up the all-leather interior on the way home. Okay, so the early R8 hide-trim cars were geared towards luxury rather than sportiness, and lack the side support of the GTi's sports seats, but going for these seemed like a good pay-off to me considering just how mucky the originals were - and how impossible they were to get clean again.
All we need now are some matching door cards (or at least the leather inserts), and the centre console switches for the electric seat heaters (yes, really)?
The MoT's due soon, so there's an incentive now get everything right - and once that's done, it'll be down to me to see what I'm going to do to further improve Project R8. I've always fancied fitting rear electric windows - is this a straightforward job?
The rear bench looks very comfortable indeed... and isn't it great to have rear
head restraints.
Front seats lack the side support of the sporting originals, but they're in
much better condition...
Update: 22 February 2008
Project R8 needed TLC, and its new owner treated it to some...
JUST before Christmas, Keith posted a Project GTi thread on the AROnline forum, saying that he wanted to get rid of his 216GTi, but didn't. I knew where he was coming from. 18 months ago I had a 216GSi that I wanted to get rid of, but didn't, but actually did.
Anyway, as Keith wanted some fairly bulky parts (for that HH-R), we thrashed out a deal which saw me getting up ridiculously early one Sunday morning, loading up a mates van with HHR goodies and setting out to complete the hundred and a bit mile journey to Keith's house.
After some part swapping and some wheeler dealing, we shook hands and I took the keys.
'It's got a clutch judder, and the brakes are making a funny noise', was what I thought I heard as I slipped into the leather driver's seat. I heard it but didn't as I was savouring the moment. Despite clocking up ownership of eleven previous Rovers, this was the first manual Honda engined 1.6-litre DOHC version and I was looking forward to turning the ignition key.
Okay, so it's 'got a judder'. That's one way of putting it. I'm sure I had a filling in a top tooth when I left Northamptonshire. There was nothing left by the time I got to Kent. I also had a feeling that the brake problem was going to be warped discs. But still, like her previous owner I carry on regardless of these niggles, under the impression that nothing is to difficult to sort one way or another.
After a few days of not doing much (the car, not me), the GTi was summonsed to move from the drive. I had made a few phone calls and called in a favour, and the she was off to the garage for a clutch. Reversing back off the drive, I noticed a nice rainbow effect puddle. Not good. After checking the coolant level and topping up, it appeared that the water pump was at fault. No problem. I'd just done a water pump and cambelt on my sister's R3 216. This was going to be a walk in the park.
Fast forward six days and I'm on the drive, the bonnet is up and I'm surrounded by tools and shiny parts (while I was shopping, I brought the cambelt kit, new pads, new discs and thought I may as well get a clutch too). Fast forward four hours and I'm quickly rolling back the "work" I'd carried out after becoming stuck with the bottom timing belt cover. 1-0 to the GTi, but with the cost of a yellow card.
A few days sulking and a week away working didn't help. When you don't see the car in the morning it's easy to think, 'Mehh, I'll just get rid', especially when you get back and you see that the rear nearside is as flat as a pancake.
However, one last call to my friend the garage owner turned the tide. He told me to wait until he had a quiet day, and he'd do me a favour. Patience is a virtue (although not one of mine) but in this case it paid off. He took the car last Tuesday night under protest (it's like having a pet that screeches all the way to the vet, not understanding that you're going to make it feel better) and brought (apparently, the same car) home on Wednesday. New clutch. New discs. New pads. New water pump. New cambelt kit, coolant flush and corrected timing. She may have won the original battle, but I won the war.
Now the grin factor has more then returned, and her yellow card has been rescinded. Naturally, it's not all pink champagne and rose petals. There are rules and she has to earn her keep and stay out of trouble.
Along comes Saturday, and her first official working day. Starts first time, drives faultlessly.
Effortlessly pulling you into a false sense of security.
Queue the 'multi function unit' errors.
Wipers go wipe. Hmm. Strange. I suppose I must have caught the column with my kn.. - wipe, wipe, stop. wipewipewipe stop. Wipe Wipe. Okay, we have an issue.
I also notice the interior light is on so check all the doors. All closed. Wipe.
Time to pull the 15a fuse and go home to investigate.
'MFU' is the technical term. The box that sorts the wipers, interior lights and lights on buzzer is the 'cars for dummies' jargon (thanks to Tim Colley for letting me in on that nugget!), but we all know the real technical term is Heritage.
It lives behind the fuseboard in a sealed box, and if faulty can't be repaired as it's a sealed unit.
I now have a replacement, and a spare (you never know) but it's not happened since.
There's still a way to go with the GTi. A full service and some new HT leads under the bonnet is a starting point. The in car entertainment needs looking at (head unit's fine, but the speakers are duff). On the outside, the GTi spats need to be sourced and replaced and there are a couple of rust spots that need to be addressed. Lucky me - I also have a mate with a bodyshop.
Most importantly of all, we now have time on our side to bring the GTi up from 'great', to 'excellent' and then onto 'mint' condition.
It's been a while since I've owned a Rover 200, but it's G-R8 to be back!
1998-spec 216 airbag wheel now installed, as well as a leather-bound gearknob...
Update: 1 March 2008
Fixing the foibles
IF you read the last Project update, you'll already know that the 216GTi's developed the most curious wiping fault. It happened one morning... for no reason whatsoever, the wipers started playing havoc with the windscreen. Obviously, that's not an ideal state of affairs, and replacement was the only way forwards. In the end, the fault was diagnosed as the MFU - and it was a case of knuckling down and fitting a secondhand one...
The Multi Function Unit hides behind the main fuse board, and really is easy to change. First off you need a new or second hand MFU from a breakers, or eBay, and then you need ten minutes. Yes, you read it right - just ten minutes. For ease, remove the understeering dash panel (five screws) and you have access to the fuses. Pull the three main fuses while they're still attached to the car, then take off the two 10mm nuts and ease the whole unit forward.
The MFU is clipped in behind the fuses on the left as you look at it
Two spares (you never know), and it was buy one, get one free...
Unclip, remove and replace. It was so easy, and I was so confident, I put it
all back together before I'd
even tested it. Job done!
Hmmm, no wonder the CD player is sounding so poor... but that's for another
day!
Update: 7 April 2008
One step forward, four steps back
It’s time for an ICE update...
No - not that sort...this sort...
The speakers in the GTi are currently letting down what looks like a tidy bit of Pioneer CD kit so it was a case of popping off to the breakers to resolve the issues for two reasons. Reason one - get a full set of speakers as they all sound duff. Reason two - a practice run at removing door cards and rear speaker covers without breaking anything!
Both missions were accomplished of sorts as I managed to get a mixture of front speakers from a late R8 216SLi and a set of rears from a Rover 25. Sunday afternoon and the sun is shining which means a perfect time to grab the Haynes book and the toolbox and get to work.
My suspicions were confirmed after removing the front door cards. Both speakers were blown away, hence the horrible tinny rattle when listening to anything in the car.
A quick release of the multiplug, and three screws to remove and then reversing the procedure with the replacement speaker resulted in this.
Same again for the rears, although they were a bit more tricky, and despite the perfect practice run on the scrapped R8, I still managed to break both the rear seat belt covers (just one retaining clip on either side) but they are seventeen years old!
The nearside wasn't too bad, but the offside was a bit unwell
All speakers are now replaced, door cards and speaker covers back in-situ and I'm happy to report that the speakers can nearly do the head unit some justice.
Unfortunately, doing the 'nice clean fixes' on cars such as these are few and far between and a new rubbing noise coming from the front nearside meant a trip to the garage.
This is becoming a familiar sight.
The tracking was out by a mile and the rubbing was caused by the CV joint dropping its retaining clip, letting the boot slip off and run dry. This also meant that the driveshaft had taken a battering. The friendly mechanic also pointed out that the drop links had also passed their best.
Ho hum. Zooming through a week - I went back to the breakers for the driveshaft, and onto eBay for the drop links. A quick phone call to see if my mate (the one that did all the original clutch and brake work) could take the GTi back into the workshop for a morning, and job done.
Old and manky!
But (there's always a but) he wasn't happy when he handed me back the keys. "I think you've got a warped disc, which in my experience and knowing we put new discs and pads on 3 weeks ago points to dodgy calipers" was the bombshell...
I can't deny he is right. The car seems to vibrate all the way to 30mph, and you can really feel the wobble when you brake (through the wheel and the pedal), and even though the tracking was done, it's really pulling to the left. Oh, and the disc is now fully warped...
One step forward, four back...