RE: Shed Of The Week: Rover 820Si
Discussion
Anyone interested in an 825 Sterling coupe for £3k? http://www.vip-carsales.co.uk/search_page.php?loca...
W124Bob said:
Anyone interested in an 825 Sterling coupe for £3k? http://www.vip-carsales.co.uk/search_page.php?loca...
Although I'm not a Rover fan, I thought these 800 coupes looked great. I don't remember seeing many in Britain and none at all anywhere else. Shame really.Mr_Yogi said:
My Dad had an early 825 Sterling that went well enough and was perfectly reliable (unlike his SD1's), but the interior quality and creeking was shocking. It had been in Gibraltar, so maybe it had been pulled apart at the boarder guards, or maybe the build quality was really s
t 
The engine was quiet and the car comfy, with a nice floaty ride, although it did have an odd side to side wobble when going over bumps.
Later my Dad came close to buying a 827 Vitesse, now that was fast, even now the memory of taking off after pulling out onto a A-road and being pined to the passenger seat is still as vivid as it was then. Around the same time he looked at an E34 530i, which didn't seem anywhere near as fast as the Vitesse. The interor of the BMW looked very spartan and dull by comparision to the Vitesse but felt much more solid, and I guess would feel much the same today, unlike the Rover.
I never liked the restyled 800 with the nasty stuck on traditional grill, where as I think the original 800 saloon/ fast back looked very good. This thread has even brought about a questionable desire for a 827 Sterling in two-tone silver/grey, as it appeared in the broucher
.
You were pinned to the back of your seat by 170bhp....OK then. t The engine was quiet and the car comfy, with a nice floaty ride, although it did have an odd side to side wobble when going over bumps.
Later my Dad came close to buying a 827 Vitesse, now that was fast, even now the memory of taking off after pulling out onto a A-road and being pined to the passenger seat is still as vivid as it was then. Around the same time he looked at an E34 530i, which didn't seem anywhere near as fast as the Vitesse. The interor of the BMW looked very spartan and dull by comparision to the Vitesse but felt much more solid, and I guess would feel much the same today, unlike the Rover.
I never liked the restyled 800 with the nasty stuck on traditional grill, where as I think the original 800 saloon/ fast back looked very good. This thread has even brought about a questionable desire for a 827 Sterling in two-tone silver/grey, as it appeared in the broucher
.My mum never drove ours slowly, but I was never 'pinned to the back of my seat'.
Ex Boy Racer said:
_Deano said:
My dad had the 820 sport, with the Recaro seats and the part-leather interior, and it was the first car that i learnt to drive/control. Learning how to balance the clutch, and moving from standstill. A bit too much car, for someone that has never driven before.
But once i had passed my test and probably after about 5 years of ownership, i killed it on the way to Oxford.
The car would drop out of 5th gear when travelling along the m/way and in the end you had to makedo with 4th. Me knowing best (or so i thought), held the gear stick in 5th and didn't let it pop out; this ended up with the propshaft dislodging itself and the car was left on the side of the road. Otherwise it was a lovely spacious car, that served us well.
Ermmm.. what propshaft?But once i had passed my test and probably after about 5 years of ownership, i killed it on the way to Oxford.
The car would drop out of 5th gear when travelling along the m/way and in the end you had to makedo with 4th. Me knowing best (or so i thought), held the gear stick in 5th and didn't let it pop out; this ended up with the propshaft dislodging itself and the car was left on the side of the road. Otherwise it was a lovely spacious car, that served us well.
I had an 820si for a while a few years back. One gentleman owner, (much the same as the SOTW car) and had been pampered its whole life.
I expected wafty barge but was genuinely surprised how well it cornered and it was quicker than you'd expect.
Lift off over steer was doable, with some enthusiasm, but a great car I enjoyed running around in. A++
I expected wafty barge but was genuinely surprised how well it cornered and it was quicker than you'd expect.
Lift off over steer was doable, with some enthusiasm, but a great car I enjoyed running around in. A++
LeoZwalf said:
We had a Mondeo, the head gasket failed.
I had 4 Rovers before that, the head gaskets didn't fail on any of them.
Also had a Corsa, Nova, Escort, BX, Golf -- head gasket didn't fail on any of those.
Therefore, all Mondeos are st and the HG's fail.
DUH
Metro - gearbox failedI had 4 Rovers before that, the head gaskets didn't fail on any of them.
Also had a Corsa, Nova, Escort, BX, Golf -- head gasket didn't fail on any of those.
Therefore, all Mondeos are s
t and the HG's fail.DUH
800 - HGF
1.8K Caterham - HGF
Various Volvo's, merc's, BMW's and Japenese cars have all been solid mechanically.
You join the dots
bakerstreet said:
Mr_Yogi said:
My Dad had an early 825 Sterling that went well enough and was perfectly reliable (unlike his SD1's), but the interior quality and creeking was shocking. It had been in Gibraltar, so maybe it had been pulled apart at the boarder guards, or maybe the build quality was really st
The engine was quiet and the car comfy, with a nice floaty ride, although it did have an odd side to side wobble when going over bumps.
Later my Dad came close to buying a 827 Vitesse, now that was fast, even now the memory of taking off after pulling out onto a A-road and being pined to the passenger seat is still as vivid as it was then. Around the same time he looked at an E34 530i, which didn't seem anywhere near as fast as the Vitesse. The interor of the BMW looked very spartan and dull by comparision to the Vitesse but felt much more solid, and I guess would feel much the same today, unlike the Rover.
I never liked the restyled 800 with the nasty stuck on traditional grill, where as I think the original 800 saloon/ fast back looked very good. This thread has even brought about a questionable desire for a 827 Sterling in two-tone silver/grey, as it appeared in the broucher.
You were pinned to the back of your seat by 170bhp....OK then. t The engine was quiet and the car comfy, with a nice floaty ride, although it did have an odd side to side wobble when going over bumps.
Later my Dad came close to buying a 827 Vitesse, now that was fast, even now the memory of taking off after pulling out onto a A-road and being pined to the passenger seat is still as vivid as it was then. Around the same time he looked at an E34 530i, which didn't seem anywhere near as fast as the Vitesse. The interor of the BMW looked very spartan and dull by comparision to the Vitesse but felt much more solid, and I guess would feel much the same today, unlike the Rover.
I never liked the restyled 800 with the nasty stuck on traditional grill, where as I think the original 800 saloon/ fast back looked very good. This thread has even brought about a questionable desire for a 827 Sterling in two-tone silver/grey, as it appeared in the broucher
.My mum never drove ours slowly, but I was never 'pinned to the back of my seat'.
carinaman said:
How much bigger are Rover 75s for squeezing down tight B-roads?
They are some cracking ZT/ZT-Ts around for shed money plus a bit, or around double the price of this.
This 800 looks overpriced to me.
Rover 75 is smaller. 800 is a gnats under 2 metres wide and almost 5 metres long. They are a big motor.They are some cracking ZT/ZT-Ts around for shed money plus a bit, or around double the price of this.
This 800 looks overpriced to me.
yonex said:
Metro - gearbox failed
800 - HGF
1.8K Caterham - HGF
Various Volvo's, merc's, BMW's and Japenese cars have all been solid mechanically.
You join the dots
MG ZS - no gasket failure with 100k on the clock.800 - HGF
1.8K Caterham - HGF
Various Volvo's, merc's, BMW's and Japenese cars have all been solid mechanically.
You join the dots
Toyota MR2 - head gasket failed around 70k miles.
Dots joined, Japanese stuff is obviously crap.
yonex said:
Metro - gearbox failed
800 - HGF
1.8K Caterham - HGF
Various Volvo's, merc's, BMW's and Japenese cars have all been solid mechanically.
You join the dots
peugeot 205 1.1 HG weeped 800 - HGF
1.8K Caterham - HGF
Various Volvo's, merc's, BMW's and Japenese cars have all been solid mechanically.
You join the dots
Current car MG ZS fine you join the dots
We could go back and forth on this forever.
On the two failures you had did you actually check the coolent level weekly like I do or for leaks before the HG failed yes the design was inherently weak but usually the cause was something else...
Neil E 99 said:
I cant comment on the 820 as my dad bought a 827.
All the rover bits broke snapped off and were just plain crap. The Honda bits no problems at all.No prizes to know what they were!
The engine was lovley and it was pretty rapid for its day.
The biggest problem was massive massive torque steer when flooring it form a stand still.
Christ you really had to hang onto that wheel !
Ok, my experience of the 827 was the flipside. A 1990 H-reg 927 Vitesse Fastback which I bought in '97 at 102,000 miles, it was, as you point out, a rapid car - er, correction, a rapid. 'torque-steery' car! Fast, spacious and comfortable over long distances, the downside for me was the numb steering and the fact that it was an automatic. All the rover bits broke snapped off and were just plain crap. The Honda bits no problems at all.No prizes to know what they were!
The engine was lovley and it was pretty rapid for its day.
The biggest problem was massive massive torque steer when flooring it form a stand still.
Christ you really had to hang onto that wheel !
In the 62,000 further miles I put on the car, the only part I had to have replaced (normal service items apart) was the driver's window mechanism but it was the automatic gearbox which signed the car's death warrant - gradually failing to shift down unless you induced a violent 'kickdown' to bully the car into moving. I even forked out for a re-build (expensive) which nicely restored the status quo but, alas, only for a few months before it resorted to 'clunking' badly into first gear after coming to a standstill. Then it began also clunking into second on the upshifts, then into third and pretty soon after this I chopped it in for an Alfa Romeo 164.
The Rover went to auction and a few months later I received a phone call from Leicestershire Police (I live in Berkshire!) after the car was found crashed into a tree and abandoned. Apparently, I was still listed as the registered keeper (no, I had informed DVLA when I purchased the Alfa!).
The police advised me to re-advise DVLA that I was no longer the registered keeper, which I duly did. Immediately after this I received a removal charge invoice from a Leicestershire haulage firm contracted by the police to recover crashed/abandoned vehicles. I was spared this charge after I contacted Leicestershire Police who 'took care' of the problem for me.
Finally, a few months after all this, I received a tax reminder notice for the Rover from DVLA and so I had to advise them (for a THIRD time) that I was no longer the registered keeper of the car...
But hey, the 827 Vitesse was an enjoyable and (mostly) reliable machine - while it lasted!
Oddball RS]otic said:
As far as I can remember, the KV6 never had any head gasket issues; that was an issue with the four-pot only.
"Head gasket failure is very rare on the V6" quickly borrowed of the forum.
The reference to hgf failure on the KV6 needs taking out of the article, its more Mirror than PH and is propagating yet another internet myth.
While this is true for the later version fitted to the 75/ZT the version fitted to the 1995 onwards Rover 825 is a disaster with loads being replaced under warranty and the survival rates when they were even 6 years old being very low. On www.ar-online.co.uk they tell the story well, and apparently this early engine was practically hand built and was much modified for the 75. Shame it was so fragile, because the manual versions came with the torsen diff like a Vitesse and it was one of the sweetest V6 engines made, seeming much keener to rev than the later version. Totally showed up what a dated heap the rest of the car was mind you."Head gasket failure is very rare on the V6" quickly borrowed of the forum.
The reference to hgf failure on the KV6 needs taking out of the article, its more Mirror than PH and is propagating yet another internet myth.
With respect to the dead autobox on an 827 this is pretty rare and I'd bet someone had changed the fluid and used regular Dex III rather than the proper hondamatic fluid. Certainly the rebuilt one failing so quickly suggests that was the case. They very rarely failed, the rest of the car would generally fall to bits around the drivetrain on an 827!
Mr2Mike said:
MG ZS - no gasket failure with 100k on the clock.
Toyota MR2 - head gasket failed around 70k miles.
Dots joined, Japanese stuff is obviously crap.
I'm guessing that since you have found these Rovers to be so reliable you're still driving them in preference to anything else Toyota MR2 - head gasket failed around 70k miles.
Dots joined, Japanese stuff is obviously crap.
It's always the same in any Rover/BL based thread. Despite many of us owning and suffering with their legendary poor design and build the cars were actually bulletproof. The reason we all had so much trouble was because we, the owners, just didn't understand them
oh and of course if it hadn't of been for the enormous conspiracy against them (and apparently everything British) Rover would still be 'dominating' the industry today 
It this one was turbo'd and £600 it would be a giggle. As it is its a bit of a slug and something like an old 760 would be way more interesting. Oh, and finally, for the record the K Series was one of the all time great engines, it was just installed poorly in a range of very average shells.
Edited by anonymous-user on Sunday 19th April 08:30
All that stops me condemning the 800 is the weekend I spent with an 820 Vitesse Sport belonging to my then employer. Frankly, the thing was a peach. It went like the clappers, had decent steering, turned in amazingly sharply for such a tank, and generally felt taut and balanced. It was a lovely thing to drive.
Doubting my sanity after these thoughts, I remember finding out subsequently that Autocar rather liked it as well. Rover's chassis engineers had been very successful with the turd-polish in creating this model.
Doubting my sanity after these thoughts, I remember finding out subsequently that Autocar rather liked it as well. Rover's chassis engineers had been very successful with the turd-polish in creating this model.
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