Jim's Car History - Rust, Rice & Fibreglass
Discussion
Yup .. Great write up 
I loved my Rover Metro GTa , it was my 1st car .. H806 JSJ ( How sad that I remember the reg from 21 yrs ago
), ex-demo from David Brysons in Prestwick , 3000 miles, White , with the black side-mouldings with the red stripe , and a choke! 
I always remember I wished I could afford the Nightflame Pearlesent GTi that was in the showroom .. with the better seats ( that actually had headrests and not a hard black plastisc loop !) and ooh those red seatbelts
Despite all the things that went wrong with it over the more than 10 years and 116,000 miles of ownership - HGFs, internal heating matrix pi**ing coolant all over the inside x 2 , heavy steering and , at that time very expensive tyres , I still miss it .. and want 1 now!
Thanks for the memories
Steve
I loved my Rover Metro GTa , it was my 1st car .. H806 JSJ ( How sad that I remember the reg from 21 yrs ago
), ex-demo from David Brysons in Prestwick , 3000 miles, White , with the black side-mouldings with the red stripe , and a choke! I always remember I wished I could afford the Nightflame Pearlesent GTi that was in the showroom .. with the better seats ( that actually had headrests and not a hard black plastisc loop !) and ooh those red seatbelts
Despite all the things that went wrong with it over the more than 10 years and 116,000 miles of ownership - HGFs, internal heating matrix pi**ing coolant all over the inside x 2 , heavy steering and , at that time very expensive tyres , I still miss it .. and want 1 now!
Thanks for the memories
Steve
vit4 said:
Brilliant thread Jim, and something I've been looking to do quite seriously Is there any chance you could either post or PM me the details on how hard or easy it is to do the VVC swap please?
It's a very easy swap if you want to keep the original metro r65 box as you can use the original mounts, shafts etc - Try and find an R65U gearbox which are slightly stronger than the original rover metro boxes, I think they are fitted from 1ate 95 on to 1.4 & 1.6 K series engined Rovers. Is there any chance you could either post or PM me the details on how hard or easy it is to do the VVC swap please? The PG1 box as fitted to MGFs, TFs, Elises and the 1.8 Rovers is much stronger and easier to find an LSD for but you will need MGF shafts and a gear linkage (rod type) from a rover 200 or 400 with the PG1 box. The gear linkage will need to be cut down to fit the Metro.
As for wiring there are a few minor changes required to adapt the metro loom to the engine loom and you will need the matching fob, ecu and 5AS immobiliser box from the donor car, these cost around £40 to get paired up so make sure it's all out of one car. The best donor car would be a front ended MGF VVC, you can use the whole rear subframe, shafts engine, loom etc and they can be picked up for around £500.
Suspension and brakes can be uprated very easily also.
There is a great forum: www.metropower.org.uk/forum where you'll fine everything you need for sale and people such as Dave VVC can help with the wiring.
Goldmember1 said:
Yup .. Great write up
I loved my Rover Metro GTa , it was my 1st car .. H806 JSJ ( How sad that I remember the reg from 21 yrs ago ), ex-demo from David Brysons in Prestwick , 3000 miles, White , with the black side-mouldings with the red stripe , and a choke!
I always remember I wished I could afford the Nightflame Pearlesent GTi that was in the showroom .. with the better seats ( that actually had headrests and not a hard black plastisc loop !) and ooh those red seatbelts
Despite all the things that went wrong with it over the more than 10 years and 116,000 miles of ownership - HGFs, internal heating matrix pi**ing coolant all over the inside x 2 , heavy steering and , at that time very expensive tyres , I still miss it .. and want 1 now!
Thanks for the memories
Steve
The original carbed GTas are very rare now, would have loved one from new I loved my Rover Metro GTa , it was my 1st car .. H806 JSJ ( How sad that I remember the reg from 21 yrs ago
), ex-demo from David Brysons in Prestwick , 3000 miles, White , with the black side-mouldings with the red stripe , and a choke! I always remember I wished I could afford the Nightflame Pearlesent GTi that was in the showroom .. with the better seats ( that actually had headrests and not a hard black plastisc loop !) and ooh those red seatbelts
Despite all the things that went wrong with it over the more than 10 years and 116,000 miles of ownership - HGFs, internal heating matrix pi**ing coolant all over the inside x 2 , heavy steering and , at that time very expensive tyres , I still miss it .. and want 1 now!
Thanks for the memories
Steve
iamrcb said:
enjoyed reading your post, any chance of listing ALL of your past cars?
Sure, here it is in chronological order:1989 Austin Metro 1.3 Studio 2
1992 Metro 1.1L
1991 Rover Metro Gti MPi
1990 Mini City E
1990 Mini Racing Green
1991 Rover Metro Gti MPi SE 1.8
1991 Rover Metro Gti MPi SE
1999 Rover 214 Si
1987 Peugeot 205 1.9 GTi
1990 Rover Metro Gti SPi
1993 Rover Metro Gti MPi 1.8 VVC
199r Rover 114 GTA Mpi
1999 Rover 200 BRM
1991 Rover Metro Gti MPi
1993 Rover Metro Gti MPi
1992 Rover Metro Gti MPi SE 1.8 VVC
1992 Rover Mini Cooper SPi
1989 MG Metro
1992 Rover Metro Gti MPi
1998 Rover 200VI
1992 Mazda RX-7 FD Type R
1993 Rover Metro Gti MPi
1998 Subaru Impreza STi V4
1994 Rover Metro Gti MPi 1.8 VVC
1990 MG Metro Turbo
1987 Toyota MR2
1994 Rover Metro GTi 1.8
1994 Rover Metro Gti MPi
2000 VW Golf 1.8T GTi
1999 Lotus Elise 111S
1996 Nissan Skyline GT-R
1989 Metro Turbo
1994 Rover Metro Gti
1994 Rover Metro Gti 1.8 VVC
2008 Mini Cooper S
2001 VW Lupo 1.0
1997 Subaru Impreza STI Type R V4
2000 Rover Mini Cooper Sport
1998 Mazda MX-5 1.8 S
1963 Austin Mini Super Deluxe
1996 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IV
That's a total of 41 cars in 12 years
Edited by JimVVC on Saturday 19th February 17:22
JimVVC said:
Goldmember1 said:
Yup .. Great write up
I loved my Rover Metro GTa , it was my 1st car .. H806 JSJ ( How sad that I remember the reg from 21 yrs ago ), ex-demo from David Brysons in Prestwick , 3000 miles, White , with the black side-mouldings with the red stripe , and a choke!
I always remember I wished I could afford the Nightflame Pearlesent GTi that was in the showroom .. with the better seats ( that actually had headrests and not a hard black plastisc loop !) and ooh those red seatbelts
Despite all the things that went wrong with it over the more than 10 years and 116,000 miles of ownership - HGFs, internal heating matrix pi**ing coolant all over the inside x 2 , heavy steering and , at that time very expensive tyres , I still miss it .. and want 1 now!
Thanks for the memories
Steve
The original carbed GTas are very rare now, would have loved one from new I loved my Rover Metro GTa , it was my 1st car .. H806 JSJ ( How sad that I remember the reg from 21 yrs ago
), ex-demo from David Brysons in Prestwick , 3000 miles, White , with the black side-mouldings with the red stripe , and a choke! I always remember I wished I could afford the Nightflame Pearlesent GTi that was in the showroom .. with the better seats ( that actually had headrests and not a hard black plastisc loop !) and ooh those red seatbelts
Despite all the things that went wrong with it over the more than 10 years and 116,000 miles of ownership - HGFs, internal heating matrix pi**ing coolant all over the inside x 2 , heavy steering and , at that time very expensive tyres , I still miss it .. and want 1 now!
Thanks for the memories
Steve
I used to get ripped for having a Metro, back then novas or fiestas were more popular, the left-field choice was an AX GT whereas kids with a bit more money sometimes had corsas. In all honesty, I think the Metro is more desirable than most of them now due to it's rarity, perhaps that is rose tinted glasses but I think they have even aged pretty well.
It's true what you say, I cant remember the last time I saw a GTa or a GTi for that matter. They were never particularly common cars when I had mine and that was over ten years ago most have probably dissolved, a dvla check shows mine was off the road in 2002.
Still waiting for my insurance to make me an offer for the EVO, can't wait to go car shopping!
RV8 said:
Mine was a carb on manual choke too in BRG with the hub caps rather than alloys. I still think it was nippier than my MX5 even though it had a smaller engine and half as many valves.
I used to get ripped for having a Metro, back then novas or fiestas were more popular, the left-field choice was an AX GT whereas kids with a bit more money sometimes had corsas. In all honesty, I think the Metro is more desirable than most of them now due to it's rarity, perhaps that is rose tinted glasses but I think they have even aged pretty well.
It's true what you say, I cant remember the last time I saw a GTa or a GTi for that matter. They were never particularly common cars when I had mine and that was over ten years ago most have probably dissolved, a dvla check shows mine was off the road in 2002.
I'd say it was the rose tinted glasses but this thread shows they do have a few fans these days I used to get ripped for having a Metro, back then novas or fiestas were more popular, the left-field choice was an AX GT whereas kids with a bit more money sometimes had corsas. In all honesty, I think the Metro is more desirable than most of them now due to it's rarity, perhaps that is rose tinted glasses but I think they have even aged pretty well.
It's true what you say, I cant remember the last time I saw a GTa or a GTi for that matter. They were never particularly common cars when I had mine and that was over ten years ago most have probably dissolved, a dvla check shows mine was off the road in 2002.
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