Timewarp Rover 214 SEI

[itcaptainslow]

Thought I’d update this thread as I sent the link to a friend to browse.

gweaver said:

Great car.

Interesting that no one on this thread has reported HGF on an early (90-95) R8. I think it might not have been a common issue on the early 1.4s.

You jinxed it! The head gasket on this one failed at 14k miles in July 2020 - a sealing track ruptured, causing coolant to piss outwards down the block/over the nicely fixed alternator by cylinder one. Fortunately no oil/coolant interface to clean up.

Whilst it was all apart I suffered a bit of mission creep, and stripped the front subframes/suspension and cleaned everything, and had the larger components powder coated and bolts zinc coated. Will post some pictures when I have a chance. I tried to preserve the originality whilst tidying up and making perfect - hopefully I’ve struck the right balance.

[itcaptainslow]

gweaver said:

Sorry about that!

HGF probably par for the course with many cars by 27 years though.

I wasn’t even angry, or disappointed - mainly as I got to take it apart and fix it!

[itcaptainslow]

greenarrow said:

Happy you have kept it. So few early to mid 90s cars left which is such a pity as they are very usable still and probably ride better than most moderns. Can't remember the last time I saw this generation of Rover.

Thanks - I’d never say never but it feels like a “keep as long as I can” one. Been joined in the stable by a 200Vi (click for Reader’s Cars thread) which is another “keep forever if I can”, so I’ve my two dream Rovers, being acutely aware I am the only person to have ever said that.

[itcaptainslow]

Lincsls1 said:

Very nice OP, lovely to see.
I loved my SEi. Felt like a proper posh motor back then.
This thread makes me want another!
This was mine.

Lovely looking thing in Nightfire Red

Missy Charm said:

Funny, isn't it. We were conditioned to think those things were irredeemably naff at the time, the preserve of blue blazered Rotarians who holidayed in Bognor Regis, whilst thinking the equivalent Fords and Vauxhalls were cool cars for bright young things about town. Looking back, it seems as if we were wrong, missing out on much nicer interiors and higher equipment levels. The exterior styling has aged well, too. Keep fighting the good fight, sir. I assume it goes well for a 1.4.

I was the weird kid at school who preferred Lotus to Ferrari and whose parents had Rovers (my grandmother worked for BL so was entitled to a hefty familial discount) instead of the usual Ford/Vauxhall offerings. Even more unusual for a kid growing up in Luton in the 90’s - it felt like half the town worked for the Griffin.

Edited by itcaptainslow on Thursday 19th January 07:07