RE: Shed of the Week: Rover Metro
Discussion
r11co said:
Dave Hedgehog said:
just dont crash it 
Or any car designed in the '70's/early '80's, or any pre NCAP car for that matter. In fact ANY car at all as crashing isn't a good idea.
(I didn't think this would make it past half a dozen posts without that old canard getting mentioned).
Jim the Sunderer said:
Of course there's rust on the bonnet latch area.
The rust is on the striker reinforcement plate - purely cosmetic. You could take that off, rub it down and spray it to tidy it up in less than one hour.This choice was always going to trigger an irrational bout of negativity from people who would overlook bigger problems on different marques.
Edited by r11co on Friday 27th April 07:24
They are basically a late seventies car, people wax lyrical about Minis but they were even worse, but were cute and fun.
They did the job, the crash protection is nil, but go and crash a 1980s Polo, Chevette, Renault 5 or any other supermini of the era, all death on a stick.
These were the best of the bunch, the 1.1 K series was a decent little unit, way better than the A series in the earlier ones, pretty practical, good visibility, economical, easy to drive and even had a dose of fun.
We had a few over the years, my mum and an MG one which I loved,
I had a Clubman 1.0 as I was skint when the kids were little and it served me well, I had to put a small patch on the floor for the MOT so folded the carpet out of the way and proceeded to weld, the carpet fell back and caught light I smelt it, jumped out and it was nicely on fire, doused it with a pint of Oracle cordial, so it then smelt of oranges and burning carpet from that point on.
replaced it with a sheddy GTI, utter horror I actively tried to kill by bouncing it off the rev limiter for ages, I must be the only person not able to kill a K series, little s
t just got faster, the handling was horrific on them as they aged, the hydragas leaked and it got lower that messed with the geometry and the radius arms had loads of play in so it would load up and then move, replaced them and sold it to a scrote, who took both parts of the log book after the sale I didnt notice so got speeding and parking tickets, had it go flying past me in Trafford Park to add insult to injury, worked at the Police at the time so had a word and matey got a special visit.
The last two were field cars, a diesel that some poor sod had done 120k in, one owner, then my grandads 1.1 afte r he hung up his keys, sold it on Retro Rides after three years in a barn and the chap put it back on the road, MOT and everything.
I can remember my other grandad getting excited about it coming out in 1980, remember there being a programme about it at the time and he got us all a Corgi toy one.
My auntie had a GTA in red which looked dead funky, F40 NMF, then years later we were at Oulton Park and see that reg again, can you guess what on ?
Ok, they were a bit rough round the edges but part of our motoring history, not sure why people get angry looking at an old supermini, thats weird, nobody is going to make you run one, like the unimaginative oddballs that say "Kill it with fire" or hilariously quote Clarkson about dropping Pianos on Marinas, nobody has to like Metros but I cant raise that much emotion, but for better, or worse I have lots of memories that involve them, and am glad that some survive.
They did the job, the crash protection is nil, but go and crash a 1980s Polo, Chevette, Renault 5 or any other supermini of the era, all death on a stick.
These were the best of the bunch, the 1.1 K series was a decent little unit, way better than the A series in the earlier ones, pretty practical, good visibility, economical, easy to drive and even had a dose of fun.
We had a few over the years, my mum and an MG one which I loved,
I had a Clubman 1.0 as I was skint when the kids were little and it served me well, I had to put a small patch on the floor for the MOT so folded the carpet out of the way and proceeded to weld, the carpet fell back and caught light
I smelt it, jumped out and it was nicely on fire, doused it with a pint of Oracle cordial, so it then smelt of oranges and burning carpet from that point on.replaced it with a sheddy GTI, utter horror I actively tried to kill by bouncing it off the rev limiter for ages, I must be the only person not able to kill a K series, little s
t just got faster, the handling was horrific on them as they aged, the hydragas leaked and it got lower that messed with the geometry and the radius arms had loads of play in so it would load up and then move, replaced them and sold it to a scrote, who took both parts of the log book after the sale I didnt notice so got speeding and parking tickets, had it go flying past me in Trafford Park to add insult to injury, worked at the Police at the time so had a word and matey got a special visit.The last two were field cars, a diesel that some poor sod had done 120k in, one owner, then my grandads 1.1 afte r he hung up his keys, sold it on Retro Rides after three years in a barn and the chap put it back on the road, MOT and everything.
I can remember my other grandad getting excited about it coming out in 1980, remember there being a programme about it at the time and he got us all a Corgi toy one.
My auntie had a GTA in red which looked dead funky, F40 NMF, then years later we were at Oulton Park and see that reg again, can you guess what on ?
Ok, they were a bit rough round the edges but part of our motoring history, not sure why people get angry looking at an old supermini, thats weird, nobody is going to make you run one, like the unimaginative oddballs that say "Kill it with fire" or hilariously quote Clarkson about dropping Pianos on Marinas, nobody has to like Metros but I cant raise that much emotion, but for better, or worse I have lots of memories that involve them, and am glad that some survive.
I have first hand experience of my Mum's 1.0 HLE Metro in the early 80's, which I drove soon after passing my test. The gear knob was marked with 1, 2, 3 & E. The E being economy - actually it was similar to a second reverse gear as when in it, you felt like you were decelerating so much you were going backwards. My work around was just to thrash the living daylights out of it in 3rd!
Hopefully this shed has a more normal gearbox?
Hopefully this shed has a more normal gearbox?
Camelot1971 said:
Are you the Chair of the Metro owners club?
Nope. I'm just a lowly member of the 'Call out Unimaginative Clichés' Club.For the record, two Metros/Rover 100s have passed through my hands over the years (as has one Citroen Saxo VTS).
J4CKO said:
Ok, they were a bit rough round the edges but part of our motoring history, not sure why people get angry looking at an old supermini, thats weird, nobody is going to make you run one, like the unimaginative oddballs that say "Kill it with fire" or hilariously quote Clarkson about dropping Pianos on Marinas, nobody has to like Metros but I cant raise that much emotion, but for better, or worse I have lots of memories that involve them, and am glad that some survive.
Shouldn't need to be said though.
Edited by r11co on Friday 27th April 11:38
Wildcat45 said:
Now if you hate Metros, you'll hate this. Crazy price but I love the idea of Mum's shopping car filled with posh interior fittings. It's bonkers! I think it's gorgeous and clearly the person who bought it at auction this month agrees.
https://angliacarauctions.co.uk/classic/results/re...
I saw that at the auction and you were quite right, it was both bonkers and lovely. Lovely seats combined with an early dash in period brown, yet it somehow managed to look a cut above. I'm not a fan of A Series Metros, but I could see the attraction. K-series Metros I have fonder memories of it must be said. https://angliacarauctions.co.uk/classic/results/re...
Drove one identical to the feature car, '94 1.1 Rio, same colour when it was nearly new, somehow given one as a hire car (& driven accordingly 
)
Still see the occasional one wheezing around the island, seldom driven by anyone who was young enough to have to pay for their t.v. licence. One notable exception was a mate who had stripped one out, cage, perspex etc & fitted a tuned VVT unit - by all accounts quite rapid..
Despite a family history of Metro ownership I think I'd rather have a K11.
)Still see the occasional one wheezing around the island, seldom driven by anyone who was young enough to have to pay for their t.v. licence. One notable exception was a mate who had stripped one out, cage, perspex etc & fitted a tuned VVT unit - by all accounts quite rapid..
Despite a family history of Metro ownership I think I'd rather have a K11.
Metros were crap when new, and a few decades isn't going to help.
OK, this relates to the older A-series cars, but look at the state of the things when they were newish.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qc2kFJRc5AQ
OK, this relates to the older A-series cars, but look at the state of the things when they were newish.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qc2kFJRc5AQ
I had a 1983 1.0L HLE which I ran for pocket money for 5 years. At the time my wife had just passed her driving test and had taken lessons with BSM who had Metro's. I had a Mk1 1500 GLS VW Golf which she hated and I was indifferent to so it made way for the Metro.
It wasn't very nice to drive, though it had a nice ride and was nippy and handled well and it was cheap to run. Initially I hated it but after 5 years and more than 70,000 miles I'd got quite attached to it. It never let us down, handled lots of trips from London to Devon and several house moves, school runs, shopping trips and days out without missing a beat.
These cars were basic and run of the mill, but the memories it brings back are priceless and it's great so see some of these survive.
It wasn't very nice to drive, though it had a nice ride and was nippy and handled well and it was cheap to run. Initially I hated it but after 5 years and more than 70,000 miles I'd got quite attached to it. It never let us down, handled lots of trips from London to Devon and several house moves, school runs, shopping trips and days out without missing a beat.
These cars were basic and run of the mill, but the memories it brings back are priceless and it's great so see some of these survive.
Recently had a mk3 fiesta for a year. More feelsome and entertaining than anything you could buy now, in my experience. The poor acceleration just didn't matter. You drive everywhere on full throttle. Noisy, and dangerous, but that just adds to it.
Suspect this would be similar.
Suspect this would be similar.
Edited by Bennet on Friday 27th April 12:20
When my mate and I were doing a bit of pocket money trading in the early noughties, we took one of these in as part-chop against a Nova saloon. Ended up owing us £90 I think.
My Mum and Dad had Novas when I was a kid and I'd grown up wanting one. My first car ended up being a 205 instead. I remember being disappointed by the Nova and the Metro surprised me as it was actually quite a fun little go-kart. The 205 of course was loads better than both!
We sold the Metro to a local former semi-pro goalkeeper who'd spent some time inside and had now turned his hand to car dealing. It was only a few years later, when some work training resulted in me understanding Money Laundering, that I finally figured out why he'd perhaps been so keen to buy the thing . . .
I'd forgotten about the GTi. I remember my next-door neighbour buying a brand new one on an H. I would have been 12. Cracking looking thing. Where have they all gone?!
My Mum and Dad had Novas when I was a kid and I'd grown up wanting one. My first car ended up being a 205 instead. I remember being disappointed by the Nova and the Metro surprised me as it was actually quite a fun little go-kart. The 205 of course was loads better than both!
We sold the Metro to a local former semi-pro goalkeeper who'd spent some time inside and had now turned his hand to car dealing. It was only a few years later, when some work training resulted in me understanding Money Laundering, that I finally figured out why he'd perhaps been so keen to buy the thing . . .
I'd forgotten about the GTi. I remember my next-door neighbour buying a brand new one on an H. I would have been 12. Cracking looking thing. Where have they all gone?!
I've a fondness for the humble Metro, my first two cars in fact. Still remember the inadvertent Seb Loeb impression I did the first year I passed my test going around a ninety degree corner on compacted snow just down the road from Woodland (Hamsterley Forest), a corner that had a bit of a reputation for having a post van nose first into the drainage ditch more or less every year there was snow.
I had a Mark 1 MG Metro back in 1986 ( bought when it was three years old). At some point in my ownership while as was waiting at a zebra crossing someone in a Porsche drove into the back of me. His car suffered a cracked bumper , mine was in a bodyshop for 5 weeks being straightened out ( I don't know why it wasn't written off )
This was just around the time the new Metro was launched and for those 5 weeks I had a brand new Rover Metro 1.4 LS ( ? ) as a loan car ...
From my memories of then , the new Metro was brilliant , everything was so much better than my old MG ( which had probably done 50k miles, the new one had around 400 miles and I put 2000 on it
). When I got my MG back after 5 weeks it felt and drove awfully compared to the Rover Metro ( which was the fastest thing on the planet because it was a loan car )
I hope it finds a good home and I hope it's loved , it's nice to see things like this preserved and enjoyed. Cheap classic for sure.
This was just around the time the new Metro was launched and for those 5 weeks I had a brand new Rover Metro 1.4 LS ( ? ) as a loan car ...
From my memories of then , the new Metro was brilliant , everything was so much better than my old MG ( which had probably done 50k miles, the new one had around 400 miles and I put 2000 on it
). When I got my MG back after 5 weeks it felt and drove awfully compared to the Rover Metro ( which was the fastest thing on the planet because it was a loan car )I hope it finds a good home and I hope it's loved , it's nice to see things like this preserved and enjoyed. Cheap classic for sure.
A bit harsh to compare the crash test protection of a Mark 4 Polo (launched in 2004) with a Metro which was launched well over a decade earlier.
Yes, they may both have been on sale at the same time in the mid-90s but that was a function of BL / Rover not replacing the model.
I could make a comparison about Mrs Shed and an 18 year old in a nightclub, both there at the same time but with decidedly different bodywork standards and ride quality...
Yes, they may both have been on sale at the same time in the mid-90s but that was a function of BL / Rover not replacing the model.
I could make a comparison about Mrs Shed and an 18 year old in a nightclub, both there at the same time but with decidedly different bodywork standards and ride quality...
Wildcat45 said:
All the bks about it being dangerous is just that. Clearly next to a modern carr it would be hopeless in a crash, but so would a 1980s Volvo, Jag, Escort. Or anything else from that time.
Sorry to go all mumsnet, but you've missed the point made by at least 3 posters (inc myself) who were involved in low speed accidents with them during their production era. I hit a 1991 one in a 1993 Toyota in 1995. At 10mph. It was written off and the occupants couldn't escape the car without us practically ripping the passenger door off.ks about it being dangerous is just that. Clearly next to a modern carr it would be hopeless in a crash, but so would a 1980s Volvo, Jag, Escort. Or anything else from that time. A charming little car in its own way (my mum had a brown Kensington) but jeez, there were fragile little things even when they were new.
I wouldn't say no to a turbo tho!
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