British Barge Content-my Rover 75 V6
Discussion
After 18 months driving a Peugeot 106 diesel around, I wanted a bit of luxury. Handily enough my mileage to work has dropped considerably, so I was able to indulge in a little childhood nostalgia (my parents had two when I was in my early teens) with a 75 2.5 V6 Connoisseur. Geek fact-it's a pre production model, chassis 001517. Confirmed by the weird spec-electric memory seats, Serpents (and wonderful wheels they are too!) together with 15" Crown wheels supplied, sunblind but a radio/cassette with no CD changer. Sorry, wireless. Must use the correct terminology, old chap.
I'm chuffed with how the paint has come up after a Monday spent claying, machine polishing with various 3M potions then a coat of Autoglym HD Wax. It wasn't bad, just the proper colour (Atlantic Blue) was hidden under a haze of swirls and minor marks.
Lashings of soft piped leather and (on these early ones) a real slab of timber across the dash. It's like sitting in a drawing room. Smoking jacket on order.
2.5 litres of creamy V6. All appears well in the engine room-it's as quiet as a church mouse below 3000rpm, with a lovely snarl if one wishes to be ungentlemanly. We'll ignore the 26mpg it's averaging for the moment.
It appears to have been owned (and barely used at 31k miles!) by an older gentleman. It's been looked after well and seems largely original. No corrosion, all the panels are straight and tidy, the interior is something else and smells wonderful. Is it weird to sniff a car? Hope not.
I've written to the previous owner in the hope he'll be able to provide some history, as it didn't come with much (i.e. none!). The small independent trader I bought the car from gave it a C service including cam belts (handy as they're a substantial job on these!). However, a C service doesn't include spark plugs or auto transmission fluid-the condition of both suggest these haven't been done in a while...plugs extracted from the rear bank on the right. The 75 design team clearly had a wannabe postman onside as accessing the rear bank of plugs involved working through a letterbox.
I've got a set of OEM Xenons to fit, and that radio cassette unfortunately has to go-75's have got the same ICE as the BMW 3-Series of the same era, so the aftermarket is full of alternatives. A Navall Android head unit is in the pipeline-it'll give digital TV, DAB radio, Bluetooth and lots of modern, newfangled things. I'm sure the 75 would rather I send a telegram.
A geometry check this afternoon got all wheels pointing in the correct direction, which certainly helps stop the annoying/frightening random pulls and shimmying over bumps. Finally there's a pair of OEM mats coming-it however helps when the owner isn't a tit and orders RHD mats, instead of LHD. Not that I did that, you understand.
I'm chuffed with how the paint has come up after a Monday spent claying, machine polishing with various 3M potions then a coat of Autoglym HD Wax. It wasn't bad, just the proper colour (Atlantic Blue) was hidden under a haze of swirls and minor marks.
Lashings of soft piped leather and (on these early ones) a real slab of timber across the dash. It's like sitting in a drawing room. Smoking jacket on order.
2.5 litres of creamy V6. All appears well in the engine room-it's as quiet as a church mouse below 3000rpm, with a lovely snarl if one wishes to be ungentlemanly. We'll ignore the 26mpg it's averaging for the moment.
It appears to have been owned (and barely used at 31k miles!) by an older gentleman. It's been looked after well and seems largely original. No corrosion, all the panels are straight and tidy, the interior is something else and smells wonderful. Is it weird to sniff a car? Hope not.
I've written to the previous owner in the hope he'll be able to provide some history, as it didn't come with much (i.e. none!). The small independent trader I bought the car from gave it a C service including cam belts (handy as they're a substantial job on these!). However, a C service doesn't include spark plugs or auto transmission fluid-the condition of both suggest these haven't been done in a while...plugs extracted from the rear bank on the right. The 75 design team clearly had a wannabe postman onside as accessing the rear bank of plugs involved working through a letterbox.
I've got a set of OEM Xenons to fit, and that radio cassette unfortunately has to go-75's have got the same ICE as the BMW 3-Series of the same era, so the aftermarket is full of alternatives. A Navall Android head unit is in the pipeline-it'll give digital TV, DAB radio, Bluetooth and lots of modern, newfangled things. I'm sure the 75 would rather I send a telegram.
A geometry check this afternoon got all wheels pointing in the correct direction, which certainly helps stop the annoying/frightening random pulls and shimmying over bumps. Finally there's a pair of OEM mats coming-it however helps when the owner isn't a tit and orders RHD mats, instead of LHD. Not that I did that, you understand.
Edited by itcaptainslow on Thursday 25th January 17:58
davebem said:
Nice find and looks exceptional condition for a nearly 20 year old car. Its a shame the V6 engine is covered up with all those plastic covers, maybe Im too used to working on Alfas of the same vintage.
It’s not especially pretty underneath! A plastic inlet manifold, a mess of breather pipes and injectors.spaceship said:
That is lovely. Looks really nice all polished up. Will the 26mpg be an issue?
When will you start smoking a pipe?
Question 1-I hope not! Going from 55mpg to um, considerably less stings a bit but my annual mileage has dropped considerably and I’ve got a Honda Grom (for those not familiar-it’s a 125cc modern day monkey bike) that does 120mpg for the ride to the station and general titting about on; I like to think it offsets the 75’s ability to make whole forests wilt as it poodles past. Plus-diesel bad, petrol good. When will you start smoking a pipe?
Am I doing this right?
Question 2-No. Maybe. Probably. Or snuff tobacco-can you still buy that?
sjc said:
Well done. I’m on my second V6 Connie SE for barge 20k miles PA leave anywhere barge duties. Both bought with 28k and 37k miles respectively for silly cheap money. Latest one is now approaching 100k.The Navall sat back is a decent bit of kit from RadioGuy.
This is Tiff driving my original car on Fifth Gear ...
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=IxIfNpUO2N8
I still have vague childhood memories (or imagination-I had a vivid one, apparently) of the S-Type and 75 being at the same motorshow and the press all cooing over the Rover.This is Tiff driving my original car on Fifth Gear ...
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=IxIfNpUO2N8
Now Jag is all Cool Britannia and Rover is, well, not. It actually genuinely makes me a little bit sad. Didn’t some Italians vote the 75 the most handsome saloon car ever made?
If you can’t tell, I’m a little bit smitten with something I shouldn’t be. Usually it’s the fit girl next door, except this time it’s the lardy OAP in bloomers.
AndrewCrown said:
itcaptainslow said:
I've got a set of OEM Xenons to fit, and that radio cassette unfortunately has to go-75's have got the same ICE as the BMW 3-Series of the same era, so the aftermarket is full of alternatives. A Navall Android head unit is in the pipeline-it'll give digital TV, DAB radio, Bluetooth and lots of modern, newfangled things. I'm sure the 75 would rather I send a telegram.
ITCSEdited by itcaptainslow on Thursday 25th January 17:58
Lovely find... Just a suggestion, why don't you leave the Radio Cassette in place... it looks great as it is.. it would be nice to keep something this original... original... I have a couple of 1995 cars where an auto electrician has wired me up alternative up to date ICE and comms in discreet places.
The trouble is that would mean changing the instrument pack for the HiLine message centre and it all sounds a complete pain in the arse, if I’m honest.
I agree regarding originality but I’d like it to be useable, too. It’s a daily although one I’ll be using sparingly and certainly babying a little bit. From what I’ve seen the Navall units look pretty sympathetic.
No radio cassettes will be harmed in the making of this post, etc.
sjc said:
The Navall is a ten minute plug and play job.
Theresa a dedicated forum for Ice on
www.the75andztclub.co.uk . It’s a brilliant forum for knowledge and help.
Out of interest, what did you grab it for if you don’t mind revealing ?
Paid £2950, which I reckon is decent value! I went to see one beforehand for £2k which had been subjected to a very poor repair down one side, had higher miles and oil in the coolant...the seller hadn’t done any prep and knew nothing about the car.Theresa a dedicated forum for Ice on
www.the75andztclub.co.uk . It’s a brilliant forum for knowledge and help.
Out of interest, what did you grab it for if you don’t mind revealing ?
This one-the seller had done a significant amount of prep (cambelts!), knew the car’s inside out (he was a bit of an enthusiast himself) and was just generally delightful to deal with. Wish all traders were like him!
Some 75’s are up for daft money (£6k!) but if that’s an indication of the way things are going then I’ll take it!
sjc said:
My previous one ready to leave for Fifth Gear Filming 
And the current one, nowhere near as good in quality of materials as yours or mine original pre-project drive.
Both were one owner,old man owned,very low mileage ( 28k and 33k)cost £2300 in 2009 and £1300 in 2014.
They have enough kit to be convenient, and the NVH levels ( especially in the early ones) put modern cars to shame.
Yore gonna love it, and you’ll get strangely attached to it !!
They're lovely-the Meteor alloys are another set I really like. Dark body with cream leather too-splendid. What happened to the first one?And the current one, nowhere near as good in quality of materials as yours or mine original pre-project drive.
Both were one owner,old man owned,very low mileage ( 28k and 33k)cost £2300 in 2009 and £1300 in 2014.
They have enough kit to be convenient, and the NVH levels ( especially in the early ones) put modern cars to shame.
Yore gonna love it, and you’ll get strangely attached to it !!
sjc said:
Meteors I bought off Ebay, those and the Serpents are my fave wheels.
The first one I took to 90K miles and the water pump went, which was a shame as it had been changed with the belts so just unlucky.At the same time I had the chance of buying the gold one with 33k on for £1300 from a work colleague who now had a company van. I put the blue one on the 75 forum anda well know collector/guru on all things 75 called Jules promptly came down all the way from Wales to Essex, retro fitted cruise into my new one, swapped the wheels, serviced it and drove the old one back at 30 mile intervals in between topping up the water! He then repaired it completely and then sold it to a forum member who wanted it originally. Could have sold it several times over due to its TV history !
Awesome! I recognise Jules; I’m on the 75 & ZT owners club. The cruise retro fit is something else I want to do on this one actually-it doesn’t look a horrendous job, just a case of collecting all the bits required.The first one I took to 90K miles and the water pump went, which was a shame as it had been changed with the belts so just unlucky.At the same time I had the chance of buying the gold one with 33k on for £1300 from a work colleague who now had a company van. I put the blue one on the 75 forum anda well know collector/guru on all things 75 called Jules promptly came down all the way from Wales to Essex, retro fitted cruise into my new one, swapped the wheels, serviced it and drove the old one back at 30 mile intervals in between topping up the water! He then repaired it completely and then sold it to a forum member who wanted it originally. Could have sold it several times over due to its TV history !
Edited by sjc on Friday 26th January 13:27
RC1807 said:
OP: very nice purchase
Tweed jackets and suitable hats now required
Regarding your suggestion to fit xenon lights, I saw somewhere else, probably on PH, about new MOT requirements.
IIRC, it will fail an MOT if the car doesn't have the suitable headlight washer to go with the xenons?
From what I’ve read it needs washers/auto levellers to function if they were originally fitted. If they’re not fitted they don’t have to function.Tweed jackets and suitable hats now required
Regarding your suggestion to fit xenon lights, I saw somewhere else, probably on PH, about new MOT requirements.
IIRC, it will fail an MOT if the car doesn't have the suitable headlight washer to go with the xenons?
Nickp82 said:
Thought so, I could tell by the mention of the prep that went in to it, there's not many who are prepared to go to the lengths he is. As you say, very nice guy.
The amount he’s doing to one he’s got on the go at the moment is immense! I see a lot of my OCD in him, probably why I knew this one was for me 
skeeterm5 said:
I think time has been kind to the original design, it looks,good.
More so than the facelift (goes for all MG Rover’s!) in my opinion!Helps that the pre-facelift stuff wasn’t built to a budget either-the materials in the cabin are really top drawer. It feels built to last.
Pistom said:
Great cars. Still massively underated. Still drive well by modern standards.
The budget models diluted the image. They really shouldn't have been made with anything less than 6 cylinders.
I do think Classic and Club trims look a bit, well, poo compared to the Connoisseur. Delightfully though you could have either a fully loaded 1.8 petrol or a base spec 2.5 V6-how many other manufacturers did that? The budget models diluted the image. They really shouldn't have been made with anything less than 6 cylinders.
Fun Bus said:
This started life as a Rover Cars factory demonstrator/management car. As already stated, it is a very, very early car. Not pre-production as such I don't think but one of the first.
ETA: Serpents were not a factory option on the 75 - they were an aftermarket accessory.
That does fit as Rover were the first registered keeper on the V5. The VIN number starts "00" which according to the 75 owners club is a pre-launch/pre-production car (terminology varies!).ETA: Serpents were not a factory option on the 75 - they were an aftermarket accessory.
Edited by Fun Bus on Friday 16th February 13:31
I wasn't aware of the Serpents being an accessory fit-I always thought they were an option, as I remember playing with the configurator on the Rover website way back when; you could specify Serpents on the 75 and the smaller Serpents on the 25 & 45.
There's been a couple of updates to the car-pictures to follow shortly!
So then dear readers...I have a bit of a confession to make. You know I said I bought this with the intention of using it as a daily?
Yeah, I've fallen a bit in love with it. Might have decided it's just too lovely to park at the station. Or outside. It's now got a space in one of my garages. It hurts emotionally to drive it in the wet.
I'm not going to be scared to use it but I'm certainly a little more sensitive over how and when I use it compared to the Peugeot that proceeded it. A Honda MSX125 deals with the commute now, occasionally the 75 will have a run over to Cambridge when I have to drive instead of getting the train. Coming off shift at a chilly 1am will be a whole lot better when I have a drawing room with heated armchairs to whisk me home.
A trip to the Millau bridge in the south of France is planned to stretch it's legs, hopefully in May. Perfect tool for the job (and for keeping French petrol stations afloat).
In other news, I've replaced the headlamps with a pair of genuine MG Rover Xenon units. Smartens the front end up and the light output is so much better.
I've ordered & fitted a pair of period Rover number plates-"MG Rover Group" along the bottom of the plate didn't come along until 2003 from memory so the plain purple "Rover" was the closest I was going to get.
Finally, I'm keeping the British end up. Tally ho, etc.
I've ordered a Navall Android head unit complete with dash cam, digital TV tuner, DAB and OBDII adaptor; I'm still awaiting for it to arrive. Apparently UPS can't find my address as it's a new build. Slightly awkward; not being able to find a location, being a parcel delivery company and all that. Other couriers haven't had an issue.
The car is still doing around 26mpg give or take, driving beautifully (it's benefitting from some use I think-I'm only doing 60-80 miles or so a week in it but that will be in one hit at a weekend) and I can't resist a sneaky, but lingering look back when walking away. Or popping my head inside to have a sniff when I nip down to the garage. The combination of leather, wood and a smell that can only be described as "old Rover" takes me straight back to sitting in the showroom of Diamond Rover with my Dad as he ordered his new one.
It's probably the least sporting car I've ever owned (OK, maybe a lime green Proton with no heater takes that one) but it's definitely one of the best. Nostalgia certainly plays a part in the ownership draw but the fact is-take away the sepia tinted memories and it's still a superb motor car. MG Rover going under was a tragic loss and with better management, they'd have turned out more wonderful cars like this.
Yeah, I've fallen a bit in love with it. Might have decided it's just too lovely to park at the station. Or outside. It's now got a space in one of my garages. It hurts emotionally to drive it in the wet.
I'm not going to be scared to use it but I'm certainly a little more sensitive over how and when I use it compared to the Peugeot that proceeded it. A Honda MSX125 deals with the commute now, occasionally the 75 will have a run over to Cambridge when I have to drive instead of getting the train. Coming off shift at a chilly 1am will be a whole lot better when I have a drawing room with heated armchairs to whisk me home.
A trip to the Millau bridge in the south of France is planned to stretch it's legs, hopefully in May. Perfect tool for the job (and for keeping French petrol stations afloat).
In other news, I've replaced the headlamps with a pair of genuine MG Rover Xenon units. Smartens the front end up and the light output is so much better.
I've ordered & fitted a pair of period Rover number plates-"MG Rover Group" along the bottom of the plate didn't come along until 2003 from memory so the plain purple "Rover" was the closest I was going to get.
Finally, I'm keeping the British end up. Tally ho, etc.
I've ordered a Navall Android head unit complete with dash cam, digital TV tuner, DAB and OBDII adaptor; I'm still awaiting for it to arrive. Apparently UPS can't find my address as it's a new build. Slightly awkward; not being able to find a location, being a parcel delivery company and all that. Other couriers haven't had an issue.
The car is still doing around 26mpg give or take, driving beautifully (it's benefitting from some use I think-I'm only doing 60-80 miles or so a week in it but that will be in one hit at a weekend) and I can't resist a sneaky, but lingering look back when walking away. Or popping my head inside to have a sniff when I nip down to the garage. The combination of leather, wood and a smell that can only be described as "old Rover" takes me straight back to sitting in the showroom of Diamond Rover with my Dad as he ordered his new one.
It's probably the least sporting car I've ever owned (OK, maybe a lime green Proton with no heater takes that one) but it's definitely one of the best. Nostalgia certainly plays a part in the ownership draw but the fact is-take away the sepia tinted memories and it's still a superb motor car. MG Rover going under was a tragic loss and with better management, they'd have turned out more wonderful cars like this.
kainedog said:
Always wondered what engines ended up in these 75’s. Had hondas ties with Rover finished by then ? Some had bmw td’s , rare ones had ford v8s so where did the v6 originate ?
Rover's partnership with Honda had finished when the KV6 was being developed-mid nineties from memory (1996?). It's Rover designed and built.The engines available were a 1.8 K-Series in NA & turbo form, 2.0 & 2.5 KV6's (the 2.5 had 160bhp, 180bhp & 190bhp variants), the 4.6 V8 from the Mustang and a BMW sourced 2.0 CDTI unit.
kainedog said:
he 1.8 t versions must have been some of the last? Turbocharging that engine was asking for trouble surely ?
2002ish onwards I think. I don’t think they’re any more problematic than the NA K-Series-once the well known foible is sorted they provide reliable service. Drive pretty well, too! A decent balance of performance and economy. I’m biased obviously but for me it has to be the V6, despite the bills; the relaxed, velvety drive suits the car perfectly.
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