Mercedade's '98 Vitesse in BRG

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tonewheeldude
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Re: Mercedade's '98 Vitesse in BRG

Post by tonewheeldude » Tue Aug 19, 2014 8:03 am

The car looks superb - its my favourite colour for a fastback and I chose the same wheels for my own Fastback (managed to find a set for the Coupe too).
Rover 825 Sterling Diesel Coupe (1999)

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Re: Mercedade's '98 Vitesse in BRG

Post by Bert3 » Thu Aug 21, 2014 9:02 pm

Great news on the MOT, Ade ....... my coupe just about sneaked through yesterday on a retest of emissions (high CO). I had to divert the breather vent through a catch tank, and a good thrash with injector cleaner was needed to overcome a useless cat..... nice to know that there's still at least 3 BRG 800's pottering around the roads in our neck of the woods :D

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Re: Mercedade's '98 Vitesse in BRG

Post by mercedade » Fri Aug 22, 2014 7:52 am

Yep! Although I never see any others - I'm still certain that out of all the silly cars I've owned, the 800s have been the most scarce. In fact, I've only seen 800s during the periods when I haven't owned one.

And all of mine have been green too.

Congratulations on the MOT pass - always a good feeling when you've sneaked under like that!
Adrian
1998 Rover Mk2 820 Vitesse Hatchback (white gold)
Gone...1998 Rover Mk2 820 Vitesse Hatchback (green)
Gone...1992 Rover Mk1 827 SLi Manual (green)
Gone...1998 Rover Mk2 825 Diesel (green)

mercedade
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Re: Mercedade's '98 Vitesse in BRG

Post by mercedade » Thu Oct 02, 2014 7:43 am

I had the timing belt, tensioner and aux belt changed last week. I was getting myself geared up to do it over the weekend, but the lad over the road, who's been hanging around me and my cars since my Merc days and who is doing his qualifications in the local tech college, said he could take it in and do it as 'his' car as an assessed module. Hmm....no need to get my hands dirty and someone is keen to do it? I'm sold.

I bought the parts (which ended up being much more expensive than expected!) and gave him a bit of cash on the side to say thanks - very happy all round.

It's done and the belt looked like it was due for a change - not cracked or anything like that, but equally it's clearly older than 4 years. The tensioner was perfect, but got changed anyway as the belt and tensioner came as a kit so it's not like I could return it.

Peace of mind which will probably outlast the car.
Adrian
1998 Rover Mk2 820 Vitesse Hatchback (white gold)
Gone...1998 Rover Mk2 820 Vitesse Hatchback (green)
Gone...1992 Rover Mk1 827 SLi Manual (green)
Gone...1998 Rover Mk2 825 Diesel (green)

mercedade
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Re: Mercedade's '98 Vitesse in BRG

Post by mercedade » Wed Apr 29, 2015 8:35 am

Some Sunday afternoon fettling saw me finally get around to replacing the odd-job fuel filler neck on the Vitesse with a proper genuine item.

First up, getting the old one off: because the previous owner had replaced the pipe in the past with the filler neck from a Montego (I believe), this part was dead easy. Couple of jubilee clips and snip a few cable ties, and it's all done. However, getting the vapour recovery loop off was a SWINE of a job. It was original so the rubber hoses were pretty much welded to the pipes, with very little room to manoeuvre. I managed to break one of the pipes off inside the hose, but thankfully left just enough visible to be able to dig it out without sacrificing more than about 5mm of hose (there's not a great deal of 'spare' hose on these, so BE CAREFUL).

I actually had an easier time doing this than most, because my loop was separate from the neck (when the PO replaced the neck he left behind the vapour loop, presumably because the Montego doesn't have one), so God knows how hard it would have been if the neck had still been attached.

Whilst the neck was off, it was time to patch up the small hole just above the filler neck - the well known mud-trap that kills off so many filler necks will also take out some of the bodywork if it isn't cleaned out properly.

In the end, (quite) a few sheet of fibreglass were employed for this job - all it really does is prevent fuel smells entering the cabin when filling up, and stops water getting in when driving in wet conditions (I suspect this has been the primary cause of my steamy rear window). It was a disgusting, dirty job - resin gets everywhere, over everything, but at least it did the job.

Then, time to fit the new neck - covered the pipework with a smear or two of Vaseline to ensure the pipes slipped on easily, then job done.

NO PICS I'm afraid - mainly because I was so fed up with changing gloves regularly thanks to my amateurish mixing of fibreglass resin.
Adrian
1998 Rover Mk2 820 Vitesse Hatchback (white gold)
Gone...1998 Rover Mk2 820 Vitesse Hatchback (green)
Gone...1992 Rover Mk1 827 SLi Manual (green)
Gone...1998 Rover Mk2 825 Diesel (green)

mercedade
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Re: Mercedade's '98 Vitesse in BRG

Post by mercedade » Wed Apr 29, 2015 8:43 am

End results - I discovered the source of my intermittent fuel smell was the very tip of the vapour loop (where the pipework goes very, very thin). Once I had the loop off, I sprayed some WD40 down it and sure enough, got a drip-drip-drip from the tip. It wasn't much, but certainly enough to account for the smell.

I took it for it's first fill-up last night and got an extremely satisfying 'psssshhh' when I undid the filler cap - the vacuum is back! This is great news (and in no small part down to the new neoprene seal courtesy of Dave 'scoobyh123').

I also no longer get fuel smells in the boot or the cabin. Very pleased indeed.
Adrian
1998 Rover Mk2 820 Vitesse Hatchback (white gold)
Gone...1998 Rover Mk2 820 Vitesse Hatchback (green)
Gone...1992 Rover Mk1 827 SLi Manual (green)
Gone...1998 Rover Mk2 825 Diesel (green)

mercedade
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Re: Mercedade's '98 Vitesse in BRG

Post by mercedade » Thu May 07, 2015 9:48 pm

While I have the option, I've been taking advantage of the local FE College to do jobs that otherwise would never get done.

This week, it was time to clean the injectors in their fancy ultrasonic cleaner and get them tested on the rig:

Removing the upper part of the inlet manifold

Image

They're out:

Image

Testing, testing:

Image

As you can see, injector 4 was a little clogged compared to the other. So wacked them all in the cleaner (they were all pretty grotty)

Testing, testing #2

Image

End result, 4 spotless injectors and far, far smoother acceleration. I may even see improved MPG, but it'll be a long time before I can work that one out because I'm just driving so little at the moment.
Adrian
1998 Rover Mk2 820 Vitesse Hatchback (white gold)
Gone...1998 Rover Mk2 820 Vitesse Hatchback (green)
Gone...1992 Rover Mk1 827 SLi Manual (green)
Gone...1998 Rover Mk2 825 Diesel (green)

mercedade
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Re: Mercedade's '98 Vitesse in BRG

Post by mercedade » Mon Jun 08, 2015 1:28 pm

More handbrake faff.

The offside cable had seized, causing the caliper to bind. I'm not sure what prompted this, but it was absolutely solid when I grabbed the end of it with some grips.

In the end, I carefully pulled back the rubber boot, and dripped some 3-in-1 oil down it. Then, with the cables disconnected from the calipers (on both sides), and with the aid of a willing assistant operating the handbrake in the car, some brute force got it moving again. We then spent a bit of time working it back and forth, re-oiling as we went, until the movement was nice and smooth again.

Pistons were wound back, pads re-fitted, cable reconnected to the calipers and now all is right again.

I don't think the off-side spring is strong enough to return the handbrake mechanism, so I pinged that off and opened it up a little bit which has made a world of difference. I've also ordered a replacement spring to keep in reserve in case it's actually losing its power.
Adrian
1998 Rover Mk2 820 Vitesse Hatchback (white gold)
Gone...1998 Rover Mk2 820 Vitesse Hatchback (green)
Gone...1992 Rover Mk1 827 SLi Manual (green)
Gone...1998 Rover Mk2 825 Diesel (green)

mercedade
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Re: Mercedade's '98 Vitesse in BRG

Post by mercedade » Sun Jul 19, 2015 6:53 pm

MOT time has rolled around again - booked in for Tuesday.

I'm expecting a fail (on rust) but have put aside a decent budget for repairs. However, I've held off getting the welding done just in case more horrors lurk...
Adrian
1998 Rover Mk2 820 Vitesse Hatchback (white gold)
Gone...1998 Rover Mk2 820 Vitesse Hatchback (green)
Gone...1992 Rover Mk1 827 SLi Manual (green)
Gone...1998 Rover Mk2 825 Diesel (green)

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vito
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Re: Mercedade's '98 Vitesse in BRG

Post by vito » Sun Jul 19, 2015 8:15 pm

Good luck Ade ............. fingers crossed
Gaz (or Gary if we're being formal)

2004 Streetwise Diesel 5 Door in Silver.

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Re: Mercedade's '98 Vitesse in BRG

Post by scoobyh123 » Sun Jul 19, 2015 10:50 pm

Plus one on what Gaz said!
Cheers,
Dave

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Re: Mercedade's '98 Vitesse in BRG

Post by mercedade » Wed Jul 22, 2015 7:08 pm

Thanks chaps. Unbelievably, it passed without needing even so much as a bulb.

An advisory for the rear discs, but that's a long-standing familiar friend :)

Dead chuffed with that - to the extent that I can't quite believe it.

I took it to a branch of National Tyre who do a half-price MOT if you book online (£27). I'd normally advise against that kind of thing, but I reasoned that whilst it's probably 'risky' to take your 6 year old VAG box in there to be told you need 100 different suspension components, each charged at £90 flat rate, it would probably be clear to them that there's not going to be much work coming their way from a car which is clearly maintained by me.

Perhaps I'm being unfair (seeing as I've never actually been done over by National Tyre) but in any case, job done and 13 months of legal motoring awaits.
Adrian
1998 Rover Mk2 820 Vitesse Hatchback (white gold)
Gone...1998 Rover Mk2 820 Vitesse Hatchback (green)
Gone...1992 Rover Mk1 827 SLi Manual (green)
Gone...1998 Rover Mk2 825 Diesel (green)

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Re: Mercedade's '98 Vitesse in BRG

Post by scoobyh123 » Wed Jul 22, 2015 11:38 pm

Fantastic news, well done!
Cheers,
Dave

'02 Honda CR-V SE Executive
'99 Jag S Type 3.0 V6 SE


Image
'94 827 Sterling saloon
'88 Volvo 760 V6 Estate
'95 827 Coupé LPG gone but not forgotten!

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vito
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Re: Mercedade's '98 Vitesse in BRG

Post by vito » Thu Jul 23, 2015 8:05 am

Congrats .......
Gaz (or Gary if we're being formal)

2004 Streetwise Diesel 5 Door in Silver.

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Re: Mercedade's '98 Vitesse in BRG

Post by Alucard7002 » Thu Jul 23, 2015 8:35 pm

Crikey mate - well done!

How are the sils looking on it?
Dušan - head lunatic @ Four Paw Racing

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