Scoobys new 827 Sterling coupe

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scoobyh123
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Scoobys new 827 Sterling coupe

Post by scoobyh123 » Mon Aug 12, 2013 2:39 am

Those of you that were at the BL/BMC Rally & National Spares day last sunday (4th Aug) may remember i keot muttering about a gold coupe in the West Country and being owed some money by an organisation.

Well said organisation unexpectedly came good long before i thought they would and lo & behold, i had the wherewithall burning a hole in my bank account to make an offer on the gold coupe and hire a trailer and feed petrol at an alarming rate into my Dogmobile to act as a tractor unit. Quite apt that analogy really - the Volvo engine is a develoment of the old Ferguson/Standard-Triumph 4 and 6 cylinder OHV units (think Standard Vanguard, Triumph TR4, Vitesse/2000-2500) originally built for the old petrol powered Ferguson tractor. In a way that loosely relates the Volvo as some kind of distant cousin to the 800..........

..............but i digress!

After emailing the seller known as Steve and convincing him i was genuine ("had so many email tyre-kickers, i'm saying to everyone now to come down to Bristol and have a look") so that he would answer my questions and at least enter into negotiation, i made a cheeky (ish) offer of £300, which to my surprise was accepted. Granted there is no MoT on it but it's done very little mileage since the last one (May 2012) but it turned out to be taxed for the rest of the year so a bit of bargaining saw some money added to my bid to cover the tax.
A few phone calls later and i had a trailer sorted so the following morning, dosed up on caffeine and adrenaline, i collected my new friend and fellow Rover nut Steve from round the corner and we headed off to get the trailer. Paperwork done and dusted, trailer hitched up and it was all aboard for Bristol where the car was.

Thanks to what i suspect are now mandatory roadworks and those PITA "Variable Speed Limit" signs threatening we may reach 40mph the journey took 3 hours longer than the 3 1/2 hours the sat-nav thought it would. Landing at about 4pm, my first view of my new toy was this :

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That's my mate Steve opening the door - he's got/had loads of 800s but never had a coupe so was interested in seeing what it was like. Was later very glad the battery had been fully charged when the alternator stopped charging on the Volvo about 18 miles from home and the battery finally died about 4 miles from home! Nothing like a midnight energency battery change to make life interesting! Anyway, loaded and ready to roll :

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Some bloke tailgated me all the way home :

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Saturday was lost to sleep (except for unloading and returning the trailer) as i was absolutely shattered after the hectic week and the long drive but my first view on sunday morning was this :

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Steve had very kindly washed it for me so it looked a lot more presentable.

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The courtesy lights didn't seem to work off the drivers door switch and the remote locking could be tempramental too and this was a good clue as to why :

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That's the remains of the courtesy light switch! So it became the first repair :

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Back home was another excuse to play with the camera :

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Spent the rest of the day checking things over and making a mental list of jobs to do and re-gassing the air-con with a can of Artic Freeze. So far the list is as follows :

Fix exhaust manifold blow
Oil/filter change, new plugs and general service checks
Clean the inside
Resolder the drivers door window switch pack
Lube the window slides/runners and all locks etc
Chrome oil filler cap from Ratsport
Replace N/S reversing light bulb
Check cam belt, tensioner and water pump condition, renew if needed.
Empty and tidy the boot - currently full of spare 16" Prestige alloys/tyres. Also source a boot mat, toolkit and the foam rubber toolkit holder
Replace bonnet struts
Check and lube boot struts
Source and fit replacement carpet and sound deadening - drivers heel pad has been surgically removed with a Stanley knife and the sound felt underneath also - weird!
Source and fit correct R960 head unit/CD changer (currently has some Blaupunkt radio/cassette thing)
Adjust handbrake cable and check auto-adjuster operation on rear calipers - some numbskull has overtightened the handbrake cable!!! It's a struggle to get it to the first notch, never mind the second!
Refit boot/fuel release button the right way up - doubtless the same numbskull as overtightened the handbrake is responsible!
Obtain and fit clear side repeaters.
Fit heated washer jets (ex 25/45 model)

I'm sure the list isn't definitive yet and more jobs will appear as time and checking goes on. Hopefully be able to get it in for MoT sometime in the very near future then i can start using it and turn it into a rolling restoration. Obviously the MoT-critical jobs above will be done first, hopefully followed by a test (and a pass i hope!) very soon.

If anybody has/knows of any coupe parts that might be useful, please get in touch! Some parts might be handy to have as spares, others might be good to improve/replace whatever is dodgy/broken/missing. The cheaper stuff i can probably buy immediately, other stuff in a couple of weeks or so.
Also if anybody has a reasonable set of 16" 7-spoke wheels (same as on my saloon) i have 8 16" Prestige alloys in good nick with some very good tyres and a couple of average tyres and would like to do a deal of some sort.
Cheers,
Dave

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


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

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Re: Scoobys new 827 Sterling coupe

Post by SJG » Mon Aug 12, 2013 7:12 am

Good for you Dave, looks nice, very jealous!
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Re: Scoobys new 827 Sterling coupe

Post by Very Tall Brad » Mon Aug 12, 2013 7:55 am

Dave

This looks great.
Last edited by Very Tall Brad on Mon Aug 12, 2013 9:55 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Scoobys new 827 Sterling coupe

Post by Very Tall Brad » Mon Aug 12, 2013 7:55 am

Dave

This looks great. The original spec colour of White Gold suits this car so well.

Good luck.

Brad
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Re: Scoobys new 827 Sterling coupe

Post by TDHFastback » Mon Aug 12, 2013 8:20 am

That looks rally nice Dave. Look forward to reading about its return to its former glory.

Kate :D

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Re: Scoobys new 827 Sterling coupe

Post by TDHFastback » Mon Aug 12, 2013 8:24 am

This is my kind of car park. Is your friend on the forum Dave?

Image

Kate :D

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Re: Scoobys new 827 Sterling coupe

Post by scoobyh123 » Mon Aug 12, 2013 9:40 am

Simon - thanks very much! I'm pleased with it, got a few silly niggles on the cosmetic front and a couple of minor electrical niggles but on the whole i think (the MoT will confirm whether i've bought a 9 day old curry) i've had a good deal there.

Brad - also thanks very much. Totally agree, they do look terrific in White Gold!

Thanks Kate, thought you'd like his back garden/car park lol! He's not on the forum sadly and i doubt he ever will be for reasons personal to him but he does have a V plate green Sterling KV6 Fastback sat in his front garden that he's still waiting for the V5 for and as such thinking of breaking it.

As a general observation, it feels more "solid" than the saloon for some odd reason, perhaps because it was hand built/finished?
Cheers,
Dave

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


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

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Re: Scoobys new 827 Sterling coupe

Post by Richard Moss » Mon Aug 12, 2013 9:52 am

TDHFastback wrote:This is my kind of car park. Is your friend on the forum Dave?

Image

Kate :D
It is good, isn't it?
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Re: Scoobys new 827 Sterling coupe

Post by Very Tall Brad » Mon Aug 12, 2013 9:54 am

The courtesy light switches on the Coupes do seem to suffer with damp/corrosion more than on the saloons/fastbacks. I think it's a result of the Coupes propensity to being a bit of a leaker round windows etc.

The Coupes do feel stiffer. Maybe it's the two door shape - less openings, more metal...
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Re: Scoobys new 827 Sterling coupe

Post by scoobyh123 » Mon Aug 12, 2013 10:14 am

Very Tall Brad wrote:The courtesy light switches on the Coupes do seem to suffer with damp/corrosion more than on the saloons/fastbacks. I think it's a result of the Coupes propensity to being a bit of a leaker round windows etc.

The Coupes do feel stiffer. Maybe it's the two door shape - less openings, more metal...
That makes sense Brad - think i'd best invest in several drums of Waxoyl and find/fix any water leaks. Also the drivers door window seems to be a little high at the front end - any tips on adjusting the mechanism please? The Haynes book seems to think it's a dealer only job to get it right?
Cheers,
Dave

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


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

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Re: Scoobys new 827 Sterling coupe

Post by vito » Mon Aug 12, 2013 12:34 pm

Looks good Dave, still say you need to swap the dog for a white gold fastback ................... :)
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Re: Scoobys new 827 Sterling coupe

Post by Very Tall Brad » Mon Aug 12, 2013 2:43 pm

The door window 'cassettes' are tricky to align. Dealers had measuring eqipment and all sort of tools to do this job. I do mine by eye as I don't have the right eqipment.

When you say "the drivers door window seems to be a little high at the front end" do you mean it sticks out a bit? If so, there are shims (washers, basically, or spacers) that are between the bottom frame of the door window cassette and the door itself. These can be added to or removed as required to get the right angle on the whole unit. Basically, remove the door card and you'll see two bolts at the bottom edge of the door. This is where the adjustment takes place - this is where the shims are located.

I'll try and find a diagram.
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Re: Scoobys new 827 Sterling coupe

Post by whitelion58 » Mon Aug 12, 2013 3:24 pm

Great to see a coupe being saved - look forward to reports of the fun bringing this one back to life :D

*Note* Can an admin please move this to the 800 section, rather than non-rover?? **

The instructions for adjusting Coupe window cassettes are on pages 141 and 211-214 of Volume 2 of the orig Rover Mk2 manual, found here:

http://www.rover800.info/forum/viewtopi ... =18&t=9417

... and here is a bonus preview of the internals:

Image

PS> Don't be put off by the apparent error when you click on the Vol 2 of the manual - that is just because the file is large, but use the Download button at bottom right of that screen and all is well.

Tim
'86 825 Sterling Saloon
'90 827 Si Fastback
'94 Sterling Coupe
+ others.
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Re: Scoobys new 827 Sterling coupe

Post by TheOldMan » Mon Aug 12, 2013 3:38 pm

scoobyh123 wrote:As a general observation, it feels more "solid" than the saloon for some odd reason, perhaps because it was hand built/finished?
The Coupe has the highest torsional rigidity and the hatchback the lowest. As Brad says it is indeed due to the number and size of holes in the bodyshell Further the coupe does not have folding seats, so has a fixed rear bulkhead adding massively to its stiffness.

Haven't found the numbers for 800s but consider Jaguar X-type saloon versus estate:
Jaguar X-Type Saloon 22,000 Nm/deg
Jaguar X-Type Estate 16,319 Nm/deg

Saloon almost 50% stiffer than estate.

White Gold, cream leather, coupe, 2.7 - perfect!

Yet another xOJ registered ex management car.

Can't work out if it's a real man's stirring stick car or an old codgers slush-box version. (prejudiced? Moi? NEVER)
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Re: Scoobys new 827 Sterling coupe

Post by Richard Moss » Mon Aug 12, 2013 5:39 pm

whitelion58 wrote: *Note* Can an admin please move this to the 800 section, rather than non-rover?? **
Done
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