New book on 800

Magazine articles, history etc.

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dollysprint
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Re: New book on 800

Post by dollysprint » Wed Nov 23, 2016 10:29 pm

Got mine today, quick flick through reveals some inaccuracies, but I'll say no more til I've read the lot.

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Re: New book on 800

Post by ImSmarticus » Fri Jan 13, 2017 9:25 pm

Mine is at Waterstones for collection Tuesday...
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Re: New book on 800

Post by scoobyh123 » Fri Jan 13, 2017 9:46 pm

It's a good read - i've only read a few bits from it so far. I had the ognominy of ordering through my ebay account then surrendering it to the person who was getting it as my xmas present and not seeing it until after xmas because they were working over xmas! :roll:

Worth the wait though! :wink: :D
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Re: New book on 800

Post by NONOTE » Wed Aug 09, 2017 1:31 pm

Well, I've just read my copy of this book and to be perfectly honest I was disappointed with some of the home truths which I really really hoped were just anti BL urban legends. Tales of faulty road test cars and that Honda were not happy with the Legends produced at Cowley etc are a couple that spring to mind.

I thought the book would be something like the P6 book from the same author which somehow seemed more technical in the information offered. From the 800 book I would have liked to discover when and why the CCU was introduced for example or when the many and varied types of Bumper where changed or why the CCU couldn't have controlled the windows as well. The info may be in there but in my eagerness to get through it I may have missed the relevant bits. In the P6 books similar changes were all listed and seemingly easy to find by a quick search.

I'm a big lover of the series 2 cars. I had very early series 1 Sterling with the rear recliners and relay operated everything but I always thought it looked a bit like a stretched Montego. The book did explain why this was though! The series 2 was styled differently to anything else of the era and to my eyes was really the car to aspire to! Anyway a KV6 engined Sterling did eventually come my way with its failed head gaskets and I won't be letting go of it, It'll be the kids that have to get it weighed in!

On reflection the book is a smashing read with loads of info regarding trim and colour options etc but not quite perfect for me, although I'm sure most people will love it!
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Re: New book on 800

Post by scoobyh123 » Wed Aug 09, 2017 2:52 pm

I think half the reason it's not quite so technical Steve is that not so much information was publicly available for the 800 as there is for the P6 and indeed the SD1 series.

Like you i'm disappointed that these "myths" appear to be true. I know a few of the very first Legends made at Cowley had the Honda bosses choking on their sushi for whatever reason and that was why Honda brought in their own QC people that brought the quality of not only the Legends up but also the 800s. It's also been discussed elsewhere that originally it was planned that Legends would be built alongside the 800 at Cowley and Honda allegedly pulled the lug for quality reasons. I suspect it was more because of cost, that it would be cheaper to build them in Japan then ship them to the USA, not to mention the EU sticking their beak in about us exporting to the US which of course we were anyway but there was probably a quota we weren't allowed to exceed without paying the EU some horrendously large fine - producing the Legend here would have probably put us in that position!

I think you've summed the book up well though! :wink: :D
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Re: New book on 800

Post by NONOTE » Thu Aug 10, 2017 9:45 am

Thanks Dave,
I bet the collective knowledge of this site could really add to the James Taylor book!

I do agree with your interpretation of the issue with the Legends made by Cowley, I wonder where the author got his info from. I did read a theory that one of the things which troubled British Industry in the 1970's (apart from strikes) was the high value of Sterling (currency) as a result of the North Sea Oil boom. This pretty much stuffed the BL sports car divisions as they relied on exports to the U.S., sort of overnight the cost of the cars in America rocketed up. Michael Edwards when he took over as BL Chairman was shocked at how little the politicians he was dealing with knew about international finance!

I well remember visiting Longbridge several times and noticing that the "Rover" 200 line also had the occasional "Honda" Concerto being built. I reckon these must have been diesel models as Honda didn't have their own diesel at that time. I wonder if Rover's quality had improved or the economics had changed or if they were taken to a secret underground bunker and rebuilt by Honda engineers to their exacting standards before being sold in Europe!
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Re: New book on 800

Post by scoobyh123 » Thu Aug 10, 2017 4:39 pm

You mention the overseas sports car industry Steve - it reminded me of an incident about 20-25 years ago in a transport cafe somewhere. Can't remember where or when exactly but i had stopped for a feed and got talking to a bloke who turned out to be a car transporter driver.

In the late 70s he took a lot of MGs from the factory to the docks. On this journey he would also pass an MG dealer that he delivered to sometimes - but rarely if ever from the factory! :shock: :?

The MG dealer had found it was cheaper to buy the MGs in Japan and have them shipped back, change the speedo for the UK and a couple of other minor details then sell them at discounts the BL dealers couldn't match and still made more profit than the BL dealers!
Usually it was quicker than getting the cars from the factory direct as well and he gained a reputation for having cars that didn't have "teething troubles" as the Japanese would PDI them to their standards and fix a lot of the silly niggles that would otherwise have been a warranty claim here.

That sort of paves the way for the occasional Concerto/Civic hatchback on the Rover 200 line as well........ :wink: :D
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Re: New book on 800

Post by Richard Moss » Fri Aug 18, 2017 12:01 am

The relationship with the R800 Club is that we are the unofficial club forum - which saves them the hassle and expense of setting up a forum of the own (and thereby avoiding unnecessary duplication and dilution of content).

Despite no longer having an 800 (it's over 6 years since I sold up) I still pay for the domain out of my own pocket. It's not very expensive but is worth every penny many times over.
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Re: New book on 800

Post by rovercoup » Fri Aug 18, 2017 4:59 pm

Richard Moss wrote:
Fri Aug 18, 2017 12:01 am
The relationship with the R800 Club is that we are the unofficial club forum - which saves them the hassle and expense of setting up a forum of the own (and thereby avoiding unnecessary duplication and dilution of content).

Despite no longer having an 800 (it's over 6 years since I sold up) I still pay for the domain out of my own pocket. It's not very expensive but is worth every penny many times over.
Something that is overlooked and not mentioned enough, but is appreciated Richard as without the Forum I fear there would be even less 800's out there. It is a shame that Facespace is the modern medium for most but guess that is progress for you.
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Re: New book on 800

Post by scoobyh123 » Fri Aug 18, 2017 7:01 pm

What Steve said ^^^^^ and a thought on Faceache and the like, from what i've heard, it tends to end as a mingled, mixed up thread of various comments and searching for anything specific is nigh on impossible.

If that is so then fora such as this will continue to thrive as people realise there are some things Faceache can't be used for.

I for one am very grateful for the existence of this forum and the ongoing committment of not only Richard for the domain, James for hosting it, the moderators and all who help to make it the "go to" source of all things 800 - long may it continue! :wink: :D
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Re: New book on 800

Post by SJG » Fri Aug 18, 2017 7:43 pm

I am not sure what you were referring to Richard but I remember when the forum started, after the shambles that was the old one. This forum has been invaluable to me over the years and I have been able to learn a range of skills to keep my car going, so thank you Richard. In my experience Facebook is useful for posting show pictures, it is not worth asking technical questions.
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Re: New book on 800

Post by Richard Moss » Sat Aug 19, 2017 2:33 pm

No thanks are necessary - I agree with your views on facebook
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