My new purchase - poorly Rover 75
 

Hi all,

A couple weekends ago I purchased this Rover 75 from a scrap yard, it was listed as breaking for spares on ebay but decided to buy the car whole.

I'd intended to break the car myself, to use some of the parts on my other two (the ZT and 75), but now I'm not too sure and am considering repairing it and getting it back on the road.

Little bit of background about the car, it belonged to a chap who unfortunately passed away in 2011, and his wife refused to sell the car due to sentimental value. But unfortunately, instead of looking after it, she just left it stood still for 5 years and I'm guessing it must have been left on grass or near bushes/hedges or trees.

I gave it a good jet wash on the weekend and was amazed to find that it came up very nice, and the bodywork is in great condition. Not a single dent or deep scratches on the sides. There are some scratches on the bonnet and bootlid but will have to see if they come out.

However there are quite a few issues:
- the brakes don't work at all, really have to stamp hard on the brakes and the pedal goes very low down. When the scrappy went to collect the car they said one rear calliper had seized. Not too sure how to sort this, would new brake disks and pads all round fix this or would callipers and other bits need replacing?

- The interior is flooded due to the sunroof drains leaking water inside the car, the waters probably been there for much of the 5 years its been there. Will need to take the carpet out to see how bad it is underneath.

- The boot spare wheel well was completely flooded, which contained the sat nav drives. Hence the sat nav/head unit doesn't work at all.

- The wipers like to come on by themselves now and again, I think this is a common issue due to the flooded satnav drives from memory?

- The aircon doesn't work, says "err".

- The indicator stalk doesn't work at all, no indicators etc.

- windscreen and headlamp washer jets do not work at all.

- the rear seat needs replacing completely.

- Drivers side headlight is all fogged up and dirty on the inside, im guessing the cap on the back of the headlight must be missing allowing dirt to get in. Is the headlamp easy to dismantle to clean and then put back together and seal properly?

- Sunroof does not work, not sure if this is due to a failed motor or because of the electrical issues.

- the mileage on the dash is showing 999999.

- Haven't checked fuses, not sure if a lot would have blown due to the water getting in over the years.

- There was no history with the car, so no idea when it was last serviced or if the belts had been done. Is there a way to check if the belts have been done i.e. are belts dated and is it possible to check the dates?

Other than the above, amazingly it starts first time everytime and sounds lovely. Drives smooth too. And I couldn't believe that even with all the leaves all over the car, the plenums were completely dry! :eek: It's got some nice toys too, headlamp washers, cruise control, rear power blind, electric heated memory seats, auto rain sensor wipers, auto dimming mirror. Has a walnut steering wheel too.

Can't quite decide whether to just break it, or to try and fix it and sell it on. I need to have a look under the car yet to see what the underside is like, but from what I could see it seems pretty clean. It could turn out to be a lot of work to get it through an MOT, which wouldn't be worth the cost involved.

Here are some photo's of it from the weekend:

https://c6.staticflickr.com/8/7302/2...67733803_c.jpg

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After a jet wash, came up lovely:

https://c6.staticflickr.com/8/7400/2...8ee1b69a_c.jpg

https://c4.staticflickr.com/8/7057/2...abab9d68_c.jpg

https://c3.staticflickr.com/8/7327/2...8ca16986_c.jpg

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Well done you sir,:bowdown: You are brave I'll say that but with patience and taking things one at a time, I bet you'll get there and another will be saved.

My main concern if it's been left on grass all that time would be the underside especially suspension upper arms etc., Good luck and I hope if you do start the project, we can expect some of your lovely pictures as usual!:D

looks to be a very well cared for car.if it was mine I would remove the interior dry it out in the heatwave we are expecting(you read that here first btw)and then see what happens.as for the caliper just as easy to swop for a good one.as I say dry it out first then see. as I can see you are torn by the car but on the other hand do not want to go 2 silly in case there is some major wrong with it.look up olds old mots which may help.good luck which ever way you decide to go

Looking at MOT history it was last MOT'd in 2010. However the previous MOTs only had minor failures (a tyre and stop light) and no advisories what so ever. Best of luck and keep us informed on your progress

I'm not sure where it was parked for 5 years, it might have been on a driveway close to a hedge, which I think was the case as the underside looks pretty clean when I had a little look, and the passenger side of the car was in a much worse state cover in moss than the driver's side. Will get the car up off the ground on the weekend and take a good look around :)

It is a lovely looking car, after giving it a wash over the weekend I just had a good walk round it amazed at how nice the paintwork came up. I need to give it a good polish and paint restoration yet so it will come up much better yet. Even the neighbours noticed it and complemented the colour.

I think the first job will be to remove the interior and carpet and see how much damage has been done underneath. And then to try and solve the electrical issues before moving onto the bigger things like the brakes.

Yeah very torn by this one, the last one I broke was a definite breaker as it was completely rotten to bits and the bodywork was in a state, but this one is lovely on the outside, and to be honest the inside is lovely too apart from the wet carpets, damp marks and ruined rear seats which can all be sorted.

I've taken a look at the MOT history, and it's had a very good MOT record. Only failed twice which was on silly things, work tyre and blown bulb.

Here's the MOT records:

https://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7139/2...deabb11f_z.jpg

https://c8.staticflickr.com/8/7358/2...17ded950b2.jpg

Oh that also reminds me, the other reason why I don't fancy breaking it is due to it's relatively low mileage. It had 80k miles on its last MOT, not sure how much it was driven after that but could find out from the mileage stored in the LSM. I doubt it's any higher than 85k miles.

Nice one for saving it.. looks like it will be a fab car once back on the road..

I have just saved one in a similar condition to that.. just done the clutch, steering rack, spring, brakes etc.. had wet carpets and sopping boot etc.. doesnt seem to have any "other" faults at the mo..

so don't give up on it.. it looks like it will be worth it in the end.. :)

I would hazard a gues that some one spike the electronics trying to jump start it, 999999 is a common problem...The EPROM has been corrupted but a T4 operator should be able to restore it from the LSM

That's good to hear :)

I'll have to do more investigating before deciding on repairing it or not. I wouldn't want to throw money at it only to realise it will take a lot more work to get it through an MOT. The only issue is I'm a bit limited mechanically, the brakes and electrics I'll probably be able to sort myself but other mechanical issues I may not be able to fix. We will see :) I'm hoping it'll be repairable as it is very nice, royal blue is one of my favourite colours too :).

It also depends on if anyone would want it after its been repaired as it's not one I plan on keeping :)

Yeah I think the guys as the scrappy must have done it when they jump started it. Same thing happened on my dad's 75 a couple years ago but never got round to having it sorted. Would be interesting to find out what the mileage is on this one :)

Help
 

If anyone has any suggestion or advice on how I should tackle the following issues I'd really appreciate it :)

- Issue with the brakes - the brakes don't work at all due to being sat for 5 years, really have to stamp hard on the brakes and the pedal goes very low down. When the scrappy went to collect the car they said one rear calliper had seized. Would new brake disks and pads all round fix this or would callipers and other bits need replacing?

- The aircon doesn't work and shows up "err" on the display. Where should I start with this? Never had this issue before myself.

- The engine idle's a little high at times. On start up the revs go up to about 1.5k to 2k revs for about 1 - 2 seconds and then settles down to idle just below 1k revs. Is this normal on a v6? Also, every now and again it decides to idle above 1k revs, usually around 1.5k revs after being run for a few minutes. Any ideas what this could be?

- The indicator stalk isn't working at all. The indicators don't work and neither does the full beam. Has anyone had this before? Seems like an electrical issue.

- I've dried the boot out but the wipers still like to turn on by themselves now and again, although it's doing it a lot less now that the boot is dry. Would disconnecting the satnav drives solve this issue?

- For those who have had their satnav drives swimming in water, are they done for once they've been wet or can they be dried out and working again? I'm pretty sure mine are going to be absolutely shot but just wondering what to do?

I'll probably have more questions as and when I notice more issues :)

Many thanks!

I would start with the water issues first....

Make sure the plenum is clear and that it hasn't filled up and drowned the BCU which lives passenger side above the glove box V6 ECU's are well sealed so don't suffer in the same way diesels do.

The plenum is completely bone dry surprisingly, I was expecting it to be full of water, so the ECU is dry. I need to check all the fuses yet though, wondering if all the water could have caused fuses to blow.

As its got a sunroof check for wet carpets, and the earth studs at the bottom of both A pillars behind the kick panels

Thanks David I'll check the earths when I pull the carpet out, the interior is flooded as the sunroof drains have come off. The boot and interior floor on the passenger side was completely flooded.

Get it dried out first before you start looking for faults

New discs and pads all round, plus a complete fluid change is probably a decent place to start. Relatively cheap and straightforward job that will need doing regardless. If it fixes it - great. If not then at least you've ruled it out (and one thing less to replace!)

Hi Rick
Looks OK.. Reminds when I bought a Peugeot 405 STi in very similar circumstances a few years ago although i do think the 405 had a bit more foliage growing on it, that car turned out to be one of the best I've ever owned
I kept it for 5 years spent very little on it and actualy sold it at a profit..
I think Tom H has a full set of calipers for sale which would be a good starting point for the brakes..
Cheers Ian

Hi Rick,

Looks like an interesting prospect and a nice little project.

I've done similar work recommissioning Maestros (of all things!) that have been laid-up for a number of years. This was also usually due to elderly owners stopping driving for whatever reason.

My advice would be to assess the car thoroughly before you spend a penny on it. No point in fixing something that you're going to end up breaking for parts. Electrical gremlins aside, this means getting it up on a ramp and checking the underside for condition and also in this car's case taking all the carpets out and checking the floorpan for corrosion.

You're going to have to give the car a complete brake service. You don't necessarily need new discs if the ones on it now aren't warped / corroded but new pads are probably a good idea due to age and it having stood.

Replace the fluid and check the master cylinder for leaks, then what I used to do is remove one caliper at a time and get an assistant to pump the pedal gently while I assess the movement of the piston(s). Often with the Maestros pumping the piston out and then forcing it back in with a G-Cramp (or you can use a proper calliper winder tool!) a few times got it working OK again.

If in doubt rebuild or complete replacement is your only option. You can't afford to take chances there but an MoT test will check brake balance.

Also check the flexi-pipes for condition.

Worry about that later on. Or if it's bothering you, have to done the Aircon Diagnostic procedure as per another thread on this forum?


If they're water-damaged, I would try disconnecting them. Who knows what problems they may be causing.

If they've been turned on while sopping wet then in line with almost every electronic item I would suggest they're toast even if they weren't beforehand!

Finally, the advice from others to get the car completely dried out before worrying about the electrical faults is bang on the money. Dry it out and then check any earth points that may have been swimming in water!

Keep us posted with your progress :-)

Looks like a car with a lot of potential, Rick.
I suppose you just have to be methodical and go through it bit by bit. It'd be a shame to break it but, if it's not economical to repair then, what else can you do?
I shall watch with interest on what you decide ;)

I know where there's a diesel 99/00 W reg 75 Club in Steel Blue that I can have for £150. Thing is, it needs new clutch/slave apparently :shrug: The owner likes to tinker and has half removed gearbox but, got fed up with it and now wants it out of his way. I'm half tempted to buy it but, I really don't need another project but, I don't want to see it get scrapped :duh:
The car is in very good condition overall and the colour is lovely.

Looks and sounds a great project.

I'd echo the comments made. Don't spend anything until you've done everything you can do to the car which costs nothing but your time. Do ensure the car is not rotten underneath first, because nothing ruins cars like sitting.

Hopefully it proves very saveable, as it sounds like a good car prior to being laid up!

Apart from the electrical gremlins it looks like a lovely car.

Don't be put off with cleaning the carpets, it's well worth the effort in removing it and giving it a good power wash. I've done a few in my time giving it a thorough cold wash to get rid of loose dirt then applying a carpet shampoo before a final rinse.
I placed mine inside the greenhouse to dry it out and they came up like new.

Also once the carpets are removed it gives you a chance to check out the interior floor pan etc and check for water leaks before refitting the carpet.

Good luck with the resto.

Apart from the electrical gremlins it looks like a lovely car.

Don't be put off with cleaning the carpets, it's well worth the effort in removing it and giving it a good power wash. I've done a few in my time giving it a thorough cold wash to get rid of loose dirt then applying a carpet shampoo before a final rinse.
I placed mine inside the greenhouse to dry it out and they came up like new.

Also once the carpets are removed it gives you a chance to check out the interior floor pan etc and check for water leaks before refitting the carpet.

Good luck with the resto.

Sounds like a good project. Do your best to keep it together. Sounds like a car with lots of potential. Royal Blue too. :drool4:

Paul - that car sounds like a bargain. Go for it.

Thanks for all the helpful comments guys :) appreciate the input :) :bowdown:

First job on the list is to remove the seats and carpets and dry the interior out, leave it for a week to dry out and then see if any electrical faults have disappeared. I've already drained the boot out so that no longer has any water in it :) Will check all the earths in the footwells, I suspect the ones on the passenger side probably have quite a bit of corrosion.

On a positive note, yesterday I started up the car to move it a little, and the highline satnav screen turned on! The screen just stayed blue but it turned on so it's a start :D

Will try and get some photos up over the weekend if I get time to remove the carpets and hopefully get some photos of the underside.

Good luck Rick, such an interesting thread.

I just couldn't believe the plenums were dry. Got me thinking you should check to make sure the rubber duckbill drains are still in place These may have had the ends clipped off which is fine, but I believe I am right in saying if they have been removed totally, water will get from the plenums into the car.

Just a thought. But it could explain at least, part of the dry plenum wet carpets issue?

Been doing some work on the 75
 

Little update guys, finally got round to making a proper start on getting the 75 back on the road.

Stripped out the interior a few days ago to dry it out. The car had been sat in my garage for about 5 months now and thought the carpet had dried out during the hot months in the summer, oh how I was wrong. The carpet was dry, but the sponge underneath was still holding litres of water!

So got the karcher valeting machine out and sucked out all the water from the sponge and gave the carpet a good valet clean. Hopefully get round to getting the carpet back in today or tomorrow.

Surprisingly, the floor of the car is rust free. Since the carpets had been wet potentially for years, I was expecting a lot of rust, but luckily it's nice and clean :)

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Then moved onto sorting out the brakes, all for discs and pads replaced, and also treated the calipers to a bit of dark blue hammerite paint to tidy them up. Also adjusted the handbrake so it's nice and tight now. Just need to bleed the brakes today.

The rear discs were heavily rusted, especially the offside rear which had broken into two pieces! the calipers seem to move ok though, gave the sliders a clean and some copper grease. Some before and after photos of the brakes:

Offside rear before:
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Broken into 2 pieces:
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After:
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Offside front before:
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After:
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For the electrical issues, I've disconnected the two highline satnav drives in the spare wheel well as they need replacing due to water damage, but amazingly all the other electrics now work. Aircon, indicators, headlights, reverse sensors, drivers memory function, windscreen wash and even the headlamp wash. All things that weren't working when I first brought the 75 home :)

Still plenty to do though:
- bleed brakes
- service, so oil change, oil filter replacement, spark plugs, air filter.
- fit new abs sensor plug drivers front side
- fit new rear light seals and check for any other leaks
- sunroof drain mod as the drains are leaking
- clean and tidy engine bay
- bleed coolant system as currently it keeps pushing the coolant out when the caps left open
- refit interior
- then hopefully get her passed through an MOT

There are some bits I'll still require for this, so if anyone has these bits and willing to part with them cheaply let me know :o

- boot false floor
- rear seat back in sandstone single piped (just need the back rest and not the seat base)
- v6 engine cover
- I've got a set of Y spokes to put on the car, but would prefer to fit Serpents or Meteors to her (she originally came with Serpents but the scrappy that had her lost them :duh:)
- post MOT I'll need a replacement front bumper and bonnet in JFM royal blue as the current ones are scratched.

Cheers :)

Well done for saving it, definitely not a project for the faint hearted. Never understood why people leave cars to rot, my grandpa done it with his old Sierra and his old transit camper. The camper would be worth a fair bit of money now, very low miles, Sierra was a tank but it became a Base for a kit car, jump start started it right up though after years off the road.

Cheers :)

Yeah it's a real shame, the original owner passed away and his wife held onto the car but just left it stood from what I'd been told. A real shame as it would have been a stunning car back in 2011. It originally had serpent wheels, only has around 80k miles on it and from what I can see most likely had full service history and had just had the belts done. Pretty much all the extras except for powerfolds, traction control and HK sound system. Even has a sunroof.

Hopefully fingers crossed she'll be back on the road soon :)

I'm sure I've got a V6 engine cover in the loft you can have for the price of the postage if you want it ;)

[I]Your a Sta, Rick ;)

ah I'd appreciate that thank you :) :bowdown: let me know if you have it and I'll PM you my address :)

cheers :D;)

Will do - I'll venture into the loft of wonder tonight and take a peek. ;)

Any updates bud ?

Great stuff, keep up the good work.

Yep a bit more progress :) bled the brakes so the pedals a lot firmer now. Brakes all work. New abs sensor fitted so abs light is out. Carpet refitted. Sunroof drain mod done to prevent further leaks, and y spoke alloys fitted :)

progress
 

Made some more progress with the 75 over the last week or so.

Got the carpet back in and also the seats, centre console etc. Whilst it was all out I done the sunroof drain mod to all four sunroof drains prevent any future leaks from the sunroof drains. Also fitted a full walnut auto gear knob.

The seats have also been cleaned up with a leather cleaner and leather balm.

The car's now been serviced, so oil change, oil filter changed, coolant flushed and refilled, new air filter and new pollen filter. Heater matrix has also been flushed and cleaned. An engine cover has also been sourced and fitted and the coolant expansion tank painted black.

I've also treated her to a set of OEM Xenon headlamps and a set of Meteor Alloys :drool4:. And fitted quad halo ring DRL's with turn signal function inside the headlights like on my ZT :) Not yet wired up though. The Xenon lenses were in a pretty bad state, so refurbished them with the 3M kit and they're looking new again :)

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Lastly, I've replaced the bonnet and front bumper. Bonnet was badly scratched and front bumper had some scuff marks. Before fitting the replacement front bumper, I thought I'd modernise the front end a little so converted the upper grill to a stainless steel mesh grill, and painted the fog surrounds and lower grill in chrome silver, and also fitted a stainless steel mesh to the lower grill. Not 100% finished yet, just waiting for a chrome trim to finish it off and tidy it up.

Temporarily put the front bumper on just to see how it looks and think she looks ok :)

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Got a pair of LED sidelight bulbs ordered which will finish off the headlights nicely.

Very close to being ready for an MOT now :)

I am in exactly the same position. ! I bought a car to use as a parts car.......advertised as HGF, stood over a year, wont start...etc etc..........

Put new battery on it.....started first go and ticked over fine....drove for over an hour....no over heat (but fan non working) Cleaned and it is far to good to break !!!

It does have issues obviously....but all do-able

But I don't want another car ! LOL

some are just too good to break :) really looking forward to having this one on the road.

Love the mesh on The grille and the silver finish on the lower grille and fog surrounds.

Cheers :) got a little carried away and thought I'd make some subtle changes :)

DRLs and engine cover
 

More work done on the 75 today. Wired up the halo ring DRLs, they come on automatically when the key in the ignition is turned to position 2, dim 50% automatically when dips switched on, and also work as turn signals :) Front bumper now back on properly and undertray back on.

Also fitted the engine cover after painting it chrome silver to match the lower grill. Needs another coat yet and will be painting the air box, battery box lid and fuse box cover to match.

Also changed the spark plugs and fitted the new pollen filter today :) and fitted the new Shannon tube.

So that's the front end finished off, and all mechanical work under the bonnet done, just do a good clean under the bonnet :)

Some more photos of progress.

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treated to a wash and polish
 

Moved the 75 out of the garage for the first time in a while and treated her to a wash and polish today. Paintwork will need a bit more detailing but the colour has really come out and it's lovely :)

Annoyingly though, as I moved the 75 out of the garage and dropped down the kerb I head a twang... and then noticed the nearside rear now sits slightly lower than the offside rear. So looks like a rear spring has snapped :( That pushes back the MOT unfortunately.

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Very nice. I hope you waxed it too. ;)

I am in exactly the same position. ! I bought a car to use as a parts car. Found it only needed a rear drop link and now has an mot. I don't use it, but could if the tourer broke down. Had had a lot done recently too, including rear suspension arms which were unfortunately not painted for protection at the time.. But for not much more than £100 I've a fully operating connie KV6, though it will probably eventually break as there is rot in the sills now. I didn't need another car either but can't help collecting them

not yet mate got a bit more work to do on the paint before that ;)

some are just too nice to let them go to a breaker :)

How wonderful to see a car being saved from the scrappy and being made to look that good! Keep the updates coming!

Excellent, well done!

Thanks both :)

Well this year has been such a busy year with taking over Klarzydials. I haven't had any time so far this year to finish off this 75. But as winter is coming soon and as I will be needing the garage to do my work in, it's time to get this old girl finished.

Ordered a new pair of rear springs a couple days ago, just waiting for them to arrive. Once that's done I'll be putting her through an MOT.

Depending on how well she does on her MOT (I can't imagine it failing on anything major as she's pretty solid and has a clean MOT history), I have the following planned for her:

Fit new rear light seals and replace one light as it's a bit green on the inside
Rebuild the boot false floor
Replace the radio and video module and solder in new plugs for them (old plugs are rusted so bad they had to be cut off)
Replace rear seat back rest as it's ripped
Upgrade the headlights to bi-xenons with the same white/amber halo rings
Possibly fit LED fog lights with DRL halo rings
Fit amber footwell lights with their own dimmer switch
Fit amber lights in the door cards
Possibly fit Rover logo puddle lights under the doors
Fit red LED warning lights to the door cards like I've done on my ZT
Retrofit Harman Kardon Subwoofer and Amp that I have
towbar is being removed
and I have a replacement early chrome plinth to fit on the bootlid which says "Rover" on it.

One job I got done today was sort out the 999999 mileage issue that was on the clocks ever since I collected her. Think the guys at the scrappy caused it whilst jump starting the car. Virginised the eeprom chip and then reprogrammed the IPK in, picked up the last recorded mileage from the LSM and this is what shows at the mileage.. 81,555. So fairly low miles still, especially for a 53 plate car thanks to being parked up for 7 years now.

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Didn't know about this thread but I've been reading through it and have to say - good job well done Rick :bowdown:

Thanks Adrian :)

The thread had been dormant for 8 months now so probably why you hadn't seen it before. Bought the car a year and 2 months ago now, crazy how quick times gone. But hopefully the car will be finished very soon. It will soon be up for sale once it's all done, unfortunately at 23 years old I can't justify the cost of running a second 75 ontop of the ZT and TF I already have. Which is a shame as it is a lovely car but I'd be looking at around £1k just for insurance in the first year alone as my NCB is taken up by the ZT.

Once it's sold, there is another possible project I'm currently looking at local to me, a pbt mkii ZTT diesel with full black leather interior that's been sat for some time now :)

The engine's been running since day 1, although I avoided starting it until I'd done the full oil and coolant service and put some fresh fuel in it. seems to run well, the vis motors seem fine, has plenty of pull. revs idle nice and smooth. Only thing I've noticed is a slight tapping sound on cold start up coming from the cambelt cover on the nearside of the engine next to the air filter, which goes once the engine is warm. From what I've heard and read on this, apparently it's normal for older v6 engines. The car hasn't been taken on a proper run yet, just started up, rev'ed once warm and run round my road a little. maybe after a good run it'll quieten down a bit.

Hi Rick
It might be worth checking the cam belt (if not already done so) before going on your maiden run, having been standing for so long the belt may have perished in places. Would hate to see all of your good work spoilt!
:}:}:}
Gareth

Had a look at the belts and they all seem to be in very good condition :) We actually managed to date the belts and they were fitted in 2010, same year in which it was parked up. So the new belts have hardly any miles on them. Whether belts would deteriorate whilst the car is just stood is debatable but I'm not too worried :)

Only just caught up with this thread.

Looks a great project. Pretty much all the bells & whistles :}.

Hat off to you.

Good luck with the last few bits.

I'd imagine you'll sell her very easily.

Andy.

Cheers Andy :) will hopefully be doing a bit more work on her in October :)

Just been reading through the work you have done and have to say I am most impressed!

A real credit to you!

Admirable resuscitation of abandoned 75 nearly scrapped
 

I find this tale by Rick-Sta greatly inspiring.

But like all the rest of us who have been following it, I want to know how the story ends! Even if it hurts a bit...

Great work Rick, keep it up :}

I'm insured with esure and when I added a second car they give you the same no claims bonus as you've already got and a ten percent discount.

thanks all :) Been another couple months I haven't had the chance to do some more work on the 75. Got some more parts to fit to get her through an MOT, hopefully I will get round to doing this next month and put her through an MOT :)

Update! She passed!
 

wow been a while since I posted on this thread.

Over the last week or so I've been working hard to get the project 75 finally ready for an MOT as I've had it for 2 years now and not really done much with it for around 9 months.

Started off by giving the interior a really thorough deep clean, cleaning all of the leather seats with leather cleaner and then treating it with the leather balm. The replacement rear seat was also fitted. Gave the interior a good valet as well with my Karcher valeting machine.

Managed to source the replacement boot false floor from a local breaker so that has also been fitted.

I replaced the broken rear spring so that's now sorted :)

The airbag light was still on so unbolted the front seats and cut off and replaced both plugs under each seat with new plugs so the airbag warning light won't be an issue ever again :)

Removed the towbar and replace it with a standard rear slam panel, looks much neater at the rear now.

Spent 2 days giving the paint work a good detailing, that was hard work even when doing it in the shade in this weather! But the colour has really come out now looks amazing :)

Fixed up all of the heat shields under the car which had dropped down in some places and were rattling against the exhaust.

replaced the rear exhaust bracket as the old one had snapped.

Done all the finishing touches like refitting various covers and small bits which had been removed whilst I was sorting the car.

Gave the engine bay a quick clean, already looks miles better.

Fixed the non working sunroof, just needed a replacement motor so that works now :)

Replaced the rear chrome boot plinth for a early pre-project drive one with "R O V E R" written on it.

Booked the car in for it's first MOT in 8 years for yesterday morning and drove it down there, and I am proud to announce that she passed straight through with no advisories! :eek::D:D Guys at the garage said she was good to go and couldn't mark anything down on it.

I was fairly confident it would pass but you just never know, was worried about it failing on something serious or expensive or receiving a list of things after spending all this time and money on it already. But all is well :D

Had the car insured for the whole day yesterday and also taxed it so thought I'd use it for the rest of the day. Yesterday morning was the first time I'd actually ever driven the car on the road since buying it 2 years ago, so that was really nice. I have to say it drives really nicely, loved the smooth power delivery from the 2.5 v6 engine with the autobox, quite different from the manual 2.5 v6 I drove earlier in the year. Really enjoyed driving it.

Now that it's passed and finally road worthy, I have a few plans to spice it up a bit including some of the mods which I offer. However it will then be coming up for sale over the next month. Yes I will be selling it unfortunately after all this as I already have the Typhoon ZT + myself and my partner share the typhoon TF together and I've also purchased my new project ZT-T 190 SE which will soon be my daily, so I just can't really keep the 75 as well unfortunately. Good thing is when this sells I'll be able to put that money into sorting out my ZT-T project :)

If anyone's interested in following the progress with my ZT-T project take a look on the thread link below. This is another one which had been sat for some time (no way near as long as this 75 had been sat), but I'm working towards getting it back on the road soon :)
https://the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/s...d.php?t=285116

Here's the latest pics of her, has come a very long way :)

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Brilliant work, she's going to be a lovely car for someone. What a shame those testers recorded a fail against her yesterday.

yeah I don't know what all that was about. They didn't even mention it to me. Only noticed when I checked it online. Don't know if they made an error at first as I checked all the bulbs 2 days before the MOT as some needed replacing, and then checked the day before the MOT and then again yesterday morning before the MOT and they were all fine, no bulb out warning on the dash either.

They haven't even fitted a new nearside tail light bulb, it's still the same bulb and it's still working!

Whoever buys it will get a diamond that's for sure.

Good job, Ricky Singh.

Cracking job Rick :bowdown:

Lovely car. Re the MOT. I got a "fail" this year as well on an indicator and then an immediate pass. No bulb out messages, so I think it is a posterior covering exercise. VOSA - "Why do you seem to pass more cars than average - the numbers should be x% failed". :getmecoat:

Great work! Dont forget to remove the oil filler cap and clean it up with bathroom mouse.;)

What fabulous work.

Respect. :bowdown:

Someone's going to get lucky and get a really beautiful car.

Andy.

Look absolutely stunning, fantastic job you have done there Rick.

Thats what I was thinking, as I heard MOT testers have to fail a certain % of cars or something. NAUGHTY WORD-NAUGHTY WORD-NAUGHTY WORD-NAUGHTY WORD-NAUGHTY WORD-NAUGHTY WORD- annoying.

I plan to replace it for a nice shiny one ;)

Thanks Andy, just hope it goes to the right home :)


Thanks Neil :)

Beautiful, beautiful !! What a fantastic job you have done. I applaud you :bowdown::bowdown::bowdown:

Thanks Heather :)

Some more bits I've ordered for it have arrived this week. Will post up pics once I've added them to the car :)

Update
 

A little update on how the 75 is doing :)

I've done around 1200 smooth miles in it now, recently completing a few long journey trips including a round trip from Essex to Coventry and then to Birmingham before returning back home, and also 2 trips to Stansted Airport and back. So far all is well. Had a minor hiccup with it cutting out which turned out to be a poor earth connection on the battery so that has been sorted and have had no issues since for the last few weeks :)

Still doing a few mods, recently fitted sandstone gaiters and also dyed the handbrake grip in sandstone to match.

Before:
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After:
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See here for more photos :) https://the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/s...d.php?t=287273

I've also recently replaced the back box with a Klarius one. Have to say was a little worried when ordering due to some saying their Klarius exhaust was boomy or loud, but I have to say I am 100% satisfied with my one. It is very quiet, can't hear any exhaust noise at all and is very quiet on motorway journeys too :)

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Also finally managed to source replacement plugs for the highline radio and video modules in the boot, as the original plugs were rusted badly due to water damage. Was quite a long task cutting off the old plugs and individually soldering all wiring to the new plugs, but amazingly now everything works :D The radio, sat nav, CD etc all works. The CD multichanger in the glove box wouldn't eject at first, one of the disc trays was stuck in the open position, but after removing the multichanger and opening it up to manually wind the tray back in, it's been working well since :) A good result.

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The rear number plate screws were looking a bit tired and rusty so replaced them with some new screws and also fitted these yellow screw caps to tidy it up :)

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And lastly I also changed the old worn out key fob with broken fob buttons for a nice fresh new one :}

A few jobs still left to do, but she's almost finished and ready to put up for sale :}

some more mods done :)
 

Made some time to do some more work done on the project 75 around my jobs. Fitted some extra walnut and chrome trim bits which I personally think finishes off the interior quite nicely, particularly love the chrome air vents.

I've also fitted some amber LEDs under the arm rests on the door cards which are wired up to the sidelight circuit so they turn on whenever the lights are on - think it's known as the marmite mod on here?.

Lastly I finally got round to installing some white footwell LEDs which turn on when I unlock the car or open a door :)

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Here's some pics of the custom dials I made for the car and also the led air vents mod :)

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Hi Rick.......one word WOW!!! 😍 I would love all that in mine!! Amazing work!!

OMG.

That's just superb.

Respect. :bowdown::bowdown:

Andy.

My congratulations, what you have done is a master piece,an OEUVRE D´ART :)
really beautiful ,
do you really want to sell this car? as i see you really love :)

Come visit me and I'll add the same mods to yours ;):D

Thanks Andy :)

Cheers :)

As much as I'd love to keep it, it'll have to go unfortunately as I also have a MG ZT-T 190 SE which is another rescue car so once this one's sold the funds will be going into getting the ZT-T back on the road which will be my daily, and my typhoon will just be a show car. Really couldn't justify running 3 cars :)

Rick-sta if you could do that for me I may just take you up on that 🙂 maybe get me dials customised while I'm there too, how much would it be mate?
Kind regards Ste

The custom dials are £60 with the aftermarket needles :)

Excellent nice one well when I sort this strange scraping noise from the rear passenger wheel then I think I'll pop down to you never been Essex before probably stay over too have a few 🍻 round town 😋

no worries :) we have some tourist attractions..like basvegas and southend on sea lol

😂🤣😂 can't wait!!

Missed off an upgrade I done on the 75 a month or so back, upgraded the headlights from halogen projectors to a set of Factory Xenons with my quad projector upgrade with 6000k white angel eye DRLs :) The angel eyes turn on automatically with the ignition to run as daytime running lights, and dim down 50% when the sidelights are switched on. I've also set up the angel eyes so that they turn on when I unlock the car ;)

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Today I installed 2 new LED strip lights in the boot which are powered by the boot light to improve the brightness of the boot lighting. Has made a big difference :)

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Also fitted some fresh Union Jack flag badges


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Been given a good polish and wax...again :D

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Now available for sale
 

Well, the 75 is now finished and ready to go up for sale. Took some new photos for the sale post this evening.

If anyone's interested, the for sale post can be found here: https://the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/s...d.php?t=288710

Many thanks everyone who has shown an interest in this project 75 over the last 2 years. It's been a lot of work but well worth it when I see the end result now, the 75 really does look lovely. Time to move this one on now and use the funds to sort out my next rescue project which is my project ZT-T 190 SE :)

I've already started a progress thread on the ZT-T which can be found here if anyone is interested :) https://the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/s...d.php?t=285116

Amazing work!! Love it especially them new lights! Well done it has been a pleasure following this post, waiting to see what you'll do next on it. Now I will continue to follow this new project, well done Rick 🙂👍

Cheers mate :) looking forward to getting things rolling with the ZT-T :)