What I did with my Rover 75/MG ZT today?

[75driver]

Changed the specialist components thermostat on SLZ.
Fitted a remote control to operate the FBH on SLZ and on the tourer, made possible by Devilish.👍


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Pueblo_Boy]

I dropped my Tourer at the railway station as I started my journey to Northern Ireland to buy a Fiat Panda. Train to Glasgow, long bus trip to the ferry terminal. The bus driver was better than Schumaker on the bends!

Ferry at 15:30, arrive 17:50ish, check out the car, return on the 19:30 ferry. Should give me an hour or so to test drive the Panda...

Best laid plans...ferry was a good 30+ minutes late leaving Scotland...arrived about 18:25...hardly any time to meet up, see the car and join the check-in for 19:00 latest as advised by Stena Lines, despite that ferry leaving some 30 minutes late too TBH, the help desk did say they would keep check-in open a little longer...

Test drove the car for all of a few minutes round the ferry car park. No time for anything, really. Vendor had said he would clean the car and fill it up with petrol - he didn't, so he offered £30 deduction when questionned. The petrol warning light was on...

Only one key Electric mirrors don't work A/C looks dodgy - the vendor initially said it only has heating (but climate control is standard on this model!). The 'P' on Panda is missing, but that I don't care about! Vendor had replaced the boot and bonnet FIAT badges with ABARTH ones - wishful thinking!!

Driving back up the coastal road late at night, not a single garage was open for business. I managed to eek 40+ miles on the 'reserve', and reached the main services at the Prestwick turnoff. Big roadworks, services closed... headed off to Prestwick airport road to find petrol, hit a kerb whilst trying to spy a garage, front nearside tyre blew out. That's when I discovered, you guessed, NO SPARE WHEEL!

Dialled 999 and asked for the police! It was pelting down stainrods, storm Alex in full swing, I thought maybe a helpful policemen would lend a hand changing the tyre...that was before I discovered no spare tyre, no jack, no tools...Called the RAC. My phone was almost out of battery. Their recorded messaging went on forever grrr! Eventually got through, many more stupid questions, then he insisted on putting me through to some other insurer/department/I can't remember what, I think it was to calculate my recovery costs because hitting a kerb is not eligible for their recovery service, it's a ROAD TRAFFIC ACCIDENT!, and yes of course, the line he put me through to just had a recorded message, then I was cut-off. (I think the initial quote to recover my car was £120 plus £1.67 per mile plus fuel cost. Being about 70 miles from home, a tad costly...)

Repeat the RAC opening nonsense, got a different customer service guy (Indian sounding) who was much better, asked me the car reg and passed me over to someone from (I think) NFU, who told me yes, the car was covered! So the previous owner had cover I could use This was about 12:30 or 1am. The recovery guy eventually picked me up at 03:15, and noted that the back nearside tyre was punctured as well He did however drop the car off at my local tyre shop and deliver me to my waiting Rover in the railway station carpark at around 05:00. So happy to get home! But not very happy with my Panda 100hp...very hard suspension in that you feel every bump, and small potholes result in missing fillings...

All in all, not the best of days...my own fault (some of it!) for thinking a Panda could replace my Tourer! (but I did win a few bob on the Prix de L'Arc de Triomphe! )

[ADO282]

Originally Posted by Pueblo_Boy

I dropped my Tourer at the railway station as I started my journey to Northern Ireland to buy a Fiat Panda. Train to Glasgow, long bus trip to the ferry terminal. The bus driver was better than Schumaker on the bends!

Ferry at 15:30, arrive 17:50ish, check out the car, return on the 19:30 ferry. Should give me an hour or so to test drive the Panda...

Best laid plans...ferry was a good 30+ minutes late leaving Scotland...arrived about 18:25...hardly any time to meet up, see the car and join the check-in for 19:00 latest as advised by Stena Lines, despite that ferry leaving some 30 minutes late too TBH, the help desk did say they would keep check-in open a little longer...

Test drove the car for all of a few minutes round the ferry car park. No time for anything, really. Vendor had said he would clean the car and fill it up with petrol - he didn't, so he offered £30 deduction when questionned. The petrol warning light was on...

Only one key Electric mirrors don't work A/C looks dodgy - the vendor initially said it only has heating (but climate control is standard on this model!). The 'P' on Panda is missing, but that I don't care about! Vendor had replaced the boot and bonnet FIAT badges with ABARTH ones - wishful thinking!!

Driving back up the coastal road late at night, not a single garage was open for business. I managed to eek 40+ miles on the 'reserve', and reached the main services at the Prestwick turnoff. Big roadworks, services closed... headed off to Prestwick airport road to find petrol, hit a kerb whilst trying to spy a garage, front nearside tyre blew out. That's when I discovered, you guessed, NO SPARE WHEEL!

Dialled 999 and asked for the police! It was pelting down stainrods, storm Alex in full swing, I thought maybe a helpful policemen would lend a hand changing the tyre...that was before I discovered no spare tyre, no jack, no tools...Called the RAC. My phone was almost out of battery. Their recorded messaging went on forever grrr! Eventually got through, many more stupid questions, then he insisted on putting me through to some other insurer/department/I can't remember what, I think it was to calculate my recovery costs because hitting a kerb is not eligible for their recovery service, it's a ROAD TRAFFIC ACCIDENT!, and yes of course, the line he put me through to just had a recorded message, then I was cut-off. (I think the initial quote to recover my car was £120 plus £1.67 per mile plus fuel cost. Being about 70 miles from home, a tad costly...)

Repeat the RAC opening nonsense, got a different customer service guy (Indian sounding) who was much better, asked me the car reg and passed me over to someone from (I think) NFU, who told me yes, the car was covered! So the previous owner had cover I could use This was about 12:30 or 1am. The recovery guy eventually picked me up at 03:15, and noted that the back nearside tyre was punctured as well He did however drop the car off at my local tyre shop and deliver me to my waiting Rover in the railway station carpark at around 05:00. So happy to get home! But not very happy with my Panda 100hp...very hard suspension in that you feel every bump, and small potholes result in missing fillings...

All in all, not the best of days...my own fault (some of it!) for thinking a Panda could replace my Tourer! (but I did win a few bob on the Prix de L'Arc de Triomphe! )

Wow, that reads like a disaster movie John, perhaps the god of Rover is not pleased with the puny offering of a Fiat !!


I don't know if that is the omen, perhaps drive the Panda over winter while you get stuck into sorting out your car??


I would have seen it as a sign personally.......


Hopefully it won't prove to be a costly mistake, and the two cars can become stablemates.

[Saga Lout]

Originally Posted by ADO282

Wow, that reads like a disaster movie John, perhaps the god of Rover is not pleased with the puny offering of a Fiat !!


I don't know if that is the omen, perhaps drive the Panda over winter while you get stuck into sorting out your car??


I would have seen it as a sign personally.......


Hopefully it won't prove to be a costly mistake, and the two cars can become stablemates.

The Fiat Panda is the same as the 500 under the upper body, the 500 is quite a car and the 1.2 tops over 100mph with some power in reserve. The Fiats also have galvanised bodies and are easy to work on, as a winter car they fit the bill very well, I did Wigan to Swansea and back on A roads on under a tankful in a 500, try doing that in a 75! Another plus is you can have a snapped timing belt and be underway again in less than 20 minutes, a clutch is under £50 to buy and takes an hour to fit, the heater in the cabin makes it too hot to breathe if you turn it full on, there's many benefits to a Panda or 500 with very little downside, as a winter car they take some beating.

[ADO282]

Originally Posted by Saga Lout

The Fiat Panda is the same as the 500 under the upper body, the 500 is quite a car and the 1.2 tops over 100mph with some power in reserve. The Fiats also have galvanised bodies and are easy to work on, as a winter car they fit the bill very well, I did Wigan to Swansea and back on A roads on under a tankful in a 500, try doing that in a 75! Another plus is you can have a snapped timing belt and be underway again in less than 20 minutes, a clutch is under £50 to buy and takes an hour to fit, the heater in the cabin makes it too hot to breathe if you turn it full on, there's many benefits to a Panda or 500 with very little downside, as a winter car they take some beating.

I shall have to take your word for it Mike, I'm quite happy wafting around in the V6......heater works well though

[Mike Noc]

Exhaust back box rusted through both carriers and fell down. Made up a strap from some stainless steel strip I had laying around to keep it back up in place and ordered a new on.

[planenut]

Originally Posted by Mike Noc

Exhaust back box rusted through both carriers and fell down. Made up a strap from some stainless steel strip I had laying around to keep it back up in place and ordered a new on.

Must be that time of year Mike, I had to do the same last week.

[beansontoast]

Replaced lowline BCU for a highline ready for rear electric windows, all parts obtained, just unsure what to cover the winder hole with, removed rear seats as it was jammed shut (alot of rust back there!)
Wondered where my coolant has gone 😂, leaking from the IMG, suspect inlet is warped so I have a shiny 40somethingK alloy inlet on it's way to fit..

[trikey]

Originally Posted by beansontoast

Replaced lowline BCU for a highline ready for rear electric windows, all parts obtained, just unsure what to cover the winder hole with, removed rear seats as it was jammed shut (alot of rust back there!)
Wondered where my coolant has gone 😂, leaking from the IMG, suspect inlet is warped so I have a shiny 40somethingK alloy inlet on it's way to fit..

Welcome along, it’s easier (and more pleasing on the eye) to swap the door cards for ones without a hole.

There should be plenty available at your local scrappy or place a wanted ad in the classified section👍


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Pueblo_Boy]

Originally Posted by Saga Lout

The Fiat Panda is the same as the 500 under the upper body, the 500 is quite a car and the 1.2 tops over 100mph with some power in reserve. The Fiats also have galvanised bodies and are easy to work on, as a winter car they fit the bill very well, I did Wigan to Swansea and back on A roads on under a tankful in a 500, try doing that in a 75! Another plus is you can have a snapped timing belt and be underway again in less than 20 minutes, a clutch is under £50 to buy and takes an hour to fit, the heater in the cabin makes it too hot to breathe if you turn it full on, there's many benefits to a Panda or 500 with very little downside, as a winter car they take some beating.

Winter car - great idea! This Panda is the 100hp version, supposedly a "hot hatch", but I'm pretty sure my Rover diesel is quicker!
Front tyre is wasted, wait to see about the back one, might be repairable.
I think this Fiat would make an ideal car - for the wife!