fatscoobyfella

Seriously guys as my young nephew wants one and says this is the right spec/colour/miles etc etc..

Seems to have a lot going for it..

What do you reckon its worth..

BTW...i know its a Rover....

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1997-ROVER-218...QQcmdZViewItem

Colinj

No idea what its worth...but some of the older rovers had honda engines.....& my mates 216gti was no bad back in the day!!

bluenosewrx

iTrader: (2)

I used to have one of the 216 models with the honda engine, good car if looked after. the targa roof came with a pizza delivery guy's bag thingy to keep the glass roof in when driving with them off, nightmare if you don't get it,having to store the glass unprotected etc,seems a fair price as well.

Mac

fatscoobyfella

He has rang the number in the ad,
Says the bag for storing the roof is in the boot.
Just had full service,cambelts changed and 12 months MOT..No Tax though..
Full service history too.
Think the £1500 reserve is about right???

Cheers

PS..car is supposed to have around 150bhp!!
Is that right??

NWMark

vvc engine will have 145bhp.

if they are recent photos, looks like its in pretty good condition.

wouldnt have a clue on the price though.

Mark

jameswrx

iTrader: (4)

*if* it's as good as it's stated then I'd say it'd be a good buy at £1500.

billythekid

Not many about these days, the engine is prone to head gasket failure and also suffers from a few other niggles - but on the whole its a good motor.

1500 quid is good value, retail is about 600 quid over this.

Emerald ECU, new cams, "de VVC" and a mild port should see 160-170bhp.

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

Run a mile !

The 1.8 k series is an engine stretched further than its design, the headgaskets go for fun, the liners sink. I had a BRM (same engine) and the engine ended up beyond repair at 67,000 miles, sold it for spares/reapir, sold some of the bits off it to another BRM owner and his went a few months later. Everybody who has the MGF ends up with it on a trailer having had it spit its coolant out. When they work they are a nice engine but very fragile.


This started alarm bells ringing

'new radiator, cooling system flush and re antifreeze.'

Translates as the mechanic looked at it, sucked his teeth and bodged it up for sale, might be wrong but its not something that comes up on most cars advertised, it means the cooling system has had something done to it, generally its not something you would mention in an ad, I remember putting a new headgasket on mine, f*cker of a job and cos the liners had sank it blew again, the smell of coolant always reminds me of that car. Ignore at you (his) peril. New rad usually means someone has had radweld in it and bunged it up or its failed overheating the engine, K series are all alloy, very light construction and have a less than ideal coolant path.thermostat arrangement (especially on the MGF) so if its cooked, its fooked.

If he must have a Rover Coupe, go for either the 1.6 (BOMBPROOF) Honda unit engined ones and perhaps tune it a bit, I had a coupe with the Honda engine in and it was over 120,000 miles and ran sweet as a nut with no sign of impending problems. Or alternatively the 2.0 non turbo Rover unit, which is still a bit unreliable but its not a certainty it will break down like the above, as he is a young lad the turbo will be too dear to insure and its not a car I would recommend for a novice anyway.

Look for the Honda engined one, quite a nice little car and still 115 bhp (I think).

I am not a Rover hater btw, just dont want to see your nephew waste his money and go through all the aggro I (and MANY others) went through.

billythekid

There is a lot of myth surrounding the HG failures, as it happens I know someone who knows a lot about the K series and is well respected by K series racers.

He runs DVA Power, give them a call tomorrow 01908 322652 and ask for Dave, he will tell you what you need to know.

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

Myth, surely you mean Mist ?, I appreciate what you are saying but there is a reason they have that reputation, the 1.4s arent so bad but on an MGF its not if but when. K series racers are one thing, my dads mate has and Exige with 200 plus bhp and it gets hammered round the track, pampered race cars are one thing but old bangers with mentions of cooling system work on Ebay are quite another thing.

fatscoobyfella

Ok guys..

Guy who owns the car has been rang again tonight...
Story is,cambelt snapped,damaged 4 valves.So had reconditioned head,inlet manifold mod,cambelts,waterpump and radiator,all approx 1000 miles ago.All work is receipted..

What ya reckon Jacko??

Car is for sale at £1500,thats the minimum price!!!!!

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

My BRM had some head work about a thousand mile before I bought it, head was reconned at a race engine specialist at a cost of 1100 quid, it lasted about another thousand before I noticed steam swirling in the headlights.

You pays your money etc, it may well be fine and I may be a little negative based on my experiences but theres plenty of motors out there.

If its all right (looks a very tidy example) it would be a nice little car, bit different, quick and reasonable handling for 1500 quid, if not its about 500 quids worth of Rover bits.

Are you close enough to go and see it before you part with any cash ?, take a mechanic, get it good and warm and use one of those powerful torches to look for steam emanating (should be easy in the current tempratures) from around the engine bay, there shouldnt be any from under there, look round the gasket (mine went behind the alternator) for any wather seepage, check on the floor after a test drive, look for white residue on the block which indicates dried coolant, as its had a belt snap (no mention of Head Gasket failure) there shouldnt be any.

Check the header tank for colour, should be green and up to the correct levels. squeeze the hoses when cool to check coolant is all the way through as commonly they dont get filled properly. Check the header tank after a run, it shouldnt be like a boiling kettle.

What area is it in, looks Stockport/Cheadle ish.

fatscoobyfella

Thinks its Mossley/Greenfield area..Yea were close enough to have a look,probably get an AA inspection if it came to it..

billythekid

Jacko, I have a 200bhp K myself, a VHPD veriosn but its not in a rover

If you really are not sure about the work give Dave a call, he has worked on hundreds of K series and what he does not know is not worth knowing.

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

I think Billy is right, speak to an expert and if poss get one to look at it, and if you are not sure walk away, I personally think they are a good unit with a bad design flaw, I have dont the reading, I understand why it happens and some of what can be done to avoid it, but thats all irrelevant when you are stuck at the side of the road with it, all cars have problems at some point but the K series just seems to have this problem and people dont make it up for the fun of it. I mean, shouldnt really have to think about the bit of cork/metal or rubber that goes between the top and bottom of your engine, you should never wonder whether your head is located on metal or god forbid platic dowels !

stilover

Starting bid sounds fair to me.

Rover & out

robby

I had 1 of these quite a few years ago, paid £9k for it (P plate which was about 2 years old), nippy car
The 1.8K series engine is a strange 1, in freelanders the head gaskets go (about £500 repair bill if it's not spotted straight away) - these engines are the non VVC versions though which might make some difference to reliability.
In the MGFs the head gasket problem was down to poor cooling, the engines at the back and as they didn't get the air to them when driving they used to overheat.

I also had a ZR160 (it was the blue 1 at well lane back in 2001) - this also used the 1.8VVC engine so if the engine was still used up until final production it can't have been so bad?

The only thing i hated about the coupe was the rattles - because of the Targa roof the body would flex so you'd get creaks, etc - BUT! you get them on most cars nowadays.
The VVC model had the later style interior (same dash as later 200 hatch models) as did late N plate 216 coupes - much better than the early models

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

'about £500 repair bill if it's not spotted straight away'

Thats if it works, if it doesnt it can be the liners sinking, 500 quid is about right if it is spotted early, if left and it gets cooked then the chances are its had it, the heads dont take well to being overheated. The only difference the VVC bit makes to relaiblity is that there can be a greater strain on the cooling system due to the extra power compared to the standard 1.8, basically you get more power, you generate more heat and the K series cooling system is only 4 litres in capacity, due to the coolant path a sudden rise in temp (you hoof it) can tip the system over the edge if it isnt in tip top shape, for quick warm up/emissions and lightness they deveoped the unit with the low coolant capacity which is ok when new but as things get older it becomes a problem.

The MGF's suffer due to the distance from the rad to the engine, long coolant path, making the thermal shock problem greater than in the front engined applications, the Freelander suffer due to school run mummys getting in and booting a hefty vehicle with a small engine from cold.

The VVC gubbins seems reliable, correct me if I am wrong but I have never heard of it failing, for high power applications it get ripped out anyway and replaced with conventional cams.

The engine in mine was sweet, 161 BHP (also RR'd at Well Lane), was much better once I took the previous owners crappy cold air feed off, he crushed the pipe thus restricting the airflow, it was pretty quick, easily matched a Cooper S.

One problem if it does go **** up is sourcing a replacement, there are more cars than engines, one comes up for sale its either very expensive or gone, there are lots of people stuck with MGF's with duff engines looking for a replacement, plus you go and get it, rip the knackered one out and find the replacement is buggered as well, Cant be arsed with thinking about it nowadays.

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

'about £500 repair bill if it's not spotted straight away'

Thats if it works, if it doesnt it can be the liners sinking, 500 quid is about right if it is spotted early, if left and it gets cooked then the chances are its had it, the heads dont take well to being overheated. The only difference the VVC bit makes to relaiblity is that there can be a greater strain on the cooling system due to the extra power compared to the standard 1.8, basically you get more power, you generate more heat and the K series cooling system is only 4 litres in capacity, due to the coolant path a sudden rise in temp (you hoof it) can tip the system over the edge if it isnt in tip top shape, for quick warm up/emissions and lightness they deveoped the unit with the low coolant capacity which is ok when new but as things get older it becomes a problem.

The MGF's suffer due to the distance from the rad to the engine, long coolant path, making the thermal shock problem greater than in the front engined applications, the Freelander suffer due to school run mummys getting in and booting a hefty vehicle with a small engine from cold.

The VVC gubbins seems reliable, correct me if I am wrong but I have never heard of it failing, for high power applications it get ripped out anyway and replaced with conventional cams.

The engine in mine was sweet, 161 BHP (also RR'd at Well Lane), was much better once I took the previous owners crappy cold air feed off, he crushed the pipe thus restricting the airflow, it was pretty quick, easily matched a Cooper S.

One problem if it does go **** up is sourcing a replacement, there are more cars than engines, one comes up for sale its either very expensive or gone, there are lots of people stuck with MGF's with duff engines looking for a replacement, plus you go and get it, rip the knackered one out and find the replacement is buggered as well, Cant be arsed with thinking about it nowadays.

billythekid

I run a cooler thermostat in my car 78c one.