This is my project .Rover 75 2.5 v6 connoisseur "LAUNCH CAR" in cowley plant wedgwood blue.It would have started its life in a Rover main dealers showroom and was kitted out with a high spec set up to attract customers to their brand.The car was built early 1999 (25th/5th/1999 at22:55:29 to be exact) but not registered till september 1999 due to its status as a main dealers show piece.13 years later and I have aquired it after it had been off the road a couple of years and left as a target for various feathered dive bombers.(had more direct hits than dresden.the header picture was after 2 washes .the pic.above is an example of the carpet before the clean up began.The project will take the form of firstly cleaning and minor repairs before the main part of getting the engine sorted out (suspected cam belt failure).i have started a personal diary of the project and am now starting this online version to show off my efforts to aquaintances on the "ROVER 75 MGZT OWNERS FORUM" and a link will be posted for them to view.
DAY 1 THE ARRIVAL
The car turned up as arranged , towed via straight bar by previous owner.Dear me what a sight, looked like a chicken coup that had been turned inside out.There was a couple of parts obvious to see that were missing, ie front grille, one wiper blade .We got it parked up and they went on their merry way with my hard earned money.then the autopsy began.Started to panic a little and asked myself WHY? have you bought this..however when my brother and his mate turned up for a look around we began to have fun playing with the toys on this high spec motor.connected jump leads to my MGZT and hey presto , the highline TV lit up and we even got several tv channels on.The rear window power sun blind sprang to life and lifted and lowered with ease.all lights worked , the wipers however didn't.we delved further and it became apparent other bits were missing, relays from engine fuse box , drivers door seal, cd changer from the glove box.we discovered the bonnet on the car wouldn't close either.It was getting late and dave and brian departed and iI had enough time to throw some soapy water over the car and made it look a little more respectable.Later that night I started a thread on the above forum entitled "mistake ?"...I got some encouraging answers and words of encouragement and thought that my situation may look better in the morning.
DAY 2 - 6
A good nights sleep, the sun is shining and the car outside doesn't look so bad..decided to have another look round.after finding some other problems, drivers door card hanging off , the door handle broken (inside part with chrome surround).
and a couple of lesser issues , ie some lugs missing off air control unit.decided to follow advice from a forum member "canonite" and strip out the interior and deep clean the seats and carpet .The pic shown in "interior pages" is with front seats removed.Washed with soapy water first , then washed again and rubbed down and left in sun to dry.will need some proper cleaner and treatment (but its early days yet).First just concentrating on improving the look of it sat on the driveway.so with seats out the interior is hoovered out and sponged to freshen up the carpet which came up surprisingly good.The back seat base was taken out (bit of a struggle on my own and never taken one out before ,but got there in the end) and treated to a couple of soapy washes.After a succesful trip to breakers yard i managed to get carpet trims , relays , door handle, heater control unit, wiper blade, ad set about putting a few things right.The wipers worked once the relay was put in and a blade attached.1 washer jet re affixed and hey presto wash wipe working.Door handle replaced and door card fixed.The centre console was all put back in place and now looked neater thanks to the heater control panel fitting properly. Having problems with the highline unit (seems to do as it feels and no audio output).The plenum tubes were clened out and engine bay cleand of the leaves and debris housed in there.
DAY 7-ONWARDS
NOT EXACTLY HOW I HAD HOPED TO CONTINUE BUT KEEPING THE DAYS EXACT ISN'T SO IMPORTANT AS YET.WILL TRY AND DETAIL BETTER WHEN WORK GETS STARTED ON THE ENGINE ROOM.HOWEVER THE PICTURES ARE TAKING SHAPE AS I GET TO GRIPS WITH MY WEB SITE..AM NEEDING TO RAISE MONEY AS I FEAR I WILL NEED TO SHEL OUT SOME SERIOUS MONEY WHEN WORK STARTS ON THE ENGINE.AT THIS POINT I HAVE BOUGHT A DONOR CAR FOR 2 PURPOSES .SOME PARTS WILL BE SWAPPED FOR PARTS ON THE "LAUNCH CAR " AND SOME PARTS KEPT FOR FUTURE REPLACEMENTS ON MY DIESEL MGZT.REST WILL BE SOLD ON IN VARIOUS WAYS IN ORDER TO RAISE MONEY FOR THE PROJECT.EBAY AND FORUM ADVERTS ARE NOW BEING WRITTEN AND EAGERLY AWAIT BIDS AND OFFERS.
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