[The Marmalizer]

Just as the title suggests, I'm interested to know the origins of your interest in Rover cars!?

Here is mine.....

Once when I was a small boy I was visiting relatives with the family. At the time my Dad drove a red Austin Allegro, my brother and I were sat in the back on our booster seats. My Dad pulled up at a set of traffic lights next to a black SD1 (I assume it was a 3500). Well, the driver looked around and spotted my brother and I and obviously decided to put on a bit of a show. He F*cking gunned it off the lights.............straight into the back of a Capri which was stopped in the road just ahead.

Later I learned that the Capri driver asked my Dad to provide a witness statement to support his insurance claim. The upshot of which was that sometime later my Dad got to view the statement made by the SD1 driver.

One sentence in particular sticks in my head. "It was only due to the superior braking system of my car that a more serious accident was prevented".

I've been obsessed with the SD1 ever since.

 

[The Marmalizer]

Come on you Rover nuts

I posted this thread a couple of weeks ago and was gutted when it received no replies.

So, in light of recent events.............!

 

[xpower_boy]

ever since my grandad worked for rover and BL my family has been loyal and has always bought rovers. This is what made me mad about rovers and most people i know, know im mg rover crazy.

 

[MGTurbo]

Holidays in an Austin Ambassador, MG Metro, and then races with Xr3i's in an MG Maestro (and winning) was all it needed as an easily influenced 7 year old to be converted to the brand.

Nearly forgot, we have only ever bought their products and in 30 years of combined motoring my family remain loyal to these well engineered cars which continue to give good service.

 

[no1knows]

My dads always loved LAND ROVER, so Ive been bought up on the buy british branding.


To be honest as a child I never really knew much about cars, not until few years ago when you do, & I always rmb disliking BMW , basically cuz it seemed so arrogant & the drivers are Twonks. Then I'd see Rovers lol admitedly non of them drive how I drive lol nicely quick but I ve liked the styling of a lot of upper model cars. Then when I was learning to drive I was so desperate for a mini ( british car ) got one eventually found out it wouldnt pass its MOT ( cost up 750 pounds ) so I Went lookin for a metro , they were nice electrics & cutesy looks, but rusty wheel arch put my dad off spending 1300 pounds on it, ( lol the same one is still at the same garage over 18 months on ) so anyway we got a fiesta, but altho fun to drive it lacked power so as soon as I got a real job with a decent wage first months pay went on a Rover 200 ( lol then the next 2 months went on fixin it up as it wasnt the best condition one ) but now its beautiful , & I enjoy driving it softly & I enjoy driving it wildly, which then was going to lead me onto the MGZR ( saving up for ) but now I dont knw whats happening.

So I think I can put my passion down to my dads patriotism, hes so sad about this whole situation , he never wanted china to take over I would have accepted anything to keep production in Britain but now I'm not so sure, I think no company will take over another company for the good of a nation, its doing it for money. I think we need to keep MGR British so that it has the passion for the country ( and perhaps stick a bmw badge on it so the THINKO public will buy them, just kiddin but you get that feelin sometimes dont you )

 

[Daytona]

My interest didn't start in just Rover, it was just the style of cars like Triumph, Rover and Jaguar with real wood trim and plush cloth or leather interiors (when most cars had plastic). I always had a soft spot for Dolomites, Stags, the V8 Rovers and "S" type Jags. I just appreciated they were a cut above the average car, even as a young lad, and was so excited the day I bought a Dolomite Sprint. I think the original Jaguar slogan of "Grace, space and pace" was an apt way of summing them all up.

 

[Rufras]

My Dad was fortunate when I was young to have company cars which were the usual Ford and Vauxhall offerings such as Consuls and 101s. In the early 60s Ford had a particularly poor name as bad starters in cold and damp weather. Most winters us kids seem to push his Consul to school, I swear I still have an imprint of the Ford oval in my palm from pushing his damn car. He then had a Vauxhall 101 which despite only being 2 weeks old had to be towed back home when we went on holiday with a major engine failure.
Then one day my Dad changed jobs and was given brand new Rover P6 2000 in a cinnamon red, It was absolutely fantastic and appeared 1000 times better than anything we had in the past. My Dad who was interested cars never spoke much about any of them, but always said it was the best car he ever owned. The other day I saw a P6 and for 10 minutes my thoughts were transferred back to 1966 when I stood outside our house looking at a gleaming new Rover.

 

[deaney]

When i started work at B&Q and i seen my mates 3dr 220 MK2 Hatch.

He did some slight mods but i couldnt resist the look of the half leather bucket seats and how sporty it looked.

SO a month later i went and got myself a 5 door 214SEi and i loved it.....

Soon after i got quite board and i felt there wasnt much point in modding the rest of the car so i got a loan and brought my 216 coupe.....

I have never looked back since.. great car! and for the value of it... what other car could you get for around that price thats cheap to insure and looks great! with a t-bar roof etc!.

 

[kenny]

i started driving my mums 620 diesel when i passed my test, then went on to buy a new clio 1.2 sport:banghead: . i crashed that and ended up buying a 214 sli for £200 with alloys etc. this started me off, then a year later i bought a 214 sei which i modded slightly and had a stereo 3 times the worth of the car. than about a year afte that i got bored with the speed and bought myself my 220 coupe turbo:rocker:

 

[dhare]

My father always had Fords or Vauxhalls as company cars, except when they broke, and he had to have a hire car in the meantime. This enabled me to sample a 216SE in 1988, which started it all.

Apart frm just over a year in a FIAT Pinto from Nov 2003 to March this year, I have always had Austin-Rover / Rover/MG Rover products.

I now have a 25 iL

But what am I going to drive in 3-4 years' time?

 

[Rover Racing]

I got my Rover Metro back in August 04, it's my first car and though she is a heap of junk which has more rust patches then ive had girlfriends i still love my car cuz she gets me around and is damn cheap to insure. ok shes had her faults and ive to repair her a few times (new clutch, fan belt, carb, inlet manifold, oil filter and a oil change) she keeps going though if anyone here wants to buy it i'll gladly let you take here away from me:s2h:

 

[Diesel Dick]

I've always liked 'em and when I was young I can remember by Mum having a succession of austin/Rover cars. My Grand Dad was works manager for Lancia at the time so my Dad always had Flavias, fulvias etc.

I always liked the Honda generation Rovers and my 400 mkII TD just sealed my love affair - at that price, no Escort, Astra, would be half as good or charismatic, and the '71 P6B V8 auto that followed was no less pleasing.

DD

 

[scotty p]

Ther 220 tubro coupe and also the k series engine

 

[216sli]

Id always wanted a mini when i was a kid, when i bought one years later (crank whent bang 2 months after buying it! doh!)
Its a typical mini needs a bit of work doing on it, its still in the family i gave it to my dad as a project which will be under way soon.
When it came to replaceing it id looked through autotrader for a car and started searching for 200's.
Most of the ones i saw were sold, one of them had only been advertised for one day & gone in that day!
I found the one i have i was chuffed because id only been looking at the 1.4's and found my 1.6.

I do remember when my uncle came over from cannada he rented a mk2 200 and i remember thinking that it was a nice looking car and that i realy liked the wood trim. It just seemed to be of a better class than its rivals e.g escorts etc

My mom and dad have got a 820 vitesse coupe in brg which i think is such a nice looking car, i want to buy it off them if they ever replace it. lol

 

[pneuromancer]

My car was the only silver car in the forecourt, and by-god i wanted it. I like silver.

 

[Rover_ron]

After I had passed my test at 17, I got to drive the old mans' Rover 2000. (a P8 I think - the pre 2200/2600/3500SDI Rovers)
It was only the single carb model, but in those days Rovers were still a prestige motor.
The tan leather chairs (calling them seats doesn't do them justice), the plush carpets, torquey 2litre engine, slick 4 speed 'box and superb limo like ride meant I clocked up more miles in it than he did! (Sunday joy rides around the roads of mid Northumberland)

It left a lasting impression and in '92 I bought a Rover 220GTI, though my first MGR car was actually a 1982 MG Metro.
The 220GTi wasn't a GTI - more like a GSI - which ARG later rebadged them as. But the interior was far superior to anything comparable. Pity about the brakes, excessively light steering and dodgy handling.
I wrote it off on the way back from the 1st service, and as soon as it was replaced, I lowered the springs by 30mm - that fixed the handling!

10years then elapsed until a change of job and loss of a company Astra (good riddance!) enabled me to buy a 420D.

I'm onto my 2nd 45 now, and now that MGR have gone, will have to look out for a good used 45 or 75 in a couple of years / 100k miles. There is simply nothing else I can afford that interests me!!!!

 

[ejefi]

My Father brought a 2 year old P6 3500S in 1976 (which he still has), ever since then theres been Rovers in the family, my second car was a 2600 SD1, this being replaced by a 3500 VDP EFi (which I still have), managed to get my girlfriend (now wife) into BL cars since she learned to drive, been through Mini's, MG metro's, Rover 200 bubble, R25 and now a ZR. Currently between myself and my parents we have P6 3500S, SD1 VDP Efi, 820, mini 30, R75 Tourer & ZR. Not bad for an Essex boy in the home of Ford.

 

[Maisie]

My parents had a Mini van when they got married, and then went via a Sunbeam Rapier and Triumph Herald (in the days when Dad was into tinkering with cars), to an Allegro Estate (fond memories of 8 or so kids crammed in the back telling ghost stories on the way home from a party) to the Maestro HLE they got new in 1985, and still have, albeit these days looking very tatty, but still bulletproof. In 1989, the Allegro finally had to go, and was replaced by a brand new Maestro. The 2 Maestros made several epic trips to see friends and relatives across Europe, with my parents up front and me and my sister in the back. Not once did either car miss a beat, and to my knowledge neither has ever gone more wrong than a tyre, light, or the inevitable welding in later years. The second Maestro went to my sister when she went to uni. A few years down the line, she decided to get a Punto (boo, hiss! And boy has she had problems with it). I couldn't bear to see the Maestro go after so many years of loyal service, so now I have it as a long-term project.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. In 1995 or so, I wanted a car of my own a while after going to uni. I swore I didn't want a Maestro - too rusty, and no street cred. So I looked on Autotrader for something I could buy with a couple of hundred quid, that wasn't too huge. Fiesta? Naaaah. Nova? God, no! There's a nice Maestro Vanden Plas in Huddersfield though.... D'OH! So, for £500, I had a car with electric windows, power steering, wood trim, sunroof, central locking, chrome trim and bags of character. Made me laugh when a then colleague paid 10x as much for a second-hand Polo with none of the above! Time passed, I moved house, and one day I was on the way to the station, when I saw a Maestro camper van in a car park! 1st thought: WTF?? Second: I gotta get me one of those! And after drooling over a £4,000 one on Autotrader, I saw a somewhat shabby example in Wednesbury for £895. And so I got F506MDL, which has been extensively restored and customised. The 3rd Maestro has already been explained, and as for the 4th? Well, when someone emails you to say they've been bequeathed an unwanted MG Turbo, and would like to get rid of it for £200 - you don't say no! One day it will be restored and back on the road, pending time, money and new garage.

On Christmas Eve this year, I decided I'd like to retire the Maestros from daily service, and bought my Rover 400. It's been fantastic. Comfy, stylish and economical, which is very important now I have the mortgage! :irked: One day I hope to graduate to the world of big shiny MGs, but that will have to wait. I'll always love my Rovers and can't think of anything I'd rather drive. :cloud9:

Apologies for the essay - you can wake up now :O

 

[Formula1Freak]

When I saw the absolutely spotless 214SEi in a garage whilst driving past it in my 973cc Alto, for £1000.

Turned around, came back to the garage, asked if I could sit in the car. Sat in it, loved it, got out, phoned dad, told him to come and look.

He saw it. Recommended it. I checked money situation. It was doable.

Phoned insurance company. Braced myself. Was pleasently surprised.

Bought it.

Sold Alto.

 

[Elstro]

One of my aunts had a 'Jet Black' Metro that i loved (i cried when she sold it in 1995, but i was only 6!), and another had a Rover Metro, a 100 and a MK3 200. I have always liked BMC>MGR stuff because it's part of my Brummie heritage, but i suppose my Rover fascination was kicked off by seeing the Zed cars in 2001 and seeing a shagged-out 416 GTi being punted by the stig on Top Gear last year (the sound that the engine makes is kewl)