I found this Rover covered in moss and grown over in weeds sitting in a pasture for over 8 years just outside of Tallahassee. She had good bones, but the engine and drive train were a mystery. I couldn't let this iconic gem just die in the pasture and felt the call to bring her back to life. I gave the guy $500 and Will and I winched it up on a trailer and took her home. This is our journey....
Let the work begin!
Out with the Old
New Seals and Gaskets
Upgrade to 4.2 engine
Hours underneath bolting it back together...not a happy time
In with the New
Tweaking Fuel Injection with some Whataburger
Once we had it installed, with several rookie mistakes along the way, it needed a new computer. I found the correct one on Ebay, bought it, plugged it in and she came to life after a long rest in the pasture. We took it for an initial ride around the circle where a transmission cooler line blew and caught on fire. After getting the fire out quickly with our tshirts, we called Margaret for a tow back to the house. It took about 6 months of blowing rotted hoses and gaskets to finally get it all in good order.
And then it really began to get messy (my wife is a good wife). The Brits do not have the best reputation regarding electronics and reliability. Once you can accept that, it's not quite as frustrating and you just work through the problem. On this project if it didn't work, it was fixed or replaced. I was determined to make it to look like it came out of the show room 27 years ago.
Inside I refurbished leather to a factory look and new real burl walnut wood veneer for the dash pieces. The wood veneer was a huge pain due to all the sanding and coats of clear finish required ....it just had to be perfect.
After
It took some time and a ton of work, but it was well worth the effort. It looks great after a respray of the original color and is fun to drive after a rebuild of the entire suspension system. I love this truck, and older cars like them, because they have what most modern cars lack these days...SOUL.
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