austinrover.mg-rover.org/ (link fixed. M.)
Spent many a happy minute grazing in here.
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that address doesn't work, try it without the www.
austinrover.mg-rover.org/
Great site, loads of info. I'd love to know where they get it all!
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From scrap yards, Jamie.
Be warned, all those of a nervous disposition who venture there.
The home page will confront you with a clutch of Austin Allegros.
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Thanks PU I had lots of good intentions for this morning when I rose but then I clicked on the link and got lost for 90mins reliving old memories of all the BMC mistakes of yesteryear.
Happy Motoring Phil I
Still running 94 Rover Metro.!!!!!
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I am happily maintaining 1983 Auto metro for aged relative. Still performs as it did when new. I still remember auto Morris Marina, auto Austin Princess as having tin worm from new.
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My A30 Austin had to have the rear doors firmly shut all the time. If you opened them the body would bow because of the rust and they were hard to get shut......
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Cruising northbound on the M40 yesterday afternoon, at 80 MPH in the inside lane, I was overtaken by a ratty looking 'D' registration Metro 1.3 five door, that must have been knocking on a ton.
Expecting huge amounts of smoke as the driver lifted off for the traffic in front, there was next to none.
Amazing!
/Steve
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I owned personally 1100s, Minis, Rovers. Worked at Longbridge in the 1970s:-(
My experience of company Rover 800s in the 1990 confirmed the adage "once carp always carp"
Frankly most cars produced by BL were eiether badly designed, underdeveloped or badly built.. or all 3.
The Allgro production line had MAJOR problems with front wing quality.
I remeber seeing a new Mini 100 estate just off the final production line: there was a 1 inch gap between the rear subframe and its mounting point on the drivers side..
And productivity was apalling.. strikes and all. Paint appeared to be a bottleneck as we never got enough painted nbodies to trim but Paint shop statistics appeared to show that output was at 95% of capacity. When I investigated I found they were counting rectification cars (those repainted due to paint faults) as good production. When the numbers were corrected efficiency was 65% or therebouts.. Shows how bad defects were...
Those were the days of spectacular management incompetence...:-(
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Flippin' eck!
Thanks Pugugly!
Where do people find such a wealth of information?!
What an amazing trip down memory lane, even though I am only old enough to 'really' remember back to the launch of the SD1.
Made me remember my MG Metro though, which broke a piston ring at 85,000 miles from when I purchased it new: When I rebuilt the engine, I discovered that the one on which the offending ring had broken was fitted back to front!
Rust was the eventual reason why I sold the car, but especially after the 1293CC, 90 odd BHP, ground-up rebuild with a host of tuning parts, it was more pure fun to hurl around than many a car I have driven since.
/Steve
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Well yes (not really) I remember the launch of the SD1 and being idelaistic enough to think it was a poorman's Daytona. Naive enough to think that the TR7 was better than an X1/9 and that the XJS was a supercar better than an E type. Then I discovered German cars and got real.
But a truly wonderful site this one. Try downloading the BL adverts, it was like being on the set of The Grimlies.
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What a brilliant site!
Brought back happy(?)memories. My first car was a second hand Mini - dead reliable and heaps of fun. So I decided to buy a brand new one - went for a Clubman in fact. Aaargh, within a week it was back at the dealers with engine out to get syncromesh fixed. (Getting it into gear was 'interesting') Then the floor flooded and the battery split right across the top.I waited about a month for an ashtray for the front dash - it was delivered with a gaping tinny hole where the ashtray should have been.
After a couple of years or so I'd had enough. The clubman was p/exchanged for a new Renault 18. I've had Renaults and Citroens ever since - oh apart from a Riley Elf which I inherited from my sister. It lurks at the back of my garage. Mustn't speak ill of the dead though.
6 months ago I was shopping around for a new car, Thought I might try a test drive in a Rover 75 (diesel) I stood for almost an hour while the dealer tried unsuccessfully to find one for me to try. Just to make conversation, I asked him if the 75 had a 'common rail' diesel. He said he would have to go and find out (!!!) That did it, I ran all the way to the Citroen dealer.
Shame really, because the 75 is probably a fine car.......
Graeme
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