We collected the Rover yesterday – caught the train to Trowbridge then drove the car back, via a stop-off at Stonehenge to see the new Visitor Centre. All went pretty well, although it’s quite nerve-racking when you’ve got your wife and 6 year old in the car with you whilst you struggle to familiarise yourself with complex things like how to switch on the headlights! And at the back of my mind were the words of the previous owner, hoping that I had good breakdown cover, together with the knowledge that he’d only driven the car few miles over the last 4 years, and there was an engine fire 2 years ago due to fuel leakage. I was watching the dials closely, to say the least, and listening for any odd noises.
Amazingly, all went well. As I became more confident in the car it really is a lovely thing to drive. Relaxing but with the V8 burble and no shortage of speed when needed. There are lots of things to sort out, but so far nothing major.
I used the car to take my son swimming and to a birthday party today, and again, all is well. The plan is to use it for numerous short trips to try to shake-out any gremlins, clean it all really well, replace the carpets, seat belts, door seals and windscreen seal and get it Waxoyled. Then we’ll see – looks like the door bottoms of at least 2 doors will need doing at some point, as will the rear valence, and there’s a faint thud from the drivetrain on lazy upshifts (diff? propshaft?), but so far so good, and happy that there haven’t been any major surprises so far.
Here’s some photos to document the car as-is. You’ll see there’s plenty of dust…
