Looking at getting a 820 vitesse sport r reg
Discussion
hi all, im looking at getting a vitesse coupe on a 98 plate and just wondered if any one has any info regards to what to look out for? i really like these cars and have done for years, this will be my first 1 as the time has come wen the insurance will allow, any replys will be much appriciated
Good looking car those big Coupes. Is this what you have in mind ? :~
Two engine options at least available IIRC. V6 and Turbocharged Straight 4.
Post a similar request over on the 800 Forum on MG-Rover.org.
Wealth of 800 experience there. There's also a website which specialises in the big 800 Rovers.
I have no experience of the V6 800s, had a Vitesse Turbo some years ago with the turbocharged Rover T16 engine. Fine engines and 200,000 far from rare, 300,000 miles not unknown either.
My son's Rover 620ti has the same T16 turbo engine and he uses it for his job which involves a fair bit of travel. His car has 161,000 miles and runs as well as my own example with less than half that mileage. I prefer this engine to the KV6.
Two engine options at least available IIRC. V6 and Turbocharged Straight 4.
Post a similar request over on the 800 Forum on MG-Rover.org.
Wealth of 800 experience there. There's also a website which specialises in the big 800 Rovers.
I have no experience of the V6 800s, had a Vitesse Turbo some years ago with the turbocharged Rover T16 engine. Fine engines and 200,000 far from rare, 300,000 miles not unknown either.
My son's Rover 620ti has the same T16 turbo engine and he uses it for his job which involves a fair bit of travel. His car has 161,000 miles and runs as well as my own example with less than half that mileage. I prefer this engine to the KV6.
Gareth350 said:
All i can say to you is two things! Why? And are you mad?! Hehe!
Speaking personally, I'm not mad at all, only positively insane which is a higher level much posher version of madness. But I do have good taste ~ unlike some folks on this car enthusiasts' site. Hehe even moreso ...
More seriously, I have a question for you. Why do you ask such a question ~ ?? ~ do you have some deeper seated insight into the way of all things Automotive giving you some superior judgement over us lesser mortals, having studied at the Clueless Clarkson Academy of Motoring Excellence and passed with flying colours... Yes,
that's it .... 
and for good measure ... yet another ... .. plus a Hehe.....
For the record, I was watching the Topgear roadtest of the 800 Coupe on Youtube yesterday (with Clarkson himself in 1991) and he actually seemed to quite like it...
Which is unusual. I hope he's right because I'm hopefully picking one up next Saturday too
From the research I've done, a lot of the floaty handling problems they had were on the pre-96 Honda engined ones with their wierd power steering, 96 on they were apparently pretty good, but of course the press never really re-reviewed them. Fantastic spec as well for the money.
And don't forget it was an 800 (the 2.7 V6 i think) which was the first production car to complete the Isle of Man TT course at an average of over 100mph...
Which is unusual. I hope he's right because I'm hopefully picking one up next Saturday too
From the research I've done, a lot of the floaty handling problems they had were on the pre-96 Honda engined ones with their wierd power steering, 96 on they were apparently pretty good, but of course the press never really re-reviewed them. Fantastic spec as well for the money.
And don't forget it was an 800 (the 2.7 V6 i think) which was the first production car to complete the Isle of Man TT course at an average of over 100mph...
No experience of the Vitesse, but plenty of the 827. Check the wheelarches for signs of rust.
Check that everything electrical works, and I mean EVERYTHING. These cars are prone to various electrical niggles. Many problems can be solved by re-flowing all the soldered joints in the main fuse box, as they tend to be poor, with loads of dry joints. If the bank of window switches in the drivers door fails, replacements are very expensive (if you can find one).
Check the state of the brakes too, as these are quite heavy cars, and tend to get through discs & pads quite quickly.
Check that you can open each door from the outside, and that none of the handles feels sloppy. The door handles are a very poor design and often break, so much so that replacements are now getting scarce.
Check that everything electrical works, and I mean EVERYTHING. These cars are prone to various electrical niggles. Many problems can be solved by re-flowing all the soldered joints in the main fuse box, as they tend to be poor, with loads of dry joints. If the bank of window switches in the drivers door fails, replacements are very expensive (if you can find one).
Check the state of the brakes too, as these are quite heavy cars, and tend to get through discs & pads quite quickly.
Check that you can open each door from the outside, and that none of the handles feels sloppy. The door handles are a very poor design and often break, so much so that replacements are now getting scarce.
I ran 2 800 vitesses with the 4 pot turbo engine.
The first was the earlier 180bhp version, (a hatchback) and it went for 100k miles without problems
The second was a vitesse sport with 200 bhp and it was a fine fine beast. Handling was great, super comfortable too and plenty quick. 130k miles and sold on as a minicab - it was still going strong several years later. We also ran a V6 coupe (honda engine I think) for a while.
None of the cars suffered any serious mechanical problems. Roll bar links tend to wear, and the heads can weep a teeny bit of oil from where the heqad joins the block. Brakes do suffer with enthusiastic use. Door handles have been mentioned by others. The dash binacle can distort if it gets very hot in the sun. Coupes suffer wind noise around the A post / door glass join (Rover didn't run t having the "jumping window" that BMW had at that time on its coupes. Other than that, no real issues in my experience
Enjoy it. Its a rare and good looking car.
The first was the earlier 180bhp version, (a hatchback) and it went for 100k miles without problems
The second was a vitesse sport with 200 bhp and it was a fine fine beast. Handling was great, super comfortable too and plenty quick. 130k miles and sold on as a minicab - it was still going strong several years later. We also ran a V6 coupe (honda engine I think) for a while.
None of the cars suffered any serious mechanical problems. Roll bar links tend to wear, and the heads can weep a teeny bit of oil from where the heqad joins the block. Brakes do suffer with enthusiastic use. Door handles have been mentioned by others. The dash binacle can distort if it gets very hot in the sun. Coupes suffer wind noise around the A post / door glass join (Rover didn't run t having the "jumping window" that BMW had at that time on its coupes. Other than that, no real issues in my experience
Enjoy it. Its a rare and good looking car.
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