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Now I know what you're thinking 'Conor I thought you had an Mx5 as a rolling project?' Which was true! However I after a bit of work, a nice summer and some life events, in October 21 I sold it. The Mx5 is a good car but I just couldn't click with it and with the Spitfire on the road there's no need for two 2 seat sports cars. That car actually turned out quite nice and the new owner was very pleased with it.  Due to said life events I was in real need of a boost in my mojo, something to keep my occupied, something for me which brings me on to my newest purchase, a Rover 218vvc Coupe finished in nightfire red with a ½ leather cream interior.   I've wanted a 'Tomcat' for a few years now after watching Furious Driving messing around with his on YouTube, I just love the styling, it's cool, it's retro and now becoming quite a rare sight especially with How many left claiming to be only 68 vvc coupes left on the road! In turbo form it was a ground breaking car for the company and set many world records so I like the history factor too. Rover is a company that's kind of in my blood, my 1st childhood car memory was my dad's 416 HHR also finished in nightfire red on an R plate. He had it for years and I remember all the family holidays in it too and it never really went wrong either until the later years of its life. With my uncle and grandad both owning 75s I knew it was going to happen at somepoint haha. So about the car. Its a 1998 218 vvc, being the later model coupe it's fitted with the R3 (bubble) dash which is actually quite nice even without the Tea shelf of the earlier models. Being the 1.8 it also has discs all round, qbs and front fogs as standard along with the ½ leather interior and 2 air bags. It's been lowered by around 40mm which hasn't drastically changed the ride quality but its sots nicely and corners really flat. It's has a Scorpian cat back exhaust fitted which sounds lovely, not too loud but loud enough to hear and it doesn't drone either, it also has some aftermarket by racing alloys on with ditch finder tyres and a steering wheel from an MGF, I'm not too keen on these but the previous owner liked them. It's by no means a perfect car it has a little bit of bubbling on the rear arches, the drivers seat has a split in it, the heater dials are a bit funny, the clock doesn't work and it sounds like the vvc mechanism is a little rattly under harder acceleration. It also seems to be a bit rich at idle but I also don't think it's getting up to temperature fully either so these could be related.     So what are the plans? Well 1st thing is to change the cambelt & water pump as there is no record of this being done, I'll also chuck a new thermostat in too incase it's sticking open slightly. I'll give it a service, the brakes are sticking slightly so I shall clean all them up and maybe paint the calipers too whilst I'm there. Try and source a replacement clock and heater panel. I plan on hunting down a full cream leather interior and some Cosmos brm wheels too! Further down the line maybe build a hotter 1800 but that'll be a long way off. Got a few shows booked already so I best get cleaning. Thanks for reading. |
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1975 Triumph Spitfire 1500
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Nice car. I really like the colour combination, even the half leather. Hopefully that seam can be re-stitched.
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Alpina99
South East
Posts: 1,563
Member is Online
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Nice car and the Nightfire red is a beautiful colour,
Looking forward to seeing future updates on this thread,
Nigel
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BMW E39 525i Sport
BMW E46 320d Sport Touring (now sold on.)
BMW E30 325 Touring (now sold on.)
BMW E30 320 Cabriolet (Project car - currently for sale.)
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Nice car. I really like the colour combination, even the half leather. Hopefully that seam can be re-stitched. Thanks James! I was going to try and stitch the seam back together just to take your eye off it but it has also got some slight wear to the bolster too. I have to say it is growing on me tho, will have to see what it's like fully cleaned up and if I decide to keep the ½ leathers I'll have it professionally sorted as all the foam is good. |
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1975 Triumph Spitfire 1500
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Very nice. I do really like a nightfire, and it looks good on those wheels at that height. Should be a good drive with the VVC too.
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Jan 10, 2022 16:54:16 GMT
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Very nice. I do really like a nightfire, and it looks good on those wheels at that height. Should be a good drive with the VVC too. Nightfire red was 1 of the colours I wanted so I'm really pleased! So was Tahiti Blue or Racing green. I'm not a great fan of the wheels if I'm honest but it does certainly sit well, ride not really compromised either and corners nice and flat too. VVC is actually really good, perfect for cruising but has the get up and go when you need some legs haha. Update, I had a cracking deal in this car for 2 reasons, 1 of those was the short Mot and I mean really short, 4 days to be precise haha. The car performed faultlessly on the 150 mile trip back home and as its only done 1000 miles since that previous Mot I hoped all would be well. Today was judgement day  I was a tad nervous as always with a new to me car going for its mot but I was extremely happy with the underside! Very clean for a 23 year old car and miles better than the mx5. No oil leaks, very minor surface rust in places and a the suspension could do with a little refresh as it's looking a bit tired,  Emissions were a little tight along with the rear brake performance which hopefully a clean and regrease will sort. So what was the result?  Get in! Mot tester was really pleased with overall condition for the age stating he's seen much worse on much younger cars so I'll take that! I did have a look at the brake pipe and will be changing it sooner rather than later as it is borderline so I may as well do both sides for peace of mind. Planning a big clean up over the next few days, see how well this Nightfire red beast shines. Thanks for reading. |
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Last Edit: Jan 10, 2022 20:49:03 GMT by cjl1281
1975 Triumph Spitfire 1500
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75swb
Beta Tester
Posts: 1,052
Club RR Member Number: 181
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Jan 10, 2022 18:51:07 GMT
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Nice buy. I remember seeing a purple one in a tesco car park 20+ years ago and for some reason it's a memory etched in my mind! I surprisingly don't hate those wheels. Remind me of the old 216? Mesh cross spokes.
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Last Edit: Jan 10, 2022 18:53:14 GMT by 75swb
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Jan 10, 2022 23:28:48 GMT
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I had one of these in 2002, a metallic grey 1995 220. It was my first proper Grown up car after a load of mini's ☺️
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Looks like a lovely car, i've always had a soft spot for this era of Rover since my Dad had three 800's and Vitesses on the trot. I look forward to reading more  I was going to say that the wheels remind me of a Vauxhall wheel, shown here on a Calibra DTM V6 my mum used to own  |
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Duggy
Part of things
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Now I know what you're thinking 'Conor I thought you had an Mx5 as a rolling project?' Which was true! However I after a bit of work, a nice summer and some life events, in October 21 I sold it. The Mx5 is a good car but I just couldn't click with it and with the Spitfire on the road there's no need for two 2 seat sports cars. That car actually turned out quite nice and the new owner was very pleased with it. Due to said life events I was in real need of a boost in my mojo, something to keep my occupied, something for me which brings me on to my newest purchase, a Rover 218vvc Coupe finished in nightfire red with a ½ leather cream interior. I've wanted a 'Tomcat' for a few years now after watching Furious Driving messing around with his on YouTube, I just love the styling, it's cool, it's retro and now becoming quite a rare sight especially with How many left claiming to be only 68 vvc coupes left on the road! In turbo form it was a ground breaking car for the company and set many world records so I like the history factor too. Rover is a company that's kind of in my blood, my 1st childhood car memory was my dad's 416 HHR also finished in nightfire red on an R plate. He had it for years and I remember all the family holidays in it too and it never really went wrong either until the later years of its life. With my uncle and grandad both owning 75s I knew it was going to happen at somepoint haha. So about the car. Its a 1998 218 vvc, being the later model coupe it's fitted with the R3 (bubble) dash which is actually quite nice even without the Tea shelf of the earlier models. Being the 1.8 it also has discs all round, qbs and front fogs as standard along with the ½ leather interior and 2 air bags. It's been lowered by around 40mm which hasn't drastically changed the ride quality but its sots nicely and corners really flat. It's has a Scorpian cat back exhaust fitted which sounds lovely, not too loud but loud enough to hear and it doesn't drone either, it also has some aftermarket by racing alloys on with ditch finder tyres and a steering wheel from an MGF, I'm not too keen on these but the previous owner liked them. It's by no means a perfect car it has a little bit of bubbling on the rear arches, the drivers seat has a split in it, the heater dials are a bit funny, the clock doesn't work and it sounds like the vvc mechanism is a little rattly under harder acceleration. It also seems to be a bit rich at idle but I also don't think it's getting up to temperature fully either so these could be related. So what are the plans? Well 1st thing is to change the cambelt & water pump as there is no record of this being done, I'll also chuck a new thermostat in too incase it's sticking open slightly. I'll give it a service, the brakes are sticking slightly so I shall clean all them up and maybe paint the calipers too whilst I'm there. Try and source a replacement clock and heater panel. I plan on hunting down a full cream leather interior and some Cosmos brm wheels too! Further down the line maybe build a hotter 1800 but that'll be a long way off. Got a few shows booked already so I best get cleaning. Thanks for reading. Nice to see another one getting some love. We knew these would sell when the first pre-production ones came down the line, lovely looking things. |
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Jan 11, 2022 17:12:16 GMT
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Nice buy. I remember seeing a purple one in a tesco car park 20+ years ago and for some reason it's a memory etched in my mind! I surprisingly don't hate those wheels. Remind me of the old 216? Mesh cross spokes. Seems like many people like the wheels! They're badged BK racing, might do some digging around online. I had one of these in 2002, a metallic grey 1995 220. It was my first proper Grown up car after a load of mini's ☺️ Me and you both then haha, Spitfire, Clio, 2 Mx5s now the coupe and it's certainly more the grown up car I've owned. I did look at the metallic grey funnily enough which was also a vvc but preferred the red. |
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1975 Triumph Spitfire 1500
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Jan 11, 2022 17:25:23 GMT
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Welcome to the world of Coupe ownership.
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1993 Rover 220 Coupe
1972 MG Midget
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Jan 11, 2022 17:43:01 GMT
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Last Edit: Jan 11, 2022 17:56:44 GMT by cjl1281
1975 Triumph Spitfire 1500
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75swb
Beta Tester
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Club RR Member Number: 181
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Jan 11, 2022 19:09:32 GMT
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As someone whose current van gets serviced every 10,000km but only cleaned once every 6 months or 20,000km (whichever comes later), it's really nice to see a properly cleaned car!
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Jan 11, 2022 19:30:23 GMT
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As someone whose current van gets serviced every 10,000km but only cleaned once every 6 months or 20,000km (whichever comes later), it's really nice to see a properly cleaned car! trust me, my neighbours think I'm mad |
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1975 Triumph Spitfire 1500
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Thats a heck of a lot better looking than mine! That Nightfire shines up well.
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Jan 12, 2022 10:59:04 GMT
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Do love a proper clean, so satisfying when the results look that good! Great work!
The wheels I believe are BK Racing 299's, been around for years. I remember seeing them on all sorts in the mid-naughties, I was never a fan but they actually suit yours really well.
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Jan 13, 2022 10:53:58 GMT
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Thats a heck of a lot better looking than mine! That Nightfire shines up well. It certainly does! It's not perfect by any means, few little scrapes here and there but for its age its not too bad. I've just noticed you have a 220 thread on here so I'll have a little bedtime reading later! Do love a proper clean, so satisfying when the results look that good! Great work! The wheels I believe are BK Racing 299's, been around for years. I remember seeing them on all sorts in the mid-naughties, I was never a fan but they actually suit yours really well. It really is rewarding problem is keeping it that way this time of year aha. Fantastic saves me doing research on them! Tho I have googled 299s and you're right. I'm trying to let them grow on me as everyone seems to like them but I am struggling. Fancy a set of brm wheels which I know are a common choice but they do suit the car well. |
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1975 Triumph Spitfire 1500
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Jan 13, 2022 12:12:32 GMT
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Do love a proper clean, so satisfying when the results look that good! Great work! The wheels I believe are BK Racing 299's, been around for years. I remember seeing them on all sorts in the mid-naughties, I was never a fan but they actually suit yours really well. It really is rewarding problem is keeping it that way this time of year aha. Fantastic saves me doing research on them! Tho I have googled 299s and you're right. I'm trying to let them grow on me as everyone seems to like them but I am struggling. Fancy a set of brm wheels which I know are a common choice but they do suit the car well. That's half the fun! Although I admit, this time of year the novelty does wear off quite quickly haha BRM's would suit it well, maybe have the BK's as winter wheels or something? |
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Jan 13, 2022 13:12:14 GMT
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Well, that's come up really well. Have a bookmark! |
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