Needless to say, he and his family are long-time ADO16 enthusiasts...
|
Michael runs ado16.info. Needless to say, he and his family are long-time ADO16 enthusiasts... |
Since the Morris 1100 had to be sold, some more modern MGR motors are still serving Michael day to day:
A change of job and location, followed by numerous acts of carelessness by other drivers I decided I needed something a bit smaller and a bit more modern than my Metro. But, I still wanted an MG-Rover of some description.
Numerous evenings were spent searching Auto Trader trying to track down the ideal replacement, but no car seemed to fall within my budget. One weekend, I purchased the local "ad mag", and trawled the Motor section. I saw an advert for a Rover 200vi. Not really understanding what a 200vi was I called up the seller and had a chat. Still none the wiser, I agreed to go and view the car.
Upon seeing the car I was impressed with the overall state of the exterior, the interior was another story. Someone in the car's life had been a heavy smoker, and everything had a yellow film over it. The hoodlining was extremely dirty, along with the seats and carpets. A quick nip round the block, and the deal was done. I walked away with the keys to a Rover 200vi.
Since owning the car I have given the interior and exterior a full clean. The car no longer smells like an ashtray and the hoodlining has cleaned up a treat. I have upgraded the faulty dashboard clock with a newer Traffic Master unit from a Rover 25, fitted Rover 25 door mirrors, a Rover 25 boot plinth, upgraded the sound system with a Sony head unit, replaced the dummy airbag cover with a handy cubby hole from a Rover 25, and removed the black sticky back plastic from between the doors.
Further improvements will include: fitting colour coded door handles, replacing the wings and bumper, repainting the rear wheel arches, replacing the boot lid and back bumper.
Just as a word of caution, always remember to check the log book before you sign on the dotted line! This car was a Cat C, and the previous owner did their best to hide it! Although the reason it was a Cat C was ridiculous!
Before he bought the 200vi, an MG ZTT found its way to Michael:
In November 2006, I found myself wanting something a little bigger than the Streetwise and preferably something that had 4 doors instead of 2. I had always had a passion for the Rover 75, but these vehicles had never been in my price range. Furthermore I wanted to make the change to Diesel and finding the ideal car would be a chore.
I initially had settled on trying to find a Rover 75 Tourer, preferably Connoisseur specification and a facelift model. But, after seeing an MG ZT-T my mind was soon changed - but then the impossible task of trying to track down a Diesel version began.
I went to see a few vehicles in varying conditions. Most of which were poor to say the least. After much searching around on the internet I finally found a vehicle that was right for me. 25,000 miles from new, with a fair few upgrades fitted from the factory such as the speaker upgrade, Traction Control, Headlamp washers and parking sensors.
After owning the car for a week, and a call to the previous owner it became clear that the only reason he sold the car was due to some youths continually breaking windows and stealing items from inside the car. This story was confirmed when I started to do odd jobs on the car with the levels of glass that were being found.
Since owning the car I have so far upgraded the Dashboard to the Real Burr Walnut variety, upgraded the steering wheel by fitting a leather and Burr Walnut one, fitted the Trafficmaster alert system, heated washer jets and chrome door mirror covers.
There are a few more Burr walnut items I am waiting to get. As soon as these are received the transformation is complete. The only other major job is to re-badge the car accordingly. These are currently being obtained.
Previously owned...
Michael's household was also home to one of the most desirable types of ADO16: a well-preserved MkIII Austin 1300 Countryman estate car.
The Countryman goes by the name of "Bonk", and appropriately enough has the benefit of the optional double-bed facility...
K-C
Michael's pride and joy: "K-C". The car was purchased and restored in 2000, ready for Michael to use a his everyday car when he passed his test at the first attempt the following year. Later on, Michael took the opportunity to replace K-C's original 1098cc engine with a 1275cc unit, better suited to keeping up with today's traffic. The car had to undergo a front-end rebuild in 2003 after an unfortunate collision with a Peugeot 405, but was soon back on the road – and better than ever. You can read more about K-C in our Car of the Month feature from March 2003.
Dino
A change of job in September 2004 meant Michael needed a new day-to-day runabout that would be cheap to insure. He soon worked out that what he needed was an early 998cc Metro, and was lucky enough to pick up this well-preserved example on eBay for just 125, thereby joining the ever-growing band within the austin-rover.co.uk community who have purchased a car through the world's favourite online auction site. Michael is understandably very pleased with his latest purchase, and was particularly impressed with its "bisexual" dashboard... :-S
As you can see, the car really doesn't need much doing to it, so Michael will just be giving its front panel a fresh lick of paint, adding a passenger-side door mirror and replacing the seats with something a bit more comfortable from a more upmarket Metro.
A very original Austin 1300 GT was owned until recently.
"SRB" was a much-loved Connaught Green MkI Morris 1100, which Michael's dad owned and restored in conjunction with a third party. Sadly, this meant that it had to be sold once the restoration had been completed, although that did pave the way for the purchase of "K-C"...
Two other former Turner-family cars: a Harvest Gold Vanden Plas Princess 1300 (left) and an early MkII Morris 1100.
Nostalgia corner...
Back in the 1970s, Michael's dad owned this Austin 1300 Countryman, which was eventually replaced by a Ford Capri.
This late Streetwise had to make way for the ZTT, though it is still remembered fondly: Michael thinks it's one of the last models: "I also found out that this car was one of those sold off by PwC.... hence why I only have one key, and one "blip".... and why is has a lot of optional extras on it..."
