AndyW

A sorry tale Graeme . Two months after I got the car the left front shock absorber snapped. Story here... This caused the coil spring and top cap to fly around between engine and rad - snapped the aux belt - wrapped itself around crankshaft pulley - seized engine - snapped cambelt. I eventually found I had several bent valves, scratched pistons, and some cracked valve guides. I was in at the deep end as a mechanical novice, but I had lots of help from club members showing me how to strip the engine and remove the head to make the repairs. However I did need a local engineering comp

Whoops! Payback for giving it a good thrashing Are you going to replace it yourself? Having taken the head off my Superspec twice now, as a novice mechanic I can say it's perfectly do-able and straight forward with normal tools and a torque wrench. I've got the Rover T-series overhaul manual if you want a copy of the pdf (pm me). Also remember to replace the head gasket with the later Elring Klinger black multi-layer metal plate head gasket.

I’ve had dodgy relays before that wouldn’t switch first time or consistently. So it’s worth checking the earths and all pin connectors and try swapping the relay for another good one just to check. It might also be worth checking the hoses to the fuel pressure regulator. Particularly that the small vacuum pipe is connected, not blocked, kinked or perished.

When you turn the ignition on before engaging the starter can you hear the fuel pump run for a short time? It should prime for a few seconds to pressurise the fuel system. Check the fuse and relay to the fuel pump.

Hi Graeme, yes I fitted the Lucas wiper system a couple of years ago. Here's a photo of my setup taken from the passenger footwell. I mounted the motor on the inside of the firewall, and at an angle so that the bundy tube was lined up as much as possible with the wheel boxes.

I don’t see how it would work without the bundy tubing. The tube provides the resistance and fixed distance to the wheel boxes for the motor to push and pull the cable through. Without it the motor would just straighten the arc of the cable and not move the wheel boxes. I have to admit I found it tricky to fit the bundy tubes. The lengths have to be correct and the ends of each section have to be flared to hold into the nut on the motor gearbox, and into the clamps on the wheel boxes. Curves have to be gentle and it’s easier if you bend the tube with the inner cable in place. And use lot

My Superspec has the MT75 gearbox and a 3.92 diff. Seems to be the luck of the draw when the kit was bought as some other Specs came with the 3.62 diff. The 3.92 ratio does give better acceleration through the gears, although first gear is almost redundant. I often start off in 2nd. The downside is cruising on dual carriageways and motorways when it all gets a bit frenetic and buzzy with 70mph in 5th coming coming in around 3500rpm (speedo isn’t that accurate). We’ll certainly frenetic and noisy compared to cruising in my diesel car!

Hi Graeme, I'm interested to know how long you've had your cover, and how it's standing up to wear. Like you, my car lives outside all year round. I've had 2 covers so far. First one from CBS lasted just over 2 years before it started ripping and letting water through the multi-layer fabric. Then I went for a Halfords cover which has lasted nearly 2 years so far, although the plasticised outer surface of the multi-layer fabric is starting to crack and perish, presumably from UV exposure and where I fix it to the car with bungy straps. It's still water tight, but I'm going to need a new on

I’m pretty sure all Lucas 14W motors are interchangeable. The variations for manufacturers were 1 or 2 speed, sweep angle and length of tube and cable. Best to get a 2speed if you can. I don’t think you can tell the sweep angle from the outside as it’s marked on the gear under the cover SVC has lots of parts and some useful info at https://www.s-v-c.co.uk/wiper-systems/

The Lucas 14W wiper motor was used on many British cars, so just find the cheapest you can. Parts are easy to get, and you can swap the gear wheel to change the sweep angle, or invert the wiper arm wheel boxes to change the handing. I fitted one on my Superspec. Can’t get out to measure it atm but I think my sweep angle is either 105 or 115 deg which is fine. But the gear wheel can be changed if you don’t like the sweep.

You could try covering it with roll bar padding or sleeve.

Ditto Richy. The paint on my roll bar was always chipping and flaking and looked a mess so I removed it all 2 years ago. Used a flapwheel in an angle grinder then finished off with satin wheels and scotchbrite pads to give a nice brushed finish. I've only had to go over it lightly once since to remove odd rust spots with a pad.

Yes I’ve read that Rover engines are particular about the type or make of lambda sensors. I put one of these in my Superspec last year. Seems to work well. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/143143384642

It sounds like you need to check your lambda sensor wiring. When using Al's MEMS logger, if you're not getting any output at all on the lambda plot, and the status drops to 0 after a minute or so, then the ECU isn't seeing the sensor. The voltage should start at 0.44 and then start cycling between 0.1 - 0.9 as it warms up. Even a duff O2 sensor usually gives some sort of output. When I first got my car the O2 sensor was wired incorrectly, and I've seen the same problem on many other Superspecs. Seems to be a common problem. This is the wiring from my car. You should check continuity to th

My car came to me without any wipers so I fitted mine from scratch. Bought stainless arms and matching 9 inch blades from Car Builder Solutions. The arms have a 5.8mm strip at the end which the blades slide and lock onto. https://www.carbuilder.com/uk/stainless-steel-sprung-windscreen-wiper-blade-9