AndyW

Toolroll with selection of screwdrivers, spanners and pliers, small socket set, cable ties, length of electrical wire, electrical tape, fuses, spare throttle and clutch cable, scissor jack and wheelbrace, bottle of water. Blimey! I'm surprised my car moves with all that in it

Think it's this cable for Rover 200/400 https://rimmerbros.com/Item--i-SBB102490 And cheaper at Rimmers at the moment.

Bit far for me so I'll wait until you come south :-)

Dean, according to my MEMS wiring diagrams, the lambda sensor, knock sensor and crank sensor should all have screened wires. Presumably they all generate very small voltages which can suffer interference. The screening foil is normally within the engine loom wiring, and the foil itself earths to ECU pin 29. If you've replaced the engine loom you'll have to make your own screening. Oh, and only one end of the screen must be earthed. The thin alternator wire goes to one side of the alternator warning light. Pin 7 blue connector if you are still using the Escort instruments. Cheers, Andy

Just to update this post from last year, I modified the cooling system on my Superspec over the winter and it seems hugely improved. I removed the pipe over the top of the engine that returns the heater feed back into the top of the radiator, and blanked off the top centre radiator spigot. We've never believed this was correctly plumbed by RH as it means the water pump only draws water from the bottom of the radiator so all the water in the radiator has to warm up, making the thermostat effectively redundant. I then removed the U hose that takes the radiator bottom hose into the water pump, and replaced it with two 90 deg elbows with an alloy tee joining them. Some 17mm heater hose was then used to join the end of the metal pipe from the heater feed (I don't actually have a heater fitted), back into the alloy tee. So there's now a warm-up loop and a main radiator loop. When the engine is cold the water comes out the top closed thermostat pipe around the 'heater' hose and back into the water pump. When it's hot and the thermostat opens, the water gets diverted into the top hose and through the radiator as it should do. The net result of all this is that the engine now warms up to 83deg C working temperature in about 5 mins before the thermostat starts to open, rather than the 12 to 20 mins it used to take. Good result!

On mine, the 5 fuses are all wired directly to the battery +ve terminal, so yes they effectively come from the solenoid terminal. Some Rover and MEMS ECU wiring diagrams show fewer fuses, with some of the relay feeds coming from the same fuses, so my 5 fuses is probably overkill. You could probably take all relay terminal 30s from the same fuse. Also, on my car separate to the 3 relays there's another fused wire going to the ECU. A wire with inline 10amp fuse goes between the +ve coil terminal and ECU pin 11, which is for ignition sensing. I think this is taking it's feed from the ignition switch, but I haven't traced that part of the wiring loom yet!

Hi Dean, This is the relay wiring on the Rover engine in my Superspec. I've got most of the wiring captured in a diagram so let me know if you need more details. ECU relay term 30 fed from 10amp fuse term 86 fed from 10amp fuse term 85 to ECU pin 4 term 87 to ECU pin 28 and also to Lambda relay term 86 Lambda relay term 30 fed from 10amp fuse term 86 fed from ECU relay term 87 term 85 to ECU pin 36 term 87 into engine loom to Lambda sensor heater Fuel pump relay term 30 fed from 10amp fuse term 86 fed from 10amp fuse term 85 to ECU pin 20 term 87 to fuel pump (or via inertia immobiliser switch) Cheers Andy

Yes please Bob. PM sent.

Has anybody got an old Robin Hood nosecone badge lying around? The metal enameled type, but don't mind if it is the original yellow archer or the later RH Sports Cars one with flag. Cheers, Andy

Yes a small meet but a great drive cross country in the sunshine there and back.

Removed duplicate post!

Yes Dave that was me. Was on my way up to Stibbington Diner on A1 near Peterborough for their monthly classic car meet. Met up with Al Richey there for a coffee and look around the cars. First run out of the year in the car after doing some winter mods. And boy was it cold this morning but wrapped up warm it was a great drive in the sun.

I'm up for that one Al. Will give me a good run out to test my rebuilt cooling system. Andy

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The build videos for the similar 2B are on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9qrNZjmGh8M7oESfvvuf3bIBqoyvnsen Not sure if the Superspec videos are uploaded anywhere - perhaps someone else can comment.

I got an outdoor cover from CBS early in 2016. The small size fits my Superspec just nicely and has a sort of soft flock inner lining. It has attached straps with buckles but I've never used those, preferring to hold the cover on securely with long bungees. https://www.carbuildersolutions.com/uk/outdoor-car-covers After 2 year's continual outside use I've found it's not completely waterproof as after heavy rain the outside goes darker grey where it has absorbed some water, and the body underneath shows a little wetness. Unfortunately the slight seep-through the material has meant my chrome headlamp cowls are now showing signs of rust. Annoyingly they are the only part of the Superspec not stainless steel or glass fibre.

I'd say it was definitely the stainless steel chassis as used for the Superspec. It's got the diagonal bracing tubes in the sides, and the extra tube that goes round the engine. You can also see the double triangular plate wrapped round the centre of the front engine tube where the Rover engine mount fits. (I know 'cos I've just had my plate replaced!)

The stainless steel tubing used for the Superspec chassis was 304 grade, 38mm od and 2mm wall thickness. They are pretty meaty, and as Al says, not known for problems. The chassis on my car (2003 kit) still looks pretty clean with virtually no rust or tarnish apart from the weld areas.

Ed Ive always had one exhaust tailpipe blocked up. That was one of the first things I did (on Als recommendation) last year, so dont think that had much effect on the popping. Since the rebuild the popping on overrun has just about gone although I can still hear the occasional quiet pop. Ive only driven a couple of hundred miles since the rebuild so need to get some more miles under my belt to really check it. When the weather warms and dries up a bit Ill get out there and check all the exhaust joints again to see if they still show any signs of leakage.

Big thanks to Kevin Booth for getting a new stainless steel bracket laser cut, and then coming round this morning to weld it on for me. Now sorted. Thanks Kev.

Unless yours has been changed, the standard alternator on the Rover 420/820 was a Lucas or Magneti-Marelli A127i 85amp. This is one on my car if it looks the same?

Great. Nothing to worry about then after all.

Kevin, thanks for the offer, but Im not sure it would show anything in just a few days. I understand the hoses degrade slowly over time. Andy

That sounds promising with no damage happening from normal usage. Although I suspect Samco hoses might be higher quality than the ASH hoses if price is anything to go by. Id thought of waterless coolant, but expensive to waste judging by the number of times Ive had to drain and refill my cooling system in the past year!

Hi Kevin, Yes that was one of the pages I found which got me thinking. I don't think I can use a different antifreeze, as the Rover T-series engine is mixed metal and the workshop manual (and the Halfords selector) recommends OAT antifreeze. I looked at fluoro lined silicone hoses but they are 3x the price and not all shapes are available, so that rather puts them out of reach. I just wondered if anyone had used normal cheapo silicone hoses, eg from ASH, with OAT antifreez and whether they'd had any adverse effects? Andy