ThreePointFive

That almost doesn't make sense, how can there be so much space behind the rear seats? Clever packaging.

Can't be yours, you'd use a ruler.

What is going on with the structure around the windscreen surround? Are they trying to make it look like a Snatch? It looks like it's balsa wood covered in felt. I can't believe someone looked at the Grenadier front end and actually wanted to emulate the shape on their own car. Lollypop stick art used to be a craze... The amount of work that would have gone into this is the most depressing part. The more you look the better/worse it gets. This reminds me of that Saudi wagon that had plastic bumpers on it.

Ah yes, it's that embuggerance I remember when doing some adjustments last time. Well I've done it, a pair of sills on order. A bit OTT just for some door seals but my current ones aren't galvanised so that's an immediate improvement and I know the seals are an improvement over the sill type. I'm sure it's worth it...

I can live with them not being exactly flush but the door won't close as-is! I think I'm sold on the new sills, just need to find a supplier of galvanized ones. I can't remember how big of a job it is to remove/replace the sills with everything else in place.

I was not aware there were different versions, that answers that. Thanks for the enlightenment. Now to work out if I can be bothered to swap with new ones.

I came back to this issue as I'm trying to keep momentum with the jobs I can actually finish. I did try the original sill seals but they had cuts along them which I wasn't happy with. I bought some aftermarket ones and they are absolutely useless, they don't fit the same holes and the rubber tears when rivetted. I bought some genuine door bottom seals to see if they were any better than the previous ones and the door still refuses to close properly. I think I'm on to something with the sill location being off. Mine looks like this, does anyone have a comparison photo of theirs? I think my sills are positioned too outboard, so there's not enough gap for the door to fit into.

I spend a fair amount of time watching the market - not sure why as I have no intention to buy - and I think this nails it. In general, cars have to be very special in some way to acheive the stupid prices. In general, most TDCis are in the mid/late 20s with 110 CSWs specifically getting about £32-35 or thereabouts. That said, I saw a 90 achieve 40 a few weeks ago which completely blew my understanding out of the water. A key thing to remember is that money isn't worth as much as it was 10-20 years ago, inflation is a real thing. Once you account for that, and the general increase in car prices, it starts to make some sense. For me, I spent so much on my car there's no way it's worth anywhere near to sell on. I should have returned it to completely standard for a V8 CSW 90 and sold it for £25k, but once I blew the spider gears out ofthe diff pan, it was never going to be a matching-numbers car. My plan is just to drive it until it's taxed off the road.

Yep mine's a Nige edition, so not likely the culprit but always a possibility. I think the first step is to re-run my compression test, I might have had the throttle cable set to slightly open as it helps with the idle while it warms up, I'm hoping that's the cause of the low compression, if it isn't then at least I know there is a bigger mechanical issue that I need to sort before moving on. As I lapped the valves and fitted new springs when the heads were off, I wouldn't be surprised if that's an issue. I did so a leak test on them before refitting but given it was the first time I've ever done anything like it, it's highly likely I messed something up.

Is there any way to accurately test that the injectors are getting signal? I know an ecu change might do it I'm wondering if the wiring itself is to blame. Sticking a multimeter on it just makes it go crazy. I've just gone back out to have another go and it's running like a pig. I give up.

In terms of symptoms, it's smooth at idle up to about 1000rpm but at around 1500 it's rough and might be missing. Holding it at those kinds of revs is not too pleasant. It then improves above that but I wouldn't call it smooth. This gets worse with temperature, though the idle starts off lumpy when cold and then improves. Basically the roughness swaps ends of the rev range. It smells rich to me but it doesn't want any less or it starts to hunt and get very unhappy. I've just run it up to temperature and done a compression test on the front 4 cylinders (I can't get to the rear ones while hot as there isn't enough room for hands). I'm not happy with it - 120 is about the max and 110 is the low, on an engine with brand new rings I am slightly alarmed by this. Fridge - thanks and will keep that in mind...

I'm putting the noise aside for the time being, I'm never going to get to the bottom of it until something obvious breaks. Now I just need to get it running right. What are your views on the way it's dying with a right hand HT lead removed but not with a left hand one?

Defintely not an exhaust leak - since messing around with the starter heat shield it now does have a driver's side leak (which I will fix) and it is not what I'm hearing 'in' the engine. I hate posting here relying on everyone else to solve my problems but I've done some science and have some results. Before I go any further, I have confirmed that all cylinders are getting spark using a tester. I can remove any HT lead from the passenger side and it'll make little difference. I can tell it's not right but it is far from rough and will hold an idle. I can remove any lead from the driver's side and it is badger's arse time. I've taken two videos showing this below, which also do a pretty good job of picking up the harshness of the clicking noise on the first. I am not touching the accelerator in either video. Passenger side: PXL_20220115_122003369.mp4 Driver's side: PXL_20220115_122059840.mp4 Worse, I can remove any two leads from the passenger bank and it will run like the driver's side with one missing, if I remove two from the driver's side it just won't run. I used an IR thermometer that I don't necessarily trust for specific numbers but it's saying all cylinders are at 200c on the headers so I don't have any major differences. I know I need to do my own work on this and reading more threads on here to find my own answers, but what does this behaviour suggest?

We need photos, it might be a lack of searching on my part but I don't often see people doing much exotic things with Rover V8s, would be interesting to see what this ends up looking like.

Here come the "tHeY'rE mAdE iN tHe SaMe FaCtOrY" comments. Britpart is just a conspiracy to keep landfill in business.

Far too many other variables to give an accurate valuation, service history is a big one as maintenance is far more important than mileage. Corrosion underneath and to the bulkhead, condition of the interior, how modified/messed with it is, all impossible to gauge from one image. The fact it's an X Tech will be unlikely to have much of an impact as a "special edition"; most people were barely aware of it and as an upgrade package, it's no different to XS spec cars. Its just quite unusual to find that spec on a Hard Top. The question is, are you drawn to this vehicle because it's an X Tech or because it's a low mileage TD5? If you don't place any additional value on it being an X Tech, it's not worth any more to you. I would price it as any other TD5 hardtop. I'd say that's a £17-18k car at absolute top whack from a dealer with a warranty, if everything is else is right with it and that's mostly due to the low mileage. Even so, that would be high for a Hard Top. That said, low mileage can be detrimental to keeping cars in good condition, nothing kills them faster than a lack of use. Its either done 2.5k miles a year since 2003 which would just about keep things from seizing up or it's done a lot of miles and then been parked up for extended periods. I would closely check the MOT history for that.

Can't have been a truck cab for long, I am sure I saw it as a van in 2008 in Somerset. Always liked how well prepared it was underneath while looking standard.

I get that some clicking is usual but this is somewhere between a knock and a click, hard to really describe and recording it only picks up the tick which does sound like an exhaust leak on playback. Especially as you can't tell how much louder the click is than the engine - which is already loud on a 'sports' exhaust. PXL_20211230_103923071~2_Trim.mp4 I think you're right Elbekko, I'll pull the leads off and see if that makes any difference. Fridge, I would like to hear yours anyway, I can offload a crate of beer I owe you.

...and I still don't know what FTDI means! I have downloaded the old drivers for it (needed PL2303 from Prolific) and it works perfectly again, so thanks for the help. This period of enthusiasm is already being tested. I have run the engine up to temperature and all of the clicking/ticking noises are back. Seems it wasn't a slipped liner. As that was grasping at straws, I have no idea where to go with this now. Let's run through what's been done: The block has been pressure tested Top hatted liners Cam replaced (twice...) Cam bearings replaced Lifters replaced and preload checked Big end bearings replaced (twice) Piston rings replaced (twice...) Crank polished Rocker shafts replaced Valve springs replaced Valves lapped Head gaskets replaced Head bolts replaced I've had both rocker covers off on separate occasions and there is nothing clicking but the moment it gets up to temperature, this noise comes back. For a few mniutes when I first started it up, it sounded so smooth, exactly like I want. Now it sounds like an aircooled engine again. Having had the engine apart twice and there being no damage to any of these components (except the cam but that was due to an error on my part), I cannot locate what this noise is. I even put exhaust paste on the manifolds just to make sure it wasn't a leak there, and I've tried two different types of exhaust gasket. The noise is definitely in time with a cylinder, but I cannot find which one. I'm tempted now to just ignore it, get it running on MS as well as I can and then see if it goes away or if it breaks entirely. At least if it did, I'd finally know what is wrong. What would a bent conrod sound like?

Yeah, just a usb to serial cable

I can't get my laptop to talk to the ECU any more - it's working just fine as the car is running but there's no comms. I've tried the auto detection in Tuner Studio and it just won't find it. I am sure it is running very rich so I need to make adjustments, but it's as if nothing is there. I've checked the cable is plugged in... I can't remember when the last time I tried it was, but I recently upgraded to Win11 - could that have any bearing on this? In other news, the engine is a lot more leaky than before, seems I have far more coolant leaks I am having to find and I am not sure I don't have an oil leak at the rear of the engine as I keep getting a drip at the bellhousing. I had an incredibly dry engine before so I am really annoyed if this is the case.

So very sorry to hear your news, I've really missed your updates so was hoping everything was ok. Concentrate on your health, everything is secondary.

Looks like my axle swap comments were bad advice then, definetly don't do that.. That said, I'm happy to be corrected about the axle swap and DVLA points. I've stared at the DVLA website and it states that there must be two major components retained from the original vehicle besides original (or new replacement) chassis, calling out suspension separately from axles: You must also have 2 other major components from the original vehicle from the following lists. For cars or light vans: suspension (front and back) steering assembly axles (both) transmission engine What it doesn't say is that these must be the original axles for the original vehicle.... Anyway, I don't want to push this off topic, it's just something to be aware of.

When so little effort is put into the paint on a vehicle that is primarily about the aesthetic, it makes you wonder how much effort would have gone into the engineering. Especially when something has been so messed with in safety-critical areas. I mostly just don't like that middle lamp, though.

That's my view, if we were trying to advise on the fix we would need that information but that's not really the immediate question here. Fixing it can only be achieved once liability is established and for that the owner will require legal advice.