Rover Rescue - saving a 1994 200 from the jaws of the crusher 

I couldn't believe they would scrap that lovely rover 214 si 😳 apart from some minor faults , for its year it was still in a very good condition! I am glad you and your mate saved it from a unfair fate 😁😁

These are great cars, I've bought a 37k 214 for £100 which was lovely and a 64k 216 cabroilet for £150 all left me in good condition and botg still around now. I've got a 220 GSI which is my keeper

Love these old cars being saved! My dad was rover mad and had a vittese turbo, it was lovely 👌

The first car I can remember my dad having, he absolutely loved it. He was sad to see it go but his had serious rust issues which he could never get under control

A car Hub Nut would love to own.

Had a 216 sli on a m reg,the Honda engine,great car and it was quite quick.

I had a Rover 400 with kv6 engine for about 6 months. I loved it.

I had my 1993 214 si 9 years ago, now still as reliable as can be expected, paid 750 euro at the time. Cost me almost nothing at maintenance bay, every year without MOT problems. Now counting only 131.000 km.

This brings back memories. I had a J plate 214si. The wheel judder is par for the course. Mine wouldn't go into reverse, unless you very slightly gave it some clutch. The whole gearbox had to be replaced at 3 years as it had eaten itself.....and I still couldn't get reverse. By the time it was 7 years old, I'd had enough and bailed out. There's a thin line between idiosyncratic and a badly made pile of junk.

My mother had a 1994 one (diesel model) in Ireland. Was a really lovely car reliable and stayed going for years. Defo a cut above the escorts, Corollas, astras of the era

I learnt to drive in a 1997 Rover 200 back in 1998. Great car it was from what I remember. Then my 1st & 2nd cars were both Rover Metro’s

Future collection car. My second car ever was a 218 SD Turbo. It took me from France to Finland and back!

Your guys are my heroes,I am vey impressed by you saving my favorite brand ,Thank you

I worked through 3 of these in the 90’s. Do miss them sometimes.

Good to see that this 200 has been saved as they are quite a rarity now and it doesn't seem that long ago since they were an everyday sight. Their engines were certainly better than the rattly old CVH engines that Ford were using up to about '93, though Ford caught up somewhat when they introduced the Zetec unit.

Nice! I regret not owning a Rover like this. I particularly like the earlier 200 series (SD3).

oh thats brilliant, its stuck in the 90s. love it

Dam! My fav channels are getting Rovers! First HubNut now you! I may have to seek out an 827 Sterling and an 825 then swap the engines over. Did that once, it took me 3 years to figure out the igniter on the 827 is on the bulkhead whereas the igniter on the 825's are on the distributor itself. Boy that could MOVE! An 2.7 V6 on a manual gearbox was something else.

I had a Black 93 214sli with the same interior. it was a brilliant car and i covered 40k and had only the odd small problem that I easily fixed myself.

We went up to Longbridge with our University back in '93 and saw these being built from start to finish and driving off the production line :-) This one, being an 'L' plate, would have been made around that time...

I had the exact same model of car and year. Mine was a Metallic Red with the exact same colour interior! As I was in my early 20's mine also had a load of In-Car Entertainment "stuff" in it. Mine went to 145K miles. It had "keep-fit" windows but had an electric sunroof (the SLi was the other way round!!); I'm thinking this one is the same! Also I noticed the telescopic aerial was not deployed when you tried the radio...IRC this was a must! For £150 this one seems an absolute bargain! Pity this was 2 years ago now!! I used mine to visit my girlfriend (now wife of many years) who was in Plymouth and I was Weston-Super-Mare (around 250 mile roundtrip; mostly motorway (M5)/dual carriageway (A38)). It would cruise at 80mph no real problem.....K Series loved to be revved!

214 was surprisingly fast for a 1400, good motorway car and very comfortable.

My mother had one of these in red. Lovely car. Really comfy

My first car was a Rover 214 back in the early 90's. Great car, nice little 1.4 engine. Would be a shame to scrap this one

i had an X plate (2000ish) Rover 25. It had keep fit windows but really powerful air con. The garage told me it was Maltese base spec.

well this sort of thing will happen if you don't change your cambelt regular

I think that rover would’ve preferred to be scrapped than pull your mate up hills daily..

I had a Caribbean Blue 1994 214 Si as my first 'proper' car in 2000. I replaced it in 2003 with a Signal Red 1990 Volvo 740 SE estate, which I still own. L913 OWG - gone, but not forgotten.

Remember my second 216SLi, was a K reg and it was a right pig to start after you’d filled up sometimes as the fuel pump solenoid was faulty! Way to tell was when the check engine like went out you’d hear a click, mine usually never clicked 😂

That car is like buying a storage unit! 😂😂😂 Fantastic car! 👍👍👍

Its still to good for that bloke.!😁 I rescued a 214 from being scrapped 8yrs ago for £250. Full service history. Mint half leather interior. Alloys. Elec windows Ect😁 The k series enginee is great.! Still driving it.! If it had a BMW badge it would be £2.500. Unfortunately even after all this time they are still not popular.! I would like to sell it as I have too many motors in my collection but I know if I do it will be round the track and scrapped in a couple of years or after the first problem arises for the new owner.😕

These were a good effort by Rover. There was a problem with the 1400 engine in that it would occasionally drop it's engine oil when a main bearing seal popped out of it's housing (I think that was the reason for failure from memory). My work colleague had that happen to him but he stopped quick enough when he saw the oil light come on to save the engine from any damage.

I worked for the company that fitted all the wheel and tyres for rover them wheels where made by awi in Cardiff and the nickname for them wheels was the fanny wheel

The vectras dont bend valves when the belts snap. Probably have to change some rockers stick a belt on and it will fire back up.

70k is nothing now but it was a fair bit back then! i had nothing but overheating problems, u might wanna check that head gasket if you do

Old mews garage is round the corner from where I use to live. It's in Broadstairs Kent

What a bargain. I'd like to find the previous 200 but they are super rare.

wow the cassette you put in at 5:51 was playing "urban cookie collective" from 1994! how spooky is that?

858.. did he say keep fit windows....🤔.... I think that guy could do with some keep fit...🤔👈

I had a 214 sprint 3door for 4 years it was on a k plate . loved that car it never let me down.

I had a M reg one of these. I paid £750, put 47k miles on it and sold it for £750. The only issue I had was the thing would rev itself at idle.... So at traffic lights people would think I wanted to race. I took it to 2 mechanics and neither of them could figure it out

I would love a Rover 214si for £150. Nostalgic driving fun.

I drove a Rover Montego with diesel perkins engine for a year great car, sunroof and adjustable lumbar support on comfy drivers seat, complete with cut out switch so it was still there in the mornings....

I'm glad it lives on, a decent car with character. personally I would happily see 10 BMW'S or Audi's crushed than the Rover.

My mother had a white 1.8 diesel 200, she still says its one of the best cars she ever had

That vectra doesnt usually bend valves when the cambelt snaps. They usually snap rocker shafts. So it maybe worth timing it up with a new belt kit and replacing the rockers. 9 times out of 10 you will be lucky

i had a H REG 1991 ROVER 214 in white looks good for the price paid

Too good to scrap

Had a rover 213 many years ago. Reliability was shocking but i did like the car. There was just something about it.

I loved Rovers and Other British cars (Aston Martins, Jaguars & MGs etc) forever. I love the Rover 25,45,75 Range My Favourite Rover range. I proudly own a 2002 Rover 25 1.4 Impression as my first car and its 7 months younger than me and has 30,000 miles and I love it. I’ve loved Rover 25s since I was little due to when I was younger someone owning a 2001 Rover 25 1.6 Impression when I was younger an example the same age as me. Sadly they swapped it for one like that Vectra I remember crying for hours and hours watching it leave. But many years later when I was 9 or 10 my Grandad got a 2002 Rover 25 1.4 iL and I loved that one. Now at 17 I have my own and adore it as above all it is a Rover. Now I love all Rovers more including these R8 200s. A shame about that Vectra such a good looking car and one of the best Vauxhall’s beside the Omega. But good anyway because a Legendary Rover has been saved from going too early. That rover will hopefully live long so hopefully will My Fantastic And Beautiful Rover 25.

They were a great little car nice find

its a 90s rover. Thats a sensible reason right there.

I loved my SLI 214 wish I sill had it for me it was fun to drive !!!!!

My Saab 9-3 did the same after 4 years. Must have been the 1.9 diesel? Only difference was my Saab engine blew at 45k miles. It was an absolute dog of a car! The Rover looks great!

Another great video! Used to own a 416GSI in the same colour - gearbox was very whiney! Also owned a dark blue 216SLI. Incidentally - I've just bought another Vectra!

HubNut loves poverty spec underdogs

Another one saved lovely little Rover I've never seen such a base 200

Poor Rover😩

Always change the cam belt and water pump on older cars. Your mate probably didn't want to spend money on it like loads of people not into cars or maintainance, now it's gone bang and he has a worse shed. That vectra he had probably had thousands of miles left in it if he had looked after it. No sympathy

Awesome - Got a lot of love for the R8!

i just bought Rover 214i cabriolet and this is very nice car!!

En Argentina con un auto así...TE RESPETAN MAN! Ja'ja.Saludos desde el 4to mundo.

My parents and much older brother always ran rovers and thanks to these cars I found my passion for everything that has 4 wheels, and when I finally passed my test I bought a bubble shape 214 5dr then after another 214 3dr and then finally got the car I dreamed of owning it was my brothers 218 with 118bhp it was unbelievable I loved it so much and I cried when I had to sell it because of my my little girl but I moved to 97 civic so not all was lost. Apologies for blathering on but my god I had to write down this really dull story because it brings back so many memories. Great content btw new to channel defo subbing and big 👍 from me

Big guy can practically steer that with his belly!!

Good vid but I think you will need some railway line welding into that drivers seat. Chunder away!!!

Thx, now I'm having an Earworm for the rest of the week... "I got the key, i got the secret...."

A 1.9CDTi engine blew up...….shocker. They are ticking time bombs.

Such a shame these cars end up in the scrapheap so easily... awesome that this one was saved!. Makes you wonder how common unnecessary scrapping is. That’s probably the reason the numbers of this era Rover are dropping so rapidly!

If you don't maintain your car you don't deserve a reliable car. It's like a woman, if you don't look after her she will leave you at a really bad time, usually at the side of the road.

Did something explode inside the Vectra as well?

nice car but looks like the head gasket has going or gone at some point due to the colour of the header tank. I heard that K series engines are prone for that.

thats nice - i had a 216 Gti twin cam back when and i loved that car

The thought of sending a car with 73k miles to the crusher is depressingly wasteful.

lovely motor well done

I used to own a 1994 214SEi in blue. It had the gearbox rebuilt and it suffered the classic HGF twice. I traded it in for a Mondeo after the 2nd HGF was fixed. I'd still have another one in a heartbeat.

That looks really rather nice!

My mum had one and the head gasket went apparently it was a common issue with the car

I'll lay odds that the inability to find second gear is down to the gear linkage needing adjusting and, possibly, the car needing engine mounts. My neighbour had a same age 216Sli as one of the many Austin Rover products they had, and the same thing happened to his, it lost second gear on the way to work one morning. The garage took it back as it was still under warranty and had it back the same day with new engine mountings and the gear linkage adjusted and it was fine until it got replaced by a Rover 75 2.0 V6 in 2001...

Hi mate do you know where i could get my hands on a drivers front wing for a 214 3dr ? thanks

I recon that dude killed the 214 gearbox as he was used to the auto vectra. It’s a shame the vectra had to be scrapped because of a basic lack of maintenance.

We had a Rover 214SLI brand new in 1994.

Who is Jason?

Lovely condition, and future classic

I used to own a 216GTI from about 1991

nice car to save, well done!

uh oh that expansion tank looks like its had k-seal in it.

God this guy is half his 39's but looks like had whole world on his shoulders killing him.Guess he is single with the atitude he has.Great car value he got there with many nice treats.

Nice save!

why you wouldnt put new valves in or find a replacement head for the vectra, its not expensive and it doesnt take long to do it and its 100x a better car than a rover 200.

You should sell it to Mike Brewer or store it and later sell it as a Banger racer classic.

I saved a 420 GSI with 80K miles. Love that T-series

.I delivered lots of them new on a car transporter.Alot of them ended up as hire cars for avis etc.They were that popular Rover died,If the one you are looking at has a Forfar or Kirriemuir or Dundee reg.chances are its an ex hire car.Litterally thousands of them passed thru Richard lawson at Hillhead Kirriemuir all Hire cars.

Where did you pick it up from? West Malling? I recognised Wrotham Heath and Borough Green. If you can go through the gears properly with the engine off check the clutch hydraulics.

Kinda late to the party with this video but I'm still "catching up on your content" since discovering you via HubNut: As a Yank, one of many little details of car ownership in the UK that escapes me is the apparent value of "original dealer sticker" on the backlight or "original dealer plates." Here in the U.S. plates are issued by the states and the only thing that can be added to them is our annual tag. But there *are* dealer stickers, of sorts.. These are usually placed on the driver's side rear edge of the trunk (boot) lid or similar spot on a hatch or tailgate. And for decades now it's been either a cast plastic emblem affixed with adhesive or with adhesive vinyl lettering that's easy to heat-gun off (for those of us who object to driving around with dealer adverts on the car). But there was a time (Seventies and earlier) when these dealer promos were made of cast metal and riveted to the car! If you were ordering a car from the factory instead of buying from inventory on the dealer's lot, you could take steps to "intercept" the car in the dealer prep phase before they could do this. But back to the original question: why the fuss (as in this video) of finding dealer ID either as a sticker on the glass or on the plates?

the tape has got the key. the tape has got the secret.

The Merc is boring as hell. Love the Rover - good video 👍🏼😎 glad you saved the Rover

how many miles did that vectra cover before the cambelt snapped?

Big man had his hand on it to leaver himself out of the car pull the Ariel out over the drivers door I had the 216 gsi about 20 years ago it was £60.00 and the comon old fault timing belt snaped and dropped the valves nice car to look at but they were crap unless you got the Honda engine

Quite a decent amount of car for the money, with that Rover, be a good idea to get the cambelt done though ! Sell the Vectra for spares or repair?

I've got a red 1994 Rover 214 petrol. Been lying up for a year or two. It would need a rear sill and tidying up. It has got a new clutch and cam belt. Some service history since buying it in 1995. I drive it around every so often to stop the brakes and clutch sticking. Based in southern Ireland (40 miles north of Dublin.) Any offers?