Well, I did say I was thinking of replacing the Marina with a car with working air conditioning - and I said it had to be a Leyland product to preserve the integrity of the title of this blog. Well pat me on the back, I nearly managed. Introducing my new 1974 Rover 3500. (The aircon is all there, but needs regassing)Consequently the time has come for the trusty Marina to move on. My previously mentioned experience of driving the Marina (vinyl seats and all) in 48'C+ for several hours will be etched on my memory for some time yet.
I have sold the her to a lady in Sydney whose first car was one, and wants something to complement her Mini.
The online advert pictures came up well, so I have included a few here.
So - my 'new' car - had "to keep me both looking and feeling cool through out the next few months. It also really needed to be a Leyland - given that the Rover P5 was made a few years before Leyland subsumed Rover. After all, I can't go renaming my blog just like that - what would all you avid readers do if I undertook such an impulsive rebranding exercise?"Exactly.
After quite an exercise of analysing what I wanted / needed and could afford, followed by a lengthy search and a bit of analysis of current prices, the impact of the recession etc, I settled on a Rover 3500 P6. Bought it sight unseen too, with the aid of pictures and a large slice of trust.
It was be put on a covered truck and shipped down to me from Brisbane. So - still a Leyland car AND a Rover to boot. Saves car club fees :-)
I managed to drop the Marina off and collect the P6 on the same day, so was quite pleased with that.
Unfortunately, the P6 had no petrol, so I stopped to fill it up. Takes a long time too, because of the shape of the filler neck and the shape of ULP nozzles.
Ah well, again. The drive home was great, and other than battery, completely incedent free. I deposited the car at the garage for its roadworthy (like a UK MOT test, but it is a state government responsibility, so it has to be done when a car moves interstate) - and also asked them to fix the alternator.
On Friday, I took it for inspection - she passed and I was able to register her. Phew!
On Sunday (we were busy on Saturday) I went for a blast in the hills. Was awesome, although towards the end I noticed a bit of a shriek (when I turned off the stereo) and wondered if the fan belt was slipping.
It has been almost 20 years since I let my old 3500S go and I was not going to let a bit of a shriek spoil my multi-faceted trip down memory lane.
I drove the car to work on Monday and as I got to the centre of the city, I started having some problems with the automatic transmission. I was having to pull it right back to 2nd and sometimes 1st just to get the car to move away from the lights - oh and the shrieking was getting worse.
It was raining and I wanted to check out what was happening, so I parked in the multi-story. I was locking the car (parked on a slight slope) when I noticed the steadily expanding puddle of automatic transmission fluid seeping its way towards the car next to me...
I took a deep breath, decided there was nothing I could immediately do about it and went into the office, nervously trying to calculate the parking fee if I had to leave it there overnight.
I rang the nice transmission people at Fluiddrive in Box Hill (they had been recommended by the Rover club) and agreed with them to bring the car in. WOrked for an hour or so and then went back to the car, checked the transmission fluid level (which oddly enough looked fine) and set off for Box Hill.
I did loose transmission twice, but once I'd given it a rest, it came back. Frank, form Fluiddrive shot out of his office like a sprinter when I drove in - but that was because they had just finished a P6 V8 this morning, and he thought the car was coming back. Encouraged by the fact that he actually recognised the model by ear, I explained the problem.
He hoisted the car up and confirmed I had a serious leak - then suggested we should take the car out to see what else might be amiss. He also commented on the fact that the car had had the engine rebuilt. (Even more encouraging.)
About 8 minutes later, amidst clouds of toffee-smelling smoke, he gently informed me that the problem was more serious than a simple gasket leak.
We waited a while and limped back (another 2 stops).
A day later, the transmission is out and stripped. The problem seems to have been water. The transmission fluid is cooled by a heat exchanger that sits in the main radiator. It seems that this has corroded, and because the water in the radiator is at a higher pressure than the transmission fluid, water enters the gearbox and subsequently corrodes everything within reach.
So not just a $1,500 gearbox overhaul, but a $300 to $400 radiator rebuild as well :-(
Not quite how I envisaged my first week with the car - but wear and tear should be expected in something this age (1974 - so 35 years old).
With the battery, alternator reconditioning, gearbox overhaul and radiator rebuild, we are looking at an outlay of about $2,500 (Australian) since I picked the car up. If we add purchase, transporting the car form Brisbane (about 2,000km) and registration costs, I have hit $6,800 already!!!!
Cheap for a great car, but a fair bit more than I planned for, or prepared my better half for. I guess I'll be catching the train to work for a few months to redress the balance. Ah well once more.
Here is a picture of the diff. The shiny nut is the filler nut - topping it up is an exercise in fighting claustrophobia AND extreme gymnastics. I'll be glad when I can get it fixed finally. (Just need to find the time to drop it off.)
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