£1000 Challenge
Rover 216 Coupe
THE STORY SO FAR
Miles driven 595 Total mileage 99,109 What’s gone wrong That annoyingly erratic idle is backÉ
CHRIS HOPE, The Tomcat has covered 3700 miles in the past 37 weeks, meaning that it has averaged 100 miles a week over the duration of its time as one of our £1k Challenge cars. That will hopefully give you some idea of the sort of regular use it’s seen (unlike its partner in crime; the Reliant Robin project having suffered setback after setback).
As such, when our plan to use a hire car to transport editor-at-large Nick Larkin, staff writer Charlie Calderwood and I down to the Goodwood Revival fell through, we didn’t think twice about pressing the Rover into service. Especially so now that it’s rough idle has been resolved – or so we thought.
The journey down to Southampton was uneventful, excepting the various coos and squeals from the back seat as Charlie demonstrated to Nick just how well the nimble Tomcat responds to enthusiastic driving. A sharp turn-in and neutral handling allow for a surprising amount of speed to be safely carried into corners, and make roundabouts particularly good fun – though a lack of grab handles owing to the T-panel roof does mean occupants have to get creative when it comes to bracing themselves. The heavily bolstered seats are, we’ve discovered, largely for show.
The drive from our hotel to the Revival was delayed owing to an accident on the M27 – and it was at this point in heavy traffic the idle speed began to dip below 1000rpm and struggle to settle – just as it had before I overhauled the ignition system. Frustrating to say the least, but not an immediate cause for concern.
The gloomy mood soon lifted as we arrived in the car park, thrilled at the prospect of seeing £500m worth of racing machinery battling it out on Goodwood’s track, and the Tomcat’s blip was soon forgotten.
Our annoyance turned to apprehension the following day when, waiting at traffic lights to join the M27 for a second day at the Revival, the Tomcat suddenly cut out. It’s never done that before.
We duly drove rather more gingerly than we had on the way down, and while the idle remained fluffy, the Tomcat mercifully didn’t stall again. In an attempt to allay our fears, we checked that all was well with the earthing strap and the alternator belt, but nothing seemed to be amiss.
The drive back flew by without any further hiccups and even the erratic idle had dissipated by the time we made it back to Peterborough. Nonetheless, it’s certainly something that requires further investigation.
John Batchelor of the Rover 200 & 400 Owners’ Club had previously suggested that one of the vacuum hoses could be the cause – if so, what lies ahead is a time-consuming process of faultingfinding and replacing.
It won’t be long, now, until the odometer ticks over into six figures – especially given the number of autumn shows circled in my calendar. Hopefully the Tomcat will continue to average 100 miles a week, and not take a leaf out of the Reliant’s book…