Rover Metro GTI 1990

Description:

Description from The Vendor:

Originally registered 21 s’ November 1990, there is no recorded history prior to 2020 except for DVLA MOT records where the last record was for 26th January 2007 at 49,748 miles which was close to the odometer reading of 49,801 when purchased by me. That MOT advisory shows that the footwell was already badly corroded. I bought the car on 8th September 2020 from Mr. Alex Chaves in Woking who owned it only for a short time. He had purchased it from the neighbouring family of the deceased former owner with the intention of restoring it, but because of redundancy, decided to sell it instead. When the former owner died the car was left at the end of his garden for years and during that period the car deteriorated and all documentation was mislaid. Mr. Chaves re-registered the car in 2020 prior to sale. The V5C document now shows 5 owners prior to me.
I bought the car as a non-runner (no petrol to engine) with a seized rear wheel, rusted wheel arches and with a rust hole in the roof which had allowed water in, destroying the roof lining and collecting in the boot area where it had rusted through the floor. The front offside jacking point was detached from the main chassis and the drivers footwell was badly corroded. The spare wheel compartment was badly dented. The first stage of restoration was to rectify the structural damage, overhaul the engine, transmission, brakes and suspension so that the car would pass an MOT. Most of this work was carried out by my local garage
owner (Ho’s Motors) assisted by myself. Mr Ho charged me for his work and his invoice, which details the work carried out is attached. The car gained it’s MOT on 23rd October 2020 at 49,806 miles with no advisories.
In my own garage, I stripped out the interior and removed all trims before delivering the car in November 2020 to Mr Harry Richards in Dunstable for cosmetic body repairs and a complete windows out, doors and tailgate off respray. Replacement external wheel arches were fitted to the offside front and nearside rear. Holes in the roof, boot floor, footwell, and front nearside inner wheel arches were repaired using new metal. The body, doors, and rear hatch were all resprayed to the original colour, White Diamond (code MNM). The work took about six weeks to complete and cost over £2,000, I separately purchased any necessary materials.
From December 2020 to April 2021 I refitted the interior with a replacement under carpet, head lining, windscreen and side window rubbers. A number of electrical accessory faults were rectified plus the rear fog light was replaced as corrosion had started on the reflectors. Exterior trims were refitted. I retained as much original as possible and replaced only with the correct parts. Due to availability some of those were used items that were refurbished.
Now there are just four things that detract from the appearance of the car. I have not been able to find satisfactory replacements for two-wheel trim centers, the rubber strips on the outside of the door sliding windows, and the rubber bumper strips on both sides of the car. Although still legal for MOT purposes the number plates are in poor condition but as they carry the original supplying dealer’s logo I decided to refit them.
Mechanically and structurally the car is sound and runs well. If I was retaining it I would undersee the car but have elected not to do so that a future owner can see the underfloor condition.

Parts replaced:

Engine: Water pump, timing belt, spark plugs, air filter, oil filter, fuel filter, all lubricants and coolant.
Fuel System: Fuel pump, inertia cut off switch, fuel gauge sender.pressure hose, wire loom to fuel pump.
Brakes: Nearside front caliper, master cylinder, front discs and pads, brake hoses, rear shoes, handbrake
cable.
Suspension: Rear offside radius arm pivot and bearings, knuckle joint, hydrogas valve, new tyres x5.
Bodywork: Wheel arches x2, rear bumper, head lights, fog lamp, reflector, rubber window seals, petrol filler hose, front driver side lock mechanism, bonnet grills x2.
Internal: Head lining, under carpet, rear seat belts.

Unfortunately, I lost most of my before and after photographs due to a computer glitch. Those I have are in the history file.

Auctioneer’s notes:

The owner has given a very comprehensive history of the restoration of this rare car.  In the file, you will find a CD which is marked Rover GTI.  These cars are few in numbers today and they are powered by a 1.4 lit 16 V  DOHC engine, producing 95 bhp at 6250 rpm driving through a 5-speed gearbox giving a top speed of 112 mph and 0 – 60 in 9.8 seconds.  In the nineties, these cars ran in the Metro Challenge at Thruxton and other circuits in the country. Apparently, it was very close racing.   This lovely car may be viewed, strictly by appointment.