Classic Car Weekly recently published a story about one of their writers, Chris Hope, accidentally smashing one of the glass panels on his Rover 216 Coupe…
Well, that took us back…
SUBJECT – Re: Your Rover Coupe Roof… You Idiot!
Chris!
Just reading your article about the Tomcat in CCW.
YOU”RE AN IDIOT…. Oh, and I am too. I did THE EXACT SAME THING a few years back with a 216 Coupe.
I managed to find someone with one about two hours from my house. Thankfully it wasn’t raining. I paid £50.
That guy had a pile (and I mean a pile) of Rover Coupes in his house / garden / shed etc, so I trust that if you haven’t found a panel already, you will. Although that guy probably got kicked out by his wife, who wasn’t happy about being second in line to a lot of old Rovers.
I remember being mighty impressed by the sheer amount of pieces that the glass broke in to, and just how sudden it was. One minute I was tightening the screw, and a millisecond later the whole panel had disappeared. It was like magic.
Anyway, just wanted to say, COMMISERATIONS.
On my Rover Coupe, I have a bit of a story there…
I’d crashed my MGF after a bad day at work drifting it around a dry roundabout in Birmingham. I wanted a replacement and always wanted a coupe, so did what most blokes do when they’ve got a bad idea… Got drunk and went on eBay….
Two nights later I’d got my nightfire red 1.6 coupe home, and my phone buzzed… turned out I’d won another one. The second one was A) local B) very cheap C) identical to the first one but with higher mileage.
I couldn’t get out of the auction without coming across like a horrible person so I bought that too.
A ‘nose to bumper’ run back across Birmingham ensued with my very best friend and I driving two very original, very identical, very unusual, very cheap, very close together cars at very silly speeds across Birmingham. It might have been the highlight of my motoring life for pure hilarity.
I didn’t need both cars so sold the low mileage one, as the high milage one drove much better. I accidentally left my favourite pair of trainers in the boot and got them back.
I kept the high miler and ran it for a summer, until whilst on my way into the Volksworld Show to do some business for Heritage Insurance (with the roof panels stowed in the boot, and sunglasses on) the car got trapped beneath the lug nuts of a skip lorry that merged in without seeing my low slung coupe. The driver didn’t realise I was stuck beneath his truck until I climbed out through the roof, stood on top and tapped on his window.
The insurance paid me a grand for the write off and I sold it as it was… with some MOT left and still very much usable despite a crumpled wheel arch.
A week later the new owner rang me and honestly said ‘have you seen my Rover’…
Turned out he hadn’t insured it, had racked up 2 speeding tickets and got the car impounded in London.
And that was the end of my Rover Coupe ownership…!!!
I’d have another one though…
Cheers for reading, this was only meant to be a one line email but then it dragged up some memories!
Joe
Good Shout Media | Automotive Marketing Specialist 