Thread: New County V8 Owner

Well, it’s been a long and torturous journey but last Friday I finally got my 1985 County V8 registered. Since I’ve been lurking in these forums for months now, I figured I should introduce myself and my car. I’ve been here long enough to know the rules, so here’s the pictures of him out on our property in Brisbane on the weekend:






It seems that most 110’s acquire a name and this one’s no different. The kids have christened him “Clifford” as in the children’s TV program Clifford - The Big Red Dog.

I bought him sight unseen from a private seller in Victoria. I was assured by the previous owner that he had no rust aside from a couple of 1cm holes in the door bottoms and NO OIL LEAKS (the car that is – not the previous owner).

Well, the good news is it seems he was telling the truth about the rust. There’s some minor surface rust on parts of the chassis that have had the paint knocked off but overall he’s very solid. An inspection from the guys at MR Auto brought the comment “That’s the one thing it has going for it.”
As for the oil leaks, well what can I say. So much oil was leaking out of the transfer case rear seal that it was hard to see at traffic lights due to the smoke as it was burnt off the exhaust. That was the major leak. The full list though was:

1. Transfer case rear seal
2. Transfer case intermediate shaft leak
3. Front Crank seal
4. Steering box pinion seal
5. Brake master cylinder reservoir
6. Front left brake caliper
7. Clutch slave cylinder

No oil leaks? How do some people live with themselves?

Aside from this list the entire car had been bodged beyond belief:

1. The radiator was not secured to the car (held in by the hoses only).
2. No expansion bottle fitted to radiator.
3. Vacuum advance not connected to distributor
4. Bull bar mounted only with two top bolts – would have been interesting if the fitted winch was ever used in anger.
5. Front left wheel so bent that drivers were telling me my wheel was falling off on the drive home from the depot.
6. Rear seat back secured using self tapping screws into side of car rather than proper securing arms (due to lpg tank fitted in back).
7. Numerous live wires running through the car and engine bay without being terminated.
8. Oil pressure switch disconnected (cheap way to fix low engine oil pressure warning).
9. Front driveshaft uni joints badly worn
10. Hub seals
11. Indicator and washer stalks not working.
12. Fuel filler hose leaking (wrapped in gaffa tape so obviously known to PO. Caused me to lose the top 20 litres or so of fuel at a cost equal to about half the cost of the replacement part)

Please keep in mind this was not a vehicle that had been parked up. It was registered and being used.

Well, the above list kept MR Auto busy on and off for a couple of months before I collected him last Friday with a nice fresh RWC. After a minor faf about with some missing paperwork, Qld Transport handed me my plates and he was back on the road!

If I had known about all these issue would I have still bought the car for what I paid for it? Yes. I was simply looking for a V8 County with major rust that I could slowly bring back to scratch. And it appears this fits the bill. I need it to be a rolling restoration as if I take it off the road for an extended period I’m sure it will get neglected as other priorities will take over.

Now for the big question: Why is a car that (let’s be honest here) is a complete and total POS, so fun to drive? Driving back to Brisbane from Redcliff on a fine winter’s day over the bridge, blue water below, blue sky above, window down listening to the smooth burble of the Rover V8 it all seemed suddenly worth it. I was overtaken by a bloke in a brand new Porsche Boxster and wouldn’t have traded places with him (mind you, he probably wouldn’t have been too interested in the deal either).

I spent the next 3 days driving the car everywhere. Biggest issue is convincing the wife that while he rolls around a bit, it’s not going to fall over. Probably. I hope.
We got caught in a traffic jam on Saturday night as some numpty had jumped off the Storey Bridge. We idled in heavy traffic for two hours and the temperature gauge went no further than about a needle width over half way. I’ve chewed through my first tank of fuel with no more major issues raising their head.
So what plans do I have for the vehicle? Well, there’s still a few outstanding mechanical issues that I’ll get sorted. Then it’s a full suspension rebuild (bushes, springs and shocks) to see if I can reduce his wandering nature somewhat. I need two new front seats and all the fittings and brackets for the gas cylinder need to be stripped out of the back. I need to source a second rear bench seat and then get the vehicle recertified for 9 seats. I’ve got a set of Terrafirma white alloys on order which will be fitted with 255/85 MT’s (either Maxxis Bighorns or BFG KM2’s).

Then I’ll need to tackle the HVAC. The seals have obviously perished behind the dash meaning the vents blow a constant stream of hot air. And it goes without saying the AC is U/S. To be honest, this is the problem that concerns me the most. All the rest is nuts and bolts but I imagine parts for this are hard to come by.
I want to repaint the chassis and provide as much corrosion protection as possible before I take him out to Bribie. Trim wise I’ll probably replace the headlining as it’s pretty manky and unpleasant.

I’d like thank all of you for a great forum and all the help I’ve already received through past posts and a big thank you in advance for all the help I’m going to need going forward!

I did a mates out with a Tarago unit that slots in under the back seat and blows upwards ... the only complaint now is is wife says its too cold lol