After several years of regret from selling my 1985 RRC, I've made the jump back and picked up a 1989 RRC Hi-Line.

She's a little scruffy, with the usual ageing problems (saggy roof & upholstery, slow electric windows, faded paints). But in overall manageable condition.

I was attracted to it because it wasn't jacked up 10" with giant muddies (why do people do that to these elegant machines?) and it came with a bunch of goodies, including an (apparently) rebuilt 3.5/9L engine, new spare auto box, spare transfer case and long-range tanks amongst other things.

It's my hope to do a bit of a rolling resto with tasteful and practical additions. It's a bit of a shame that the body styling is hidden under a roof-rack, visor and bull bar, but I can see the usefulness of these additions. Time will tell if they'll stay.

Alas, there are two big issues to sort before getting on the road:

1. The car has been living in a coastal area and there's rust on the bottom of 3 doors, a little in a wheel well and at least one spot on the chassis. These are a simple cutting and patching affair, and shouldn't be a show stopper. I don't suppose there's such a thing as patching kits for the doors? I've seen them for other trouble spots, but not doors.

2. It has a blown head gasket. The engine appears to be new or rebuilt 4L from 2004, so I don't know why it has a blown head so soon. Nevertheless, I've either got to swap it for one of the spare smaller Rover V8s I have, or sort the one that's in there. Bigger is always better right?

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