Originally Posted by Dave03S

Looks like a drive by one and done OP...

To me it is worth spending the money because you can't buy anything new for near the money it takes to keep one of these running.

Once you spend the money and have a maintenance schedule in place you have a known quantity. Where you get in trouble with these is when you do pay $3 to 7k for someone elses deferred maintenance project.

Originally Posted by KernowDiscovery

At what point in an 'Old Vehicle Process' - does one start to put money into a vehicle that is only worth 3 grand? What if you're planning on keeping it for the long haul? At what point does an undesirable piece of metal become a barn find that someone is excited to find? I have mixed feelings over this.

Presently my vehicle needs the motor overhauled. It could use a good tune-up, the cooling system upgraded, probably a new power steering pump and maybe new O2 sensors. The valve cover gaskets are leaking and I need the transfer case resealed and topped up as well as a ball joint replaced. One of my calipers is sticking as well.

Last summer/fall it took over five months for 2 shops to not diagnose and misdiagnose an issue with the front cover and oil pump. Thank god for this forum for helping me figure out what the issue really was, asking the shop to take a look at the front cover and then replacing it.

I love my Rover and would like to keep driving it but have been having real struggles this past year determining when and if I should cut my losses and move on. A supposed safety check was done last fall and I was told that my Rover is structurally sound but does have the issue with the transfer case leaking and a bad ball joint on the driver side. I was given an estimate of $700 for the leaking transfer case and figured I'd get the ball joint looked at when I took it in for the brakes.

Right now I'm looking at trying to find someone who is interested in working on my motor and doing it right. I'd like to work with someone who has experience and knows what they are doing. I figured that $3000 would be an acceptable amount for the motor/cooling (me sourcing parts separately) and obviously the transfer case and ball joint, etc. would be done afterward. I have had quotes for rocker panel work as well and that was on my list of body work to have done this year at a body shop in town.

Perhaps I should cut my losses and just scrap it like some are doing. It's depressing to see people throwing vehicles away although I understand why they are doing so.