[Dollywobbler]

My 416SLi as per the intro section.



And here's what it looked like up until last week.


I'm a bit confused by the spec. The smoked rear lenses are incorrect - the originals came with the car but have some damage - but it has the non-two-tone body that I thought came in with the wrap-around indicators. The grille I suspect was fitted some time after it first hit the road. Underneath the grille I can see the original holes for the original bonnet badge.

It's a lovely car though. Not the 600 I was seeking, but I like it.

Here's a video of it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bLkCDJLrko

[RoverRevival]

front is ph1, grille is ph2.

should look something like this.

[Dollywobbler]

It's the lack of two-tone that really confuses me. I know it shouldn't have the grille (shame the bonnet is a mess behind it). Has someone painted the lower half to go with the bumpers? I believe those have been swapped from a later car. It's a right mish-mash!

[GTiJohn]

The painted lower half bumpers came in at 93MY, so they're probably off a later car

[Dollywobbler]

They're definitely off a later car. Previous owner changed them - which is why the front number plate is a bit squiffy. It's the non-grey body sides that are confusing me most.

[Dollywobbler]

As far as I can find out, it could well be that the non-grey sides are correct - 1992 was the changeover I think?

Anyway, further de-stickering has occurred today. I reckon this car is starting to look quite nice.

[RoverRevival]

I like

[matthewsemple]

As far as I can find out, it could well be that the non-grey sides are correct - 1992 was the changeover I think?

Those look like non-colour coded bumpers that someone has painted. I have never seen a 400 with the non-colour coded bumpers which hasn't had grey door bottoms. Incidentally the grey door bottoms are a vinyl covering not paint. Underneath the grey is the paint like the rest of the car.

As far as I can tell, unlike the 200 which was updated in dribs and drabs, the 400 had the changes made in one go. So 1989 to 1992 cars had grey bumpers and door bottoms, no grille and small indicators. Then on the 1993 MY which came out at the end of 1992, the Coupe indicators and wings were added, as was the chrome grille, redesigned bumpers and full colour-coding including the new capped mirrors.

This is an earlier car that has been modified.

[Dollywobbler]

Ah, that explains it. Presumably it'd be quite easy to remove vinyl to uncover the paint beneath. I'd wrongly assumed they were painted, which would make it a much bigger job!

Tricky to know what to do next really. Removing the silly 200 rear spoiler will reveal holes in the boot, just like removing the grille will do likewise with the bonnet. Perhaps I'll just leave it as is for now and focus on the mechanical side of things. Needs a timing belt (probably, no history) and something is a bit loose at the front end - which may be exaggerating the brake judder I'm getting. I'm pleased with the cosmetic progress though.

[matthewsemple]

Like you say the spoiler is from a 200 hatch but it is not dissimilar to the standard one on the 420 GSi, which is presumably the look they were going for:



If you remove all that stuff you might find it easier to fit new panels than fill the holes.