The 2000 is a fat, slow, thirsty Dolomite. It's cursed with the same crappy OHV engine with 2 more pots thrown on, giving a whopping 84hp in over a ton of car.<br>
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Nimble could never be applied to it, although one of the plus points is the rear suspension seems to do a better job, it feels far more stuck to the road thanks to half decent arm location and IRS. However the front end has to be treated with care - No matter how hard or gentle you are, how much lock you apply, the front will only waft serenely whilst scrubbing off any attempt at speed you'd managed to that point. It drinks petrol like I drink cheap German plonk, and the effects are similar - Neither of us move very much after hefty consumption.<br>
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There is one, yes, one specialist who seems worth bothering with for these cars, and that's Chris Witor. Others carry some parts for them, but he seems to be the most comprehensive and knowledgeable. Plus his prices are actually very good, as it the quality of his stock. But that does limit you if you need something in a hurry as shopping around isn't much of an option.<br>
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My car's got uprated rear springs and slightly harder fronts, and is fairly comfortable without being too much of a barge in a gale, but the engine doesn't feel refined enough to actually make the car nice to drive. It would help if it didn't seem to be knackered, but of course being a 30 year old lump of nearly 50 year old (and poor when it was made IMO) design it's always going to be quite sick without much money spent on a full recon.<br>
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I'm currently fighting with my heater as the hottest point on the controls is about 1/4 of the way from cold. Not that it heats up very quickly anyway, being a massive lump of cast with a radiator that would cool the towering inferno on a summers day. Having a fixed fan (like the 1500) running off the crank doesn't help, although some cars have a viscous one which would be much better... Till it fails anyway.<br>
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Interior space doesn't seem a lot greater than in a Dolomite, although you do have fatter arse capable seats. The dash is very similar, the switchgear identical. Boot space to me doesn't seem much bigger than a Dolly either - The tank lives behind the rear seats, so you lose that little extra there and only gain a little in depth.<br>
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The brakes are reasonable compared to a Dolomite, but you still need a sixth, seventh and maybe even eighth sense so you can press them before whatever you're trying to avoid has actually happened if you want to prevent those heart stopping "will it stop, won't it" moments.<br>
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What you end up with is a car that on the outside is huge, on the inside is cozy (if you wrap up warm due to the heater), and isn't actually all that quick considering the huge bonnet covering the equally huge but useless engine. It's only about half a second quicker 0-60 than a Dolly 1500 too, yet drinks a lot more petrol.<br>
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Overall if you get a good one be prepared for not a lot of go, quite a lot of petrol, but actually a reasonably pleasant wafting down the road sensation. In theory it'll be comfortable and fairly refined (not fast, not raucous, but pleasing if you like to cruise effortlessly), in practice you'll be lucky to find one that good, or you'll be getting your chequebook out frequently in a vain attempt to sort the one you end up with out to that level.<br>
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One last word - If anyone has a decent Minor or ADO16 with long MOT that they'd swap for my wonderful 6 pot don't let the above description put you off <!--EZCODE EMOTICON START ;) --><img src=
http://www.ezboard.com/intl/aenglish/im ... s/wink.gif ALT=";)"><!--EZCODE EMOTICON END-->
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