My Fellow Oppos...School Me on the Sterling 827

"DaftRyosuke - So Long and Thanks for All the Fish!" (daft-ryosuke)
06/18/2018 at 15:57 • Filed to: None

Whilst browsing the interwebs today, one of my favorite car groups on Facebook, !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , produced an ad for a quite obscure car, indeed.

The car in question is a 1989 Sterling 827 SL, located in Portland, Oregon. My interest was immediately peaked as it seems to be in great condition with the only modifications made being a period-correct bonkers wing (I can deal with that) and an updated radio (I can also deal with that), and it was only just around $2000.

The problem, besides it being located literally across the country, is that I know next to nothing about Sterlings, except that it was a joint venture between Rover and Honda that even brought them over in the first place. If I remember correctly, they were powered by Honda C-Series V6s and shared some equipment with the original Acura Legend, but that’s as far as my knowledge goes.

Does anyone here know anything about these unique British/Japanese creations? I’m really interested in it as I believe it would make a great conversation piece at meets like Radwood, and would just be an all-around fun car to have.

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DISCUSSION (9)

Textured Soy Protein > DaftRyosuke - So Long and Thanks for All the Fish!
06/18/2018 at 16:09

It’s an Acura Legend built in England, with Connolly leather and fancy carpets exchanged for all the reliability. My dad had one in the 80s. Then he got an Acura Legend.

lone_liberal > DaftRyosuke - So Long and Thanks for All the Fish!
06/18/2018 at 16:10

I don’t have any direct experience with them, I just remember reading that Sterling somehow made the least reliable Honda ever.

DaftRyosuke - So Long and Thanks for All the Fish! > lone_liberal
06/18/2018 at 16:11

But that makes it the most reliable British car ever, right?

lone_liberal > DaftRyosuke - So Long and Thanks for All the Fish!
06/18/2018 at 16:17

Other than some boring Fords, that’s probably true though we are talking Lucas electronics here. Out of curiosity I just brought up an article on Hemmings about them and they say that the 827 fixed most of the issues that the 825 had, so there’s that.

WilliamsSW > DaftRyosuke - So Long and Thanks for All the Fish!
06/18/2018 at 16:20

If you love the first-gen Legend, but hate reliability, it’s the perfect car.

IIRC the electrics are a nightmare - shocking, considering that they’re haunted by Lucas, the Prince of Darkness.

DaftRyosuke - So Long and Thanks for All the Fish! > WilliamsSW
06/18/2018 at 16:31

According to some write-ups I’ve been reading, by 89 most of the issues had been resolved.

The good part about these though is the interchangability with Hondas and Acuras, if things go wrong I shouldn’t have too difficult of a time finding replacement parts.

ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com > DaftRyosuke - So Long and Thanks for All the Fish!
06/18/2018 at 16:38

These had the 1st gen Acura Legend drive train and running gear, which was fantastic. I don’t know much about the electronics and the rest of the car, other than that stuff wasn’t Honda. I did own a 2nd gen Legend Coupe, and it was a supremely good car for the time.

WilliamsSW > DaftRyosuke - So Long and Thanks for All the Fish!
06/18/2018 at 16:40

They did get better as time went on, not sure whether they ever reached ‘average’ or whether the ‘89s were decently sorted or not.

I would expect that mechanical parts are mostly interchangeable with the Legend, and believe that electrical parts are *not* interchangeable. You’d have to do your homework to figure out what’s what.

I remember seeing one of these, new, in a dealer back around 1987 and thinking it was a great looking car - I always kinda wanted one, til I heard their reputation. My only other memory was of a college classmate who was very prone to bad decisions, wanting to buy an ‘87 or ‘88 in about 1991. Me and several others worked hard (successfully) to talk her out of it. Pretty sure whatever she bought instead was also a POS, but some people really can’t be saved from themselves...

ranwhenparked > DaftRyosuke - So Long and Thanks for All the Fish!
06/18/2018 at 21:25

The Sterling (Rover) 800 and Acura (Honda) Legend were joint venture program between Honda and the Austin-Rover Group (in which Honda held a 20% stake at the time). Since it was the first time Honda had built a largish luxury car, they opted to utilize outside input from a company that theoretically knew more about those sorts of cars and their customers than they did. Austin-Rover’s designation for the project was XX, Honda’s was HX. All Honda and Acura-badged models used Honda drivetrains, most Rover-badged versions used Rover drivetrains, but some versions came with the Honda engines. All the versions sold in the US as Sterlings used Honda powertrains. Despite the shared platform and joint development, the entire interior and all the sheet metal is different between the Legend and the 800, and the Rover/Sterling version offered an additional body style Honda never had, the 5-door fastback. The Rover version had more of a traditional British feel inside with more wood and leather.

The Sterling name was created for the US mainly over a dealer dispute. Rover (then part of BL Plc) had sold the SD1 3500 here briefly during 1980, but pulled out of the market abruptly without properly terminating dealer franchises. To avoid any lawsuits or legal claims on territories, and erase the negative reputation of the Rover name from that incident, Sterling was created as a fresh start. Initially, it was Cadillac dealers that were heavily recruited to take on Sterling franchises, as Austin-Rover was aiming for a higher class of dealership than they had the last time around, when Rovers were often sold by gas stations or used car dealerships that hung out a Rover sign and kept a few new cars in the parking lot.

Sales were strong the first year, then tumbled quickly. The quality problems were significant. Engines and transmissions shouldn’t give much trouble, but the electronics are notoriously problematic, mainly due to shoddy connections and soldering. Dashes had a tendency to warp and crack, and the leather seats would turn green in direct sunlight. They also had their fair share of paint failure and rust issues, but, then, Hondas had those, too. Also, the turn signal lenses are prone to just dropping off and replacements are getting really hard to find. A minor detail, perhaps, but something that is deceptively hard to fix when it happens.

Quality improved steadily, the 1989-1991 models are a lot better then the ‘87s and ‘88s, but still not great. Rover Group had planned on swapping the Sterling name for Rover starting with the facelifted 1992 model, thanks to the roaring success of Range Rover giving the brand a better reputation in North America, but ended up pulling the plug on the whole US sales operation before that could happen.

There’s maybe two companies in the US that still keep any real stock of Sterling-specific parts on hand, and a lot of stuff will likely have to be ordered from the UK, where Rover 800s have also gotten extremely rare.