Twin Plenum Vitesse restoration
Discussion
dfen5 said:
Nice job. I like the original rover wheels, strangley enough. My boss at the time had one but it had the deep front spolier.
I need to underseal the whole underside of the car - not looking forward to that messy job.
Didn't it get a little more grunt over the Single-Plenum?
What's the suspension like on yours, I was up at the town Recreation Ground the other day with friends and a gold SD1 2600S appeared, just turning into a parking bay at very low speeds it looked like it wasn going to roll over!
What's the suspension like on yours, I was up at the town Recreation Ground the other day with friends and a gold SD1 2600S appeared, just turning into a parking bay at very low speeds it looked like it wasn going to roll over!
Roop said:
Excellent to see a restoration on an SD1, particularly a twin-plenum. I agree that you should put original lattice wheels on it, or failing that, something that looks period. Perhaps something like the dished lattice wheels that you see on some BMWs.
That's exactly what I have - period 3 piece lattice rims, need re-furbing:
At 8J I can put some decent width rubber on them, possibly even as far as 235 on the back.
On the suspension, yes on the 6 cylinders the suspension is more than a bit 'wafty'. Much better on the V8's, even more so on the Vitesse's. Mine will have Spax shocks and springs all round and fully poly bushed and a touch lowered.
Duke Thrust said:
Roop said:
Excellent to see a restoration on an SD1, particularly a twin-plenum. I agree that you should put original lattice wheels on it, or failing that, something that looks period. Perhaps something like the dished lattice wheels that you see on some BMWs.
That's exactly what I have - period 3 piece lattice rims, need re-furbing:
They'll look great once re-rurbed. Not sure about the gold centers, perhaps make them silver, but don't go black else you'll lose the detail.Brilliant job, do keep us updated with pics etc.
On-topic but a slight tangent - is there any way of really rustproofing a restoration like this - I mean like prepping the shell and then hot-dip galvanising the whole lot or something...? Essentially whatever a manufaturer might do on a modern car (and Rover failed epically at when building these things)...
Roop said:
On-topic but a slight tangent - is there any way of really rustproofing a restoration like this - I mean like prepping the shell and then hot-dip galvanising the whole lot or something...? Essentially whatever a manufaturer might do on a modern car (and Rover failed epically at when building these things)...
In the ads of the motorsport news there are a few rally prep guys that do dipping/bare shell paint treatments. 
Update.
So, I've managed to source a much fabled Jaguar brake conversion. This utlises the much larger discs and calipers from an XJ6 (possibly the XJS - will need to find out). The kit is a set of 4 pot calipers, re-drilled to suit the SD1, and a spacer ring to match the hub to disc.
Picture of the two back to back, the increased disc size and pad area should make a substantial difference.
I'll pop these little monkeys on as the original calipers and discs have fallen apart. I'll find out exactly which Jag uses them and get new discs - the calipers have been re-built recently so should be okay. (I'll probably get them re-built to be sure at some point soon).
So, I've managed to source a much fabled Jaguar brake conversion. This utlises the much larger discs and calipers from an XJ6 (possibly the XJS - will need to find out). The kit is a set of 4 pot calipers, re-drilled to suit the SD1, and a spacer ring to match the hub to disc.
Picture of the two back to back, the increased disc size and pad area should make a substantial difference.
I'll pop these little monkeys on as the original calipers and discs have fallen apart. I'll find out exactly which Jag uses them and get new discs - the calipers have been re-built recently so should be okay. (I'll probably get them re-built to be sure at some point soon).
Edited by Duke Thrust on Saturday 6th June 12:41
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