1983 Rover 2600 SE (SD1)
Discussion
I am now old enough to have a wafty luxo barge. I like straight sixes, and having already done the V8 thang previously, fancied a Rover 2600.
As I was going off to buy a car in rural East Anglia, many miles from home, on a rainy day, and as the car in question was built thirty two years ago by British Leyland, I did what anyone would do and left my mobile phone at home, only noticing this when on the train. Oh, great. Sometimes you can take period detail too far.
I need not have feared. The car turned out alright. It cruised home to Oxfordshire missing not a beat. There is basically not much wrong with this car. OK, the radio aerial doesn’t retract fully (cue 900 page OMG SOGA thread in S, P and L). Also, if you look closely, you can see that it was almost tea break time one day in early 1983 at Cowley, so the inside bottom of one door wasn’t done properly from the start. The car is to be booked in to that place in Hatfield where they squirt rancid chipfat all over it, as the plan is to use it a fair bit. The engine is to be fed with regular oil changes, and I may have the odd little widget that can cause it to go Kersplode removed (a device intended to stop too much oil getting into the cam box, that could have the effect of stopping any oil getting in).
The car was a demonstrator/director’s ride at a dealership in Grimsby (selling luxo Rovers in Grimsby in 1983? Tough gig.) Then it went to a local bloke, who sold it to his brother in law in Norwich, where it lived, in a heated and carpeted garage, until 2011. It was laid up in that garage from 2000 to 2011, then sold to a bloke in a village down the road from Norwich, who undertook what appears to have been a careful and thorough recommissioning, with much replageage of old bits, and then tooled about in it for a bit. The internet suggests that it was up for auction in October 2013, but it appears that it was withdrawn or didn't sell at that time.
FFS, even the trip computer works, Goddammit! Well, I think it works, unless 30 MPG is a great big fib. All pretty much original, except for a Kenlowe instead of the dreaded (and deaded) viscous coupling fan. As for the engine, well, people say that straight sixes designed by Triumph are smooth, and so they are, but this 2.6 Triumph-cum-Rover unit (nomming its choff via two SUs) takes smooth to a new level of smoooooooth. Imagine the secret love child of Cary Grant, Perry Como, Errol Brown, Lionel Ritchie, and George Clooney attending the International Smooth Guy Conference to give a talk on smoothness and the art of the smooth. That falls way short of how smooth the engine is. Verdict: smooth.
The engine is not very revvy (redline at 5500), and it takes a while to wind itself up, but once established in the cruise this is a lovely mile-nommer that might get you zapped by plod for doing 90 without noticing. You hear a bit of wind whoosh, but hardly any engine or tyre noise while Chairman of the Boarding it along the motorway. (That’s mid-size non-FTSE, keep the shareholders happy, hence not V8 Chairman of the Board). The car handles rather well, albeit in a slightly floaty sort of way. The ride quality is exceptional.
The five speed manual gearbox was designed by Bloke Wot Designs Good Gearboxes, whoever he was. The brakes are a lot better than the (admittedly worn and shaggered oot) ones on my 2001 Alfa 156. The headlamps are mighty (although the car still has enough Lucas to still give that “lights dim a bit at low speed” effect beloved of all followers of the Satanic Cult). The cabin feels classy but still a bit space age. The seats are velvety cordtastic.
The sale advert wasn’t wrong. The car looks, smells, and feels like a 1983 SD1 might have looked, smelled and felt in about, say, 1986. Crikey, I was in my second year at university when this jalopy was built, about three miles from the place where I wasn’t doing any work. I used to drink in the Bullingdon Arms on Cowley Road, especially when my dad popped down from Longbridge in his company Princess to check on the Unipart exhaust subsidiary up the road (a factory that he ended up managing, after initially being sent there to troubleshoot). My dad (who started as a navvy on the M1 and then went to the shop floor at Lucas, so, yes, when you can’t see out of your car at night that really IS his fault) only likes working class pubs. It is not impossible that the bloke who CBA to paint the door properly may have been the bloke playing darts while my dad and I drank our Guinness.
Anyway, I love it!
As I was going off to buy a car in rural East Anglia, many miles from home, on a rainy day, and as the car in question was built thirty two years ago by British Leyland, I did what anyone would do and left my mobile phone at home, only noticing this when on the train. Oh, great. Sometimes you can take period detail too far.
I need not have feared. The car turned out alright. It cruised home to Oxfordshire missing not a beat. There is basically not much wrong with this car. OK, the radio aerial doesn’t retract fully (cue 900 page OMG SOGA thread in S, P and L). Also, if you look closely, you can see that it was almost tea break time one day in early 1983 at Cowley, so the inside bottom of one door wasn’t done properly from the start. The car is to be booked in to that place in Hatfield where they squirt rancid chipfat all over it, as the plan is to use it a fair bit. The engine is to be fed with regular oil changes, and I may have the odd little widget that can cause it to go Kersplode removed (a device intended to stop too much oil getting into the cam box, that could have the effect of stopping any oil getting in).
The car was a demonstrator/director’s ride at a dealership in Grimsby (selling luxo Rovers in Grimsby in 1983? Tough gig.) Then it went to a local bloke, who sold it to his brother in law in Norwich, where it lived, in a heated and carpeted garage, until 2011. It was laid up in that garage from 2000 to 2011, then sold to a bloke in a village down the road from Norwich, who undertook what appears to have been a careful and thorough recommissioning, with much replageage of old bits, and then tooled about in it for a bit. The internet suggests that it was up for auction in October 2013, but it appears that it was withdrawn or didn't sell at that time.
FFS, even the trip computer works, Goddammit! Well, I think it works, unless 30 MPG is a great big fib. All pretty much original, except for a Kenlowe instead of the dreaded (and deaded) viscous coupling fan. As for the engine, well, people say that straight sixes designed by Triumph are smooth, and so they are, but this 2.6 Triumph-cum-Rover unit (nomming its choff via two SUs) takes smooth to a new level of smoooooooth. Imagine the secret love child of Cary Grant, Perry Como, Errol Brown, Lionel Ritchie, and George Clooney attending the International Smooth Guy Conference to give a talk on smoothness and the art of the smooth. That falls way short of how smooth the engine is. Verdict: smooth.
The engine is not very revvy (redline at 5500), and it takes a while to wind itself up, but once established in the cruise this is a lovely mile-nommer that might get you zapped by plod for doing 90 without noticing. You hear a bit of wind whoosh, but hardly any engine or tyre noise while Chairman of the Boarding it along the motorway. (That’s mid-size non-FTSE, keep the shareholders happy, hence not V8 Chairman of the Board). The car handles rather well, albeit in a slightly floaty sort of way. The ride quality is exceptional.
The five speed manual gearbox was designed by Bloke Wot Designs Good Gearboxes, whoever he was. The brakes are a lot better than the (admittedly worn and shaggered oot) ones on my 2001 Alfa 156. The headlamps are mighty (although the car still has enough Lucas to still give that “lights dim a bit at low speed” effect beloved of all followers of the Satanic Cult). The cabin feels classy but still a bit space age. The seats are velvety cordtastic.
The sale advert wasn’t wrong. The car looks, smells, and feels like a 1983 SD1 might have looked, smelled and felt in about, say, 1986. Crikey, I was in my second year at university when this jalopy was built, about three miles from the place where I wasn’t doing any work. I used to drink in the Bullingdon Arms on Cowley Road, especially when my dad popped down from Longbridge in his company Princess to check on the Unipart exhaust subsidiary up the road (a factory that he ended up managing, after initially being sent there to troubleshoot). My dad (who started as a navvy on the M1 and then went to the shop floor at Lucas, so, yes, when you can’t see out of your car at night that really IS his fault) only likes working class pubs. It is not impossible that the bloke who CBA to paint the door properly may have been the bloke playing darts while my dad and I drank our Guinness.
Anyway, I love it!
Edited by anonymous-user on Wednesday 29th March 10:16
Cheerze all. I am investigating whether the oil feed mod has been done. If not, that will be a high priority.
Today I drove the car 550 miles or so, and was behind the wheel for something over eleven hours. Mostly motorway driving, with some slow and sweaty M25 traffic, and a bit of country road stuff. The car behaved well, and I arrived home feeling surprisingly untired, such is the car's wafty smoothness and ease of driving.
Sadly, it took only ten minutes stopped at Cobham Services for someone to place a standard issue selfish door-opener's ding on each of the nearside doors, front and rear. Tiny dings, and it's only an old car, but it's sad to reflect on the solipsism of Joe Public.
On a cheerier note, note something cool in this pic that only old gits will recognise.
Today I drove the car 550 miles or so, and was behind the wheel for something over eleven hours. Mostly motorway driving, with some slow and sweaty M25 traffic, and a bit of country road stuff. The car behaved well, and I arrived home feeling surprisingly untired, such is the car's wafty smoothness and ease of driving.
Sadly, it took only ten minutes stopped at Cobham Services for someone to place a standard issue selfish door-opener's ding on each of the nearside doors, front and rear. Tiny dings, and it's only an old car, but it's sad to reflect on the solipsism of Joe Public.
On a cheerier note, note something cool in this pic that only old gits will recognise.
What are the chances, eh? Spotted whilst out for a whiz in my Moonraker blue and as yet unrotten 2600, this rotten as a rotten thing 2300 in Moonraker Blue with dark grey interior. Clearly a daily snotter, as full of "this is an actual car" stuff eg brollies, coke bottles, maps etc. Mega crusty, but big up respect to the owner.
Lovely car.
I had an SD1 V8 in Midas gold which I inherited from my Dad who had it new in 1979. It was the rustiest thing ever but I loved it, even though at 19 I couldn't afford to get the petrol gauge to read more than half full! I last saw it 23 years ago and I still miss it. Must find another one day.
I had an SD1 V8 in Midas gold which I inherited from my Dad who had it new in 1979. It was the rustiest thing ever but I loved it, even though at 19 I couldn't afford to get the petrol gauge to read more than half full! I last saw it 23 years ago and I still miss it. Must find another one day.
StuntmanMike said:
Love it Breadvan
, I had a V8 years ago, but I much prefer the sound a straight 6 makes, mine was an earlier one though, different clocks for a start, what cars do you own now?
I lost track.
Cheers! Me too., I had a V8 years ago, but I much prefer the sound a straight 6 makes, mine was an earlier one though, different clocks for a start, what cars do you own now?I lost track.
Currently just four
- 1975 Triumph Dolomite Sprint
- 1976 Land Rover Series 3 88
- 1983 Rover 2600 SE
- 1984 Lotus Excel
Mrs BV has a 2000 Peugeot 206 CC. The 2009 Fiesta in some pics above is my old mum's.
carinaman said:
bigfella70 said:
The 2600 straight six is a great engine, I understand that BL actually down-tuned the engine as it was beginning to show up the V8 during development.
Reading AR Online it seems like marketing considerations too. How could they have the more expensive 3500 V8 outperformed or matched by the 2600 six?They have the list comparing the engine to others on AR Online.
Deliberately holding back the engine has irked me somewhat. Rather than neutering the 2600 couldn't they have sold them alongside the V8 marketing the 2600 as the sporty, thrusting exec. car and the V8 as the luxurious VDP like last word in progress and refinement?
Was the 2.6 straight six engine also used in Land Rovers or was that another engine entirely?
Jaguar had a huge sulk about being in BL because they thought themselves too posh to hang with the common oiks who sold Marinas and such like. Little did they know that worse was to come a while later, as they would spend a time being Ford (2007 X Type Jagdeo with rotten sills, anyone?). Meanwhile Triumph and Rover faffed about over the Stag engine. The straight six engine was, of course, a Triumph to begin with that ended up as a a Rover. My dad worked in the Specialist Division and has many tales to tell, both happy and sad.
I will check later by resting my standard driving-Martini on the rocker cover to see if there are any ripples on the surface. This will mean that I have to drive with the bonnet up, but this is no biggy as I am usually too frightened/too busy drive-facebooking to look out of the windscreen anyway.
carinaman said:
dme123 said:
That irritated me too. It also goes to show that even back then the V8 was outdated and overrated. I always love that this six was being developed at the same time as the larger AJ6 down the road at Jaguar but they all hated each other far too much to perhaps collaborate a little.
I slowly came to that conclusion about the Rover V8 this morning, and thought that as an old 50s design from Buick why hamstring a newer straight six as not to tread on its toes.Did CAR write that Jaguar deliberately engineered the XJ40 with a narrow engine bay so the Rover V8 would not fit that resulted in problems when they wanted to put the V12 in it.
Rover had a chance to get ahead of the game a bit by developing a more powerful range topping version of the I6 in the SD1 and downsizing from the donkey V8, while still having higher power and torque figures. They wouldn't have had to engineer the car to take I and V engines then which would probably have saved development time if nothing else.
Edited by dme123 on Tuesday 21st July 08:19
The car had not been used much in the months before I bought it, and after a day or two in my ownership it seemed a bit lumpy and down on power, but I have given the carbs a clean and topped up the dashpots, and now it seems to be well up to speed. It is not a rocketship, but it pulls along well, and is quite enjoyable to trundle along a twisty road, as despite the fairly basic rear suspension and the car's size and weight it handles pretty decently.
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