Rover 3.5 SD1, why so thin on the ground?

Rover 3.5 SD1, why so thin on the ground?

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Keep it stiff

Original Poster:

1,762 posts

172 months

Friday 6th April 2018
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I'm hankering after a V8 SD1 but there don't seen to be many about. There is a red tatty Vitesse on eBay and white one, with body mods, went under the hammer recently. There is a nice looking, but LHD, low mileage SDI on Car and Classic at the moment but that seems to be it! P6 V8s are plentiful, so why the scarcity of SD1's?


finlo

3,731 posts

202 months

Friday 6th April 2018
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They rotted as soon as they left the factory.

mac96

3,715 posts

142 months

Friday 6th April 2018
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Used as donors for V8 engine/5 speed gear box for numerous MGBs, kit cars etc etc.. Earlier Rover V8s perhaps more of a classic and I don't think had the 5 speed gearbox either so less likely to become donors.
That would be my speculative guess anyway. Shame really, nice cars.

Lowtimer

4,286 posts

167 months

Friday 6th April 2018
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Rust.

Discombobulate

4,794 posts

185 months

Friday 6th April 2018
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finlo said:
They rotted as soon as they left the factory.
Did they last that long?
One of the world’s worst built cars 😳

williamp

19,213 posts

272 months

Friday 6th April 2018
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Same reason there isnt that many sierra, peugeot 309, e30 bmw, corolla, honda civis etc etc etc or any car from the the 80s really. Old, unloved, rusty, recycled. 90s cars the same, 2000 cars heading the same way. 'Twas always thus....

carl926J

108 posts

140 months

Friday 6th April 2018
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mac96 said:
Used as donors for V8 engine/5 speed gear box for numerous MGBs, kit cars etc etc.. Earlier Rover V8s perhaps more of a classic and I don't think had the 5 speed gearbox either so less likely to become donors.
That would be my speculative guess anyway. Shame really, nice cars.
yes

TR7 V8 donors.

Mr Tidy

22,065 posts

126 months

Saturday 7th April 2018
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I'm not sure rust was the biggest problem - my 1973 P6 3500S had plenty when I bought it in 1979!

A mate of mine raced an SD1 back in the 90s and it drove so much better than my P6! A couple of his mates raced them too - which won't have helped with survival rates!

But it does seem strange so few survive. All I can think is that the P6 became a classic quite quickly, whereas for many years the SD1 was just an old car - if that makes sense!


randomeddy

1,430 posts

136 months

Saturday 7th April 2018
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Rust.

Cold

15,207 posts

89 months

Saturday 7th April 2018
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I can account for two of them. Removed the engine from one for a project and put the other into a flint wall.
Good times. biggrin

Mike-tf3n0

571 posts

81 months

Saturday 7th April 2018
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Had a 3500VDP SD1 back in the day as a company car. It was awful, everything made of cheese and cardboard. That so called self levelling arrangement at the back made it bob vertically when pushing on, the electrics were dodgy and it was just plain dull to drive. One night I left work to drive nearly 100 miles to attend a dinner and found water on the ground, the radiator header tank had parted company from the top hose pipe. I wired the hose and it's metal pipe back against the radiator, topped up and set off, hoping that I would loose enough water to cook the engine, then I could be rid of the thing. It couldn't do that properly either, I got to the dinner, back home and into work the next day where the lads welded it all back together. Just to cap it all my wife dropped a silver earring somewhere in the front passenger seat area but though we searched and searched we never found it! Shame, it was probably the most valuable part of the entire car!

TooMany2cvs

29,008 posts

125 months

Saturday 7th April 2018
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Discombobulate said:
finlo said:
They rotted as soon as they left the factory.
Did they last that long?
One of the world’s worst built cars ??
Nah, not even one of BL's worst-built cars...

People really have forgotten how bad the 70s were.

grumpy52

5,565 posts

165 months

Saturday 7th April 2018
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They are out there but you have to scour all the media .
Many were raided for their engines for lots of other applications. Lots were and still are used in racing . Not long ago the engine was worth more than the car . They also rotted . The rot and lack of panels was eased with the discovery of a stack of parts in India. I have had a couple and a mate has a restored VDP twin plenum stashed away , that car was very nearly turned into a Bastos replica racer .

P5BNij

15,764 posts

105 months

Saturday 7th April 2018
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OP - might be a good idea to contact the owner's club, several members own V8s and have more than one, they may know of one or two coming up for sale.

Best of luck wink

jjohnson23

698 posts

112 months

Saturday 7th April 2018
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Good cars in their day,especially the series 1.
They did not rust worse than most other cars but simply became worthless,just like everything else then,I used to pick up 2600's with seized cams for £30-40 and put my v8 and 5 speed in them,went well with the 3.45:1 diff.
Even v8 5 speeds did not fetch a lot in the early 90's hence most got scrapped.
Fast forward 20 odd years and cars of this period are now collectible.
Imagine a 3.0 Capri that handled with lots of room in the back.

steveo3002

10,493 posts

173 months

Saturday 7th April 2018
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finlo said:
They rotted as soon as they left the factory.
worked with a fella that was around when they was new , he had to repair rust marks on them before they was sold to the new owner lol

Longnose

248 posts

112 months

Saturday 7th April 2018
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>TR7 V8 donors.

I can account for one of those.


john2443

6,325 posts

210 months

Saturday 7th April 2018
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grumpy52 said:
The rot and lack of panels was eased with the discovery of a stack of parts in India.
They were made in India as the Standard 2000, Wiki says Rimmers bought the spares when the co went bust.

grumpy52

5,565 posts

165 months

Saturday 7th April 2018
quotequote all
john2443 said:
grumpy52 said:
The rot and lack of panels was eased with the discovery of a stack of parts in India.
They were made in India as the Standard 2000, Wiki says Rimmers bought the spares when the co went bust.
Yes rimmers filled several containers with parts including unused shells .

Levin

2,019 posts

123 months

Saturday 7th April 2018
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randomeddy said:
Rust.
Good God! That must be an extreme example of SD1 rust? Interestingly, I've never actually seen one of these cars on the road so I presume they were already thin on the ground from the mid/late 1990s onwards? I've seen videos and pictures of SD1s but never an actual car. Nice looking things unless they all look like your example nowadays.