Rover 3.5 SD1, why so thin on the ground?
Discussion
I remember when these were launched. They has real presence. My Dad was trying to decide between the SD1 and a Renault 30. He bought neither and went for a Manta! My GF's Dad was tempted too but went for a Peugeot 604. What worried them both was BL's reputation. 10 years on my boss had a 2600 Vanden Plas. Spent much time back at the dealers, say no more!
Levin said:
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.
I'd say they were surprisingly rare by about 2000, but they were definitely around. There was a black Vitesse near me about that time and it still looked very long, low, wide and cool although it had rust on most panels.More recently each summer I see a Moonraker Blue (favourite SD1 colour) and a red Vitesse pottering around near me. They really stand out still - the V8 noise is somehow bassy - you feel it in waves more than you hear it!
That odd exhaust end still looks weird too
te.
I owned a C plate 2600 as a daily hack back in the mid 90's.
It was bought cheap as the vendor thought the headgasket was on it's way out . It wasn't, somebody had wired the electric choke up wrong , it was off when cold but on when warm . It benefitted from having the carbs sorted and rejetted and uprated air filters , and all the ignition system uprated . It was surprisingly rapid often seeing 120mph . It was amazingly comfortable and roomy .
It had loads of niggling faults over the next few years that would have cost lots of money for somebody not handy on the spanners .
It blew the heater matrix quite spectacularly when flying down a country lane , that caused a fraught few seconds until the sudden fog was cleared by opening the windows and not putting the heater blower on, which was my first reaction . That was a pain to repair as the dash and center console has to be removed to replace the matrix rad . It blew the center out of the oil pressure switch , the switch is linked to the fuel pump so that if the pressure drops the pump cuts out . A locating/blanking screw for one of the rocker shafts fell out of the back of the head letting the engine pump it's oil out again ! The voltage stabiliser went loopy so the instruments had a mind of their own . If it rained really hard and water got on the oil switch then the car stopped .
I loved that car !
Things like driving from Northampton stadium to Brands Hatch late at night in an hour then sleeping in the car to attend a Thunder Saloons meeting made good memories .
It was bought cheap as the vendor thought the headgasket was on it's way out . It wasn't, somebody had wired the electric choke up wrong , it was off when cold but on when warm . It benefitted from having the carbs sorted and rejetted and uprated air filters , and all the ignition system uprated . It was surprisingly rapid often seeing 120mph . It was amazingly comfortable and roomy .
It had loads of niggling faults over the next few years that would have cost lots of money for somebody not handy on the spanners .
It blew the heater matrix quite spectacularly when flying down a country lane , that caused a fraught few seconds until the sudden fog was cleared by opening the windows and not putting the heater blower on, which was my first reaction . That was a pain to repair as the dash and center console has to be removed to replace the matrix rad . It blew the center out of the oil pressure switch , the switch is linked to the fuel pump so that if the pressure drops the pump cuts out . A locating/blanking screw for one of the rocker shafts fell out of the back of the head letting the engine pump it's oil out again ! The voltage stabiliser went loopy so the instruments had a mind of their own . If it rained really hard and water got on the oil switch then the car stopped .
I loved that car !
Things like driving from Northampton stadium to Brands Hatch late at night in an hour then sleeping in the car to attend a Thunder Saloons meeting made good memories .
grumpy52 said:
I owned a C plate 2600 as a daily hack back in the mid 90's.
It was bought cheap as the vendor thought the headgasket was on it's way out . It wasn't, somebody had wired the electric choke up wrong , it was off when cold but on when warm . It benefitted from having the carbs sorted and rejetted and uprated air filters , and all the ignition system uprated . It was surprisingly rapid often seeing 120mph . It was amazingly comfortable and roomy .
It had loads of niggling faults over the next few years that would have cost lots of money for somebody not handy on the spanners .
It blew the heater matrix quite spectacularly when flying down a country lane , that caused a fraught few seconds until the sudden fog was cleared by opening the windows and not putting the heater blower on, which was my first reaction . That was a pain to repair as the dash and center console has to be removed to replace the matrix rad . It blew the center out of the oil pressure switch , the switch is linked to the fuel pump so that if the pressure drops the pump cuts out . A locating/blanking screw for one of the rocker shafts fell out of the back of the head letting the engine pump it's oil out again ! The voltage stabiliser went loopy so the instruments had a mind of their own . If it rained really hard and water got on the oil switch then the car stopped .
I loved that car !
Things like driving from Northampton stadium to Brands Hatch late at night in an hour then sleeping in the car to attend a Thunder Saloons meeting made good memories .
Ah yes, I had a race with a 3 litre Capri in my 3500 down the A14, it was going well until at high speed, it sprung an oil leak onto the exhaust manifold, the ensuing smoke sucked in by the heater and pumped out through the air vents so I could barely see. It was bought cheap as the vendor thought the headgasket was on it's way out . It wasn't, somebody had wired the electric choke up wrong , it was off when cold but on when warm . It benefitted from having the carbs sorted and rejetted and uprated air filters , and all the ignition system uprated . It was surprisingly rapid often seeing 120mph . It was amazingly comfortable and roomy .
It had loads of niggling faults over the next few years that would have cost lots of money for somebody not handy on the spanners .
It blew the heater matrix quite spectacularly when flying down a country lane , that caused a fraught few seconds until the sudden fog was cleared by opening the windows and not putting the heater blower on, which was my first reaction . That was a pain to repair as the dash and center console has to be removed to replace the matrix rad . It blew the center out of the oil pressure switch , the switch is linked to the fuel pump so that if the pressure drops the pump cuts out . A locating/blanking screw for one of the rocker shafts fell out of the back of the head letting the engine pump it's oil out again ! The voltage stabiliser went loopy so the instruments had a mind of their own . If it rained really hard and water got on the oil switch then the car stopped .
I loved that car !
Things like driving from Northampton stadium to Brands Hatch late at night in an hour then sleeping in the car to attend a Thunder Saloons meeting made good memories .
Or down the A140 I had a race with a 2.0i Sierra, pulled out and overtook him in heroic fashion, only to run out of petrol as I was alongside. Coasted to a halt with no brakes or steering alongside an old lady cutting her grass. She gave me about half a gallon from her lawnmower petrol can. Finest 4 star, and I was on my way. A
Week later I tried drifting it and ended up
In a storm ditch nose first.
This was all in one summer of madness. Fun times as an 18yo smoking around
In an old Rover V8.
Shezbo said:
Might be - because it is frost on the outside and not condensation inside?????
The door and boot seals aren't brilliant on them and the tailgates leak (hence many of them rotting away ) and with that large glass area any dampness leads to condensation. All mine suffered .grumpy52 said:
The door and boot seals aren't brilliant on them and the tailgates leak (hence many of them rotting away ) and with that large glass area any dampness leads to condensation. All mine suffered .
I agree with your point, however that image shows a car with frost on the outside.grumpy52 said:
It blew the center out of the oil pressure switch , the switch is linked to the fuel pump so that if the pressure drops the pump cuts out.
That's actually a very good idea (linking oil pressure to fuel pump, not blowing the switch apart). Would have saved many Quattro engines over the years.grumpy52 said:
It blew the heater matrix quite spectacularly when flying down a country lane , that caused a fraught few seconds until the sudden fog was cleared by opening the windows and not putting the heater blower on, which was my first reaction . That was a pain to repair as the dash and center console has to be removed to replace the matrix rad . .
I used to work in the late 70's early 80's as an Auto Electrician at a Jaguar/Rover/Triumph main dealers (so was VERY busy), I still remember the warranty time for changing a heater blower on an SD1 was 4 hours!! At the time we got paid a bonus for beating the warranty time, i never made a bean on that job until BL revised the time to 6 hours.vixen1700 said:
There's a really nice looking VdP parked up in Wanstead, East London that I pass quite often, must take a picture when I get a chance.
I couldn't have been more wrong, seeing it from the road. Thought it was a 3500 and a VDP. Turns out it's a 2600.
Nice nick and quite cared for judging by the MoT history.
tonys said:
Yes, that looks quite tidy and looked after. It never ceases to amaze me how what were, back in the day, large cars now only look to be slightly bigger than a modern city car such as the Fiesta.
There can't be many of that model 2600 left on the road.
Indeed, the SD1 always seemed a big car. There can't be many of that model 2600 left on the road.
Yertis said:
grumpy52 said:
It blew the center out of the oil pressure switch , the switch is linked to the fuel pump so that if the pressure drops the pump cuts out.
That's actually a very good idea (linking oil pressure to fuel pump, not blowing the switch apart). Would have saved many Quattro engines over the years.Yertis said:
grumpy52 said:
It blew the center out of the oil pressure switch , the switch is linked to the fuel pump so that if the pressure drops the pump cuts out.
That's actually a very good idea (linking oil pressure to fuel pump, not blowing the switch apart). Would have saved many Quattro engines over the years.Dapster said:
Saw this a few weeks ago - fruity looking exhaust too. Handsome things.
That could possibly be one that we swapped the engine on for the customer, if so it has a nicely tweeked 3.9L with a uprated cam and big bore stainless exhaust, I think it's got uprated shocks too .If it's the same car it sounds glorious and goes very well .
Another mod back in the day was to shove jag XJS brakes on the front . They did suffer from brake fade on early cars if pushing on . Much better on cars with alloy wheels . This was why the police fitted Minilight wheels , they also binned the self levelling rear shocks for a uprated conversion.
Rumour had it the early police cars had skimmed heads and re-jetted carbs but not sure if true or not .
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