RE: Rover SD1 Vitesse: You Know You Want To
Discussion
I inherited a 1979 3500 manual on a V plate from my father in 1988. This was when I had to sell my LHD 1979 Merc W123 200 to raise some money for my first flat in London. The Merc was a straight swap for a 1975 Triumph Spitfire with an Australian friend who I met in London who had picked up the Merc in Germany on his wanderlust tour of the world that all Australians seem to do. I sold the Merc in 1988 on Warren Street where I was living at the time to a Nigerian bloke who wanted to put in A/C and send it back to Nigeria for his uncle.
My point is this - the Merc which had done intergalactic miles was spotless and worked perfectly. Nothing dropped off and nothing threatened to and it had enough perceived life left in it for it to be worth some chap sticking A/C in it and sending it half way around the world for a new life. The Rover on the otherhand which was the same age as, and had done a third of the mileage of, the Merc gave the overall impression that its clock was definitely ticking - figuratively not literally as the actual clock had, of course, given up - and that the whole thing was about to fall apart.
Things I particularly remember about the Rover was that in my ownership it started to smell of damp underpants as the carpet in the boot went mouldly as the boot was not watertight; the door trims would detach completely from the doors; the electric window switches would disappear into the central console when pressed and I needed to keep a pair of pliers in the car to start the thing when cold as the choke lever (a nasty cheap plastic molding ) had snapped off. However, the real killer was some module thing in the ignition system that would break down after about 40 mins of running time and shut the car off. The car would then miraculously restart after about half an hour or, of course, when the chap in the AA van had just arrived. A disinterested Rover garage off Kensington Church Street had a few goes at fixing it but, of course, they didn't despite their assurances that they had. I think they were just too damned lazy to test the thing for 30 mins. My most memorable failure to proceed was on lane 3 in Euston Road one evening just opposite Madame Tussards. I put the bonnet up and the hazards on, abandoned the car and went to the pub opposite for half an hour with an note on the windscreen explaining where I could be found. I doubt you could do that now.
Yes, it was a wonderful groundbreaking design BUT the execution was completely mismanaged - substandard parts assembled by a substandard workforce and then sent out into the world to be looked after by a substandard service network. Proof of the pudding is how few of them are left.
One positive was that this car, whilst still run by my father, allowed me my first experience of driving over the ton. At 18 circa 1981 I borrowed the car when when my parents were away and attempted to max it on the A10 bypass. My recollection is that I saw about 125mph on the speedo, that the car did not seem particularly happy to be stretched like that, and that the inevitable van on the horizon pulled out to pass a lorry and it was all I could do not to end up up its chuff. Happy days!
My point is this - the Merc which had done intergalactic miles was spotless and worked perfectly. Nothing dropped off and nothing threatened to and it had enough perceived life left in it for it to be worth some chap sticking A/C in it and sending it half way around the world for a new life. The Rover on the otherhand which was the same age as, and had done a third of the mileage of, the Merc gave the overall impression that its clock was definitely ticking - figuratively not literally as the actual clock had, of course, given up - and that the whole thing was about to fall apart.
Things I particularly remember about the Rover was that in my ownership it started to smell of damp underpants as the carpet in the boot went mouldly as the boot was not watertight; the door trims would detach completely from the doors; the electric window switches would disappear into the central console when pressed and I needed to keep a pair of pliers in the car to start the thing when cold as the choke lever (a nasty cheap plastic molding ) had snapped off. However, the real killer was some module thing in the ignition system that would break down after about 40 mins of running time and shut the car off. The car would then miraculously restart after about half an hour or, of course, when the chap in the AA van had just arrived. A disinterested Rover garage off Kensington Church Street had a few goes at fixing it but, of course, they didn't despite their assurances that they had. I think they were just too damned lazy to test the thing for 30 mins. My most memorable failure to proceed was on lane 3 in Euston Road one evening just opposite Madame Tussards. I put the bonnet up and the hazards on, abandoned the car and went to the pub opposite for half an hour with an note on the windscreen explaining where I could be found. I doubt you could do that now.
Yes, it was a wonderful groundbreaking design BUT the execution was completely mismanaged - substandard parts assembled by a substandard workforce and then sent out into the world to be looked after by a substandard service network. Proof of the pudding is how few of them are left.
One positive was that this car, whilst still run by my father, allowed me my first experience of driving over the ton. At 18 circa 1981 I borrowed the car when when my parents were away and attempted to max it on the A10 bypass. My recollection is that I saw about 125mph on the speedo, that the car did not seem particularly happy to be stretched like that, and that the inevitable van on the horizon pulled out to pass a lorry and it was all I could do not to end up up its chuff. Happy days!
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