1985 Rover 3500 Vitesse
Discussion
MarkwG said:
Lucky enough to see this one, I think - http://www.ukemergency.co.uk/a152-suw-metropolitan... - last Sunday, on the M3. Really funny watching all the lane 3 muppets diving for cover once they'd clocked it 
!
I'm pretty sure that was the SD1 that escorted my Brother in law in at his funeral, Terry Callow, RIP - Proper old school, "Jack Regan takes no s !
t" kind of copper - Miss you BudAnother here that loves the SD1, even though I knew even as a nipper they were a poor car. I’m not sure if time has been kind, or BL love has clouded judgement, or...
I remember getting a lift to Cubs in a mate’s Dad’s 2600SE and feeling disparaging about it yet loving it. My Gran and I carved rubber to glue a Vitesse spoiler on my SD1 toy.
I’d love one.
I remember getting a lift to Cubs in a mate’s Dad’s 2600SE and feeling disparaging about it yet loving it. My Gran and I carved rubber to glue a Vitesse spoiler on my SD1 toy.
I’d love one.
Love these Rovers and great to see one being saved . The workshop Shop Steward had an identical 1985 C plate Vitesse when I was an Apprentice in the late eighties. We had a couple of trips out in it to company functions. It left a lasting impression and helped cement my interest in cars.
These always seemed like massive cars when I was a child and as I read the story behind this ine I thought ‘Ah, I bet they now look small compared to modern cars.’
But no, that photo of it on the trailer showed it to be just as large as I’d remembered them. What a behemoth!
Great looking car with real presence; I’m looking forward to seeing more of this.
But no, that photo of it on the trailer showed it to be just as large as I’d remembered them. What a behemoth!
Great looking car with real presence; I’m looking forward to seeing more of this.
Great car OP; fantastic work!
My dad had a 2300 - PFC 153W; I was around 9 or 10 - many a summer holiday cut short or interrupted by breakdowns - one trip to a butterfly exhibition actually resulted in a 2hr wait in a layby with a cracked head and the next two days finding and fitting a replacement from a breakers in West Wales; Boggies I think?!?
- Learned to drive in it
- Learned about SU carbs and balancing on it
- Learned that the boot lid wiring for the no. plate lights is hidden in some awkward places!
- Learned that the previous owner knew how to stop the transmission noise coming into the car - undo the mount a little! Christ what a din when that got done up!!
Succumbed to tinworm in about 1990 I think.....
My dad had a 2300 - PFC 153W; I was around 9 or 10 - many a summer holiday cut short or interrupted by breakdowns - one trip to a butterfly exhibition actually resulted in a 2hr wait in a layby with a cracked head and the next two days finding and fitting a replacement from a breakers in West Wales; Boggies I think?!?
- Learned to drive in it
- Learned about SU carbs and balancing on it
- Learned that the boot lid wiring for the no. plate lights is hidden in some awkward places!
- Learned that the previous owner knew how to stop the transmission noise coming into the car - undo the mount a little! Christ what a din when that got done up!!
Succumbed to tinworm in about 1990 I think.....
Fantastic to see this.
I had an A plate car in the early 90's that I put new doors on, changed the manual roof for an electric one, repaced the headlining and interior. It looked standard but had a twin plenum 4.1 in it, lowered final drive, XJS front brakes and a lot of suspension mods.
I loved it but the wife hated it and it had to go in the end.
Looking forward to following this thread.
Regards
Fred
I had an A plate car in the early 90's that I put new doors on, changed the manual roof for an electric one, repaced the headlining and interior. It looked standard but had a twin plenum 4.1 in it, lowered final drive, XJS front brakes and a lot of suspension mods.
I loved it but the wife hated it and it had to go in the end.
Looking forward to following this thread.
Regards
Fred
DrSteveBrule said:
These always seemed like massive cars when I was a child and as I read the story behind this ine I thought ‘Ah, I bet they now look small compared to modern cars.’
But no, that photo of it on the trailer showed it to be just as large as I’d remembered them. What a behemoth!
Great looking car with real presence; I’m looking forward to seeing more of this.
Theyre actually surprisingly small cars really. Long, but short and narrow. When im driving mine, most cars around me make the SD1 feel tiny.But no, that photo of it on the trailer showed it to be just as large as I’d remembered them. What a behemoth!
Great looking car with real presence; I’m looking forward to seeing more of this.
I took this years ago, with my old SD1,
I had 2 std 3500 SD1s between 84 and 87 and thought they were fantastic, particularly the V8 engine, Working on the principle of if you are going to be a bear it might as well be a grizzly I looked for a Vitesse.. After 3 months with actual cash in my pocket. Couldn't find one and then whilst filling up at a petrol station on a Saturday morning (cash about to set my pocket on fire) I happened to glance at a red 1980 BMW 635Csi on the forecourt. I had never even thought of a BMW before that. Went back in the afternoon and ended up spending everything I could raise including all of my recently negotiated business bank overdraft and drove it home. The joy of being young and impulsive. This ended up being replaced by an M635 etc . etc. But, I still have a hankering for a Vitesse and am very envious. If anyone knows of one for sale please do not send me any details as it would end up being the most expensive Rover in history. Divorces don't come cheap.
Watch out for the central locking. On my second SD1 it suddenly started operating at complete random when the car was parked on the drive switching itself on and off', the locking buttons popping up and down at about 2 times per second. After the laughing had stopped it meant disconnecting the battery. Happy days, good old Rover quality control.
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Watch out for the central locking. On my second SD1 it suddenly started operating at complete random when the car was parked on the drive switching itself on and off', the locking buttons popping up and down at about 2 times per second. After the laughing had stopped it meant disconnecting the battery. Happy days, good old Rover quality control.
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One of my elder brothers very generously handed his vanilla V8 down to me some two decades ago. Despite it having sat on his drive for quite some time, its mechanical resurrection was relatively painless and I went on to use it on and off over the next five years, until the worm finally rendered it unviable. Fifteen years on, its engine still lives in one of my Landys.
Jolly well done, OP. One of those cars that really gets under your skin - long may you enjoy it in good health.
Jolly well done, OP. One of those cars that really gets under your skin - long may you enjoy it in good health.
|https://thumbsnap.com/atKuKwng[/url]SD1 manuals are still such fun to drive.
Memory seems to tell me that they cost a whopping £15,000 new. They had the racing pedigree and they were used by the Royal Protection squad. They were nicknamed The Gentleman's Hot-rod.
Recent Goodwood videos remind you of the glorious sounds, swerves, and slides. In-car and exterior shots still evoke emotions not seen in BTCC or F1.
Best Vitesse I ever saw was at a Goodwood Rally Sprint in the 90s. Driven by Mick Humphreys, sponsored by Barrets of Canterbury, winner of Tour of Cornwall. Downdraft carbs, John Eales engine, air jacks, live Jaguar Mk2 axle and with LSD and painted blue. And ground-shakingly thunderous..
BTW, your project car looks magnificent. Well done, and thanks for sharing.
Memory seems to tell me that they cost a whopping £15,000 new. They had the racing pedigree and they were used by the Royal Protection squad. They were nicknamed The Gentleman's Hot-rod.
Recent Goodwood videos remind you of the glorious sounds, swerves, and slides. In-car and exterior shots still evoke emotions not seen in BTCC or F1.
Best Vitesse I ever saw was at a Goodwood Rally Sprint in the 90s. Driven by Mick Humphreys, sponsored by Barrets of Canterbury, winner of Tour of Cornwall. Downdraft carbs, John Eales engine, air jacks, live Jaguar Mk2 axle and with LSD and painted blue. And ground-shakingly thunderous..
BTW, your project car looks magnificent. Well done, and thanks for sharing.
My brother had one a good few years back as can be seen on the photo. It started life with as a 2600 if I remember then had a 3500 V8 in it and then he put a Corvette engine in the thing. It sounded lovely.
I have fond memories of the car growing up heading to various car shows with Def Leppard playing on the stereo.
I have fond memories of the car growing up heading to various car shows with Def Leppard playing on the stereo.
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