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SD1 Foolery - ROVER 2600 SE - now with FIXED head gasket


Guest Breadvan72

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Guest Breadvan72

Thanks for all kind remarks.  I will now STOP WITH THE CAR BUYAGE ALREADY!  I have gotz a classic sports/GT car, a classic sports saloon, a classic off roader/utility shed and now, as flagship, a classic luxo barge.  Chance off them all being borked at the same time:  120 per cent, but, me happy.

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I do like a good SD1. That one qualifies as it is in the correct colour and is a MK2, that little bit of chrome on the edge of the bonnet does wonders for them! I've never personally owned a 2600 but flogged quite a few, always thought the 2300 were dire but the 2000s with a manual box and proper poverty spec were surprisingly okay.

 

My mate had a lovely black 2600SE and it borked itself in grand style due to lack of oil at the top of the motor but other than that, it was a cracker and very nearly as quick as any of the 3500s I did have (sad bastard, have to have the biggest engine!).

 

I don't recall any of the MK2s leaving the internal door trims behind when opening the door - was that a purely MK1 foible? Also, I'm pretty sure they had removed the optional fish tank in the dashboard under bins from the specification list by the time the MK2 came out... but I could be wrong. Time will tell!

 

I haven't seen a nice one for years - the last nice one I did see, I'm ashamed to say I robbed the engine for a kitcar!

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I always thought of myself as a Granada man that just happened to have owned about 8 SD1s over the years, but seeing this has made me realise I am in fact kidding myself and must have another damp cramped velour lined hatchback with a clothes peg on the console.

Well bought, incidentally I once had a Twin Plenum Vitesse that was the company car of the MD of Unipart, he loved it so much that when he left( sacked by your dad?) he convinced his new employers, Wipac in Buckingham to buy it. He drove it until it was 8 years old,then sold it for £2,000 to an oik from Milton Keynes,who typically kept it for six months and thought he'd got a result making a grand on it, if only ,if only- yet another one that got away.

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Guest Breadvan72

World of Smallness!  My dad could not have sacked that Unipart bloke, if it is the same bloke I am thinking of (Bob something), as my dad was junior to him, but my dad may have been involved in some corporate politics blah that eventually led to departure of bloke.  My dad had another boss who used to lend him his company SD1 when he was away, but that wasn't a Vitesse, AFAIK.  My dad, who thought his company Princess a good car, but not the Ambassador that followed it, liked the SD1 but found that it was often broken.  It was a series 1, I think, prob a 2600.  Later he had a very early Maestro with a talking dashboard to test (they gave them to managers to report back on).  He liked that.  He then down specced to a povvo Montego, and took that with him when he left his job on a Friday with a redundancy payoff and walked back in to the same job as a consultant the following Monday.   That helped sub me when I was a povvo student, and then he went off and ran a pub.  

 

I am told that the way to prevent the top of a 2600 from joining the Grenadier Guards is to change the oil every 25 minutes or so, and this I shall zealously perform.

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Guest Breadvan72

Pished doon on way home yesterday and also last night.  No leaks so far.  Wipers front and back are wipey.  No creatures of the deep spotted in gloveboxes as yet.

 

Clothes Peg REDUNDANTY.  Auto choke, so not chokety lever to snap off.

 

80s stereo with graphic equaliser (WTF is that anyway?) is really rather ace.  Must dig out all my saddo cassettes.

 

Laterz: engine photies, mat details, and other sad geekery.

 

Tyres are matched Toyos,  fairly recent, they seem OK.

 

KWESTION:  bin points and condenser and go electronical?

 

PS:  door gaps hilarious, but Cowley-correct.  No bits of trim falling off.  Very slight warpage above binnacle.  

 

ROVER WY U NO FIT VOLTMETER?  After all, as noted on the Dolly thread, Castrol more reliable than Lucas.

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By the Gods thats a Peach, been looking at these for a while as Ventoras seem to be extinct and Having a SD1 v8 back when I was 19 when insurance was sensible - I hanker for the pride of the BL fleet again

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Guest Breadvan72

Mrs BV she say YES.  She hasn't ridden the rod yet, but I think she will like it, although she may find its size a bit intimidating.  Errrm, that sentence didn't come out quite right.  .

 

She wants a go in the Dolly once it has stopped having a hissy fit.

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Am I alone in eschewing the V8 in favour of a 2600? Underdog and all that.

 

I like the straight six donk, but the minute I got one home with the mill intact, I'd have the head off* and remove the split pin from that bastarding oil non return valve in the head. A 0.0007 gram bit of metal that totally fucked a decent engine.

 

*And I'd enjoy it.

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Guest Breadvan72

Serious discussion - is that a mod recommended by serious engineering types, or an unwise amateur bodge?  Answers based on info rather than "yeah, might as well " would be sincerely appreciated!

 

PS:  You are not alone.  I sought out a 2600.  I did not want a V8, lovely though they are.

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Wow BV I have only just caught up with this latest buyage!

 

Thats a lovely car, in a great series 2 colour.

 

The rear number plate needs lining up though, cos I have SD1 OCD and now cannot relax seeing that  :-P

 

Can't be many 2600SE cars left now.

 

Well bought that man.

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When I was 'in the trade' we always advised people to buy SE spec or higher as they were far more comfortable to sit in while waiting for the RAC! :) 

 

Did not the MK 2 have the choke lever in the centre console? Lift at the front job that sat near the drivers arse for 'ergonomics'!

 

I like the V8s 'cos they sound great but I never thought they went all that well especially with the old BW box.

 

It's nice to see a tidy one as they usually fell apart before the first MOT. That's not me being a 'misery' as I genuinely do like them and had quite a few over the years, but build quality was 'variable' at best and fucking atrocious at worst! I honestly thought they were a truly brilliant car that deserved a better maker. I mean, just look at one, Rover Daytona with 5 doors, what more could you want?

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Am I alone in eschewing the V8 in favour of a 2600? Underdog and all that.

 

I like the straight six donk, but the minute I got one home with the mill intact, I'd have the head off* and remove the split pin from that bastarding oil non return valve in the head. A 0.0007 gram bit of metal that totally fucked a decent engine.

 

*And I'd enjoy it.

Don't think there is a valve as such..........just a restrictor..........either remove or enlarge the hole missus

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These have got some weird electronically controlled frankencarb setup bodged up in a backroom somewhere in longbridge. It never goes wrong*

The electric fan sounds like a good mod the water pump on mine seized solid but at least it's not connected to the timing belt.

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