Meet the new addition to the fleet. BL V8 with a manual box.

[oman5]

That's lovely. series 1s are very rare now. And they ALL have broken choke levers.

[Bren]

I love the colour - sort of a british rail shunter green. I prefer the interior of the series 2, the Series 1 being a bit minimalist. Series 1 cars with the beige interior always reminded me of something out of Space 1999.

 

The manual box makes for a quick car (and more economical than it has any right to be) however the clutch can be hard work in slow traffic.

 

All my others have been manuals, my current is an auto - the GM180 box suits the car well and if you shift the gears manually makes fairly rapid progress. I also like the kickdown, especially with an EFi engine.

 

Broken choke levers are the norm, as are the fuse covers on the side of the instrument binnacle that regularly fall off.

 

A top buy - I cant wait to see it when the paintwork is sorted. There genuinely are'nt that many of them left now.

[EssDeeWon]

Sorry to pull up an old thread but I bloomin love this Rover SD1, my dad had one identical in the 80s but a 2600 (Atlantis blue with coriander trim) then in 2006 I found one identical to this, a 3500 Manual but it was so rotten I couldn't possibly keep it, I took it to the local welder and he returned the car and didn't want the work, that said it all

 

Is this one on the road now?

[philibusmo]

it sure is. It's looking a bit better than it was, but could still do with some work. The suspension is wallowey and jiggly and the gearbox crunches into 2nd and 4th but otherwise it is great and I use it when ever I have jut been paid and am feeling decadent. Otherwise I use my veg powered diesel Peugeot to even things out.

[EssDeeWon]

Nice one! I am not aware of another Atlantis blue series 1 left on the road so please cherish it   

[Guest Breadvan72]

Yet another big old Rover that has made me do a spunkage all over my computer.  Hot damn, that is classy!  (The car, I mean, not whacking off over your keyboard, that's just pathetic).

[dollywobbler]

Same gearbox as my Disco - try some fancy Dextron III synthetic auto gearbox fluid. Hasn't cured mine, but has made it a lot better. Alternatively, check the clutch isn't dragging - you'll probably get a crunch selecting reverse if it is.

[EssDeeWon]

Here is my old Atlantis blue 3500 Manual, pic taken in 2006, car went shortly after to a guy up north who tried to convince me he was going to restore it but I aint that silly, it was rotten down below and he had the lump out of it

 

 

Replaced by this one owner beaut which now resides in bonny Scotland with a collector, owned this for 5 years, a 3500 Auto;

 

 

Would love another sometime....I read last week the SD1 club have only managed to scrape together 30 odd cars for their annual show this week, so Phil cherish that lovely V8 you have their mate, the series one cars are really rare now 

 

Kind Regards

Stephen.

[John F]

The SD1 is a lovely-looking car, but I detest the crappy 'box on a shelf' dashboard. It might make it easier to convert from RHD to LHD, but it is a thing of fugliness.

[Bren]

Considering that the SD1 has been out of production of 27 years and is considered a classic I don't think it is held in the same regard as the P6 - the four and six cylinder models more so.

 

If you cannot look after one yourself they are an expensive car to own - as many have found to their cost (me included), I think they are a better car than a MK2 Granada, certainly nicer to drive. Before I get stick about that comment let me point out that I like the MK 2 Granada as well.

 

I am on SD1 number 4 at the mo, the only consolation I can take from their still dwindling numbers is that eventually there will be so few of them left their values may start to go up.

 

To give an indication of how few there are, a chap near me  deals in spares - he used to buy them and break them. Unfortunately the market for good used spares was such that it was viable to break even good cars. The last time I spoke with him he said that the supply of cars had dried up - he had'nt broken one for over two years.

 

Maybe eventually they will not be eligable for autoshite status due to their rarity?

[cort16]

They're only expensive because rimmer bros try to dry bum you for the parts but a lot of the generic stuff (water pumps, timing belts, discs and pads) you can get off ebay.  Body panels are expensive but at least you can get them. The no 1 thing wrong with them is they rust like bastards and trying to keep on top of it is a full time job. I really need to get mine fixed.

[EssDeeWon]

Considering that the SD1 has been out of production of 27 years and is considered a classic I don't think it is held in the same regard as the P6 - the four and six cylinder models more so.

 

If you cannot look after one yourself they are an expensive car to own - as many have found to their cost (me included), I think they are a better car than a MK2 Granada, certainly nicer to drive. Before I get stick about that comment let me point out that I like the MK 2 Granada as well.

 

I am on SD1 number 4 at the mo, the only consolation I can take from their still dwindling numbers is that eventually there will be so few of them left their values may start to go up.

 

To give an indication of how few there are, a chap near me  deals in spares - he used to buy them and break them. Unfortunately the market for good used spares was such that it was viable to break even good cars. The last time I spoke with him he said that the supply of cars had dried up - he had'nt broken one for over two years.

 

Maybe eventually they will not be eligable for autoshite status due to their rarity?

Yeah same, I like the MK2 Granada as my dad had a couple but many now have ford scene tax added, especially things like the 2.8i Ghia and the rare 2.8i Sport etc, nice cars but the styling of the SD1 is in another league!! 

 

As for the P6 there are so many left, just look at the classic classifieds in PC and CCW where there are plenty for sale in various colours from the 2000 to the 3500, rarely see an SD1 listed now, even at car shows you can guarantee a couple of P6's and P5's and even a P4 but quite often no SD1's.

[philibusmo]

A small update on the SD1 is probably in order as it has been a while.

 

It now looks like this:

The bonnet has had the paint stripped off as the chinks in the paint was letting water in and rust was having a merry time underneath the paint.

 

It's still MOT'd but hasn't really got any better since the last update, the choke lever is fixed but now if its damp it wont start unless a second battery is temporarily attached directly to the coil while it is started, this seems to be due to an issue somewhere in the loom. Additionally it is still letting in vast amounts of water. Once the Lancia is done there is plans afoot to take all the interior out seal the many leaks as it is sodden in there and due to the large amount of stagnant water in the boot there is now a mosquito infestation. The syncromesh on second and fourth is pretty ropey and in 5th and 3rd it makes a terrible light clattery noise and the stick shakes about

 

Still, the engine is sweet as a nut and both front electric windows work, so what more do you want? A fucking unicorn?

[Squire_Dawson]

A grand car, let's hope you get it sorted.

 

I like the fact that you refer to the engine as a BL V-8 as opposed to a Rover V-8.

 

Imagine if BL developed their very own V-8. What an engine would that be.

[NorfolkNWeigh]

Probably be 3.0 and develop a reputation for overheating and blowing up,people would replace them with Rover V8's and Essex 3.0 V6's until 20 years later they suddenly find a cure ,now they're alright again.

[Squire_Dawson]

Shit I've just realised that that was the Stag engine wasn't it. I'd better get myself another beer.