1978 Rover 3500 SD1 V8 Manual – Series 1 £850

[philibusmo]

1978 Rover 3500 SD1 V8 Manual – Series 1

 

Due to me really hankering after a Renault Avantime my Rover SD1 is for sale.

 

It currently has no MOT or tax but the MOT situation may well change in the near future. I’ve had a damn good look over it today and I cannot see a single thing that would fail an MOT. On the underside there are a few areas of surface rust which could do with being treated but despite my best efforts with my stabby screw driver, not one of them got close to making a hole.

 

The bodywork up top is a little more on the scruffy side. The most obvious issue is that the bonnet is yellow rather than Atlantis Blue which is the original colour. This also may well be sorted in the near future with some rattle cans of the original colour. Otherwise there are a good few scabs. The most noticeable ones are just under the rear quarter lights and above the ‘3500’ boot badge. The tailgate has rusty patches at the bottom corners of the rear screen, these are very slightly holed and do let in a little water. Additionally there are surface rust patches above and below the front screen which have been rubbed back, treated and painted this has also happened on a couple of other patches such as the drivers rear arch and a couple of door bottoms where there was some surface rust. The front wings have a bit of wob around the arch area. The door mirrors are a bit wonky and I don’t have suitable sized spanner to tighten them.

 

Overall this is a very solid old bus. Pictures of the underside are in the next post.

 

The engine runs very nicely. It hasn’t been used for about 4 months and this morning I chucked a fully charged battery on it and it started up straight away. It currently has two cone air filters on it (one on each bank) for OMG INDUCTION NOISE but the original induction set up is included if you want to fit it.

 

The gearbox is not so great. First and third are superb, could not be better. Sadly the synchromesh on second and fourth is a little on the ropey side but could probably be vastly improved with a gear box oil change and in fifth the gearstick vibrates which can apparently be resolved by changing a bush in the linkage on the top of the box.

 

The interior is very original, complete with original broken choke lever and original water leaks. The water leaks in from somewhere around the front screen – which I am going to try and resolve with some sealant this week – from the holes below the rear screen and from the sunroof which has been taped shut. This has taken its toll on the carpet and in some areas it is a bit manky looking, especially in the front foot wells under the mats and in the boot in the spare wheel well. The seats are all good, with just some sooty marks on the passenger side of the rear bench. The fuse box cover doesn’t fall off which is a bonus in one of these and most things generally work (with occasionally exceptions as the electrics are by Lucas) apart from the central lock and the rear electric windows which don’t work at all. All the gauges work as they should.

 

The suspension is a bit on the bouncy side, but it does come with a heap of suspension parts including a good few polybushes to replace the bits that need doing. The steering is fine, but there is a dry bush or something similar on the steering column which makes an amusing groaning noise at town speeds. It has 1 year old Hankook Optimo tyres on the original wheels and trims with virtually factory fresh tread.

 

Now for pricing-

 

As it stands I would like £850 for it. A little salty for one with no MOT maybe, but it is very solid and I am pretty sure you could chuck it in for an MOT tomorrow and it would pass.

 

If I manage to get an MOT on it before anyone claims it then the price will go up to £950.

If the bonnet gets painted then the price will head north again to £1000

 

So what are you waiting for? First person at my door with the asking price gets it.

 

Car is located in Tiverton, Devon. 5 Minutes away from Tiverton Parkway station and 5 minutes away from junction 27 of the M5

 

[Wilko220]

Looks ace. And, frankly, the British Telecom bonnet only adds to the appeal.

[philibusmo]

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Has anyone ever managed to get one of these into a watertight condition? Is it realistically possible?

[Cavcraft]

The S1 are 100% the best lookers of the bunch. Looks a great car for that price, GLWTS and all that.

[dollywobbler]

Has Breadvan bought this yet?

[Angrydicky]

That's bloody nice.

[hairnet]

how much 4 demio an friesta m8?

 

srsly looks good that should sell quick 

[EssDeeWon]

I want and its in budget...

 

But add on getting it MOT'd and taxed, getting the bonnet sprayed, oh and the small matter of getting it up from Devon to Essex takes it well out of budget for me unfortunately   But I bloomin hope someone on here gets it.

[cort16]

Has anyone ever managed to get one of these into a watertight condition? Is it realistically possible?

No and no

[cort16]

950 quid is cheap with the mot these are starting to make good money. I would buy it but a horse eat my keys and I can't get out the house. . That and I don't have any money .

[Doctormop]

Instead of painting the bonnet blue would you consider rattle-canning the rest of it yellow so I can pretend to be John Steed in a grainy VHS recording of the New Avengers thus enabling me to cop a crafty feel of Joanna Lumley circa 1977 and telling Gareth Hunt that he is a massive bell end?

[Mr_Bo11ox]

How did a horse eat your keys while you were IN the house, is the horse in the house with you? Come off it Cort man.

[dome]

That is fucking awesome. And even Mrs Dome thinks it looks nice. But, we have a house to buy. I'll leave this one to His Highness Mr Breadvan

[cort16]

The horse is in the house but that's another story but all I'll say us my toilet roll bills are through the roof .

[rickyv8]

Fancy a swap for my vdp? lol

[spike60]

I like them and could be led but the ever optimistic Google maps says 329 miles, a long way in a old Terrano with a trailer. Hmm...

[vulgalour]

If Philibusmo is willing to drive a Princess that's been off the road since '97 all the way from Derbyshire and pay for his own fuel, then I reckon nobody is allowed to play the Distance Card any more in this thread.

 

Also, GLWTS.

 

 

 

Also, also, I would like to propose a veto on repainting that yellow bonnet.

[Guest Breadvan72]

With many regrets, I'm oot.   Space is a big issue, but also, with my shonkificated Lancia Koop of Krarp to care for, I am not sure that I can face taking on another car that needs a fair chunk of cosmetic work , even though I LEEEERRRRRVE the colour and those wheels.   The price seems bargainous.  GLWTS.

 

 

Distance, meh - you get more fun and/or more garage food gourmet opportunities on a long collection, and otherwise Scruff's beavertail chod delivery rates are well reasonable.

[fordperv]

That looks an absolute honey

[Guest Breadvan72]

For me, driving a car across the country is part of the fun, and cars are for driving in, after all, but recognising that not all wish to or can spaff the pez money in one go, we need to work on some sort of Shite Pony Express system involving a complex system of relay drivers and changeover points.  All we would need is a Cray Supercomputer and advanced post doctoral mathematics to work out the logistics, and then everyone on the Forum would get a go driving rare and/or bonkers and/or shit cars in between two petrol stations.

[purplebargeken]

 

 

Cray Supercomputer and advanced post doctoral mathematics to work out the logistics

 

As it happens.......... I have neither. GLWTS. Looks ace as it is TBH.

[af1]

I suggested to my mrs that I bought this as a stop gap car between the bmw of 56plateness and the rallye

 

Apparently I can cope 2 days without a car

[af1]

 

Also I'll just leave this beast here!

[Guest Breadvan72]

I kid you not. If someone buys this and does it up a bit they may very very well be able to sell it on to me for a fair profit. I just can't take on any sort of project car this year.

[Negative Creep]

Would this be classed as a project or something that once MOT'ed could happily be used as a daily in its current state?

[EssDeeWon]

There is such a term as a rolling restoration, I would guess it falls into that bracket. Sounds usable once the MOT man gives it a nod of approval from the description.

[Angrydicky]

I want and its in budget...

 

But add on getting it MOT'd and taxed, getting the bonnet sprayed, oh and the small matter of getting it up from Devon to Essex takes it well out of budget for me unfortunately   But I bloomin hope someone on here gets it.

Ah, that is such a shame. I can't see it needing much, if anything for an MoT. As long as the tyres are good and the lights all work etc, and it isn't obviously dangerous, an MoT can be booked at your local garage and you can drive it back. Not that I've ever driven far on a prebooked MoT, but the distance isn't an issue from a legal point of view. Alternatively, it would be well worth listing the transport job on Shiply, you may get surprised by a decent quote. An aerosol can would tidy up the bonnet in the short term until you can get it sorted out properly. I drove my 1953 Austin Somerset back to Southend from not far East of where this Rover is, the journey isn't too bad and the SD1 is 25 years newer than my Austin, and mine hadn't had an MoT for three years. Go on...

[scruff]

I've had a bit to do with these and they aren't overly thirsty (much better than a Range Rover). It'd piss the journey back to Essex and if it doesn't there's always the AA. 

[EssDeeWon]

Stop it Dicky....

 

Would an aerosol really do an ok job on a panel that size you thinks??

 

Its roughly £400 to get it up here