Rover SD1 2600S, low and slow.

[SamR380]

May I re-introduce B490 SRJ as previously owned by Cort16, which has been my daily (apart from the saltiest months) since I bought it almost a year ago.
 


It has been almost completely reliable, ignoring the multitude of 'minor' faults we tend not to notice when driving the car every day. Far more reliable than my GF's BINI anyway... I must have rescued her four or five times with this Rover.



A few days after I bought it we went for a long weekend in Whitby, managed 29mpg too!



From then on I had no real need to take photos... it was just a good, reliable car. Eventually though, getting dressed up like a WW2 bomber pilot just to drive to work got a bit tiresome and when the opourtunity arose to spend the winter in a top spec V6 75 I couldn't turn it down. Here's the old dog having a rest away from the salty roads:
 


In the mean time, I found this little gem on ebay. A Rover T-16 engine with forged rods and pistons, bigger valves and some racey cams. This forms part of the long term plan...



Eventually I got it out of hibernation and it took us on a little trip around the Highlands, 1200 miles in four days.



The MOT runs out in a couple of weeks but I'm working abroad a lot at the moment so the 75 might have to make a reappearance. I really need to put the other SD1 back together so I can get this one in the garage. I'm sure I'm not the only one on here that shuffles cars to find the least broken/most road legal one.

[Cavcraft]

Still looks class that.

[cort16]

Brilliant ! I was just thinking about this the other day . Still looks great I'm glad it's doing good service .

Can't believe I sold it to buy that flippin hopeless cortina .

[EssDeeWon]

How did this lovely thing fall off the front page?

 

I know why, because were too busy talking about bloody keyless entry! 

 

The car looks great, even though im a purist I would roll in that!    Nice one!

[cort16]

Why did I sell this again ?

[SamR380]

No idea pal but it's been a great car. Phil tried to buy it back off me too a couple of months ago before realising he already had too many cars.

 

Had some good news today, I'm coming back home a week early so I'll have time to at least take it for an MOT for a checklist of problems. On the whole it should be fine but I think the lowness has taken it's toll on the bushes. It coasts along straight and true, floor it and it lurches left, brake and it lurches right. I'm sure I can feel the axle move under the massive ~85bhp that makes it out of the autobox.

[cort16]

I loved the car but that autobox is shite. It'd have been so much better with a manual box. It has all new bushes during phils ownership there can't be many miles on them.

I ended up buying a p6 off Phil a few months ago. He's seems to be my goto guy for Rovers.

[Bren]

The 23/26 are about smoothness , not performance.

 

Admittedly they are a different car with a manual box - a 2300 auto would accelerate like continental drift.

[warren t claim]

I had a series 1 2600 with an incredible 216000 miles on the clock. I only managed to kill it by cooking the engine in a traffic jam by forgetting to switch the Kenlowe fan on that a previous owner had fitted.

[Bren]

I had a series 1 2600 with an incredible 216000 miles on the clock. I only managed to kill it by cooking the engine in a traffic jam by forgetting to switch the Kenlowe fan on that a previous owner had fitted.

Regular maintainence speaks volumes. The police had little trouble with their 2600's except lack of grunt.

[warren t claim]

Regular maintainence speaks volumes. The police had little trouble with their 2600's except lack of grunt.

I didn't have any problems with its performance. It certainly would beat a carb fed 2.8 Granada off the mark.

[jonny69]

Fit. SD1s are FIT.

 

My dad had one once to engine rape for his Cobra, because it had been fitted with a pretty hot 3.9 V8. The hope was to swap the knackered 3.5 out the Cobra one weekend and dump the SD1 in the flats over the road, then with a bit of luck it would get nicked and we'd not have to worry about it.

[Bren]

I didn't have any problems with its performance. It certainly would beat a carb fed 2.8 Granada off the mark.

Not with a boot full of emergency equipment- the weight of the extra gear slowed the car quite a bit.

[SamR380]

There's a 2600 manual bellhousing on ebay! I think that's the final piece in my collection of manualising parts. Didn't get time to MOT it while I was back in the UK but I did have a look at the bushes at the back... The trailing arm to axle bushes are pretty much dust which explains why you can steer with the pedals, hopefully there won't be much more to solve for the MOT.

[oldcars]

That class. Didn't know they made rear engine 75, was it the 75mgf

[Bren]

There's a 2600 manual bellhousing on ebay! I think that's the final piece in my collection of manualising parts. Didn't get time to MOT it while I was back in the UK but I did have a look at the bushes at the back... The trailing arm to axle bushes are pretty much dust which explains why you can steer with the pedals, hopefully there won't be much more to solve for the MOT.

It will be a better car with a manual box.

[SamR380]

Should transform it really, it's not short of power and sounds pretty good above 4k. To get it to really go at the moment you need to manually select 1, 2 then D.