The Next Project: My Rover SD1 2600 Vanden Plas

[Motown]

Hello there! 

So now I've finished the Castle Gresley 820 saloon and returned the red 820 fastback to the road all while using my 827 which I restored a few years back as a daily I thought id tick another box on my list and I've recently purchased an SD1. I have been very close to owning one on many occasions and was even conned out of one once after placing a deposit so wasn't very hopeful until recently. I was getting to the point were I thought id never own one especially with the kind of money they fetch now and the fact I had set myself a budget.

I secured the car and bought it a few months back but have only just been able to collect it last Friday after a 12 hour round trip from Sheffield to Penzance. To anyone living in Cornwall don't get me wrong its a nice place with beautiful scenery seeing one of Isambard Kingdom Brunel's last masterpieces was a treat but I hope I never have to do the drive again.

Before anyone starts blubbering Oooh its not a V8...  A 2600 Vanden Plas is exactly what I wanted. 

The car is solid and looks to have had some major work done in the past a new floor plan and deferential are two of the most obvious things. I've had the car running briefly but I need to sort the fuel flow and timing out as it looks like someone has tried to time it without a light. 

 

The interior isn't to bad and only needs abit of TLC here and there

 

Of course anyone who knows me or has seen my posts on here or Facebook will know Mrs Vitesse doesn't usually approve of such projects but she quite likes this one and yes they are twin airbags from a Mk2 Ford Mondeo 😍

 

The video below was sent to me by the previous owner and this is exactly what it did when I had it running briefly other than the cosmetics and the desperate need for a respray its the only fault I can find with the car. If you look closely at the video there's some notable parts missing from under the bonnet for which i will post a list at a later date. If anyone can help with parts please let me know   👍

 

[JMotor]

At a quick glance. 

I'd call that SD1 a win. Because its mostly complete. With most of the trim in good enough fettle. 

But with room to make it better. 

Hopefully it'll be an enjoyable resto for you. 

[timolloyd]

Nice buy! I hope the 4 of you enjoy it 😂

[MarvinsMom]

hmm, a good choice, when me and the circle of friends were still at secondary school,  Ian, who was 11 years older than us had one of these, a white SD1 2.6 Vitesse.

it was an unusual choice for him, as he had a habit of going from 2.8 Capri, to Renault 5 turbo, to 2.8 Capri,  to Renault 5.

he would blow up a Renner, then get the Capri, complain about the fuel consumption and get another Renner.

then he excelled himself, with the Rover. which he kept for a good while after getting it! i think he actually bought it cos his misses, Sarah couldn't drive a manual, her driving licence was an automatic only one!

it did need a new cylinder head, as it seems the triumph /rover 6 cylinders did, so he bought this shoddy rotten mark 1 SD1 from Garbutts, they dropped it in the Coop's carpark in Marske and Ian and us kids had to push it the 400-odd yards down the main road and up their drive so that he could pull the engine in it too bits.

when he had pulled off the bits he wanted, he got Marske Metals to come and take it away, he got more back for the car than what it cost him, though that could be cos the boot was full of rubble........

a good choice, and just as i remember them inside, will be watching this with interest.

[Skizzer]

Lovely.

Even as a 3500 owner I thoroughly approve of the 2600, having driven both. Fast enough and very smooth, well matched to the autobox.

The interior of these is still very special, too. Love the pinstripe velvet.

Very much looking forward to updates of this getting your treatment! The parts support for the mechanical bits is quite good, it’s trim and some panels that are getting more scarce.  

[Tadhg Tiogar]

35 minutes ago, Motown said:

..... To anyone living with a second home in Cornwall don't get me wrong its a nice place....

EFA

[adw1977]

Mmm, Vanden Plas.  Very nice.

[High Jetter]

Any SD1 is a win, VDP an obvious plus. I do think the Vitesses were 3.5's though.

[Motown]

50 minutes ago, Skizzer said:

Lovely.

Even as a 3500 owner I thoroughly approve of the 2600, having driven both. Fast enough and very smooth, well matched to the autobox.

The interior of these is still very special, too. Love the pinstripe velvet.

Very much looking forward to updates of this getting your treatment! The parts support for the mechanical bits is quite good, it’s trim and some panels that are getting more scarce.  

Thank you! Any idea were i can source the main trunking/breather pipe that runs from the airbox across the top of the engine to the carbs. The one on mine is missing and Rimmers are showing as NLA

[Motown]

1 hour ago, MarvinsMom said:

hmm, a good choice, when me and the circle of friends were still at secondary school,  Ian, who was 11 years older than us had one of these, a white SD1 2.6 Vitesse.

it was an unusual choice for him, as he had a habit of going from 2.8 Capri, to Renault 5 turbo, to 2.8 Capri,  to Renault 5.

he would blow up a Renner, then get the Capri, complain about the fuel consumption and get another Renner.

then he excelled himself, with the Rover. which he kept for a good while after getting it! i think he actually bought it cos his misses, Sarah couldn't drive a manual, her driving licence was an automatic only one!

it did need a new cylinder head, as it seems the triumph /rover 6 cylinders did, so he bought this shoddy rotten mark 1 SD1 from Garbutts, they dropped it in the Coop's carpark in Marske and Ian and us kids had to push it the 400-odd yards down the main road and up their drive so that he could pull the engine in it too bits.

when he had pulled off the bits he wanted, he got Marske Metals to come and take it away, he got more back for the car than what it cost him, though that could be cos the boot was full of rubble........

a good choice, and just as i remember them inside, will be watching this with interest.

Thanks for sharing I've owned a Capri in the past and in all honesty it was a shocking car it drove terribly and would rust if the slightest spec of moisture touched it... Dont get me wrong they are good looking and make you feel like a Ci5 Operative but beyond that they do nothing for me... Although i would probs pick an 827 or a SD1 over any car 😆

[Skizzer]

8 hours ago, Motown said:

Thank you! Any idea were i can source the main trunking/breather pipe that runs from the airbox across the top of the engine to the carbs. The one on mine is missing and Rimmers are showing as NLA

Not sure exactly what the 2.6 needs, but Car Builder Solutions does ducting of various sorts by the metre: https://www.carbuilder.com/uk/hoses-and-clips-ducting

[Bren]

9 hours ago, Motown said:

Thank you! Any idea were i can source the main trunking/breather pipe that runs from the airbox across the top of the engine to the carbs. The one on mine is missing and Rimmers are showing as 

The trunking was thin aluminium covered with fabric. It was usually knackered after a couple of years.

I would invest in a timing light and even something like a gunson gas tester to get it running properly - these carbs had a pretty complex electronic enrichment device which, to be fair, worked well - until people start messing with them.

I would give it a service - flush the rad as well. Modern oil and coolants mean that the top end problems that use to plague these should be pretty much eliminated.

There is a valve that restricts the flow of oil to the top end - this gets blocked and then you have issues. It can be cleaned - don't remove it completely as it means a potentially smoky engine.

You don't look as if you will need to be chasing rot or leaks so you are 50% there. You can paint it when funds allow.

Parts availability will be the issue - six pot water pumps, timing belt tensioners and even sections of exhaust are getting hard to obtain - my mate told me he had a friend with a 2300 who couldn't get a rear silencer anywhere. So beware.

[Royale80]

Lovely, I had a 3500 series 1  manual and my friend had a 2600 manual series 2- performance wise there wasn’t much between them.

[Tadhg Tiogar]

41 minutes ago, Stevebrookman said:

Lovely, I had a 3500 series 1  manual and my friend had a 2600 manual series 2- performance wise there wasn’t much between them.

Any difference in fuel consumption?

[Royale80]

1 hour ago, Tadhg Tiogar said:

Any difference in fuel consumption?

Can’t remember to be honest.  Young free and single - so we never cared as long as we had a  few quid left for a pint or three on the weekend. I would imagine he had to work the 2600 a bit  harder than the 3500.

[wuvvum]

2.6 isn't that much better on fuel than the 3.5 really, but if you wanted economy you'd buy a 2400D.  I agree with the above comments, the 2600 is a pleasant engine and well suited to the SD1.

[Dead_E23]

That interior has survived very well - I remember these often being really grubby inside and the dip in the seats making it difficult to sweep all the accumulated  fag ash, crisps, sweetie wrappers etc onto the floor.

Was it the 2600 that was prone to camshaft wear?  I remember there being some fault of that kind that they were all supposed to suffer from.

 

[adw1977]

Fuel economy figures:

October 1985 brochure

[adw1977]

6 hours ago, Dead_E23 said:

Was it the 2600 that was prone to camshaft wear?  I remember there being some fault of that kind that they were all supposed to suffer from.

Yes, according to Ant Anstead in his book "Cops and Robbers" the Met police were constantly having camshaft problems on their 2600s. 

[Minimad5]

SD1 has always been on the want list, which was cemented even more by Pete-M allowing me to ride shotgun, in his immense V8 (the black on with some trick engine)

Bloody lovely things.

[Bren]

1 hour ago, adw1977 said:

Yes, according to Ant Anstead in his book "Cops and Robbers" the Met police were constantly having camshaft problems on their 2600s. 

They generally seized due to a lack of lubrication.

[Tadhg Tiogar]

1 hour ago, adw1977 said:

Fuel economy figures:

October 1985 brochure

The differences between manual and automatic are wider than I remember.....

[Motown]

Any SHITERS out there that can do me a good quote for a lick of paint? 😉

[Motown]

That wasn't a joke by the way i am looking for a quote  😄

[eddyramrod]

Good luck!  I had one back in 1998 which was lovely to drive, until it seized.  I had the radiator off because it was new (or possibly rebuilt) and I think it's still with my friend Ken in Southport.  Let me know if you need a rad it won't be expensive.  But I'd better check with Ken that it's still there!  It's the only bit I have left now.

[Low Horatio gearbox]

Cant do any hellp with the paint but my Rover envy continues, stoo buying them and leave them for us mortals!  An SD1 is on my list as one of my all time faves, 

[ProgRocker]

Nice! Late registration (madness) on a D reg, although I understand that there were some police cars on E regs.

[NorfolkNWeigh]

Lovely, don’t know how I missed this , I’d agree with previous posters that there’s not much between a 2600 and a carb V8 . I’ve owned ( or driven extensively) all permutations other than an SD and single plenum Vitessse. 
These days , if I could afford such a thing , a nice VdP auto with cloth would do me preferably with an Efi V8 but otherwise I wouldn’t be fussed between 2.6 or 3.5. 
I once bought a very basic, unpainted plastic trims, no passenger mirror 2300 for my Mum and it was the smoothest running Rover I’ve ever driven apart from a Honda 2.7 800.  Didn’t miss a beat in 3 years either, bought for £800 and I think she got £500 back for it.A decent 6 pot was a gem.

[Crackers]

I'll do it for 50 quid cash, with a tin of emulsion and a 6 inch brush, but I offer no warranty on the finish.

Seriously though, where are you in the country, there's a few good places (not necessarily cheap) down my way.

[tooSavvy]

**No Jokes, please......**

IIRC there is/are 'realistic' Utoobs of roller/rustoleum/tractor paint jobs

*if you want Federal Yellow/JohnDeere Green