The Next Project: My Rover SD1 2600 Vanden Plas

[Parky]

It might seem like a stupid idea but if you wanted a “free” potential solution you could try different fuel perhaps?

Unrelated issue but a Pug 106 and a Renault 18 I owned ran like crap on cheap fuel.  The Pug would only run correctly on Total Super Unleaded and the Renault on Shell.  If you are using supermarket regular it might be worth seeing if a better quality fuel makes any difference?  Maybe other brands are less inclined to evaporate.

it does sound a lot like fuel vaporisation.  Even though the owners club say it doesn’t affect yours it doesn’t matter, if it’s too warm under the bonnet it is going to be a potential risk.  The electric fan is a simple potential solution, otherwise you are into ceramic wrapping manifolds and suchlike and that can get expensive.

[Fumbler]

8 hours ago, Motown said:

Aye electronic ignition again maybe onto something here..... I checked my module earlier today and although it appears to be working when i removed it for inspection i noticed there was no heat proof glue underneath which you normally find on these things.

Could it really be that simple?  Obviously there is only one way to find out so I've ordered another module to test.

When it arrives il  run the car to temperature again with the bonnet down until it fails to hot start then il change the module. If it fires up we know the current module is at fault when the engine bay is hot. 😃👍

There's a good video by a guy with an MG with Lucas electronic ignition:

Very interesting chap. He explains the issues ignition components like this can have after being shit off when warm.

 

 

[Motown]

9 hours ago, Parky said:

It might seem like a stupid idea but if you wanted a “free” potential solution you could try different fuel perhaps?

Unrelated issue but a Pug 106 and a Renault 18 I owned ran like crap on cheap fuel.  The Pug would only run correctly on Total Super Unleaded and the Renault on Shell.  If you are using supermarket regular it might be worth seeing if a better quality fuel makes any difference?  Maybe other brands are less inclined to evaporate.

it does sound a lot like fuel vaporisation.  Even though the owners club say it doesn’t affect yours it doesn’t matter, if it’s too warm under the bonnet it is going to be a potential risk.  The electric fan is a simple potential solution, otherwise you are into ceramic wrapping manifolds and suchlike and that can get expensive.

Yes i can hear you CLEM FANDANGO! 

The car is usually ran on premium fuel unless the pump is off at the local petrol station then we fill it with the regular and soon to be obsolete stuff. 

[Motown]

2 hours ago, Fumbler said:

There's a good video by a guy with an MG with Lucas electronic ignition:

Very interesting chap. He explains the issues ignition components like this can have after being shit off when warm.

 

 

Much appreciated 👍

[Bren]

V8's do suffer from the module on the side of the dizzy failing but generally the car will just stop.

[Motown]

***Update***

Hot start issue seems to have magically disappeared. I jumped into the car today drove it off the driveway to the front of the house and let it idle in P with the bonnet down for near enough an hour while i sat and watched from the door step.

It idled very nicely and once it was up to temperature i switched it off and to my surprise it started straight back up! il take it for a good run tomorrow to be completely sure but i am starting to believe they maybe some truth in what @Parky said with regards to fuel.... I always run the car on premium but on the day of the hot start issue when filling up at the petrol station the premium pump was off so put 15 litres of regular stuff in. 

I should also mention when checking under the bonnet at the time of the issue the carb bells were hot to touch almost as hot as the rocker cover however today the carb bells felt warm at a push the coil and modulator had no heat in them whatsoever.

 

 

[Motown]

 

@ParkyIve just done some reading on the subject... Apparently regular fuel contains 5% Acetone were as Premium has next to no Acetone content...  Fuel with acetone has a very low vapour point and is know to upset carbs.

A friend owns a Triumph Spitfire and has experienced nothing but trouble with regular fuel so now only runs it on premium 

[Parky]

Well I am glad the suggestion wasn’t as daft as I thought!  It may not be the definitive answer but if a different fuel helps then that has to be a good thing.  Interesting point about the acetone in higher grade fuels, something for the classic and Renault 5 GT Turbo owners to think about.  Early models of those were renowned for heat issues.

[Motown]

***Further Update***

The hot start overheating issue is back!

Yesterday i rang the trusted garage and booked the car in for retest this coming Tuesday and as the weather was nice i decided to do some more work on the car. The local motor factors is only three streets away so i drove the car down the road to get some bits and pieces. No sooner did i arrive at the motor factors the car cut out... So i lifted the bonnet and again it was red hot and wouldn't start only this time i noticed something i didn't before..... The top rad hose was red hot but the bottom one was cold instantly i thought to myself knackered thermostat or blocked radiator could this be what the issue has been the whole time?

I left the car outside the motor factors and returned once the engine had cooled to bring the car home i removed the thermostat from the housing and tested it in a pan of hot water while Mrs Motown was out buying cheap wine from the local shop.

 

The thermostat seemed to work fine so i turned my attention to the radiator 

I removed the radiator from the car and flushed it through with the neighbours hosepipe while they were drinking cheap wine with Mrs Motown. The water flow was good and clear with no horrible stuff coming out.

The radiator seemed to be in good condition apart from a dent on the fan side

 

It was at this point i started to get very frustrated and a little bit anxious.... If the thermostat was good and the radiator seemed alright it could only be the water pump or head gasket failure or so i thought.... I started to trawl ebay and the other internet offerings for a water pump knowing how rare they are.... Then it hit me.... I can test if the water pump is working using the radiator.

 

I went back outside back flushed the engine and resembled everything... Filled it with coolant and bled the system checking for HGF along the way. Thankfully i experienced no symptoms HUZZAH i thought now to test the water pump.

 

 

With everything resembled under the bonnet if you momentarily pull the level sensor in the rad it just pours out a steady stream of coolant as you would expect. However if you quickly apply the throttle and the steady pour almost comes to a stop and flow returns once your foot is off pedal ie break between revving then this suggests the pump is moving water round the system... So the water pump is good!!!  To tell you i was over the moon would be an understatement its also worth noting i knew coolant was definitely circulating through the rad as the gasket has perish were I removed the thermostat earlier and i have a seep/drip from the housing when the engine was running. 

It was while i was replacing the gasket I had a brain wave from my 827 days it could be the coolant temperature sensor.... When these fail they send a false signal or no signal at all to the ECU.... Usually they fail and send a permanently cold signal so the car doesn't start but they can also send a permanently hot signal causeing overheating...  My temperature gauge doesn't seem to work either which again pointed towards a faulty CTS…

So I unplugged the CTS connector from the side of the block and bridged the connector with a paper clip i turned on the ignition and almost immediately my temperature gauge went to max so clearly the gauge works. I  reconnected the connector back to the CTS and nothing....  THE CTS HAS FAILED!!!!

 

 

I grabbed a Lucas coolant temperature sensor from my spares and waited for the engine bay to cool but in the meantime i got distracted by the sunshine and alcohol so il fit it tomorrow and report back 😃👍

 

[Motown]

***Update***

 

So i came here today to tell you the car passed its MOT with no advisories but after driving twenty four miles it broke down  

 Again seems to be related to heat and oil pressure. Good pressure (50) from cold the car isn't overheating. Car warms up start to lose pressure unless foot on pedal even then it sits at the first line between 0-50. Foot off pedal needle starts to drop.... Foot on pedal it goes back up to the first line between 0-50 with foot off pedal it eventually cuts out wont start again until it cools and abit of pressure can build. Cars runs on an open road fine unless you hit traffic then the needle drops and its good night Vienna!

Red oil pressure light goes off when car starts no signs of leaks HGF or overheating and plenty of oil in the car.
Got the car home by keeping the revs up in D and P.

HELP ME!!!

[Noel Tidybeard]

low oil preasure or switch fault? sends low preasure reading to ECU which then cuts fuel pump to stop an broken V8

 

many moons ago my B-I-L was buying a 2.0i montego estate but it wouldn't start until he borrowed some oil off me to top up which raised the oil preasure and we all drove home with happy smiles

[Motown]

5 minutes ago, Noel Tidybeard said:

oil preasure switch fault? sends low preasure reading to ECU which then cuts fuel pump to stop an broken V8

 

many moons ago my B-I-L was buying a 2.0i montego estate but it wouldn't start until he borrowed some oil off me to top up which raised the oil preasure and we all drove home with happy smiles

I got home by keeping the revs up in traffic got some horrible looks but its on the drive now. 

 

il check the switch thanks for your suggestion! 

[adw1977]

Well at least it passed the MOT!

[Motown]

 

Ladies and gentleman my issue was related to poor carb tuning i am a silly **** 🤣

A quick tune up and we are rolling again although i am thinking of doing a manual choke conversion with the spare carbs I've got as the auto choke/stepper system on the later SD1s is a tad unpredictable now its almost forty years old

[Motown]

 

Final Update:

Just the respray to sort now but the two local bodyshops dont seem to be in a rush to take my money so the car is pretty much finished  

[Motown]

 

Four years later and its finally been resprayed 🤣

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you squint they were definitely Daytona inspired....

 

[motorpunk]

What a beauty! 

[Ian_Fearn]

@Motown looks great! Are you still Hebrides based?