Yargg. What to do?

[Pete-M]

As the more observant of you will have noticed, I've got two, black, VDP EFis. In that way that can only happen with old cars you love, they both have slightly different issues from each other, but both are way too good to break.

 

The 1982 car was originally owned by a notorious millionaire petrolhead who spent a whole bucket of money making it a bit special. It has a 4.2 JE engineering engine, Janspeed stainless exhaust and four branch manifolds, Compomotive split rims, better brakes (with braided hoses) and uprated suspension from Janspeed. It has a very solid shell which unfortunately was custom painted in the '80s (by Janspeed again), the paintwork is A) Hideous, and it has more layers of laquer and paint than were probably wise. An expensive job at the time, but it needed better storage than it's had. It only has 23,500 miles on the clock but needs the anti-roll bar bushes doing and the diff replacing. It also needs the auxiliary electrics sorting out. The central locking doesn't work, neither do the sunroof, cruise control or Air conditioning. The cold air flap is supposed to be vacuum operated but I don't know where the pipes are meant to go to. The trip computer doesn't do mpg readings (6553 comes up..). The seats are in superb condition really, they bear out the low mileage and smell fantastic but they're light grey and grubby through scruffy mechanics. I hate light grey leather. The top of the rear seat has cracked in the sun. The headlining doesn't seem original and isn't that good. Very thick material. The dashtop is warped and the door trims are out of shape around the edges where the interior has been mistreated. The carpets are in good condition but don't fit very well as someone has obviously had the whole interior out at some point, and they didn't really know what they were doing. It has apparantly been thrown in and screwed down where it fitted. It could, however, be an original BL 'Friday interior' which has just been removed and refitted by a ham-fisted Herbert in the past. The front bumper isn't that good, one of the wheel arches is blistering and it has a rather horrible set of side skirts.

 

Other than the diff whining, the rattly interior and the dodgy anti-roll bar bushes it drives totally differently from the other SD1. It is a LOT faster, a lot more eager to be chucked around corners, a lot better under braking and an absolute giggle to drive.

 

 

I've also got my '85 VdP EFi. Which is also black, but is pretty much standard other than the stupid loud 3" exhaust. The engine is better behaved than the 4.2 but nothing special. Mechanically it's a very quiet engine, the autobox is a lot smoother, the diff and axle are quiet, and it has been Polybushed. The sunroof and back wiper don't work, neither do the n/s/r window or boot central locking. The shell is cosmetically very nice, but needs a bit of work this summer to make it properly solid again. The interior is gorgeous tan leather and in good condition - although the drivers seat could do with a bit of recolouring and tlc soon. It's on 107k miles, has a load of history and hasn't been fiddled about with. Few minor issues, the arches are a bit bubbly and the doors aren't as good as the ones on the other, but they look better because they've not got the awful paint issues.

 

 

I could do them both up in time, but that wouldn't be cheap and I'm afraid I'd rather not spend that kind of cash on two SD1s at the moment. It would be a lot easier to make one blinder out of the two, but that would mean ruining a car that was better in some ways than other, or at least putting one good example off the road when it's taxed, tested and perfectly useable, and both off the road for stretches of time when I need one for the daily commute.

 

 

The really annoying thing is that I have nearly all the ingredients to make my perfect SD1, or two imperfect ones unless I want to throw a few grand at making them both right. I don't want to spend more than £1500 or so on them until I have my Mk2 Escort back from Czech. That's a few months away at least.

 

There is also the issue that if I sell one, I'll regret it when I'm driving the other. In the 3.5 it is comfy and relaxing other than the stupid exhaust but the exhaust is too noisy and the car feels a lot heavier than the 4.2. The 4.2 feels very light to drive, the brakes are sharper, it corners better but it's abysmal on fuel.. The exhaust is quiet but the diff whine is awful. The trim rattles badly in most of the 4.2 but only in the rear of the 3.5.

 

 

My perfect SD1 really would be a manual, black, air conditioned VdP EFi with the same tan leather as the '85. It'd have the engine, suspension and exhaust of the 4.2 with the 3.5s polybushes, the 3.5's EFi auto axle (longer ratio), the 4.2's brakes and Vitesse boot spoiler (on the 3.5's perfect hatch), everything working and perfect paint. It'd have the 4.2's windscreen with the larger top-tinted bit. I've got a deep chin front spoiler which I'd want to fit, and the 3.5 has new VdP black front foglights which I could fit to the other. My perfect SD1 would run on a multipoint injection setup from hopefully well hidden gas tanks - I love LPG but hate the boot space lost from a big tank.

 

What would you do? Anyone got any suggestions for how I get my perfect SD1 without killing either of the ones I've got or spending thousands? It can't be done, can it?

[warren t claim]

I know it's not the answer you would expect off me but I'd sell the 4.2.

 

Because you have gathered its history you are very unlikely to lose money on it, in fact you may see a profit and it will probably be restored by an enthusiastic new owner.

 

Your black 3.5 is really tidy and with a bit of leather dye the interior could be any colour you like with a little elbow grease. Polybushes aren't a massive job to fit and there is a whole tuning industry based on the Rover 3.5 engine plus a fair few donor TVR's in scrapyards. Making the 3.5 a faster and better handling car is far easier and cheaper than fixing up the 4.2.

 

To fix the 4.2 to a decent standard would mean taking it off the road but you could uprate the 3.5 over a few weekends whilst still leaving it driveable.

[Guest]

Weigh them in and buy a Modus.

[trigger]

I'd agree with Warren, sell the 4.2 and use the money from that to turn the 3.5 into what you want, parts are still plentyfull and you'll have the profit from the 4.2 to cover the cost of them.

[Father Ted]

Sell the 4.2 with as full a description & shit load of photos as possible.

 

May be rathr than ebay advertise it in a more specialised forum and I think you could turn a proffit - hell I bet one of the Landy boys would give you more than your purchase price for the donkey alone.

[Peter C]

I haven't heard the complete story but I have read a lot about the 4.2 and it sounds like a very cool old V8 bruiser.

 

It all depends what your requirements are:

 

If you fancy a tough super-saloon V8 that stands out from the crowd then spend your money on sorting out the 4.2.

 

This won't be your daily runner so poor MPG shouldn't be an issue. Personally I don't care about MPG. My 3 litre S-Class does just over 20MPG (I am sure your Rover manages a lot less if driven in anger) but when I consider what I paid for the car compared to what it cost new and how much money has been spent on it, paying out an extra tenner a week for petrol just isn't an issue. How much worse is the 4.2 on fuel compared to the 3.5?

 

However, if you prefer a relaxing drive, remove the drain pipe exhaust and tidy up the 3.5.

 

I wouldn't keep both. My W123 230E and W126 300SE are two completely different cars and each serves a completely different purpose. Having two V8s is just greedy.

 

What would I do? If we're talking weekend playthings here, I'd strip the interior of the 4.2, sort the diff out and pretend I am back in the 1980s on a Touring Car circuit, giving it beans on the Amersham by-pass.

[garethj]

Sell the 3.5 and use the money to repair the fire-breather.

 

Objectively, the 3.5 might be the better car, but the feeling of owning something special is something you'll struggle to find again. Nice SD1s come up now and again, something like your 4.2 won't.

[shite_meister]

Pete, I feel that I'm better qualified than most to give you my opinion on this, I would keep the 4.2 myself the reason being that what could you possibly get thats old, practical with five seats and a large boot and sounds like thunder? my 4.5 was like a five-seater TVR and I thought I'd never sell it...untill one day a mad bloke offered me a price that meant a £2500 profit and the body was grotty.

 

I've just bought a TVR Chimaera 4.0 just because I got serious V8 withdrawal but to be honest and as sad as this sounds-I think I'd rather have a mad SD1 and the more I look at pics of my old pile of crap SD1 the more I want another. Could you not store the VDP EFi and return to it at a later date? if it were me I'd keep both seeing as the VDP is the rarer EFi version but if I had to choose then I'd keep the 4.2.

 

Have some pics of mine:

 

 

 

 

 

 

[scooters]

personally I would sell the 4.2. The problem with such customised cars is that the customised bits on them put stress on other bits that wouldn't normally be under the sort of stress the added component asks of them.

 

Whilst this appeals in certain circles - (rat look, lowerd suspension etc) if you need the car as a reliable form of transport and want it as a keeper then keeping it as spec is a much better idea. As you say - yhe unmodded one handles better etc.....

 

fiscally the 4.2 is only going to depreciate as demand for unmoleseted SD1's rises. Yes it is a unique car but the car in its unmolested form is also getting rare.

 

If you sell the 4.2 the RR brigade will snap it up and somone will no doubt bring it back to life in customised glory you will probably get reasonable cash for it given the work you have done assembling the history. As above, you can then use the cash to truly sort the 3.5 and use it in all it's glory....

 

anyway, that's what I would do!

[scooters]

personally I would sell the 4.2. The problem with such customised cars is that the customised bits on them put stress on other bits that wouldn't normally be under the sort of stress the added component asks of them.

 

Whilst this appeals in certain circles - (rat look, lowerd suspension etc) if you need the car as a reliable form of transport and want it as a keeper then keeping it as spec is a much better idea. As you say - yhe unmodded one handles better etc.....

 

fiscally the 4.2 is only going to depreciate as demand for unmoleseted SD1's rises. Yes it is a unique car but the car in its unmolested form is also getting rare.

 

If you sell the 4.2 the RR brigade will snap it up and somone will no doubt bring it back to life in customised glory you will probably get reasonable cash for it given the work you have done assembling the history. As above, you can then use the cash to truly sort the 3.5 and use it in all it's glory....

 

anyway, that's what I would do!

 

actually - on 2nd thoughts fuck it - keep the 4.2!!!

[shite_meister]

extra stresses? not sure I agree since its a big rwd car and the engine sits in a subframe rather than only being bolted to the body via mounts and the only real weak link here is the standard spec drivetrain if it is still standard, the brakes are uprated to the bigger Jaguar items.

 

The fact is that the 4.2 engine you have has been built by the best Rover V8 builder in the world and it'll all be top spec stuff, this isn't just 'another' rover v8 engine its a handbuilt bespoke performance V8 quite a world away from the standard 4.2 found in the Rangie Classic HSE as such alot of people will want that engine, I sold mine to a bloke who ripped the engine out and stuck it in his racer and went hillclimbing and has since set several records with it, he gave me a bloody good price and it was only the engine he was interested not the rotten old SD1 it was attached to (unfortunately, but that was up to him)

[Guest]

Pete,

 

Sell the 3.5 to fund the perfection of the 4.2. Keep it for weekends and upsetting Kenny Rogers. You and I both know that the 4.2 is very special indeed, and while the 3.5 may be the better everyday car (that's still an SD 1) you will probably never get another Rover with the provenance and spec of the 4.2. That's what would swing it for me - it's what the 4.2 is, and how it does it, that makes it worth keeping.

 

The three five, whilst being lovely is just another VdP SD 1. Subjectively, you could let that one go. Objectively, you'd get a good price for it. You'd get a shitload for the four two but I bet my bollocks to barn dance you would miss it a hell of a lot more. Your face lit up like a pin ball machine that did a great big poo on the new carpet at Cholmondeley when you were revving it in front of the Sherpa Coupes. Sell the Four Two at your peril.

 

Buy something cheap, shit and good on fuel to use as your daily. No more than 500 shells. Something un_Pete.

 

Also S_M, the gold wheels on your powder blue one are sex.

[Station]

The worst thing about car ownership on this level is you're constantly picking up the bad bits about it. I don't know what I'd do - I think I'd keep the less 'broken' one and sell the one that'd sell for more? Things like wiring can be fixed, but it's a pain in the arse, and interior fittings can never really be restored.

I think I'd store one - get a council garage for a few years! Cheap!

 

BTW, just t-piece the pipe into a pipe off the manifold to get the vacuum flat working again?

[reallyloud]

I agree with watanabe. This is sex.

 

 

I've noticed the number of SD1's that are getting a serious amount of money thrown at them recently so I don't think you can lose with selling. I've often said myself I wish I had just the one car so I can get it done with my full attention and properly.

 

If you sell the Janspeed car and someone restores it to perfection then you'll have that twinkle in your eye that new parents have when they hold their first born. However you sell it to a muppet who screws you over with cash and then proceeds to ruin the car completely you'll wonder why you sold it in the first place. Another alternative is to sell both and get yourself a minter. You got any pics of them?

[TagoraSX]

Buy a third with a good interior and the other bits you need.

Make 2 good ones from the 3

[Pete-M]

You got any pics of them?

The 4.2

 

 

The 3.5

 

 

 

 

 

The problem I have is that I think the 3.5 looks gorgeous, but the 4.2 goes like stink. The 4.2 feels like a good V8 powered car should, light and nimble. The 3.5 feels heavy and ponderous in comparison. I am tempted to take the 4.2 apart and put all the running gear into the 3.5. That would make a very very nice car for not a huge amount of money, and it would get rid of the stupid fucking Rimmer Brothers exhaust.

[Station]

4.2 into 3.5 sounds like a good idea!

Is that Manchester Airport?

[Pete-M]

No, it's the legendary "Q park" meet.

[Minimad5]

If you throw the 4.2 into the 3.5 shell won't you loose some of it's history ?

 

Your cars so do what you think is best !

 

Although i do agree with Jon, your face when revving the 4.2 ... (whilst showering both your mate steve and the Sherpa coupe owners in unburnt petrol) ... was super happy

 

If you ever need a hand, i shall help

[M'coli]

I'd suggest selling the 3.5 as-is and to sort the 4.2's interior by buying a cheap/knackered 2.6VP for the beige leather therein (IIRC from your opinion of the 2.6 engine you could almost consider it a service to mankind to rid the planet of one more!).

[Milford Cubicle]

Install a VM diesel.

[meggersdog]

Tough choice, the 4.2 looks fairly standard which must be tremendous fun.Many moons ago a chap I know had a black SD1 that he strapped twin turbos to.It was forever blowing gearbox and back axle bearings.He has been a Cosworth tuning specialist for many years so I think he knew what he was doing.

My last one was not a very standard 3.5 which I thought a bit sluggish,although the loud exhaust was good at setting car alarms off and upsetting the neighbours

Here it is.

[Mr Lobster]

Whatever you do, don't sell the 4.2. I suspect you'd end up regretting selling it and then lose the enthusiasm for the 'other' one as its not and never would be the 4.2.

[Pillock]

The 3.5 is fairly standard, yes? If you flogged it, you could probably turn up another similar one at some point if you regretted it.

 

The 4.2 is a bit special, yes? If you flogged it, the only way to get it back would be to creep to the smug new owner and wave cash around.

 

If you're going to sell either, sell the 3.5..... I'd do that, then use the cash to fix some of the faults with the 4.2.

[Guest]

FOUR TWO = GR 8 4 NOT BEIN A THREE FIVE.

 

THREE FIVE = THREE FIVE (ACTUALLY IS A THREE FIVE). SELL. SELL. SELL.

[Pete-M]

I think there's money to be made from the 3.5, but I don't know how much I could get for it. If there's enough to buy a good EFi Auto axle, paint it, fit a set of polybushes and a complete tan leather interior

 

Then I'd need another car to use whilst the 4.2 is being sorted..

[Guest]

I think there's money to be made from the 3.5, but I don't know how much I could get for it. If there's enough to buy a good EFi Auto axle, paint it, fit a set of polybushes and a complete tan leather interior

 

Then I'd need another car to use whilst the 4.2 is being sorted..

What about that Octavia you were gonna come to mine in?

[Pete-M]

 

Then I'd need another car to use whilst the 4.2 is being sorted..

What about that Octavia you were gonna come to mine in?

That was a work car. I gave it back because it was boring. Possibly a foolish move, but buggrit, this way I go to work in a V8.

[Guest]

 

Then I'd need another car to use whilst the 4.2 is being sorted..

What about that Octavia you were gonna come to mine in?

That was a work car. I gave it back because it was boring. Possibly a foolish move, but buggrit, this way I go to work in a V8.

Buy something shit that doesn't cost a lot and smoke around in that. Can you get the Octavia back? Can work lend you a car? Can your work get me a job?

[Pete-M]

I can quite probably get the Octavia back, but at the moment I'm trying to organise enough time and spends to go and fetch the Escort in a couple of months.. That's not gonna be a cheap week.

 

I suppose that's the problem. If I put the Escort off until next Spring, I can fix both the Rovers, but it's a bit cheeky asking my mate to work on it and store it for another 9 months..

 

I have a semi-plan in my head. Take the 3.5 to Czech and bring the Escort back. That'd be a good investment, but it'd squeeze me dry for a couple of months. Then use the Escort and restore the 4.2.

 

Flog the Escort when someone offers me the right money for it, go fetch the 3.5, sell that, buy something else, finish the 4.2, flog it, and buy something really special with the proceeds.