Mk1 rover v8

[bigdaz]

I'm new to the forum and thought I would show you all the car I brought today, it's a 1979 mk1 sd1 rover v8 it's brown it's done a genuine 36k from new and been of the road for about 15 years it's never been welded and very sold original wings sills arches and so on, it dose have a small patch of rust on the top of one wing and on the roof and the rear edge of both sills but still solid I tried to push a screw driver though but it wasn't going to happen, I'm hopping to get the old girl ready for the road soon as I can't wait to drive it, I've never owned an sd1 before so any tips on recomisoning would be much appreciated,

[Mercdan68]

Wow that's a great find

[vertex]

That reg looks familiar..

[dikkehemaworst]

That looks tempting ! And brown. Beautiful! I'm a bit jealous....

[bigdaz]

Yes it is a great find I'm really pleased with it, it's been in Oxford for the last 15 years or so not sure before that, can't wait to get started on her,

[bigdaz]

So managed to make a start on the old girl took the fuel tank of and clean out all the old fuel and paint it and the fuller tube, broke the bloody breaket tho :-( but with a bit of head scraticng I've managed to adapted it so its all back on the car now, stripped the rear brakes and was amazed how clean everything was the cylinders where ok but thought its best to replace them as the car hasn't moved in 15 years
The only problem I had was the hand brake linkage was very stiff but all sorted now. front brakes next fingers crossed there just as clean, here's some more photos

[steptoeshaw]

Very nice find, what's the plan? Get back on the road and enjoy? I have 3 sd1's all v8's so if you need any pointers just drop me a message.

[bigdaz]

Yes get her back on the road and enjoy is the plan, that's great thanks having problems with the electrics at the moment doors lock but won't unlock if I power the relay in the boot they do unlock so that needs looking at passenger door won't unlock at all, indicators and hazards not working, I'm not to bothered about it at the moment want to get it starting and stopping first

[Padz]

Looks decent, i wish i'd stumbled accross this if its been in my parish for the last 15 years!

I imagine she'll look a million times better with a hose down to see what you've got to play with under the dust

[bigdaz]

It's amazing what people have got tucked away, she ent getting a wash till she starts and stops there the rules lol

[Mercdan68]

One of britains finest looking forward to seeing more about it

[bigdaz]

I've got some time of work so I'm hoping to finish the rear end off and strip the front, with a bit of luck the fronts as good as the back,

[misterbob]

Superb!

Series One SD1's are rare beasts - lovely to see this one being put back on the road

[SamR380]

Looks great, a lot of potential there. I'd love a brown Series 1 SD1.

[bigdaz]

I had no idea they where so rare till I got this one, some parts are incredibly hard to find, I was looking for a mk2 Granada really but came across the sd1 and felt it was my duty to put the poor old girl back on the road,

[sowen]

Looks good

Probably a bit late as you've had the rear brakes apart already but I was advised after I got mine to knock all the rust out of the handbrake levers coming out of the drums so they are really loose, and make sure the ratcheting mechanism ratchets easily. Once I got mine sorted I've got a brilliant feeling brake pedal, no sponginess, just applies hard as my foot touches it at the top (does help with the Jaguar brakes upfront ).

It's a Rover V8, pretty simple stuff really, change the oil, maybe plugs and leads too? May well be worth pulling the SU's off and giving them a wash out in the fuel bowl underneath and making sure the pistons are free as it's been sitting for a long time.

I could well be wrong but the viscous fan looks like it's on wrong way round?

Do you know why the paint has fallen off the wing like that? Seems odd as it's localised to just the one spot, and it would be well worth pumping as much anti-corrosive stuff into all the cavities as you can, preserve the inner metalwork as well as possible.

[bigdaz]

Thanks sowen, I really appreciate your advice I've not had much dealings with su carbs I'm sure I'll have to rebalance them once I've striped and cleaned them I've got a balancer just need to think where I've put it lol, I'm interested in the jag set up what do I need just calipers and from what model ? And discs from the same jag or rover ones ?,
Oh and I'm not to sure about the rust it is very odd it's only on the wing and roof, the garage roof was rendered and crumbling a little so it might be the lime in the concrete it looks a lot worse then it is I brushed the losse paint of with my hand and the metal is very solid I'll sort that when I've got the brakes and engine sorted So I can move the car about,

[bigdaz]

Oh and I'm not sure about the fan I've not looked at it I'll probably take it of anyway tho they sap power and aren't as efficient as an electric fan, I'm not going to go mad with the mods tho as much as I'd like to lower it and have a straight though side exit exhaust lol

[breng]

The back brakes are easy to set up - use plenty of copper grease on the levers as they corrode together.

[sowen]

SU's are dead easy, at least take the bottom cover off to have a look inside and clean out any old gunge. You'll need a few new seals to put it back together again, the piston should just need cleaning and refilling with oil.

I found the standard brakes buttock clenching at anything over 60mph! The Jaguar's just inspire confidence and show up the rubbish budget tyres the previous owner fitted. The discs and calipers are standard Jaguar 4 pot vented, except the caliper mounting lugs are re-machined to suit the Rover caliper bolt spacing and an adapter bolted between the disc and hub. The adapters are rare to find but you could get a set machined up by any good metalworking company for possibly about £100, drawings are available on the internet. That just leaves either welding up, plugging or sleeving the caliper bolt holes and re-drilling to fit the Rover leg. This modification will only fit 15" wheels but a very worthwhile investment if you plan to really use your SD1.

Apparently the SD1 viscous fan is meant to be pretty good, mine seems to work well enough, only had one incident of overheating where I could have done with something better. I don't have any ducting between my fan and the radiator and that could've been the issue. Maybe removing it for a pair of electrics would be worthwhile, upto you?

I had a ride in a 4.6 powered SD1 a few weeks back, only mods being the engine and -30mm springs, absolute hoot, a complete drivers car . I believe they are very good straight from the factory, just need a little fettling to make even better. Plenty of aftermarket stuff available that doesn't detract from the value either.