Rover SD1 - pre-production car for sale - Trilogy

www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C458587

Rover SD1 - pre-production car for sale - Armitage Shanks {p}

They were rubbish when they had been in production for 2 years! A pre-production model will be of rarity and novelty value only IMO. When did anyone last see an SD1 on the road?

32000 licenced in 1995, in 2013 there are 1500 registered and 1723 SORNed

Quite pretty but lamentable vehicles, overall.

Edited by Armitage Shanks {p} on 13/12/2013 at 20:08

Rover SD1 - pre-production car for sale - Collos25

Bought a brand new one it set on fire before we got it home.

Rover SD1 - pre-production car for sale - madf

A Rover SD1 epitmised ALl wrong with Rover.

The company identified cars by VIN number : and then produced several with the same VIN Number.

It lost dozens ... literally - unaccounted for,

As for quality,, what is taht?

Hopeless...

Rover SD1 - pre-production car for sale - bathtub tom

>>The company identified cars by VIN number : and then produced several with the same VIN Number.

I recall something about their competitions department doing stuff like that, but IIRC it was a 'perk' for staff working late. Perhaps production line was in on the game as well?

Allegedly!!

Rover SD1 - pre-production car for sale - oldroverboy.

>>The company identified cars by VIN number : and then produced several with the same VIN Number.

I recall something about their competitions department doing stuff like that, but IIRC it was a 'perk' for staff working late. Perhaps production line was in on the game as well?

Allegedly.

ditto!

Edited by oldroverboy. on 14/12/2013 at 07:57

Rover SD1 - pre-production car for sale - RT

As a successor to the Triumph 2000/2500 and Rover P6 - why was the SD1 developed - it would have been better for either the Triumph or the P6 to have been kept in production, it was that bad,

Rover SD1 - pre-production car for sale - Collos25

As a successor to the Triumph 2000/2500 and Rover P6 - why was the SD1 developed - it would have been better for either the Triumph or the P6 to have been kept in production, it was that bad,

I do not think it was a successor it was produced at the same time for a long time

Rover SD1 - pre-production car for sale - RT

As a successor to the Triumph 2000/2500 and Rover P6 - why was the SD1 developed - it would have been better for either the Triumph or the P6 to have been kept in production, it was that bad

I do not think it was a successor it was produced at the same time for a long time

There was about a year's overlap - the Triumph 2000/2500 and Rover P6 both ended production in '77 - the SD1 started production in June '76.

But the SD1 was their successor.

Rover SD1 - pre-production car for sale - Trilogy

Aesthetic design, 10 out of 10. Most of the bits underneath, 0 out of 10.

Rover SD1 - pre-production car for sale - GS

Aesthetic design, 10 out of 10. Most of the bits underneath, 0 out of 10.

Totally agree, the most frustrating car I've ever owned. I sat in one on launch day at the local Rover dealer and admired the design both exterior and interior, however was dismayed with the build quality - still bought a 3500 manual though! Rust, leaks both water and oil - however 2350 rpm @ 70mph and 30 mpg plus power in ever gear and a hatchback - I still want another, but this time one built by the Germans!

Rover SD1 - pre-production car for sale - craig-pd130

When did anyone last see an SD1 on the road?

There's one about a mile from here, a Vitesse that's slightly dog-eared but sounds VERY healthy indeed, lovely V8 rasp and crackle from a 3" exhaust

Rover SD1 - pre-production car for sale - artill

Early in my motoring life i bought a 1986 2300. it went from 86,000 to 140,000 miles with me. Of course it would have been much better if it had been better built, but i remember that car very fondly. Pretty much anything was DIYable and of course i did quite a bit to keep it running, which was a good education.

I know the 6 pots didnt have a greatest of reputations, but it was very smooth. Its a real shame the smooth petrol 6 pot has gone from all but the priciest of cars now. And even then, almost never with a manual box.

If i had somewhere dry to keep one i would like another

Rover SD1 - pre-production car for sale - Trilogy

When I was at school in the late 1970s, it was THE car that parents aspired to own. Little did they realise, it would probably be their one and only Rover. It could have done so much good for BL. Sadly, another nail for the coffin.

Rover SD1 - pre-production car for sale - Ben 10

Just had a look at this. Whose bright idea was to have a red body with brown and mustard interior?

I had an R reg. 3.5 auto, which was mustard yellow on the outside, with a brown dash and mustard seating and carpets. So went together. If I had viewed this other car, I would have been a bit suspicious that it had had a respray.

Rover SD1 - pre-production car for sale - SteveLee

Loved my SD1s - poorly screwed together - yep - but they had character and I enjoyed every mile driving them - particularly the Vitesse which I wish I still had today - the only car I ever loved more was my Citroen CX Turbo 2. I've had "better" cars dynamically and build quality wise - but cars are a bit like women, do you want functional and boring or something slightly flawed which makes your heart race?

Rover SD1 - pre-production car for sale - Hamsafar

I wanted one when I was about 9. My Father told me they were bad quality, but they looked so modern and hi-tech at the time.

Rover SD1 - pre-production car for sale - Ben 10

And the fact that "The Old Bill" used them seemed to give the car a bit of credence that they were possibly reliable.

Rover SD1 - pre-production car for sale - oldroverboy.

Had a chat with an old mate, also ex-employee, who agreed that cars were "removed" unoficially.

Rover SD1 - pre-production car for sale - Sofa Spud

When I saw my first picture of the Rover SD1 (a spy shot in Car magazine, I think) I thought: "surely they can't get away with that!", meaning the front end styling cribbed straight from the Ferrari Daytona. But the SD1 was a nevertheless a handsome car, and had it's reliability and durability matched the styling it would have been a real classic.

Rover SD1 - pre-production car for sale - RT

I always found the SD1 cramped inside, impossibly so on versions with sunroofs, unlike the Triumph 2000/2500 which had plenty of head and legroom - I didn't know anyone posh enough to run a Rover P6 !

Rover SD1 - pre-production car for sale - craig-pd130

Here's a contemporary road test of a Vitesse from Motor magazine:

www.flickr.com/photos/triggerscarstuff/sets/721576.../

Rover SD1 - pre-production car for sale - mss1tw

Here's a contemporary road test of a Vitesse from Motor magazine:

www.flickr.com/photos/triggerscarstuff/sets/721576.../

Nice find
Rover SD1 - pre-production car for sale - injection doc

I was working in a Rover jaguar Dealership when these heaps were launched and my word they were bad. Mind you the u[pside was that they kept the workshops very busy with warranty work !

We had 24 bays and 12 were designated for warranty work and they were always fulls.

SD1's suffered so many issues , impossible to list them all but rust when brand-new and rattles and squeaks, water leaks and failing pop out switches were at the top of the list.

The vitesses used to blow diffs, the 2300 & 2600's suffered badly with cylinder heads and oil pressure problems , the 2000 was actually better than the 2300 for performance but just a little harsh and suffered oil burning with that horrid O series engine

Rover SD1 - pre-production car for sale - SteveLee

Did the Vitesse blow diffs or did the slow weeps go unnoticed by the dealers ignoring half the service schedule until the diff went dry and blew? Despite covering 100K+ miles in SD1s of various guises I was never let down by one - and I drove my cars hard - but then - I did my own servicing. I never bought a straight six SD1, but yes, they had a well-deserved reputaion for warped cylinder heads.

Rover SD1 - pre-production car for sale - Sulphur Man

Fascinating vintage review there. An SD1 Vitesse cost £14950 in 1983, yet a Mercedes 280E, a genuine and near indestructible classic, could be had for £12850.

How did AR think they could justify that, especially after the car had been on sale for several years and it's myriad of faults and quality issues were well known.

Rover SD1 - pre-production car for sale - SteveLee

Basic Mercs had no kit, spec a Merc up to match a Vitesse and you'd be looking at a lot of money - and if you wanted to match the performance, there was no comparison. And what would I rather been seen in? A boring 280E taxi or a lovely jet black Vitesse?

Rover SD1 - pre-production car for sale - lissaabostonn

Totally agree, the most frustrating car I've ever owned. I sat in one on launch day at the local Rover dealer and admired the design both exterior and interior, however was dismayed with the build quality - still bought a 3500 manual though! Rust, leaks both water and oil - however 2350 rpm @ 70mph and 30 mpg plus power in ever gear and a hatchback - I still want another, but this time one built by the Germans!

...............................

[ www.ezdia.com/epad/2013-mercedes-benz-sl-class-pri.../]2013 mercedes benz sl-class[/url]

Rover SD1 - pre-production car for sale - Trilogy

Taken from www.aronline.co.uk

More information about the car.

Charterhouse Auctions is offering this 1975-registered Rover 3500 at its 16 February 2014 sale, held at at the Royal Bath & West Showground, Shepton Mallet in Somerset. And as the SD1 wasn’t introduced until 1976, that makes this one rather special.

The car<*** id="itxthook0icon" class="itxtrst itxtrstimg itxthookicon" style="padding: 0px 0px 0px 4px ! important; margin: 0px ! important; vertical-align: baseline ! important;" src="http://images.intellitxt.com/ast/adTypes/icon1.png" alt="" />, which sports chassis number 005, is what Charterhouse describes as an, ‘important piece of British motoring heritage’, has an estimate of £7000-9000. The car has something of an interesting history, and many SD1 aficionado will tell you that it’s far from factory original – especially the interior, but the identity of the car is in no dispute.

Classic Car Buyer Editorial Director, Peter Simpson recalled, ‘I first saw that car in around 1987-’88 – it went through the infamous ‘pay out on the night if you’ve got a utility bill’ Maidstone Car Auction<*** id="itxthook1icon" class="itxtrst itxtrstimg itxthookicon" style="padding: 0px 0px 0px 4px ! important; margin: 0px ! important; vertical-align: baseline ! important;" src="http://images.intellitxt.com/ast/adTypes/icon1.png" alt="" />. The auctioneer announced that it was a prototype, but in that environment I just didn’t believe them, and assumed it was a nicked car that had been ringed by someone who’d used the ID of an N-reg P6 3500. At that point it was running, MoT’d and didn’t look too bad. The sickening part, though, is that it seemed to sell for £250.’

Octane‘s Deputy Editor, Mark Dixon added: ‘I rescued this car from a field in the early 1990s. Sadly, the guy who restored it didn’t retain unique pre-production features like the boot floor, shaped for a straight exhaust pipe – he preferred to replace most of the repairable metal with new<*** id="itxthook2icon" class="itxtrst itxtrstimg itxthookicon" style="padding-top: 0px!important; padding-right: 0px!important; padding-bottom: 0px!important; padding-left: 4px!important; vertical-align: baseline!important; margin: 0px!important;" src="http://images.intellitxt.com/ast/adTypes/icon1.png" alt="" /> panels from Rimmers.’

Mark added: ‘I paid about £250 for it. Or, more accurately I persuaded the mag I was working for, Popular Classics, to buy it and offer it as a competition prize. The winner didn’t want it, so we did a deal later on.’

In 2007, the car was offered again, now sporting a new interior, which had been been taken from a 1979-registered example, which had been sold by Keith Adams.

Rover SD1 - pre-production car for sale - kadams1970

It's good to see this thread - it shows that people still care about the Rover SD1. Thanks to Trilogy for posting the text from my story on AROnline - there's a little more to add, but without sounding like a bitter old man on the matters of breaking perfectly good cars as donors, and over-restoring, I'll leave the facts as they are above :)

Rover SD1 - pre-production car for sale - madf

So itsa bitsa. Ok for a Bugatti .not ok for a junk SD1.