[ROVERNET - UK] SD 1

Ron Morey morey814 at hotmail.com
Tue Jul 20 00:33:24 BST 2004


Bill, seeing as no one else has dared to encourage you to buy an SD1...allow 
me to be the first. I love driving it-I even enjoy fixing it. I have had as 
much experience fixing as driving.
Handling-wonderful
power-Good with 5 Spd
Transmission-5spd seems to have a weak first gear. Ratios are very evenly 
spaced on my 1980
I have heard the automatic is strong but seems to take too much power away 
from the 3500. 3.9 may overcome that
Differential-seems strong
Seats-great
Air-excellent
Tilt-4 way adjustable
The car is a joy to drive. It is quiet, accelerates and handles well and is 
great on long trips.

One problem I had was that the engine seemed to be fine except for some cam 
timing wear. On disassembly I found the lower bearings down to the copper. 
The oil pressure was to spec and did not fall appreciably when hot. The cam 
was missing a lobe-almost, 2 valves were burnt and the odd side head gasket 
leaked in 2 places. The car went to Toronto from Saskatoon and back in that 
condition in 40C weather with the air on. It never hinted at 
overheating-temperture was stable, ran fine and had good oil pressure. There 
were no noises. There is no substitute for a compression check. When I 
bought the car my gauge quit. I could not check the compression easily so I 
didnt. That was a BIG mistake. I have put about $3000 into the engine with a 
rebore and doing all the non machine work myself. Beware of quiet and smooth 
running SD1 V8's.

The rear shocks are also a problem. When working they are wonderful. There 
are none available now except for NOS. A self leveller for a 1990 Volvo S70 
is very close but not close enough for me to take the chance. If you are not 
a risk taker and if the rear self leveller shocks are still installed you 
will need to replace the springs and shocks in the near future. Pedders in 
Oz makes a kit that costs about 200-250US. The springs are 50 US each. Mine 
have not arrived yet so I cannot comment on quality.
I have thoroughly enjoyed driving my SD1. I do regret spending what I have 
spent on it. In the near future there will be a very nice SD1 for sale. 
SD1's can eat money faster than a P6 but then you can get where you are 
going a whole lot faster and more relaxed while spending less on gas. As 
always everything is a trade off. Hope this helps.

>From: "Bill Robertson" <rover2000nut at hotmail.com>
>Reply-To: rovernet at lyris.ccdata.com
>To: rovernet at lyris.ccdata.com
>Subject: [ROVERNET - UK] SD 1
>Date: Sun, 18 Jul 2004 21:44:28 +0000
>
>I,ve been offered an SD1 Vittesse 3.9 litre.....Single plenum......What 
>kind of problems should i be looking for.........The body is good  except 
>the 1 wheel well , doors solid, cloth interior is  good and it is running 
>smoothly........Are they good reliable runners  or problematic seeing that 
>they were manufactured in the Leyland dark days...............What should i 
>be looking at price wise........
>Here we Rover again
>Bill Robertson
>
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