Rover SD1 2600

[Frosty149]

Does anyone remember the twin cam Triumph Toledo?
Fond memories...

 

[EmilysDad]

Really?

Yes .... really. Though I think it was only the front indicators.

http://www.aronline.co.uk/cars/rover/rover-sd1/rover-sd1-design-inspiration/
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rover_SD1

 

[Frosty149]

Yes .... really. Though I think it was only the front indicators.

http://www.aronline.co.uk/cars/rover/rover-sd1/rover-sd1-design-inspiration/
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rover_SD1

Wow!
Shame he used such crappy Ferrari's to lift the styling from, still I suppose that was the height in the 80's, after all!

 

[kid-jensen]

I always fancied one, but every time I went to look at a potential car, they were just a heap of crap. Everything rattled, doors clanged, rust everywhere, and thet 70's interior (I kow it came out in the 80's but it was dated already).

They still look pretty good with the big front spoiler (only on the later, up-market models) but they just came across as a pain to own. and I'm sure they would be.
Bought an Interceptor III in the end, and kept it for 33 years!

Somehow, I don't think I would have doen the same with an SD1.

 

[turbopete]

they were also 2 inches longer on 1 side than the other, apparently (I wish I could remember where I heard that)

 

[A.J.]

they were also 2 inches longer on 1 side than the other, apparently (I wish I could remember where I heard that)

I seem to remember that too, I think it was only the wheelbase though.

 

[Craiglxviii]

The right hand tail lamps were 1/4" higher than the right due to a welding jig misalignment that they never stumped up the money to correct... yes 1/4" was accommodated in the tolerance stack!

I'd have a hard time believing 2" side to side in Z though.

 

[Srdl]

and thet 70's interior (I kow it came out in the 80's but it was dated already).

They actually came out in 1976. I remember one of our senior managers had one in the late 70s and I had to drive it to the local dealer because the electric windows had stopped working. Only being in my mid 20s, I thought I looked really cool in it and "cruised" through Oxford hoping I was going to see one of my friends en route!

 

[davemercedes]

The right hand tail lamps were 1/4" higher than the right due to a welding jig misalignment that they never stumped up the money to correct... yes 1/4" was accommodated in the tolerance stack!

I'd have a hard time believing 2" side to side in Z though.

Blimey Craig, from that era two inches was almost nothing!
Those were the days when you read in the papers how Mr X put his BL car into the dealer'S with 11 faults. But when he got it back there were 17! Such a shame really because some, like the Triumph Stag should have - could have, even been superb cars.

It was about the same time as the SD1 was launched that they introduced a fine of £25 if they traced a dumped car back to you. I remember when we first saw the SD1 that someone quipped - "Do you realise that in ten years someone will be fined £25 for dumping that ?"

 

[malcolm E53 AMG]

https://www.bing.com/images/search?...=427&expw=640&first=1&cal=0&cat=0&car=1&cab=1

TWR Developed the SD1 into a very potent machine dominating the touring car scene in the mid 80s. I remember watching them race at Donington against Frank Sytner's B*W, great days

 

[00slk]

Great cars the V8 SD1's, I always wanted one, thought they looked great when first introduced and put it on my list as a have to have one day. First opportunity came with a '77 V8 which was 5 years old, took it for a test drive, hmmm rattle rattle from all the doors, velour seats were uncomfortable, needless to say I didn't buy it and thought I'd rub that of the 'to own list'
Then I had a desire to repower a TR7 with a V8, so bought a Vitesse SD1, great on mechanicals, just as bad body wise and just as uncomfortable as it was 30years ago!
I think the drivers door was slightly longer than the passenger door for ease of entry and exiting???? I meant to measure the front doors when I stripped the SD1 but forgot

 

[John Laidlaw]

A TR8, now there was an interesting car....

 

[Naraic]

Wow!
Shame he used such crappy Ferrari's to lift the styling from, still I suppose that was the height in the 80's, after all!

70s.

 

[Naraic]

I always fancied one, but every time I went to look at a potential car, they were just a heap of crap. Everything rattled, doors clanged, rust everywhere, and thet 70's interior (I kow it came out in the 80's but it was dated already).

They still look pretty good with the big front spoiler (only on the later, up-market models) but they just came across as a pain to own. and I'm sure they would be.
Bought an Interceptor III in the end, and kept it for 33 years!

Somehow, I don't think I would have doen the same with an SD1.

The SD1 came out in the 70s...why does everyone say 80s?

 

[Craiglxviii]

The SD1 came out in the 70s...why does everyone say 80s?

Because it was the 80s as a decade that they were best remembered for.

 

[Frosty149]

The SD1 came out in the 70s...why does everyone say 80s?

Cos when your this old your memory's not what it was - just like the cars

 

[davemercedes]

A TR8, now there was an interesting car....

I think the TR6 was the last one that still had the Triumph "heart" - it looked and felt like a modern version of 3A- 4 and 5 - a proper British sports car, although the Lucas injection system kept the warranty department busy! The TR7 was awful. I worked at a Triumph distributor and at one time we had over 30 in stock because unsurprisingly they stopped ordering them across the pond.

So in addition to my normal company car (we all used to drive tax-free demo cars in those days) I had a TR7 which got replaced as fast as I could get 3000 miles on it, so they could sell it as a low mileage used or ex-demo car (I don't think they'd even invented pre-reg back then!). At one time I had two x TR7s - one that I had to keep dry and clean because it was promised to someone and the other that I had to get "weathered" by driving through as much wet and mud as I could because we found out the floor had been repaired before it arrived. I remember my son's favourite colour was yellow and I went home in a brand new yellow one and took him up the M1 with him saying "Go on... Dad, go on..." as the speedo went up and up. I didn't have one blow up on me although they all rattled and had lots of wind noise and one did start overheating - all down to the aluminium head which didn't get cooled enough.

Ahh... memories... I could get into one quite easily in those days!

 

[Srdl]

The SD1 came out in the 70s...why does everyone say 80s?

They actually came out in 1976....

Cos when your this old your memory's not what it was - just like the cars

I had to Google it!

 

[turbopete]

A TR8, now there was an interesting car....

interesting, yes. still RUBBISH though!

I'm probably a bit younger than many people here since as the SD1 was launched in 1976, I'm only a year older than it! HOWEVER in my life, I only remember 6 vehicles I would have considered owning that I would have ever CONSIDERED owning, especially from that approximate era, and 3 of those are because IMO they looked pretty good at the time.

the lookers first
Triumph Stag
Triumph Spitfire
Triumph 2000 (and associated variations of it, the ones I remember looked like the stag before they cut the roof off and they probably were!)

the others?
the Mini. never liked it as a car but seemed the one car that had loads of tuning potential, even to me as a kid in the 70s/80s
Jaguar (and Daimler badged twin) probably series 3 then, later the XJ6/8 saloon
Land Rover Series (Later the defender)

the SD1 looked great but seemed troublesome, even when new, to the people I knew who owned them, Maxi's were supposedly decent by BL standards but just looked HORRID! Allegro - All aggro! Marina was a poor copy of a Cortina. we had 1 between 2 Cortinas. I told dad to NEVER buy another marina EVER - I was 7 at the time!

 

[John Laidlaw]

Indeed Pete!
However 70's when I was a boy I had literally no idea therefore theings like..
Triumph TR7, Spitfire and Stag, also Dolomite Sprint 1850 Sport
MGB GT V8
Cortina 1600E, Capri
Were what I lusted after..