Out on the road with Charlie Broomfield in his 27-litre Rover SD1

The third and final part of the Charlie Broomfield trilogy has finally dropped!
When I visited Charlie a few weeks ago, the weather was cool but relatively dry and he asked if I wanted to join him for a spin in his Meteor-powered street-legal Rover. Well, go on then, if I have to....
A massive thank-you to the thousands of you who have viewed part I and II of this tale, and all you new subscribers to the channel. I really appreciate it. It's good to know that there are plenty of people out there who still love genuinely home-built, home-engineered, unique cars rather than the high-tech homogenous blobs filling the showrooms these days!
#roversd1 #builtnotbought #ppcmag #rollsroycemeteor #aircraftengine
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[@karlcurrie2087]

Video was nice to see the rover cruising along so peacefully but i would have preferred if charlie boy gave it at least a spoonfull of beans .

[@RIPPERTON]

Yeah I was expecting at least one full throttle squirt on the hiway.

[@michaelthomas8981]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/m5q9eohrabyMrtk

[@philip_james]

@@RIPPERTON yup me too. Not sure of the point of it if you don't open it right up

[@Virus2ktube]

He released the beans on a runway on an episode on fifth gear

[@Virus2ktube]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/m5q9eohrabyMrtk

[@fredfred2363]

Puts my V12 moggie to shame... Who needs any revs with all that torque!? Love this!

[@cathandphilbomford417]

Used to see Charlie's builds in ppc magazine. He's a humble back yard genius engineer with immense ability. This is proper engineering.....

[@tomskimcdouglegaming806]

Cool stroy b00mer

[@andyhunt457]

Nothing can beat a man in a shed world beating stuff happens with men in sheds

[@stevefinch8519]

Awsome always wondered how it drives on the road used to be regularly featured in ppc staff cars but that's now gone , what a cool engineering masterpiece .

[@theexplorer9596]

Ever since he built it, it has still been the unicorn of cars you just want!

[@gregjarvis3288]

That is a true testament to the genius of the man.....fantastic.

[@iancharlton678]

Been watching this joyous creation for many years 🙂🇬🇧 Arguably the best installation of that engine in a car. The Peterson/Bentley Meteor is gorgeous but not a daily….. obviously Charlie’s would be ruinous in regular use, but no bigger footprint than any SD1. Much as I have always marvelled at “the Beast”……… its looks are challenging and it sounds like a bag of hammers…….. it never, in my opinion, sounds like a Meteor/Merlin…….. whereas Charlie’s under load, sounds like a flypast from a Spitfire. I’m so glad he’s still out playing with the car…….. and hope he continues. The likes of Charlie and Allen Millyard epitomise our Nations unique talents…. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️🇬🇧🏁

[@mongrelmercury1016]

I remember years ago when I lived in Melton Mowbray hearing about this guy and this rover, I loved every bit of this ride along. Awesome car and a very clever bloke.

[@sparkydave2783]

What a delightfully impractical contrivance. Thanks for sharing.

[@nlo114]

If I ever get stuck in traffic on the A1, I want to be just diagonally ahead of this car, and revel in the sound, without choking on the exhaust. 😊

[@danielmarshall4587]

NO NO NO....... get yourself a good whiff of the "TAILPIPE".

[@robmorris87]

If? all you have to do is drive on it and the trucks and economy drivers do the rest

[@martinfahrni5677]

Thank you lads for the perspective, that is the longest and widest grin I have worn in a long time , thank you.

[@hoost3056]

I remember this build and getting the engine management together was a bear. Good on Charlie for seeing it all the way through

[@TheBrokenMountainBiker]

Fantastic to see another video of this amazing machine emerge! I remember reading about it when Charlie was still building it in PPC magazine. Guessing that boost gauge means he did eventually turbocharge it!

[@stevena9305]

Presumably the engine is an ex tank RR Meteor rather than a Merlin (which would have supercharging)?

[@TheBrokenMountainBiker]

@@stevena9305 yeah I watched the other videos after this one and it's supercharged. What made me think about turbos is I remember in PPC magazine Charlie saying he wanted to twin turbo it.

[@danielmarshall4587]

GLORIOUS, thank you for this.

[@paulfrisby4424]

Drove by my house. Suprised didnt see you. I loved the conversation I had with Charlie whilst on my daily lockdown walk. He has so much knowledge and you feel the real labour of love he has for the car.

[@edenhopkins9137]

There certainly is a novelty to this unique and I believe historical vehicle. For what is now a two seater Rover and almost sitting in the rear seat position , I would prefer the original SD1 , with upgrades and the engine warmed over . The car certainly is a labour of love and I like how and why things have been done to it , the way they have. Awesome 👍

[@wilfeveritt3959]

What a engineer Charlie is l take my hat to him fantastic

[@grahamsmith7394]

As good an any Interceptor that Max drove, just need to nail it more!

[@bessiebraveheart]

I've just turned 77 and I've had to retire from fast cars, i've gone frail. Just subbed, I like this channel.

[@craigbuckley3373]

Wonderful Rover and toy. I had a 5-speed manual V8 and that was special enough but this is almost unbelievable and seems actually quite civilised as a driving experience and also quiet as well. i wouldn't have believed it without seeing for myself. Excellent...

[@dufus7396]

Having the radiator expansion tank on the dash means easy checking and additional cabin heating

[@pdtech4524]

And topping up on the fly!

[@nickmatthews4939]

Can we have another video with some drive-bys and some blips of the throttle. Great video keep them coming 👍🏻

[@johnstephens4982]

charlie....WOW......grinned so big....i drooled

[@ricardo1e93]

To this day I'm blown away by how stupidly long the gear ratio is. I understand that he has to be that way due to low rpm but still, over 120miles per at under 1k rpm it's nuts

[@eliotmansfield]

lets hope the hot coolant bottle doesn’t split 😮

[@samrodian919]

Think I would like a bespoke aluminium tank instead of the original Rover one lol

[@markonmotoring]

That's mad and for that reason I love it. Watching the coolant in that extension bottle is slightly hypnotic. I presume it's in the cabin because there is not enough space under the bonnet? It's good for monitoring the level on the go I suppose.

[@jeffpower1490]

Id love to see it at Santa Pod love it

[@jamest.5001]

Passing a road tractor and trailer, in a car with a engine nearly twice the size, the truck is probably 16 Litre or so, I'd love to see the throttle opened in this thing!

[@MichaelMyers5678]

The acceleration is effortless which is brilliant. I love it.👍🏻

[@Auto-TaT]

It's quite hard to get an impression of speed from it with the engine revs being so low. Awesome engineering and really interesting to learn how he overcame the various challenges. Being a PPC reader since issue 1 I have followed his progress for as long as he has been in the mag. Si.

[@johncunningham4820]

Yeah . Talk about " Effortless Performance " .

[@craigarmstrong5291]

This man's a Hero for Buildings this Monster fantastic 👏

[@MarcusKeeler]

I love that despite all the hours of wizardry involved in getting it this far, Good old Charlie has zero time for not making it look like an MOT failure.

[@jonk6834]

Fantastic! Glad to see Charlie and his marvellous Rover still going strong. I met him at Mallory years and years ago, genuinely fascinating chap, as far as I can tell there’s nothing mechanical that he can’t build from scratch. As for the Rover, well, is there any other vehicle on earth that sounds as wonderful at 1000rpm?

[@FernandoPartridge]

Sounds lovely Idling.

[@kowalskipointof7406]

The mic died at 52... 😅 thanks for sharing ,I don't think I'll ever see a Rover quite the same way again! 😁

[@johnchrysostomou9417]

Wow that's quiet! Good work .

[@justint7460]

My uncle had a 42 litre marina

[@datsunruss]

That was mint!

[@rotaxtwin]

Love the aviation boost instrumentation.

[@dufus7396]

That water tank on the dash is giving me anxiety

[@rogerpritchard]

Would love to hear more about the build, history etc like a proper documentary. After all, it's the fastest Rover ever likely to exist. Brilliant achievement 👏.

[@davekennedy6315]

if you slotted a bog standard Chevy 6.2ltr V8 with its 500+bhp youd be quicker than this! Let alone if you used the supercharged version with 750+bhp (again standard, warrantied crate motors) With the first engine id guess at a top speed of 170+mph and with the supercharged version id guess at 190+mph! Its a prehistoric plane/tank engine that cant rev it only has power due to being 27ltrs plus its stupidly heavy. This tops out at 150mph from what i remember (granted i think its only doing a little over 2000rpm?) thats well easy to beat with a modern engine and transmission. He even mentions how laughably shite the tolerances were back then, i mean this was the 1940s after all! 27ltr and around 600bhp and (a very impressive granted) 1500 lbft torque at most for an engine that most likely delivers gallons per mile instead of miles per gallon haha! Plus the engine weighs 650kg so about the weight of 3 modern high powered V8s!

[@DaleSteel]

Wow its a right banger

[@TomBudin]

bro absolutely INSANE

[@Reman1975]

I do hope you asked Mr B if you could tag along with your camera next time he takes this for a runway top speed test?

[@ciaranburke3243]

Fantastic piece of engineering love it 👌

[@jeffschall2062]

The camera man was probably praying that it didn't overheat with what looked like the expansion tank between his legs at about chest high.lol

[@tvdinner325]

I assume he has a mate at the MOT garage.

[@jeffschall2062]

Disappointed that he didn't get on it on the freeway and didn't even Rev it up any, all I heard was what sounded like a drive belt squalking,

[@johndavies4644]

The real mad max..

[@benjaminbenson8714]

Its brilliant because its reliable.

[@garyrigelseven6929]

Insurance company : "Has it been modified in any way ?" Reply : "It's had a bit of work" ! Operation No Smoking 🚭!

[@doca8792]

I don’t understand it, but I like it.

[@Steve-Cross]

Just goes to show how far engine development has come. I have a 1300 mild hybrid turbo charged engine in my new Qashqai. It can sit at 70 mph on the motorway at 1500 rpm all day. It doesn’t sound as glorious as Charlies engine though. 😊

[@rotaxtwin]

80 or maybe 90 years of development!

[@zilspeed]

It's a bit torquey then.

[@joseywales3789]

Just a little bit 🤣😂

[@aviobrain]

Certainly torquey!

[@staywhite6332]

That quick joy ride must've cost 1,000 pounds of fuel! Lol

[@jaggass]

2 mpg

[@MarkDaleADV]

In another video he said that on a trip to the Nurburgring it returned better fuel economy that a standard vitesse, did I hear that right?

[@mrg-ghx8052]

send it!

[@djicepole]

16:57 Once the gold micra finally indicates left, we get to understand the torque! Edit: i started the timestamp early for context. They were in the way for a while. But! They just wanted to get past the truck so it's easier to sit in that lane. No driving taboos were harmed! Extra edit before i get dog piled: it's a mini. Ok.

[@Schnorbitz]

Great watch these 3 vids were but not sure Charlie will be impressed with the whole internet knowing where he lives. Might I suggest a re-cut?

[@joseywales3789]

27ltr.... Who needs a Speedo??? 🤣😂

[@malcolmmoy]

Why left hand drive? Other than that, amazing engineering and so well thought out.

[@Chr.U.Cas2216]

Dear Mal Moy Simply because most of the world drives on the right right side! 😁 ;-) 👅 Best regards luck and health.

[@nickmaclachlan5178]

@@Chr.U.Cas2216 But this is a UK built car, being driven in the UK, where we drive on the left side of the road, in right hand drive cars....... therefore it's a bit of an oddball... besides the fact that it has the engine it does.

[@stephensmith1343]

Its down to the parts he had available

[@Roger-hq1yt]

He was given a left-hand drive steering box so it was made left-hand drive.

[@stephenbrookes7268]

I am intreagued to know about the transmission. I watched a documentary about John Dodd. He was living in Spain and still tinkering with the Beast's transmission. The problem with aeroplane engines in cars are the lack of rev range. The huge torque is also an issue. When it is possible to get 4or500 bhp from a small light engine which will be drivable and fast, the only reason for a plane engine in a car is to say you have done it. I am glad these things exist and the eccentric engineers that build them but I am going to stick to small light and fast.

[@thehotrodgazette]

Sadly, John Dodd passed away last month. Fortunately his family are all petrolheads, so The Beast will live on. I know John was a transmission specialist by trade.

[@stephenbrookes7268]

@@thehotrodgazette I wondered as I wrote the comment if John was still with us, but didn't want to check. RIP John Dodd. I hope petrol head heavan has lots of mad cars for you.

[@mikewa2]

@@thehotrodgazette sorry to hear John Dodd was passed on. I live in Costa Del Sol and John was very well known and a bit of a character. I bumped into him on a few occasions, sometimes he was driving his classic White Rolls Royce.On one occasion he took me for a short blast in the beast, noisy thing with a step down differential that made terrible whine. I wonder what will happen to it now as it’s still on UK plates?

[@matfenwick]

From what I remember from PPC magazine, this has a 1:3(?) planetary reduction gearbox between the engine and main gearbox. Both increasing the rev range, and reducing the torque to be closer to more typical automotive levels.

[@DJdoppIer]

Christ, this thing could probably tow a freaking train engine on a flatbed and not even break a sweat. Absolute monster!!! Btw how many *_gallons per mile_* does this thing get???

[@jaggass]

2 gallons per mile

[@englishexplorer5985]

I don't know what to say for once I didn't think it could be done.

[@alexwilkinson4896]

Where did he find a gearbox capable of taking all that power and torque, i wonder?

[@jamesblood6799]

What an amazing car with that engine but the rover sd1 only gets better with age, still a beautiful looking car even now 👍👍👍👍👍

[@urbanjentry222]

Same/similar brake pump on Cosworth Sierra looks like

[@julesviolin]

He didn't get from A - B any faster than the original engine though I bet ?

[@paulinenicol8214]

Lovely bloke , but would be nice to see what it goes like

[@audia2fixingrepairsandmodi850]

Speed increases by 50mph , rpm moves to 550…..

[@dufus7396]

Running in cooler days actually increases radiator effeciency by compound curve...decreases effeciecy on hot days even more sadly...shedding latent heat slower than build up..cowled fans and electric waterpumps needed.

[@ianalderton6683]

this car 'needs' to live in Germany ; )

[@richardarmstrong3053]

Might as well of taken a moped for a ride out

[@bonkeydollocks1879]

6:48 for a bit of power

[@gilesbrittain2829]

Why did he build it as a LHD? What brakes he got on it? How much is original SD1?

[@thehotrodgazette]

Check the other videos on this channel for build details (brakes are Jaguar, btw)

[@brusselssprouts560]

A crazy car, that reminds me of an F1 I went to that had a rocket propelled truck, and a rocket propelled motor bike on demo. Love it!

[@michaelbolt4530]

Sounds amazing, the ultimate f….you engine

[@earlwright9715]

What was the engine originally for?

[@hoost3056]

This engine, I believe, is a Meteor. This variant was used in tanks and was naturally aspirated

[@simonholmes3456]

Coolant looks a little low lol

[@fyx812]

Sounds like he didn't get it over an idle.!!! If he Really put his Foot in it, it would probably RIP the Seats Out of the Floor!!!

[@alandean6692]

Let's see the police keep up with monster in a chase

[@K-Effect]

It needs the Autobahn or big American freeways

[@manmeetsinghsekhon8649]

But why is it a left hand drive??

[@johnfuga1223]

Wouldn't like it to blow it's expansion tank

[@skeetermcswagger0U812]

That's almost 1650 cubic inches. That's about four Dodge Hellcat motors......

[@gerry5134]

Doing 30 mph with engine just idling

[@tonydoherty5614]

what would it do ,if they took it to an autobaun

[@everestwaterproofingandpai4713]

Sir can u send drive train pictures of gearbox enjine conexion want 2 build the same consept v12

[@StevensPaul]

Thank Christ for ecentric Englishmen 🚗👀😀👍....

[@madmarkuk1]

Car looks amazing and would love to see more of it but this video was like watching paint dry 23 mins if watching a car driving at tickover

[@PaulKirk-dp9mb]

almost as much low speed torque as my 2 litre diesel

[@tomkitchen2764]

Does it have to registered to be on the road? There's no way we would be able to drive it on our roadways without being booked.

[@cee5212]

It's almost certainly not road legal. I mean he has the bubbling coolant expansion tank right there 😅 lovely piece of engineering but fucking hell does it look like a death trap

[@tomkitchen2764]

Hahaaaa!! it sure does. Happy New Year to you.

[@ronarmstrong835]

All I can think of watching this is some mid engine car with this engine. Like a Lambo VT replica.

[@petergardner5002]

What size fuel tank?

[@stevena9305]

XL

[@dufus7396]

Chuck in a flux capacitator and it would be complete

[@johnbrereton5229]

Yes, but is it ULEZ compliant ? 🤭

[@MrUmpleby]

what a heap !!!

[@djicepole]

It's reversing out of the garage on tickover. That's all clutch no throttle!

[@timinclt7895]

What part of West Virginia are you located?😂😂