Rover SD1 Project: The Whole Nine Yards

[@hermanmunster3358]

Great restore job. The SD1 is THE car that I have always wanted. Still as beautiful today, as it was in the 70's and 80's. And doesn't look out of place amongst todays mile munchers.

[@JT-ce4vt]

My favourite car of all time, surely the most beautiful, it oozes elegance, you have done a truly brilliant job on her, you really are experts to go to that standard.

[@blue_blue-1]

You are my heroes. Breathtaking.

[@Vaudotusker]

I had one of these over 20 years ago and despite its faults (of which there were many) loved it. I wish i could bring back mine as good as this !!

[@V8Operator]

Congratulation to that very rare and very nicely restored VDP EFi.... the colour seems to be Opaline Green. Greetings from a German SD1 enthusiast driving a 1985 LHD Vitesse in Moonraker Blue. To me the car is a masterpiece of timeless design as many other British cars were.

[@jeffheineken6709]

V8Operator Coming from a German, that’s pretty cool thing to say. It saddens me to see no decent British volume cars on the roads - lots of German cars though.

From Junk to Swank. Nice job boys! I had one of these, in yellow... the Yellow Peril. It was a Beast... I miss it now. Thanks for the memories...

[@apemoon1731]

Awesome job. I had a white V8 Vanden Plas in the early 90's. I wish I still had it.

[@sensescaper]

If only everyone in Cowley had demonstrated the same dedication and care as yourselves. If they had - more would still be on the road, and it would have the status it was worthy of when it left the design board. As a young intern running about the south east - I regularly borrowed and drove a number of these - and it was sad to hear the tales from managers I borrowed them off saying; "never bloody again" - after a legion of trips to dealers who (in most cases) couldn't give a stuff and a fault list as long as the 'magna carta'. The design was fantastic and the notion of a 'global car' was the absolute right vision. Just some of the chumps at BL screwed up that vision with a raft of belligerence and (often) a "spend a pound to save tuppence" attitude.

[@simonjohnhinton1938]

Loved these cars. My father had a 3500v8 SE with all the electrics but used to chew fuel which is not surprising as it had the SU's and not injection. Wonderfully smooth on the road and virtually silent running. Haven't seen one in a long time but there must be a few out there still going.

[@sensescaper]

It was really Phoenix Venture holdings that killed off Rover - the Chinese, commercially took them to the cleaners in the most spectacular way, but the 'Phoenix Four' felt that they were doing a great job and paid themselves very handsomely for running the last bits of the once proud name completely into the ground. @B Brunson

[@glenatkinson7732]

One of my favourite cars. You didn't see many of them here in Toronto Canada. However, my uncle in England had the V8 and I got to drive it a few times. I loved it and apparently so did he as he owned it until 2015.

[@chrissharman9169]

Looks so good. Love an SD1 especially the 3500 V8 Vitesse. Awesome job. Better than factory fresh.👍👍

[@siebel204]

Looks great. I used to own a 1985 model 2600S for 17 years. Always loved that car, the shape and specially the handling.

[@richardprice7763]

I had a B reg VDP carburettor and I desperately wanted the EFi for that extra 35bhp....great fun for a 20 year old student back in '93 when I wasnt changing the fuel pump!

[@alistairshaw3206]

What a beautiful restoration, in a very rare colour for the EFI. I had a 2600S in Opaline Green. I owned most variants of the SD1 but the V8 was the best, especially with the 5 speed manual transmission. I had an early series 1 and a 1985 V8 VDP with the rare manual box. Unfortunately it was stolen and burned out, otherwise I would still have it.

[@1SaG]

Awesome job! Always loved the SD1 and begged my dad to get one back in the day (he didn't listen, of course :) ). To be fair to the BL-workers: quality control has come a long way since the 1970s. I remember hearing and reading horror-stories back then of brand new Fords, Opels, BMWs, etc who were total nightmares for their owners (and for the dealers). Heck, even Japanese cars back then were not *that* bulletproof. I remember a friend of my mom's 3 year old Civic which was covered in rust-pimples on more than one body-panel. Of course, I also remember another friend's SD1 which was in the repair shop every few weeks or so, but that's another story... ;)

[@johnj3577]

Lovely job... Would love to know the cost of the restoration!

[@poulgammelgaard8868]

Great job. Thank you very much for sharing. I have a VDP V8 carb '84 LHD in moonraker blue, it has been standing in a dry storage since december 16. 1993. It has 112k km on the clock and is rustfree. After watching your video, I think I will take it out of storage and start it up :-)

[@lazycalm41]

Handsome car! I mate of mine once owned a late model Vitesse and he took me for a decent blast round Birmingham and onto the motorway. I was gobsmacked at how effortless it was. The car was a powerhouse on wheels and it left me with a lasting impression for years. Also I believe the later Sdi's were built pretty well too. My mate owned his for years with very few problems.

[@RideCamVids]

A great result with dedication to the job. Since new outer door skins went on I would have reformed the ends of each door skin to close those stupidly wide panel gaps SD1s are known for.

[@clarkgriswold5903]

I once owned a 1980 Triumph TR8 5speed, air, Holly 4 barrel, convertible with the same motor as the SD1, what a blast it was to drive!

[@TheSoupdragon1968]

I remember as a young boy being picked up from the house in one. It was one of my dad's friends. It was one of the very first released a brown one with bark brown Valor interior V8. We went for a proper drive in it. I can still remember how smooth it sounded and what a nice interior it had even now.. It should of saved rover, but was not really that well put together. I would have a late series 2 one if it had been restored properly or I could have it restored to my spec. Great car!

[@richardcarter1000]

Great job. Looks way better than new.

[@andygreen1a]

Stunningly beautiful, if this restored car was mine I would never part with it

[@jeffallinson8089]

I was always a massive fan of the SD1 and this is an amazing transformation.

[@luinesharpuines192]

Great job ! For sure better than factory made, instead of strikes the workers should have put there energy in the product. Rover would still be alive today

[@johnrea2115]

Luines Harpuines # a perfect storm inept management and yes extremist trade unionists feeding a sense of entitlement from the workforce, a British story of its time, but so to was Rovers final decline a government desperate to avoid bad publicity before election giving handouts to incompetent fat cats who asset stripped the company ran it into the ground and disappeared with millions so the blame was wide spread

[@philnewstead5388]

John Rea you,are absolutely correct but I think the decline can be traced back to the mid sixties lack of investment in and development of new models, don't forget the only major change to the Morris Minor in its 25 year production was the replacement of the side valve engine with the A series OHV engine. Then after all the troubles in the seventies Mrs Thatcher just wanted to offload BL asap and after bits of it got sold variously to Ford and BMW and then after BMW took,the technology they wanted it was bought by Pheonix nominally for £10 who either cynically or incompetently ran it into the ground. After all that it was Tony Blairs government that finally let it die. The French motor industry has been in the same position at least three times since the war but with interest free loans from the government which have been repaid and they now have one of the strongest motor industries in Europe.

[@jaydeepshiralkar954]

I'm in love with the shape of this..

[@liverpoolscottish6430]

Absolutely outstanding restoration. The SD1 is a timeless piece of design- still looks absolutely superb today- far better than the modern dross on offer.

[@jjefferyworboys8138]

Great job and attention to detail. Lovely to see, although at what cost ?

[@teatimetel174]

amazing job and another saved classic.

[@rovercoupe7104]

Beautiful. Well done. M.

[@ericgeorge5483]

Wow what a stunner, great job guys.

[@pascalkrzeminski7341]

Beautiful Rover SD1

[@JESSIEBBS]

I'm looking to get one of these, what sort of price we looking at to get all this done to it?

[@RPIEngineering]

Hi, Massively depends on the condition of the original car and current cost of required parts. The best thing would be to give us a call on 01603 891209 to discuss what jobs we would be able to undertake for you.

[@seancain7305]

fantastic job .... congrats

[@saabturboguy]

nice work bud!!!

[@radmansa5514]

One on the most beautiful cars of its era, still capable of competing with car designs of today👍👍👌😎😎

[@Dan-up6do]

The final product is how it should have looked from the factory, good work guys.

[@RoadCone411]

A lot of work but wow - the end result is so beautiful! The car is probably better than it was when it left the showroom! I always loved the SD1, even though they were controversial when new in 1976 because of the radical styling, they commanded a presence just the same as the old Auntie Rovers of the '50s and '60s but carried with it modern looks that still look fresh four decades on, especially with the early 1980s refresh that saw flusher-mounted head and tail lights. No Rover since - with the possible exception of the Rover 75, itself a possible future classic - carries the same kind of authority or classy feel and styling of the SD1. Sure, it was not always well-built and there were rust problems, particularly on the early cars, but the worst of the maladies had more or less been addressed by the early 1980s, if I am not mistaken. Yes this example had rampant rust prior to its restoration, but it's a 38 year old vehicle!

[@nkt1]

BloomingOnion I think the original headlights look better.

[@RoadCone411]

I liked the flush mounted headlights better - but it was a subtle change anyway.

[@deankew1408]

Wow what a credit to all of you Skilled men putting the 100s of man hours in time Effort & labour to Restore this Rover to Glory .probably done even better than when it came off the production line. The customer must of been thrilled to see his Rover in all its splendour. A credit to you guys and your Boss must be proud to have a great workforce. Can i ask what the costs were on this complete strip down and Rebuild Restoration . I'd be frightened to get it out its warm Garage . Lol well done

[@RPIEngineering]

Hi Dean, Thank you for your comments. Every job is taken on as in individual build / quote so please feel free to get in contact on [e-mail] if you would like to discuss your needs etc.

[@VDPEFi]

I had a literally identical one to this, hence the username...C895MTF if I recall, wonderful car but the tin worm claimed her so I got an e32 735i. Had a full Rimmer exhaust including wrapped tubalar manifolds, could set car alarms off it sounds incredible. The 3 speed auto killed performance but what a machine it was, wonderful steering and a lovely ride.

[@darrensmith6999]

Well done !! Worked at an Aistin Rover Dealer when i left school back in 1982 as a car valet. Is that Opaline Green?

[@johnmontgomery634]

Stunning!

[@jezchazania1336]

Great job, better than it was new! 👍😊

[@philwright8269]

That's now a minter. Rust buckets when they came out originally, even though Rover treated them! I think they treated them with salt tbh. Ohh and that V8 sound, mmmmm!

[@mrwilliecowie]

Top car mine was also a V8 RWK 715W drove it all over Europe and the locals loved it as well I think it was the small V8 badge on the wing that attracted them. miles ahead of the German / French offerings at the time.

[@garrydavis3475]

God bless you all you’re work was better than the factory originally

[@Land_Cruiser_40]

These still had rear drum brakes while the Range Rover had discs on all four wheels? That surprises me. Cheers

[@vikingraiders4138]

What a beautiful car

[@RPIEngineering]

Thank you

[@keithryan9314]

Well RPi An amazing transformation honors credits due :)

[@jamesgallagher1992]

Lovely job👍👍

[@jonathanbywater2063]

Fantastic job. I shudder to think what it must have cost though!

[@xaviercolin4336]

magnifique travaille

[@minutepapillon5060]

Bonjour Xavier ! Oui c'est sublime , cette voiture est incroyable depuis deux semaines je profite enfin de ma Rover :)

[@MotorhomeTrio]

Wish I’d kept my old V8 Vanden Plas, ended up selling it, ironically RPi weren’t interested in buying it at the time and I let it go for just £50! My biggest regret ever...

[@abc33944]

Amazing u can get Front wings for the sd1 I can’t find a new set for my st220

[@SuperGinkgo]

That work looks absolutely fantastic, a credit to all of you. If I ever "get flush" I now know who to rattle to fettle my car. Your OCD is my pleasure ;)

[@martynkersey8729]

Car I always wanted & still want, remember years ago they used these & Granada v8 as banger racers such a crime nowadays. Amazing restoration & credit to you, how long did it take to restore?

[@RPIEngineering]

The list of jobs on this car has been for ever changing and new additions so its been with us for the time needed to complete the list of jobs

[@RPIEngineering]

If you look at our Facebook posts you can see the car through all stages of the work

[@stephenreynolds6239]

Better than new.aircraft engineering standard restoration.beautiful

[@fatladhenderson183]

Acid bath the shell best way to find all the rot

[@gerry5134]

Would it be possible to fit a small block Chevy engine in an SD1 ?

[@RPIEngineering]

There is a guy who has fitted a 27 litre WW2 Spitfire engine into one. With all vehicles it is fairly possible to fit any engine into any car but for sure fitting a V8 in place of a V8 would be easier. But with a 300+ bhp 4.6 Rover V8 available that will bolt straight in why would you want to complicate things by performing a conversion to another style of V8

[@lewis72]

I like the idea of putting a Stag V8 in an SD1 or a TR7/8, just as BL may have done back in the day had things been slightly different. I also wondered if the Jaguar V12 would fit in an SD1 (and Range Rover), given that the SD1 had an I6 and a V8 fitted. Again, something that could have been offered back in the day if BL had decided to do so. Rover 5300 Vanden Plas EFi has a ring to it !

[@984francis]

Why? Small black chevy engines are becoming a parasite.

[@lewis72]

Maybe a Stag V8 with Dolly Sprint heads (yeah, you'd have a job with one bank getting the head to work) or maybe the Jag AJ133 V8 ? That would be a fitting swap.

[@KenEdwardsz]

Great job

[@oldwarrenpointforum]

I had about 13 of them all in (most V8's) I think 8 were runners the rest parts cars that actually ran but were never officially (legally ;-) ) on the road Have to say despite lots of horror stories they (on reflection anyway) were just as reliable as any of my modern cars - I a 2006 Merc S class for 6 months before electrical gremlins killed it off (strange how all my SD1's never had that issue!) I have a LS430 Lexus now and its proving to be very reliable but I would go back to a nice VDP V8 if I could afford it (nice ones are now way out of my price range) Nice restoration be nice to see the inside :-)

[@davidanderson3586]

BEAUTIFUL :-)

[@jameslatimer1432]

Amazing car

[@toddavies1326]

Great job - shame it won’t stay like that very long

[@internetpolification]

So...how many hours, over what period of time and how much money did this cost? It looks an insane idea to me, albeit excellently done.

[@crooky1811]

Awesome job Guy's

[@matthewwright6852]

Hi super car vid love the 3500sdi music is far out man

[@richardprice7763]

SD1 not SDi

[@mattw8332]

Nice!

[@barukkazhad8998]

I've always wanted another one of these

[@trabali5168]

excellent, not to sure of the colour though.

[@GdaySport]

At least they got the streak out of it left by the unionised drunken numpties that nailed it together all them years ago!

[@thrunsguinneabottle3066]

Did I see DRUM brakes?

[@EppingForest304]

I haven't seen an SD1 on UK roads for many years...

[@williamwoods8022]

Ther is one an SD1 Vitesse at the end of my street that the guy still uses as a daily driver. Still get to hear that V8 burble every time he passes.

[@garrydavis3475]

Was the first car I ever had at fifteen joy riding payed 50pounds for it wished I still had it however it’s chances of not rusting away we’re slim

[@williamwoods8022]

All cars back then rusted away if you let them. I used to rust proof and underseal my cars back then. Most people just drove their cars and never even bothered to check their oil or water never mind do anything else and it is still the same today although you do not need to bother with rust any more. There is a guy along the end of my street who still daily drives an SD1 Vitesse. It has some rust coming through at least one of the rear arches but that is his fault for not cleaning under there and rustproofing and sealing it. If it was my car that would not be happening.

[@MrRea112]

This was a fundamentally well engineered car (barring that live rear axle) completely messed up by horribly incompetent cost cutting management with non existent financial planning and poorly built by workers driven by bloody minded union leaders. It’s good to see this one restored by engineers to the glamour of where it should have been

[@heathermcglade4166]

I got a real 2 Friday afternoons SD1. They only got it half naff in one afternoon, and finished it off the next Friday afternoon. A complete pile of poo. Things like the hatchback internal hinges snapping, or the rear wiper spindle shearing off, always on a Bank Holiday, and usually on Good Friday morning. I just about had to replace everything from the front number plate back over. Truly, the work of Satan. If only it had been German built.

[@doubledee9675]

You're being too kind to the car. I'd had a P6 Rover 3500, which was an excellent car. Based on that, my mother decided to buy and SD1 when they reached the Aust market. It was truly an appalling car. It looked as if the interior had been designed to metric measurements, while the exterior stayed true to imperial. When someone realised this, they decided that the simple conversion of 2.54 cm to the inch was close enough and went ahead on that basis. Nothing fitted; pieces fell off right, left and centre; the doors and hatch leaked; you name it, if it could go wrong, it did. The engine was carried over and at least missed these faults, but was put together by British workmen to British standards - in other words very badly indeed. My mother kept hers for 12 months and then took it back to the dealer. Luckily for her the dealer was honest and gave her around 85% of what she had paid for it, no questions asked. No wonder that subsequent cars badged as Rover sold very poorly indeed when the Honda originals .did well

[@heathermcglade4166]

DoubleDee She did the right thing. The starter motor on my SD1 stuck when I was in a traffic jam on a motorway. I had to push start it by myself...they were a heavy car. I needed fuel so called in at a petrol station, knowing I would need to push start it again. I saw another SD1 fuelling up, so I asked the driver if he would help me, he said yes I will, if you will help me push start my SD1 the starter motor has failed. Says it all really.

[@williamwoods8022]

Heather Mcglade - Thats funny there is a guy who runs a Silver SD1 Vitesse as a daily runner along the end of my street just now and he has done for years - he had a SD1 before that as well. That is still going strong with no bits shearing off or snapping. I had a 1978 Morris Marina 1.8 HL/TC and that was an excellent reliable car as well as was the 1980 Austin Allegro1750 Equipe and no bits sheared or snapped off of those either. Then again I looked after and serviced my own cars and didnt buy someone elses unlooked after heap of crap that lots of people do and then they blame the car/manufacturer. Most of the car manufacturers were having the same problems back then with build quality and strikes apart from the Japanese but the numpties only like to spout the Top Gear drivel about BL etc. Ha Ha Ha about German build quality when in FACT all the German manufacturers come out as POOR for reliablity especially here in the UK in the ACTUAL break down charts - so much so that VW was banned from advertising how reliable they were because they WEREN'T. Renault is the most reliable of the European cars these days and have been for over a decade now.

[@heathermcglade4166]

William Woods Thank you for your reply William. I have owned Rovers for nearly 40 years now, the original 827 Sterling, then the new 827 Sterling Coupe, both great cars, especially the Coupe, and I'm still running another great Rover, my 75, nearly 17 years old, and just sailed through its MOT 2 days ago, it's a quite wonderful car. So I don't decry Rovers, far from it, I love the marque. I guess my SD1 was just a lemon, you do get them, but I'm glad I persevered with Rovers. Quality cars.

[@doubledee9675]

@@heathermcglade4166 No, William Woods's neighbour was the lucky one who was sold one of the 8 decently built cars made that year. The SD1 completely ruined Rover's reputation here.

[@billybellend1155]

The series 1 was terrible it was almost sabotaged by the workforce. However the last of the line series 2 were quite well sorted.

[@Greig300]

These guys done the SD1 for Jeremy Clarkson in the 90s I’m sure...

[@neildutton8077]

Should have put a gonzo engine in it

[@Nate2Late]

Was R.i.P Now RPi 😂

[@9256steven]

Like quite a few BL cars, a super design, but badly executed. The average early '80s factory worker couldn't be bothered to do the right thing and do a good job.

[@theaylesburycyclist8756]

Oh, it's a slide show... 🙄👎

[@georgeprime2249]

Stupid music. If you can call it that. Great car the SD1.

[@RPIEngineering]

Unfortunately we are not musical composers and are limited to using free to use license music for such videos were we are not talking and feel some background music is required.

[@984francis]

Nice!