The Golden Wonder SD1 Rally Car Story

This video is about the Golden Wonder SD1 rally car, which took Ken Wood and Peter Brown to victory in the Scottish Rally Championship in 1984, and a little history both before and after that event. This is a story that tells how the car rose to fame, and ended it's career as a shortened version before being restored to its former glory.
Don't forget to subscribe and keep in touch through the links below:
www.overdrive-...
/ adminoverdriveonline
/ malcolm_overdrive_online
/ overdriveonlin1
/ overdriveonline7921
You can also support us on Patreon
/ overdriveonline7921

[@JeremyWilliams-tz4xt]

What a story, what a car and your determination. But the wheels look from another era. Why not make it period? It looks a bit awkward, but at the same time, what a journey!

[@OverDriveOnline7921]

To be fair, I’ve no idea what happened with the wheels. By the time Michael got the car, the original wheels had long since been destroyed and I suspect, getting something similar these days would have been a custom one-off job what would have cost a lot of money. That said, there is a market for SD1 wheels, but these are existing designs salvaged from deceased cars and are not going down in value anytime soon. Also we have to look at whether or not these are standard SD1 parts in the hubs and not some modified setup with a none standard PCD (The SD1 was over engineered anyhow, except for the brakes, but that’s another story), as it happens this is standard Rover PCD so any SD1 wheel “should” fit fine, assuming you can find the type you want. I had a set similar to the ones that most SD1’s were raced in when I had my cars, however finding one of these now is nigh on impossible, never mind a set of 4. Remember, these cars came out in 1976 and by 1986 were no more. They sold well, but sadly are not high up on many peoples list of classics (though driving a twin plenum V8 Vitesse is still a huge thrill).

[@Dingolfing]

Great video with some very interesting information. Why totally ruin it by having such awful background music which makes it difficult to hear what you are actually saying, hear the car, etc.

[@66Revolution]

Please dump the background music!

[@2Truth2you]

Why do we have the effing music?

[@davekennedy6315]

Those race RV8s were pokey, some were mentioned in my 88/89 Guiness Book Of World Cars (that I've lost unfortunately I think) Like the TR8 Pikes Peak with a fair bit of power and one of the worst mpgs featured, as in low single figures!

[@big-e6707]

Engine sound would of been enough without the back ground music ruining the V8.

[@dumptrump3788]

I think I saw this car back in the 80s, going through the Sutton Park Special Stage....on 3 wheels, 2 rear & 1 front. It looked like the tire had punctured &, whoever was driving it, just kept going until the rim was ground down almost flat on one side. It didn't really seem to make any difference the way it went around corners...loud & proud, with a Rooster Tail of dirt flying off the back.

[@OverDriveOnline7921]

hat's quite possible! The car was raced for a few years in this livery and is taken on special stages currently. despite the one video of Tony Pond crashing in the RAC Rally, he and others were quite successful in these cars, though they do seem to be forgotten these days. I've been lucky enough to own two of these cars (Road going ones) and also to sit in this car and of course film it. It's currently in St Annes and I believe for sale, though the price is quite high

[@PeterPrestonUK]

I stumbled upon an unused sticker that I was hoping to have seen on the 1983 car - it's hard to tell from the vintage footage and it's not on the restored version. It's a Golden Wonder Rally Team Scottish Champions 1982 sticker. Must've been a supporters item.

[@OverDriveOnline7921]

That's interesting and possibly the reason behind this is that part way through the 19i3 season the car was replaced by an MG6R4. Also the restoration was done with original plans, which would not have included this decal as the car was yet to win. It may be worth getting in touch with the current owner, Michael Kitt on Facebook with details of this as he has a comprehensive record of the cat and may be interested to know more. Bear in mind he currently has the car up for sale

[@barukkazhad8998]

Wow

[@heyabusa1]

Yet another really good vid ruined by back ground racket/'music'.

[@chunkybuster7203]

I love the SD1 V8 ( had one for 8 years) . One rally driver said it has 330 bhp! Jesus that must have been a handful! Are you trying to piss us off with the Muzak!

[@OverDriveOnline7921]

Hi, I've had 2 SD1's, the 4 cylinder 2000 and the straight 6 2600, love the cars and if I could have another I would. The music is a little too loud in places, though I was still learning when this was put together. I'd lower the levels and re-upload but the original masters are on a NAS drive which is in a pretty sorry state at the moment. One day I'll get time to build a Linux machine and rescue the data onto another disk, but that won't be until the New Year at the earliest

[@johnbrereton5229]

Great video and very informative, apart from the annoying music.I had an SD1 2.3 straight six what a lovely car, it looked great just parked and was a joy to drive. The six cylinder engine was silky smooth and fast, I would still drive one now if they made them.

[@OverDriveOnline7921]

I’ve had two, the 2 litre o series 2000 and the straight 6 2600, both fast, both amazing to drive but from a standing start, the 4 cylinder o series left the straight six for dead, until you hit the higher gears and the straight six strolled past. Beautiful cars though, there was nothing before or since that can match them really for combination of looks, space, practicality and style

[@bjharvey3021]

cant even give it a proper paint job after all these years. no dignity.

[@OverDriveOnline7921]

Looking through the article I found, they first experimented with a donor car, but that ended up too short to be agile. They then worked on the actual car, but not cutting as deep, adding an extra 5 inches or so to get the escort wheelbase length. This was the same shell that was restored and the chassis number was what the current owner used to verify the identity of the car

[@roodivalentino2416]

Didn't Tony Pond try his luck with one?

[@OverDriveOnline7921]

Indeed he did and despite some bad luck in the first stage of the RAC rally, was quite successful with the car

[@stuartleckie]

saw the car back in 83 or 84, at a stop at (I think) Gartwhinzean Hotel, and also on the stages. Looked good, sounded GREAT !! Nice video.

[@OverDriveOnline7921]

I’d have loved to see it up close back then as it was intended to be from factory, with the refit and shortening, the original dash was removed and discarded, but also would have been a fire risk should the worst happen (several fires and fatalities In Group B forced rule changes). I have sat in it though while filming in Fleetwood and even now it’s a car that grabs attention wherever it goes

[@leovaughan1902]

River looks lumpy maybe that's why we never heard about it.

[@adamweston4152]

A wonderful story, really nice car.

[@OverDriveOnline7921]

Adam Weston thank you, it took a while and was fun to do, so it’s nice when it’s appreciated 😊

[@adamweston4152]

@@OverDriveOnline7921 I had a few rally cars years ago but gave them up as they cost a fortune to keep going,also owned a 1972 AVO MEXICO MK1 which was my pride and joy until it was stolen and never seen again and that broke my heart but I still love to see classic rally vehicles as my passion for rallying is still strong.

[@OverDriveOnline7921]

Adam Weston the guy who owns the SD1 also has one of the MG Metro 6R4’s which is currently in Gaydon motor museum, his regret in life was selling his RS200. We did a replica of the 1972 Saab 96 rally winner as well and have been trying to get a few more cars, however this years been a bit of a damp squib for cars and filming. Could well be some time before things get even close to normal, but there are some classic rally’s that have been happening and will hopefully be able to start up again some time next year

[@adamweston4152]

@@OverDriveOnline7921 ahh what great cars the saabs were, the howl of the 2 strokes in a dark forest was so intoxicating and the RS200 is a great car too,sad that group b came to such a sad end.an old friend of mine Peter Lloyd had a couple of 6r4s and I watched him rag the living daylights out them on a few occasions.

[@OverDriveOnline7921]

I’ve heard the name Peter Lloyd when discussing the 6r4 a few times, I saw one in action over in Jersey on a car weekend event taking on a modern day Fiesta RS. While the fiesta could pull away on the straights, the 6r4 was all over it in the corners and also it was so loud! Think there’s some footage from that weekend on KZbin somewhere, I did find it once but haven’t seen it in agars

[@TD16V]

So when Duncan Jeffery rebuilt it after “buckling the shell” did he use the original shell or a donor? That wasn’t specifically mentioned.

[@OverDriveOnline7921]

He cut the original shell after trying it all out first on a donor car. Having said that though, there was a spare shell in the original deal with Ken Wood, though what happened to that is a mystery at the moment as it would have had the pre fabricated channeling for the side exhaust and the double shock mounts at the rear of the car, so should not have been any use to anyone else without some modification. It was through the chassis number when Michael Kitt first got interested in it that it was identified as the car that won in 1982.

[@chrisbiewer-rallye-info]

Absolutely love this video and the history of this car, thank you so much!

[@OverDriveOnline7921]

Thank you for the comment, glad you enjoy it 😊

[@chrisbiewer-rallye-info]

@@OverDriveOnline7921 I absolutely enjoy it! In fact I tried several times to google this car, but google seems to think Ken Wood is a Japanese Stereo rather than a real person!

[@OverDriveOnline7921]

@@chrisbiewer-rallye-info I hate to think what Ken wood SD1 images would bring up, page upon Lange of car stereos in an SD1 centre panel… Poor Ken

[@IvelLeCog]

Is that their blood types listed beside their names on the front guards?

[@OverDriveOnline7921]

Yes it is, this was and still is common practice as in the event of a serious accident, information such as that could well be crucial

[@metalmicky]

They’d be 12 to 40% on mine