BUYER'S BREIF
James Walshe on how to buy Rover’s bold Seventies exec
Badge
A marque that’s loved more than ever, and the SD1 has a dedicated club.
Engine
The six-cylinder unit was known for the camshaft’s oil feed becoming blocked, which would cause the camshaft to seize. The cambelt would then snap, resulting in the usual bent valves.
Why you want one
Whenever Rover unleashed its most ingenious designers, the results were always spectacular. From the flawless engineering quality of the early saloon cars and Maurice Wilks’s wartime jet engine developments to the innovative P6 and Range Rover, the firm has a history of proud achievements and market leading cars. What appeared in 1976 was down to the pairing of dream team David Bache as designer and engineering genius, Spen King. The ‘Specialist Division 1’ was a Seventies avant garde dream. Traditional Rover buyers were startled by the styling and the surprising hatchback rear end, but this futuristic, svelte-looking exec found loving homes for the ten years that followed. Not all enjoyed SD1 ownership, admittedly. Reliability issues early on plagued many – something pub bores will remind you of – but with foibles ironed out and a wealth of wisdom out there, those days are behind us. It’s time to recognise the SD1 as one of the great British saloons of all.
Which one do I want?
Launched as a V8 only, the SD1 used a 3.5-litre aluminium unit. The P6 (and Triumph 2000) remained in production for another year until the arrival of the straight-six, overhead cam 2300 and 2600 SD1 models. The V8-S arrived in 1979, with velour seats, air con, thicker carpets and headlamp wash/wipe, and was replaced by the Vanden Plas in 1980. A 1981/2 facelift brought wrap-around plastic bumpers with chrome trims instead of rubber and stainless-steel items, and a deeper rear window. An interior redesign brought a new instrument binnacle and more traditional wood and leather trim. The gearbox was a three-speed GM TH180 auto, and an automatic choke was introduced. The engine range was expanded with the 2.0-litre O-Series of the Morris Ital, and a 2.4-litre VM Motori HR492 diesel unit powered the 2400 SD Turbo.
Bodywork
Inspect the bottom of the doors, the inner front wings around the suspension turrets, the leading edge of the bootlid and bonnet, and the inner sills around the rear suspension mounts.
Cabin
Series 1 interior trim is very
