speaking of SD1's

Not bad if it's in good nick, but you could get one cheaper than that. Mine was £500, albeit with the less powerful carb'd engine. But it does have a full SS exhuast (nice!), lowering springs, adjustable dampers (although the front were shagged), polybushed suspension, and most importantly a solid body.

A Vitesse at 1500 quid asking price is likely to be pretty poor. And I don't believe the 78,000 miles. ;-)

hey it was a dream eh :) i'm tempted to go and see what a 1500 quid vitesse looks like though

My '85 has been off the road for some time now, but IIRC it has only around 80k on the clock. The engine has done less, as the first owner had a new short engine fitted under a 3 year extended warranty at around 40k. I understand it was because of excessive valve clatter, and it had been regularly serviced by a Rover main dealer. Mike.

Didn't you watch that Top Gear episode? :)

Make sure that it holds water, and the doors stay on.

Heh heh. The hinges are welded to the car frame and each one has three studs/nuts to the door. It was mentioned the car had been 'restored' which says much. Dunno where they found a Dolly Sprint that was so slow either. But it wouldn't be entertainment if they were sensible. ;-)

That's a tiny mileage for a 20 year old car. Considering most will have started life as a company owned one. But odometer/ speedo drive problems are common which means a low recorded milage on many. ;-) As of course is clocking.

Weird. All that's needed is a camshaft/hydraulic tappet change which can be done with the engine in place. Sounds like that Rover dealer didn't bother changing the oil, or used cheap stuff. The service intervals were

Aye. Even Clarkson admitted that most of the problems were due to the=20 monkey who did the restoration although SD1's were never noted for good=20 handbrakes.

--=20 Conor

I only please one person per day. Today is not your day. Tomorrow isn't=20 looking good either. - Scott Adams

The mileometer reading is correct on mine, apart from a week or so when the sender on the g/box packed up. I'm only the 2nd owner, after buying it privately from a company director when it was about 2.5 years old. All the paperwork since then, MOT certificates etc, confirm it's low mileage.

Maybe the wear was in the bores for the hydraulic tappets in the block. In which case a new block would be the only cure.

Sounds like that Rover dealer didn't

Since I've had it, I've never filled it with anything other than semi-synthetic. The engine is one of the best bits about the car. :-)

You might know the answer to this question, you being involved with the SD1 club. When I bought it, the director said it had been a special order, because at the time, although a/c was an optional extra on the Vitesse, cruise control was not. Knowing CC was std on the VP he asked that it be fitted, which apparently delayed delivery by a couple of months. My question is. Was/Is CC particularly uncommon on the Vitesse? TIA. Mike.

Aye. Even Clarkson admitted that most of the problems were due to the monkey who did the restoration although SD1's were never noted for good handbrakes.

IME the problem with SD1 handbrakes is mainly one of neglect. Or to put it another way, the cables and linkages are prone to becoming dry and stiff, unless lubricated more frequently than one would expect.

This applies partiularly to the cable and compensator that connects the primary h/b lever on the o/s brake plate, to the corresponding lever on the n/s brake plate.

Keep all the linkages, pivot points, and the crossover cable where it runs over a slider on the diff housing well lubricated (a 5 minute job from under the car) and the h/b is fine.

Which is more than can be said for the h/b on my E39. :-( Mike.

Mine need sorting out for the MoT when i got it, and once the rear brakes were adjusted we lubricated everything you mentioned with white grease and it's been fine since!

I don't think he got as a far as the handbrake, infact, I don't think he got as the stop line to use the handbrake.

Eh? They've got massive drums and a handbrake that works very well indeed if it and the brakes are in good condition and adjustment.

Oh, I'm not doubting your word. Just rather suspicious of the advert.

A bit unlikely IMHO. I've replaced cams in very high mileage engines where the tappet bores are fine.

Yup. Keep the oil fresh and they last for ever. A good thrash regularly seems to help camshaft life too for some reason.

I dunno. The single plenum Vitesse is identical to the EFI so the CC is a direct fit. Some have retro fitted CC to twin plenums - but I don't think it was ever a factory option.

Mine too was terrible despite a few attempts to get it right by following the TIS adjustment method. Then a while back it needed new rear discs so I had another go and just set it up by rote - slackened off the cables, set the shoes so they were only just clearing, then set the cables to start acting as soon as possible. Thinking that if they did rub slightly the linings would soon wear down and provide clearance. And it's the best it's ever been. Certainly holds the car stationary in drive even facing down hill.

I'd love to drive this thing about on the road, just to see the looks on peoples faces:

Heh, subtle. (c:

Whatever it was it must have been something a bit uusual..Apart from the noise, the car was still being used right up to when it went in to have the block replaced.

That's what I thought. Mine only has the single plenum. So my Vitesse, having a manufacturers fitted CC, makes it pretty unique, and therefore more collectable and valuable. :-) I wish. Mike.