[ROVERNET - UK] SD 1 Air Conditioner

[NOBLIOUS at aol.com]

Hey Rob, when you say the SD1 air con is probably good enough for N. American temperatures but not for Oz, are you forgetting Florida and Arizona in the summer? Temperatures here (in Miami, FL) have been in the 90's lately.

Randy - Miami, FL

In a message dated 7/19/2004 11:48:05 PM Eastern Daylight Time, "Robert Thornton" <R.Thornton at adelaidecitycouncil.com> writes:

>Bill
>
>In my opinion the great thing about the SD1 is its shape. The inimitable
>David Bach styling, sleek, sexy, timeless. Not many other cars this side
>of the exoticas have managed to achieve this. If it wasn't for the
>exclusive shape I probably wouldn't have bothered with an SD1, would
>you?  The other, a little  less intoxicating, attraction of the SD1 is
>the ex Buick V8 engine, but this was never really developed to its full
>potential in the SD1 by Rover, though the Vitesse came a bit closer to
>the mark. 155 bhp (134 for the Oz cars) from 3.5 litres to haul around
>1400 kg was a bit meagre.
>
>Go bigger capacity and you can get some serious performance -
>performance that compliments the SD1's Ferrari-like good looks. I
>remember when the SD1 was first released in Oz the motoring press went
>overboard in anticipation...such a stunning looking car...surely it
>would have serious power and performance to match. When they test drove
>it and found how paltry that performance was they realised that the
>shape that promised so much delivered very little in the way of actual
>grunt. They described it as a 'slug in hare's clothing'.
>
>Series 2 cars are generally acknowledged to be better looking, though at
>the time they were introduced many people I remember did not like the
>bodywork changes. They've of course got the front spoiler and 'black
>plastic' bumpers which can crack and deform whereas the earlier cars had
>the stronger stainless but all too easily dented bumpers.
>The Aussie series 2 cars (and the NAS cars) had the so-called federal
>fuel injection (adapted from the US spec TR8s). This can be more trouble
>than it's worth, and doesn't deliver much power into the bargain. Not
>that there is much power  to be had given the puny detuned, detoxed 3.5s
>that Australia got (compared to their British counterparts and what this
>engine is capable of - witness TVR's offerings for instance). The series
>1 cars got the twin stromberg zeniths, also pretty horrible and not as
>good as the English SUs. The series 2 is heavier so the extra few hp
>generated by the injection is swallowed up.
>
>Best solution, in my opinion, is to fit a Weber 4 barrel, or perhaps the
>later Hotwire injection from the Discovery if you can be bothered
>sorting it all out.
>
>Arguably the series 2 had a nicer interior, but the electronics are more
>complex.  The electric windows and central locking systems were
>reputedly more reliable on the later cars, though I've never experienced
>much in the way of problems with mine that I couldn't fix easily. The
>console switches for the electric windows can cause problems because
>they fill up with dust - take them out, clean the contacts. The windows
>need to be used, otherwise they can get lazy. Most of the central lock
>problems are caused by the wiring to the tailgate lock - mine has been
>replaced with two lockable flush fitting Speco hood pins mounted on the
>Vitesse rear spoiler.
>
>The series 1 seats wear well but the dash cracks if the sun gets to it
>for too long and the hood lining breaks down with exposure to the hot
>sun for too long also - series 2s suffer the same way. Avoid sunroofs
>wherever possible. The GM autobox on the later series 2s can prove
>troublesome; the earlier BW 65 is better but not much. The manual is
>preferable, though rare in the Aussie imports especially with the series
>1s. Better still throw out the autobox and fit a Supra or T5 box -
>strong, reliable and lighter. Dellow in Sydney and Castlemain Castings
>in Victoria (near Melbourne) both do kits to fit the Supra W 55 - 58
>steel case box to the Rover, and you can choose from the 4 sets of
>ratios these came with.
>
>The V8s are usually ok provided they've had regular oil changes and the
>cooling systems has been looked after. Otherwise they can suffer
>premature camshaft wear, blown head gaskets. The radiators are a bit
>marginal for the Aussie heat - take them out and add an extra core is
>one solution, replace with an early Holden Commodore unit is another.
>
>Power steering racks and pumps can and do leak, pull them out and get
>them rebuilt by the pros 'cause it's worth it in the long run. Use
>either a series 2 (long nose) or a Discovery/Range Rover pump in
>preference to the heavy and leak prone series 1 item.
>
>The aircon on both models is a bit feeble for the Oz summers but
>probably ok for North America; whereas the factory integrated system
>found on the series 2 and late series 1 cars can be a real headache to
>get right the earlier 'add on' Australian system made by Alpineair in
>Sydney  is relatively easy to upgrade (this has the extended central
>dash air vent panel- unique to the Australian models I believe).
>
>In the final analysis it's the body you should consider closely. Most of
>the mechanical parts are relatively straightforward to rebuild or
>replace if they go wrong. The trim and electrics can generally be
>repaired or replaced. But the bodyshell will cost lots if it's in a bad
>way. Look for serious rust and accident damage. Fortunately many of the
>rust problems with the SD1 were cosmetic - door bottoms, tailgates -
>rather than structural. The sills don't generally rust out, but the
>lower firewalls and inner guards around the engine bay can rust badly,
>and pay attention to the rear wheel arch where this meets the body, and
>the trunk floor (which locates one of the Watts linkage mounts).
>
>It's usually conceded that the later cars were better built and finished
>(by Rover's standards) at Cowley than the earlier Solihull ones and that
>the rust 'proofing' was superior. Twenty years later the issue is
>probably more about how well the cars have been maintained, garaged and
>generally cared for.
>
>Rob
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: rovernet-bounces at lyris.ccdata.com
>[mailto:rovernet-bounces at lyris.ccdata.com] On Behalf Of Linda & Ben
>Rodgers
>Sent: Tuesday, 20 July 2004 10:53 AM
>To: rovernet at lyris.ccdata.com
>Subject: Re: [ROVERNET - UK] SD 1
>
>
>Hi Bill
>        I read Ron's glowing report on his SD1 and thought I'd add my
>comments.  Memory is a little rusty as I purchased my 1979 SDI in the
>mid eighties and only kept it a year.. I agree that its a wonderful car
>to drive and very nice to look at. However it let me down more times
>than I care to remember. Mostly electrical faults, mainly in the
>ignition. There were times when it would just quit for no obvious
>reason, and refuse to start. This happened once out of town, the next
>morning I had it towed to a garage, we pushed it into a bay, the
>mechanic sat in it and it started??? Rust was also a problem, my car
>wasn't very old but already showing signs of rust, perhaps in better
>climates its not an issue?? My door locks were problem-matic too,
>particularly the hatchback. Besides this I have read on Rovernet several
>times were front sub frame bolts break and misalign the car. In my
>honest and humble opinion a 1970 P6B is a far better buy. Having said
>all that, its fair to ad that today with the great value of rovernet
>many of my problems might have been more easily solved. Back then with
>no computer or email I was on my own,  only the workshop manual to refer
>to.
>                Good luck whatever you decide, but be careful not to pay
>too much, very difficult to resell later.
>
>Ben
>
>
>
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