‘IT WAS FALLING APART AT THE SEAMS’
In the latest series of Car SOS, Fuzz Townshend gets his hands on a Rover SD1. Parts, rust and BL build-quality were just some of the issues faced
‘Askint me needed to get to Southampton during my first week as a full-time musician back in August 1986 for a chat with a fellow muso type who said that he might have had a spot of work for me. To save a few pennies I decided to hitch a lift. The very first car that stopped for me was an impressive-looking and almost new Rover SD1 3500 Vanden Plas. I never laid hands on another until I recced Darren’s 2600 for Car SOS.
‘Thus, it was a rookie Townshend who entered the world of the Rover SD1 and with the car bearing the 2600cc, six-cylinder engine, most of it was unfamiliar territory. A spot of homework before setting out to see the beast revealed that a surprising number of panels and repair sections appeared to be available for the old Silhillian. Of course, nowadays one ought to understand that the term ‘awaiting stock’ might well mean a wait of months or even years before enough demand mounts to warrant the expense of further production. Happily, enough businesses and enthusiasts had the foresight to bag unused spares languishing on former stockists’ shelves to make the project achievable, if rather complicated. Rimmer Brothers was our first port of call but many smaller suppliers and club shops came to our aid and so I offer my heartfelt thanks to all who did.
‘Peering underneath a Rover SD1 is to understand British Leyland in the period between the mid-1970s and mid-1980s. Whereas the car’s predecessor, the P6, had sported magnificent build and equipment innovations the SD1 was clearly an exercise in cost-cutting featuring cheap, but admittedly functional underpinnings, encased in an excitinglooking (perhaps one of the most exciting leaps in visual design of all time) but poorly built monocoque shell. Pride was the most glaring omission in the SD1’S build specification. ‘The body on Darren’s car was falling apart at the seams, as most of its type already had, despite having once been a much-loved showwinning example (they are not easy beasts to live with). The biggest new assembly required was a complete nearside rear quarter. Removing the old assembly needed a lot of skilful surgery, much of it executed by SOS Workshop’s highly capable panel beater, Emlyn, although there was so much rot about the car that the whole team found themselves immersed in something of an ongoing weldathon.
‘The car’s rather uninspiring-looking 2600cc straight-six engine required a full pistons and liners re-build although the new old stock complete cylinder head that team member Kam managed to source avoided much timeconsuming work. It’s almost as if BL expected these engines to clatter to a broken halt, given that this appeared to be a genuine stock item.
‘Re-built, re-painted and functioning once more, Darren’s SD1 looked ready to head out for more trophy-winning attempts. Its doorstep reveal was achieved with a delicious twist, with the help of a well-known chum of the show, but you’ll have to watch the show to see how we did it.’