kws

Thanks Unfortunately they tend to fill up with rot here too, but there if youre lucky there are still some out there with minimal rust. This one is fairly solid with only minor rust here and there (Mostly little spots around window trims and things). Ideally in the very distant future i would like to drop a 4.4 or 4.6 engine in for the added punch, but since the 3.5 seems to be in good shape ill stick with that for now. The Speeduino should wake it up a bit.

Like usual, I don’t mess around when I get a new toy, so after work I cracked into the Rover again. The first thing I had to do was put the battery back in the car, because it had spent 24 hours on charge. Unfortunately the “charge indicator” is still showing red, so the previous owner may have nuked the poor thing and it may need replacing (I'm hoping the receipt for it is in the pile that are on their way to me, but I’m not holding my breath). In the meantime it seems to be working OK, as it started the car multiple times without trouble. I can’t trust it though. As mentioned earlier, the battery hold down is missing. I didn’t really want the damn thing flying around in the engine bay, so I channelled my inner MacGyver and ended up with this. Now it won’t slide into the alternator and make bad things happen. I also tested out the front screen wash…. which is lethargic at best, like most things in this car. It appears a previous owner has decided that instead of replacing the failed washer pump, they would just install a secondary, standalone pump on the guard. So now it sucks through the old, dead pump and then sprinkles out onto the windscreen. I’ll try to get a replacement standard pump at some point and do away with the standalone one. I’ll need to see if I can clean the washer jet out too, as the washer bottle was full of gross water and algae (and no doubt the jet is too). This is the color of some of the water in the bottle, and it just got greener and lumpier. There was no washer additive at all, just water and growth. I removed the bottle, gave it a real good shake and rinse. A quick scrub with some Simple Green and its a bit cleaner and no more algae. The bottle is heavily stained though. I refilled with some nice clean water, and a quality additive. I did happen to find one thing that isn’t lethargic on this car (almost everything else is!)…. the headlight washers. They spray with a vigor I have never seen, it’s a shame it just ends up covering the front of the car in water and additive. Oh, and in this instance, my face too, oops With the battery back in the car, and the car actually running and driving again I decided to shoot down and get some gas. The fuel gauge had been wavering between below “E”, and 1/4 of a tank since I got it, and the light kept coming on and off randomly. 54L went in the 66L tank, so obviously there was still some in there. It’s good to know how inaccurate the gauge actually is, and how much I can rely on it. Not much, is the answer. EDIT: Upon reading the owners manual, the light switches on at 12L left in the tank, so in this instance, the gauge is woefully inaccurate, but the light is spot on. The idle was a bit low though, has been since I got the car, so I took to putting the car in neutral at intersections to keep the revs up. It also stalled a couple of times when navigating my driveway, due to the load from the power steering pump. I tweaked this when I got home and now have a solid idle at around 800rpm, where it should be, instead of under 500rpm. It does dip down when in gear, like all autos do, but it doesn’t try to stall anymore. I can also conclude that the work I did on the throttle pot has completely cured the surging at cruise, it now settles in a nice smooth cruise and drives like a champ. Nothing like idling along, arm out the window in the sun, listening to the burble of the exhaust Winning. A great end to an otherwise unpleasant work day.

Its freakin lush to drive, despite its age it holds the road well and the steering is as direct as it can be. Be interesting when i get the pile of receipts it apparently has, to see whats actually been done in the past.

The work started quickly. I don't mess around. The car had a really bad surge when i got it, especially at cruise, so i took a look into it. Since getting the car, it had a really bad surge at cruise. Internet wisdom pointed towards the throttle potentiometer/position sensor. It’s an easy part to get to, and apparently they can be fixed. So following Ramon’s great guide, I got stuck in. First step is to mark the location of the pot, so you can put it back where it came from, as it is adjustable. I didn’t have any paint pens, so just used a vivid marker. There’s meant to be three screws holding it in, but mine only had two. Remove those, disconnect the plug and pull it out. Once on the bench, there are three really small screws holding the whole thing together. Take them out, and it all comes apart, and the issue becomes obvious. The metal wiper had just straight up worn right through the carbon track, meaning the readings being sent back to the ECU at that throttle position would be all over the place. As per Ramon’s guide, the trick is to move the wiper over slightly, so that it contacts a fresh part of the track and gets a clear reading again. To do this I cut the plastic tabs off with a knife, moved the wiper slightly down, and then used superglue to hold it back in place. Hopefully it holds OK, but i’ll probably look at changing to a more modern, reliable unit when I fit the Speeduino anyway. I reassembled the unit and refit to the car, making sure to give everything a good clean down, including the electrical connector. A quick test drive showed that the surging is gone straight away, it pulls smoothly and even idles better now. I wont tell if its gone 100% until I get on the open road again, but with a battery that was flat, a jump pack that also needed a charge, and anywhere between “E” and 1/4 in the gas tank, I couldn’t risk going far at the moment. It’s a success so far though.

It was a great idea at the time.... how bad can it be?

Banter here, //oldschool.co.nz/index.php?/topic/54510-kelvins-1985-rover-sd1-banter/ Hi everyone. Long time reader, first time poster. I have this thread posted on a couple of others, and thought it might be of interest to some members here. This thread will begin at the start, way back in.... November, last year and end at current day. So, about 10 years ago I had an SD1, an 85 Vanden Plas EFI in Cashmere Gold. Sadly i sold it because i couldnt afford to run it as my daily back then, and have regretted selling it since. Anyway, yesterday i picked the new toy up. Its a 1985 Rover SD1 Vanden Plas EFI (again), but in Zircon Blue. It needs some love, but its got good bones. It runs and drives, and actually drives really well. The powerhouse So the plan is to give it a really good tidy up, get it in as good condition as i can, but also build a new engine wiring harness and install my Speeduino ECU. Early next year i intend to use the car as my wedding car, so the clock is ticking! Theres more info on the car on my website too. http://www.tasteslikepetrol.net/cars/rover-sd1-two/

Thats a cool little car, certainly not many around now! Had a hearty lol at the exhaust, what were they thinking? Ugh.

Also, DO NOT sniff the fumes, itll make you insta-barf. Lol. Colleague found out the hard way.

Can the general public buy concentrated hydrochloric acid? that shit is boss for stripping rust, used it when i was an electroplater.

And all my spares are now gone. Look forward to seeing others progressing with Speeduino too.

Speaking of Speeduino, i did some more work.... http://www.tasteslikepetrol.net/2016/08/27/speeduino-v0-4-1-assembly/

about $150 or so at a guess, with all the components from digikey. i did buy in bulk. Can probably get the components cheaper elsewhere, but digikey is easy. I also went a bit overkill, adding bluetooth, and a VR conditioner (wanted to cover all my bases). Also keep in mind that for best result you will need to buy registered versions of tuner studio and mega log viewer. Itll work on the free ones, but missing some key features (like auto tune).

Anyone want to buy a Speeduino 0.3.3 board or two? I ordered spares, and have a couple left. Will let them go for what they cost me, $25 including postage. Does not include components or Mega, just the board. Pm me. http://speeduino.com/wiki/index.php/V0.3.2

Get some carbon vinyl for some bling, or just spray on a really thick layer of plasti-dip. The proper 3M paint protection film seems to work really well, but its not cheap.

Still wish i didnt sell mine so early, it'd be worth a good few grand more than i sold it for now. Love the S50 engines, such linear power.

Never noticed the weird port spacing on the VVTI heads. This is a pretty sweet project.

Great choice, they look very nice in silver. Looks like a facelift, so itll be an evo then? E: Fail, my eyes they no work so good.

The leaky valve stem seals wont be helping either (can see it puffing smoke in the video when you get on throttle). Sucks that the JZ suffer from that issue.

Super cool. My boss was watching this on TM, and being a Heron himself it would have been appropriate, but he has too many toys as it is. Keen to see how this turns out.

What an epic road trip, and what a car to do it in. A++ would read again.

If anyone is interested, i have started a project with a Speeduino DIY ECU. I have finished assembling it, have fitted Bluetooth and all loaded and connecting to Tunerstudio. Im really impressed with the capabilities of it so far, and its being almost constantly developed. http://www.tasteslikepetrol.net/category/speeduino/ I havent got a car to put it in yet, but if i play my cards right the car i want will fit in well here.

If you cared enough the hydraulic lifters should be available new, and for not too much money (about $27+gst each).

I have one of these, and the rattle gun too. Rate both of them highly, cant believe how handy that light is. Also have the air compressor and drill in the One+ range, all using the same batteries.

Sounds like it was a calculated decision to reduce potential points of failure.

Love seeing filthy Aston.... just something about high end sports cars covered in dirt.