Our Cars: 1976 Rover 3500 SD1
10 June 2010: Reviving the Rover
Mike Humble cracks on with the Rover’s ever growing list of jobs
Don’t you just love these warm, light evenings? While others nearby are busy poisoning themselves with half-cooked sausages on the barbecue, other people are having much more fun, namely me, spending my spare time after work rootling under the bonnet of Keith Adams’ glorious SD1
I’ve been using the car on my commute to work which is a 22 mile round trip using dual carriageways and country A roads and it’s been a joy. Having driven the car a few miles, it’s become obvious that it can run much better owing to the pinking, hesitation at low revs and a really unstable tickover.
After spending a few hours last Sunday afternoon, I had managed to deal with the fuelling issues. It was noted that the idle speed was set up wrong, the throttle cable was too tight, the advance vacuum pipe was not connected and four out the total of eight nuts securing the brace of SU HIF carbs were loose to the point that you could see the washers joggling around on tick over – not good!
The CO2 mixture was also very weak but, thanks to a slight tweaking, the engine now has a wonderful smooth idle with fantastic burble from the stainless steel tailpipe. Virtually all of its low speed hesitation has now gone - I simply can’t wait for Keith to return and feel the difference. Some other under-bonnet items also gave cause for concern, including loose low tension spindle nuts on the coil and a very bad fitting ignition amplifier plug connector.
The spark plugs were removed and found to be in good shape with only a good clean up being required. Driving the car now is, without doubt, an absolute joy. Admiring glances and smiles of approval when sitting at pedestrian crossings just add to the experience of the SD1 - a head turning car back in the 70s and still commanding the same response from the public some 34 years later. Even if you cryogenically froze Jack Carter, the SD1 3500 is still a whole lot cooler!
I’m just waiting for the radiator from Rimmer Bros to arrive, then I’m off to the breaker’s yard to source a suitable donor car for a decent electric cooling fan.
Well, the weather here in West Sussex has been glorious, perfect for smoking around in a V8 hatchback catching admiring glances and receiving brilliant comments from other people. Thanks to a leaking radiator (pending), the cooling system is having to work hard for a living and, as a consequence, the (knackered) viscous fan is really worrying me.
When the fan tries to cut in, your ears are greeted to the sound of what can only be described as a canary tweeting and a loud banging noise akin to some form of Soviet-made industrial steam hammer. Sufficed to say, it’s got the potential to scare old ladies and make small children cry. As a result, it made me put my thinking hat on with regards to a temporary fix if you like.
The problem is a very very worn out bearing race in the hub of the fan – it’s been bothering Keith Adams for ages and it sure scares the cr*p out me too. The collateral damage of a free spinning fan detaching itself into the engine bay does not bear thinking about – mental visions of the Tasmanian devil in a Chinaware shop comes to mind. Until the new radiator and fan arrive, say hello to my little, albeit temporary, modification…
What I did was loosen off the left handed Nylock on the water pump spindle enough to create a large enough gap behind the thick spacer washer, place the coins at opposing sides behind the washer and tighten up the nub nut. This locks the fan solid and stops the fan jiggling around - the source of all the horrendous noise. Net result, the car can now be driven without the risk of a circular saw flying round the engine bay and no more embarrassing clunks, tweets and bangs!
Shocking Electrics
I had some fun just the other evening when the throttle cable decided it would be a good idea to snap at the pedal end whilst leaving work. I’m convinced that the car knew I had a table booked at a Horsham restaurant for 8.00pm and the time was 6.00pm when it happened.
Some quick thinking was required and, owing to the fact the cable had snapped at the nipple on the loud pedal, I rummaged around in the workshop for some suitable idea for a repair. The answer came in the form of a block connector or chocolate block as some readers of taste may know them.
The frayed ends of the cable were trimmed back and the connector was clamped onto the end - result, a fully functioning throttle cable once more. As mentioned in a previous ramble, the cable was initially too tight which has caused it to weaken and break. Just for the record, we were in the restaurant for 7.50pm.
What was also obvious was the state of the wiring above the pedals. The flasher unit was just hanging by its wires and a section of loom was, in fact, being rubbed the the throttle cable. A plastic tie wrap was used to truncate the wiring clear of any moving parts (i.e., the brake and throttle pedals). Now the indicators can be heard ticking away thanks to the flasher unit being correctly fitted into its metal clip.
As a final thought, one thing is very true and needs to be considered. Anyone who considers running and driving an older car without any mechanical knowledge or ability to ‘make do and mend’ is only asking for trouble. Charm and character in abundance older retro classics may hve, but these kinds of problems can seriously leave you in the lurch if you don’t have the know how or right contacts!
« Earlier: Polski-Rover ups and downs Later: 3500 equals the number of the beast »
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