The 1986 Rover SD1 site.....with lot's of gallery pictures and tips on how to optimize your Rover SD1 in nearly all areas. If you want your SD1 to be a real luxury performer, regarding smooth power, economy and low noise , this is the site for you.

A short introduction, with pictures and video, to the 1986 Rover SD1 site, and what it contains.

A complete rebuild of the original engine, after it had covered 210.000 km. Preparations are done for higher output, smoother running and economy in mind.

Rebuilding and installing of the Lucas fuel injection from a Vitesse and how to install it on a SD1 born with carburetors.

Installing a secondhand AW71 4 speed autobox from a Volvo 760. The AW71 provides a 0.69 overdrive ratio in fourth gear compared to the 0.78 Vitesse fifth gear.

Implementing a MSD 6AL capacitive ignition package. This was not without problems, but improved low end torque and did a lot for increasing the economy figures. Later it is replaced by a Crane Fireball HI-6TRS for supercharging.

Serpentine (poly V) belt drive installation as on the Range Rover 4.6L. It eliminates some of the noise generated from ordinary V belts. A preparation for installing a supercharger later on.

Change of camshaft from the Viper to a RPI4 camshaft, in order to improve low end torque and economy. The RP4 turns out to be a great camshaft.

Getting more power to the brakes. Jaguar brake discs and caliber conversion is a cheap way to improve your SD1's braking performance. This should have been a production item.

Fitting a Whipple / Lysholm supercharger, building everything from the bottom up, and get things to work together. The result transforms the Rover to an unbelievable smooth and yet more lovely car to drive.

After the supercharger was fitted, it turned out that some more sophisticated fuel injection was called for. This was done by replacing the Lucas 4CU internals only.
MegaSquirt is the name of the game.

Does we not all love a twin pipe exhaust system. Here is how I managed to build one that is not noisy and can be maintained.

Some discovery's about how I solved slow starting problems on my SD1.

Economy tips and figures from the cars economy, over the years.

Chassis and suspension mods. Tips on how I got rid of some of the wind noise inside the car.

Fitting new roof headliner carpet. Steps on how I renew the liner, and how I fitted it to the SD1 with electric sunroof. The headliner material and glue was ordered locally.

Repairing and converting standard SD1 Boge self-levelers to the Vitesse type damping rate. Some of the Rover Boge dampers can be disassembled. Those ones can be repaired with some special made tools.

Protecting your chromed wheel nuts from damage, when you remove and refit the wheels. By making a special socket you can protect the chrome from damage. This requires no special tools to make.

Interior pics of the SD1 and extra door seals to minimize wind noise. The seals really help removing some of the wind noise. The interior is keept as the standard SD1

Bosch - Nippon Denso - Lucas injector data sheets from different cars. Estimated Bhp, resistance and flow rates is included. From these data you can select your injectors, based on Bhp.

Here you will find links to other interesting sites.

Some utility's for calculation of alternator rpm, water pump rpm and aircon rpm and temperature, pressure conversions and much more.

Our Vanden Plas EFI from 1986. Some pictures of it. Sadly it is now sold.