Well my SD1 ownership level has hit maximum awesomeness
I now own two SD1s, and one of them is the holy grail, a Vitesse. In black.
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Having just completed one whole year of ownership with my Vanden Plas EFI, what better way to celebrate than to buy another SD1? Not only that, this car is special; it had to be, it’s my 50th car!
I picked this car up on a whim, having been offered it via Facebook.
So what have I gotten myself into?
It’s REALLY hard to start
It misfires badly once it warms up, when you give it throttle
The wiring loom is a mess
The ECU is a Link LEM G1 from the 90s, only tunable via hand controller/calculator, no logging
There’s a couple of patches of rust, that I know about
It leaks oil
The gearbox is like rowing through sloppy porridge
The gearbox whirs when the clutch is engaged
Its had mice in it
Its been off the road since 2013. Rego on hold
It needs a damn good tidy up
That’s all I have discovered so far. There will be more, but it’s OK.
So what’s good about it then?
It’s black.
It has tints
It has a deep front chin spoiler
Its lowered
The interior and exterior are in good shape
It makes wicked noises from the exhaust
It pops and bangs
It’s manual
It’s a freakin’ Vitesse
Its had a lot of work done to it in the past, with a big stack of receipts. Everything from an engine rebuild to goodies like a Hurricane performance camshaft and air shocks in the back.
The plan is to fix it, getting it running properly and then start to tidy it up to my crazy high standards. If that means ripping the Link out and refitting a standard loom and ECU, then so be it. Reviving the Link would be good though, as although it’s old and basic it’s been tuned for the car, and knowing how the Lucas ECU is tuned, it must make a big difference in power.
The time frame to have the car running and presentable is by February 2018, so I can take it to the British Car Day. Best get cracking then!
And more recent photos from later in my ownership
