1986 Moonraker SD1 3500

Thanks guys! All been fantastically helpful threaded the rack into place last night...



...and started making a list of all the fasteners we think we'll need.

This is a bigger task than we thought as evidently someone has been a bit ham-fisted with a number of the fasteners and stripped the threads where the nut seats.



This is the bolt that clamps both the front anti-roll bar bracket and one of the engine mount support bars. It's the third bolt we've found like this...

It's also obvious why the rack was so mobile. The bushes were completely shot!



As you say, the powered rack is solid mounted to the subframe so gets rid of all that rubber.

That's about as far as we've got in terms of progress (beyond my mate sorting out all the chopped up wiring under the dash). However, I have been properly fangirling about how this car is put together. It's seriously well designed in all sorts of ways that I rank very highly in a design. They're a simple specification in terms of the whole design (live axle and macpherson struts), but how they're actually implemented is very clever.

Double CV propshaft which completely eliminates driveline vibration from pinion angle changes that are innate in a live axle design.




Also visible in the second pic is the ~3ft long torque tube that protrudes from the front of the diff. There's a mounting bush at the front of that which controls the upward movement of the diff nose under load really nicely. You can see how an axle reacts to torque in this video of a Saleen F-150 (which has a much worse design in this respect).



At the back is a watts linkage which, again, is nicely designed. You can't quite see in the photos, but the central pivot is mounted below the level of the axle which means it has a nice low roll centre (it could be lower, but not much without compromising ground clearance).



Up front it's got a similar setup to the TR7 with the anti-roll bar doing double duty as the fore-aft location of the strut which saves both weight and cost.




Those two bolts on the anti-roll bar clamp are through-bolts from the top of the subframe which also clamp a supporting bar for the engine mounts. Having fasteners do double-duty again saves weight and cost.

Also, little pocket to store bolts while you're working



Proper fangirl one of those moments where you meet your heroes and they turn out to be better than you expected

The pump is in the correct position, but the pressure line is completely wrong. You can see on my rack that the pressure hose doesn't have the long metal pipe along the rack like yours does, and is mostly soft hose.



I cant see your return line, but the end of that should be easy to cut down as its just a hose and clamps onto the back of the pump. its not under pressure.

Thanks guys, and yes it's completely wrong. I can't even see how a different rack would make it fit, unless it makes the line loop all the way around the back of the sump. Or, perhaps it's from a Range Rover if they have the pump mounted high up for water fording.

I don't want to be that guy too often, but the TR7 didnt use a "Marina" driveline. The 4 speed gearbox was shared with a Marina, yes, but it was a Triumph box primarily. The rear axle is also quite different, although a Dolomite Sprint axle can be made to fit a Marina. In saying that, the SD1 driveline wasnt without faults.

There were various racks used on the SD1, and the one the OP has is the later Cam Gears rack. I believe for the most part all the racks are interchangeable.

Looking at the parts diagrams the pipes you have kinda look like the ones for the SD Turbo model (diesel turbo). All RHD V8s should have the same pipes. I have attached the relevant page, with the P/Ns.

And yeah, I've heard a lot that the TR7 felt lightyears ahead of the old body-on-frame TR6 and Spitfires.

Did the Marina use the LT77 then? Or did the TR7 use the Triumph single rail box you got in Spitfires and Dolomites? I know very little about Marinas, and only a little more about TR7s.

I do know that the diff carrier bearings were standardised between Marinas and Spitfires at some point, and that the Quaife diffs for Spitfires also fit Marinas and early TR7s (suggesting the carrier is the same). I expect it was the guts of the differentials that were the same, even if the rest of the axle wasn't.

Awesome thread and a great car!

So my mate's been hard at work on the Rover, mainly around the exhaust. The completely unsilenced side pipes were really very cool, but are just a little bit too lairy for our area, especially as he leaves quite early for work. Plus, the manifold (while being quite a nice design) is crushed at the bottom from hitting the road as it hangs quite low, and isn't the right bore to seal properly onto the rest of the system.

So, it's new exhaust time.

New set of stainless manifolds from Rimmers (mainly because they were available at short notice, but also they're not too bad with a bit of tweaking).





Smaller bore primaries than the existing system, but that might work a little better with the engine in its current state of tune. There's a harsh step down from the collector to the standard pipe size which got cut off at the right level to mate with a 2.25" pipe each side...




...and then into some flexi sections, before a v-band to the merge pipe.



That then heads into a not yet plumbed up 3" single pipe running back to a void under the rear seat, on the opposite side of the prop to the fuel tank. You can just about squeeze a 14x9x4" silencer in there, with the tailpipe poking out through the sill like so (plus a bit more clearance):




Also modelled here are the new wheels! 16x8 steels for a Jeep, ET20 I think (but I'll check). The sit pretty nicely both at the front and the rear, although it hasn't been down properly to check for rubbing.




Also, despite being steels the wheel+tyre combo with ADO08Rs came out at 24.7kg each vs the 26.5kg of the Team Dynamics alloys. Both on a 225, similar rolling circumference, but the alloys are 18s and wider.

He seems to be getting the hang of TIG too. It's even got colours in it!

Haha my mate says thanks! He also said that your turbodiesel looked familiar, and it turns out he's recently watched one of your youtube videos on the sill repair just by the trailing arm mount on the rear suspension. Very useful stuff!

Interesting on the column intermediate shaft thingy. Luckily that was one of the bits of the kit that did actually fit out of the box!

Ah we were wondering whether it originally had studs that had come off or if it really was just loose nuts. Seems very unhelpful! We'll be adding in captive nuts/studs all over as there does seem to be a lack of them! I suppose if you haven't got all the dash out to weld without setting fire to things you could pop some rivnuts in there which should let you bolt in from the outside.

Oh, we had a couple of questions if anyone knows a bit more about SD1s than we do!

• We've seen a few videos of SD1s on adjustable coilovers. I know Rimmers does inserts, but we were wondering if anyone sells them or if it's a matter of modifying a standard coilover with something like this. We've measured the struts and they seem to be 2" diameter which is helpful.
  [li]Does anyone have any info about the Jag vented front brakes? I know the calipers fit with some filing out of the mounting lugs, and that you need an adapter ring for the back, but does anyone know the PCD of the SD1 discs? I think I've measured it at about 5x98, but it's been a while and I can't remember if I measured it right! Need to double-check...
• Has anyone looked at a rear disc brake conversion? Quite happy to put one together ourselves, but wondering if there's an established route
• We've noticed that the gearstick seems just a smidge far forward. Are the engine mounts supposed to be bolted to the front side of the brackets on the car-side or the rear? They're currently on the front, but it seems like it would sit in a much better location if it was bolted on behind.

I know there was some more but I can't remember them!

Thanks man, the issue is that the the Rover's discs bolt to the back of the hub rather than slip over the studs, and use a smaller PCD. Turns out that's way more common on older cars than I thought! For instance my big Triumph has 4x114.3 wheels studs, but the disc is 4x101.6 (same as a Mini wheel bolt pattern) and bolts to the back of the hub.