The SD1 has infected me in 1976. With the introduction of the car I was stunned. In the summer of 1977, the first cars came to Holland and I found it the most beautiful car made in serial production ever (until now). Three years later, in 1980, our neighbour sometimes drove in a 3500, a company car.
That was the first time, I made a trip with an Sd1. Many years later, in 1996 I guess, I saw in my home town Rotterdam a black VandenPlas (not my first car) with white leather seats. It seems in a very good shape. I calculated all the costs (insurance, taxes) and concluded this car was too expensive for me at that time. Only two years later, I discovered that it was possible for me to drive such a car. What came next, you know already.

My car was sold for the first time on September 25th of 1985. The car was bought by a man in the eastern part of the Netherlands, in a town called Nijverdal. By then the car had an automatic gearbox.

After ten years and 140.000 kilometres the car went to Wouter Verduyn, who lives in Veenhuizen, the northern part of the Netherlands.

The next owner was a mister Visser, a man who makes art. He lives in the middle of Netherlands, in Rijswijk in 'de Betuwe'. He only wanted the car with a manual gearbox, so the car was transformed from automatic to manual.
He sold the car to a famous Rover specialist in Amsterdam called Minor Motorcars.

The car was sold to an old man in Amsterdam. He only wanted the car with an automatic gearbox, so the car was once again transformed, now from manual to automatic.
This old man sold the car in 2001 to the webmaster of this site, René Winters.

Once again the car was in the northern part of the Netherlands. And. he transformed the car again from automatic to manual. He has driven this car for almost two years. Mainly because of that, I liked this car from the very first moment.
René knows very much about the Rover SD1, so it was obvious that this car was well maintained.
On May 29 2003, he sold the car very cheap to me. The car is going again to the western part of the Netherlands. The gearbox was, is and stays manual.

Restoration

Although the car was in good shape, there was much to be done. René had made a Vitesse from this VandenPlas with Vitesse seats and spoilers.
I personally like original cars. So René found for me beautiful grey seats of a VandenPlas, the original spoiler etc. The motor of my crashed car was built by René into my new Rover. Last year in July, I was on holiday in Groningen, the Netherlands and I could drive in my new car.

The next step was the airco. This car originally had an airco, but under the hood, everything was taken away in the past. So René brought the car for me to a professional airco company Olijve and with old and new components the complete airco was build up again.
It was September now - the airco kept the car cool.

Now, finally, the car needed body restoration. I went to a company in the neighbourhood of René. Handsome, when they need spare parts or technical advice. In the last week of September, the outside of the car was completely stripped. The doors for example were complete empty. Everything was removed.
After that, they removed all paint. So my car looked a bit like the well known DeLorean sports car. But then sadly things went wrong. The restoration was going very slow. I think it was February or March 2004 when the car was painted again en July when the car was build up again. The quality of all work is very good, but I had to wait a long time.

 

From past to present

When I write this, it is beginning of July 2004 and my car is almost ready. The roof and the hood were not painted very well, so they have to done again. Other little things such as the central door locking has to be repaired and I hope to drive my car in one ore two weeks… and going for a holiday with the Rover to Hungary.

The photos you see are taken by René. He is doing a wonderful job during this whole process. He had given much technical and logistic support to me.
By now he checks the car before I take my place behind the steering wheel.

René, thanks very much for the cooperation and the magnificent result !

Edward Sterenborg