MGF freebie

[evilrob]

Did Mike come and have a ganders in the end?

 

[The Arch Bishop]

Nah, we had a chat over the phone. His opinion was 'yeah, it'll be fine'...

There's always the chance he'll take one look at it and change his mind though.

 

[The Arch Bishop]

Well, I've finally gotten some funds together to get this up and running again, so I've called MJS in Littlehampton and booked for them to come over to me to get the work done on the 21st. I've also booked off 3 days after this so that I can get an MOT sorted, tyres and any other stuff that it will (invariably) need.

In the meantime, I'll be cleaning up as much as I can to make it presentable and fixing some broken trim.

So hopefully I'll have a bit of summer left for drop-top motoring!

 

[The Arch Bishop]

With the repair date fast approaching, I thought I'd take some time to clean up the head. This may save me some money - Mike at MJS has already pointed out that because the head is off already, that will bring the cost down.

I'd already given the head a general clean but the mating surface was a mess;

Being an alloy head, using scrapers/blades and the like didn't appeal, so I found an old scotch brite pad which worked superbly.

Half way through;

And finished to the best of my abilities;

Quite pleased with it!

I also had a quick go at the the exhaust gasket face as well;

Getting quite excited now!

 

[748]

Excellent
My next door neighbor's other half has just bought a Trophy 160 in blue, '01 plate, 38k miles.
I think she paid a bit more than you did though :lol:
Paul

 

[The Arch Bishop]

Excellent
My next door neighbor's other half has just bought a Trophy 160 in blue, '01 plate, 38k miles.
I think she paid a bit more than you did though :lol:
Paul

I bet hers wasn't delivered with half the engine in a box though! :lol:

 

[The Arch Bishop]

Mike at MJS arrived this morning to do the bore re-sealing, head gasket, water pump and cambelts. I managed to grab a few photos during the build up;

First, the suspension needed pumping back up to get a jack underneath it;

Then the block facing was cleaned, a new water pump put on and the cambelt put in situ;

Next the head gasket was installed and the head torqued down;

Timing was set and the rocker cover reinstalled;

Finally, the intake was put back on, coolant added, bled and everything was plugged back in;

All done with the consummate ease of someone who really knows what he's doing and is very well practised!

Result, car fired easily and after a small tweak on the timing, ran perfectly. No untoward noises and, apparently rare for a VVC, very quiet and tight.

To celebrate, some photos;

Good news is that so far, I haven't found anything that doesn't work, and apart from a new set of front tyres (2 Toyo's on order now), seems ready for an MOT! :thumbs:

 

[XAF]

Awesome job AB. Love the fact you've brought it back to life rather than it just being scrapped!

 

[quest63]

Jeggars will be worried :shock:

 

[The Arch Bishop]

Cheers XAF! I'm sure it'll be worth it!

Jegger has no reason to be worried! I couldn't sell him especially as he's currently my main commuter. Cheaper to run than the Subaru.

 

[The Arch Bishop]

Ah, found some faults. The alarm is temperamental and the stereo doesn't work! Need a cheap head unit with a pre-out for my powered sub.

Also had a moment where the oil temp warning light was stuck on, but it turned out to operate on the same fuse as the car audio. Fuse changed and the light's out, but the head unit is still dead.

First world problems eh?

 

[PhilLew]

The alarm/immobiliser on my MGF sets its self after the key is out the ignition for around 5 mins,
I have to lock and unlock the doors with the fob to reset it or it won’t start.
Don’t know if that’s the same issue you’re having with yours and isn’t a problem in normal use but it annoys the **** out of me when I’m working on the car. :roll:

 

[The Arch Bishop]

My problem is that it locks but sometimes, the alarm goes off immediately after arming. Also the courtesy lights never trigger, so I have a broken door microswitch somewhere. All is quiet at the moment though so hopefully it won't throw a hissy fit during the small hours!

 

[The Arch Bishop]

Today was a day devoted to cleaning, polishing and err... cleanishing? Basically, everything that was cleanable was cleaned. What was shocking was just how well the paint work came up with some Carnauba wax. Most of the swirls disappeared and the paint took on a really nice deep shine. The rubbers responded well to some renovator and the plastics came up well with some trim cleaner.

With that and the interior also done, I couldn't put off the hateful call to the insurer. One surprisingly expensive call later and it was done. So I also booked an MOT for 3.30pm tomorrow which will give me time to get the tyres fitted.

Getting new tyres meant that I had to remove the front wheels. Handily, MG provide a front central jacking point for raising both wheels off the ground. Not quite so handy is that it has those absolutely awful undersized nuts with the stainless steel caps over the top that round off and spin on the nut meaning you can't get the little sods off. Most of the caps were already missing and a old socket sort of fitted enough for me to get them off. One of the ones with a cap did just about work, but the other was duff. In the end, I pried the cap off. Useless stupid things! Still wheels off and ready to go.

 

[Frank]

To celebrate, some photos;

That really is a very fine looking motor. Mind you, I'm a sucker for that shade of green, which is the same as my Puma.

Let me know if/when you ever want to find it a new home.

 

[The Arch Bishop]

Those pictures were before it was cleaned to within an inch of its life! The paint looks fantastic now and the metallic flake in it is really clear.

I'll be sure to let you know if it needs a new home!

 

[The Arch Bishop]

Well, it started well today. I cleaned up the inside of the front wheels;

Then gave the wheel-arch liners a swill;

And then set off for Lavender Motors for some Toyo Proxes which were duly fitted. Got home and fitted the wheels;

Then did some tweaking and fettling ready for the MOT this afternoon. Ready to go!

Sooooooooo.... I went to an MOT-only place about 5 miles away. Was nice to finally drive it! It felt pretty tight with no ominous clunks or twangs. The steering is a little off centre and numb but it went where I pointed it at least.

I elected to wait and watch and what followed was one of the most nerve-racking 30 minutes I've had for a long time. Eventually, they came through with the verdict which was a resolute fail.

High emissions and rust on the rear of both sills, one side being inner and the other being outer.

Having phoned Mike at MJS, he's convinced that the cat' and lambda will be the culprits for the high CO. I'm putting out some feelers for welding... Gutted as it's highly likely I won't be able to get the funds through for sorting it this Summer.

On the flip-side, it's the price you pay for running older cars I suppose!

 

[Wild E. Coyote]

Ah, so sorry after all the effort and excitement...

Still looks aces!

 

[evilrob]

NOOOOOOOoooooo...... What a grim out.

 

[PhilLew]

:-( :-( :-(