MGF freebie
- Thread starter The Arch Bishop
- Start date
Help Support ProjectPuma:
The Arch Bishop
Active member
Well, you had a good one Neil! Shame you sold it as good MX5's are very rare nowadays.
So, I better give my opinions on how it drives I suppose.
Brakes - Good - far better than the Puma's puny standard stoppers. Good feel as well.
Engine - Noisy, happy little thing that sounds good under load. I had forgotten how sharp throttle response was in older cars and it is very sharp in this. Not quite as flexible or anywhere as refined as the Puma 1.7, but quicker certainly.
Gearbox - Heard that these were rubbish, but actually very good to be honest. Feels quite mechanical and the throw is short. A little notchy but you can shuffle it around the gate really well. Not a patch on the Puma's gearbox though obviously, but then nothing is.
Clutch - Nice and light but with good feel. The one in mine is probably nearing its twilight years but haven't stalled it yet and you can still do lightning roundabout gettaways with it.
Steering - Probably the weakest link as it's too light for the most part. It's also too low-geared and saloon-car feeling. Decent feel at the limit though which is surprising for an electric setup.
Handling - Sort of unpolished and I don't mean that in a bad way. Turn in is slow but the grip is good. Understeer initially but it is adjustable and will tighten it's line if needed. Scrabbles about in a quite pleasing way like cars of old before engineers knocked all the rough edges out of cars.
Basically, if you can get over the internet bores saying that it's British so it's crap, it's a lot better than people believe. It's also desperately British feeling and it screams 'future classic'.
So, I better give my opinions on how it drives I suppose.
Brakes - Good - far better than the Puma's puny standard stoppers. Good feel as well.
Engine - Noisy, happy little thing that sounds good under load. I had forgotten how sharp throttle response was in older cars and it is very sharp in this. Not quite as flexible or anywhere as refined as the Puma 1.7, but quicker certainly.
Gearbox - Heard that these were rubbish, but actually very good to be honest. Feels quite mechanical and the throw is short. A little notchy but you can shuffle it around the gate really well. Not a patch on the Puma's gearbox though obviously, but then nothing is.
Clutch - Nice and light but with good feel. The one in mine is probably nearing its twilight years but haven't stalled it yet and you can still do lightning roundabout gettaways with it.
Steering - Probably the weakest link as it's too light for the most part. It's also too low-geared and saloon-car feeling. Decent feel at the limit though which is surprising for an electric setup.
Handling - Sort of unpolished and I don't mean that in a bad way. Turn in is slow but the grip is good. Understeer initially but it is adjustable and will tighten it's line if needed. Scrabbles about in a quite pleasing way like cars of old before engineers knocked all the rough edges out of cars.
Basically, if you can get over the internet bores saying that it's British so it's crap, it's a lot better than people believe. It's also desperately British feeling and it screams 'future classic'.
Good work.
The Arch Bishop
Active member
Today I've been doing some post-MOT tweaking to sort some of the annoying faults out.
First order of the day were the hateful wheel nuts. They use the same under-size nuts with the stainless casing that Ford use. They are the beggers that turn into a major headache when you've a puncture by the side of the road.
Many of the stainless finishers had already dropped off and they'd caused me difficulties when I was getting the front wheels off, so I ordered a decent set of full sized solid nickel-plated ones from eBay. They are actually for a Ford focus, but the taper and pitch were identical. They also had the proper captive washers and were good value.
So I set to the old rusted nuts which wasn't easy. Because without the stainless cappings they are under size, a 19mm socket does fit, but not properly meaning that they either round off or get stubbornly stuck in the socket. One was so stuck that it rounded and I had to use my Irwin cutting sockets to get it off. The others meant that I spent more time removing them from the sockets than actually removing them from the car... Good riddance!
Turns a good ankle now!
With that done, I moved to a problem that had stopped me using the car yesterday.
The exhaust had dropped off its hanger on one side and the pipe was resting on the bumper. The hook was resting on the fragile heat shield;
As you can see from the photo, the rubber is knackered so I've ordered a new set and bodged it in the meantime but spacing the hanger on the other side meaning it can't slide far enough to free the other hanger;
Does the job!
Next I moved on to the passenger window which was missing its stop. No pictures, but after some fiddling about, I managed to get the window to seal in an acceptable way while being able to open the door.
Sadly, the dicking around with the windows finished off the battery which was on its last legs anyway. For piece of mind I went to the ever-brilliant VKM in Burgess Hill for a new one. It appears that I was served by a fictional comedy character;
The days must fly by in there!
Battery fitted and up and running again.
That's all for now!
First order of the day were the hateful wheel nuts. They use the same under-size nuts with the stainless casing that Ford use. They are the beggers that turn into a major headache when you've a puncture by the side of the road.
Many of the stainless finishers had already dropped off and they'd caused me difficulties when I was getting the front wheels off, so I ordered a decent set of full sized solid nickel-plated ones from eBay. They are actually for a Ford focus, but the taper and pitch were identical. They also had the proper captive washers and were good value.
So I set to the old rusted nuts which wasn't easy. Because without the stainless cappings they are under size, a 19mm socket does fit, but not properly meaning that they either round off or get stubbornly stuck in the socket. One was so stuck that it rounded and I had to use my Irwin cutting sockets to get it off. The others meant that I spent more time removing them from the sockets than actually removing them from the car... Good riddance!
Turns a good ankle now!
With that done, I moved to a problem that had stopped me using the car yesterday.
The exhaust had dropped off its hanger on one side and the pipe was resting on the bumper. The hook was resting on the fragile heat shield;
As you can see from the photo, the rubber is knackered so I've ordered a new set and bodged it in the meantime but spacing the hanger on the other side meaning it can't slide far enough to free the other hanger;
Does the job!
Next I moved on to the passenger window which was missing its stop. No pictures, but after some fiddling about, I managed to get the window to seal in an acceptable way while being able to open the door.
Sadly, the dicking around with the windows finished off the battery which was on its last legs anyway. For piece of mind I went to the ever-brilliant VKM in Burgess Hill for a new one. It appears that I was served by a fictional comedy character;
The days must fly by in there!
Battery fitted and up and running again.
That's all for now!
Brian'
Member
Excellent work, as always!
niceeeeey! :grin:
The Arch Bishop
Active member
It was a nice day so I finally got around to waterproofing the hood with Fabsil. Only took about half an hour and should help the hood last.
It did mean that I couldn't take the hood down for a drive off to the Inlaws, but I enjoyed taking it for a spin anyway!
Grabbed some pictures while out;
As a bonus for helping him out with some gardening stuff, my farther in law gave me an MG watch that he found the other day (MG dealers, it would seem, had a lot of freebies away!)
Bit manky and well-used, but a nice bit of memorabilia none the less! I haven't found out anything about it from the net other than some chancer trying to sell one on eBay for £300!
It did mean that I couldn't take the hood down for a drive off to the Inlaws, but I enjoyed taking it for a spin anyway!
Grabbed some pictures while out;
As a bonus for helping him out with some gardening stuff, my farther in law gave me an MG watch that he found the other day (MG dealers, it would seem, had a lot of freebies away!)
Bit manky and well-used, but a nice bit of memorabilia none the less! I haven't found out anything about it from the net other than some chancer trying to sell one on eBay for £300!
The Arch Bishop
Active member
Yep! If you look at the left hand dial, that's the miles left until the head-gasket blows (although they were a tad optimistic with 55,000 miles). As you can see, that watch dial now sits near the start at just past 0 as mine's only recently been repaired! :wink:
The Arch Bishop
Active member
Well it's been a while since I updated this thread, mainly because the MGF has been sat skulking down the drive all Winter. Now the plan was for it to live in the garage over the last 4 months, but thanks to building works and then Puma parts hogging all the space, it has sat out in all weathers.
This obviously hasn't done it a great deal of good!
First I had to clean the mould off of the interior - grim but easy. Next was a wash down so I could see what state it is in.
Well, the sills looked bad, but further inspection revealed that they were still sound, but need rubbing down and repainting;
The front wing hadn't gotten any worse;
So far, so good!
However (and there had to be a however didn't there), I saw a new scab just on the corner of the driver's side wheel arch, and there's nothing better than picking a scab!
Ah. yes....
Big old hole! Hmmmm.... probably better get that sorted! I feel a call to Robin the welder is on the cards!
At least the engine still sounds good and started without a pause.
This obviously hasn't done it a great deal of good!
First I had to clean the mould off of the interior - grim but easy. Next was a wash down so I could see what state it is in.
Well, the sills looked bad, but further inspection revealed that they were still sound, but need rubbing down and repainting;
The front wing hadn't gotten any worse;
So far, so good!
However (and there had to be a however didn't there), I saw a new scab just on the corner of the driver's side wheel arch, and there's nothing better than picking a scab!
Ah. yes....
Big old hole! Hmmmm.... probably better get that sorted! I feel a call to Robin the welder is on the cards!
At least the engine still sounds good and started without a pause.
The Arch Bishop
Active member
I dug the old MG out today to see if the winter had taken it's toll on anything other than the bodywork. A charge of the battery overnight was enough to resurrect it and as a bonus, everything still worked!
One niggle was that the handbrake warning light tended to stay on or flicker over the bumps. A bit of forum searching lead me to the handbrake adjuster nut which lives under the centre armrest. While whoever designed it should be shot, after half an hour of shouting at it, I managed to give it a half a turn and the dicky light was sorted. No air required for the tyres and I was good to go!
A half-hour blat across some of the twistier roads confirmed that the MG-FFS still worked as it should. And you know, it does, against popular belief, like the twisties! It's so very tiny that even very narrow roads allow you to take a line and the grip is very solid and progressive.
Nipped to the garage for £20 of fuel, dropped the roof down (takes about 5 seconds) and drove home with a big grin on my face. Ultimately, it's not a car that I would have chosen, but for the £1200 it owes me, I have a decent pretty, grippy little mid-engined soft top with a fresh head gasket and 140bhp. Can't really complain for that!
Let's see if the enthusiasm lasts! :grin:
One niggle was that the handbrake warning light tended to stay on or flicker over the bumps. A bit of forum searching lead me to the handbrake adjuster nut which lives under the centre armrest. While whoever designed it should be shot, after half an hour of shouting at it, I managed to give it a half a turn and the dicky light was sorted. No air required for the tyres and I was good to go!
A half-hour blat across some of the twistier roads confirmed that the MG-FFS still worked as it should. And you know, it does, against popular belief, like the twisties! It's so very tiny that even very narrow roads allow you to take a line and the grip is very solid and progressive.
Nipped to the garage for £20 of fuel, dropped the roof down (takes about 5 seconds) and drove home with a big grin on my face. Ultimately, it's not a car that I would have chosen, but for the £1200 it owes me, I have a decent pretty, grippy little mid-engined soft top with a fresh head gasket and 140bhp. Can't really complain for that!
Let's see if the enthusiasm lasts! :grin:
The Arch Bishop
Active member
Yes - get knocking! A 218 would be an interesting (and rare) project!
The Arch Bishop
Active member
Precisely! :thumbs:
The Arch Bishop
Active member
The enthusiasm sort of lasted...sort of...
Early this week, I started hankering after another Mk1 MR2, so I decided to sell the MGF. I liked it a lot, but I didn't love it.
On Wednesday, the Weather was cracking so I took a camera with me to work, which is in the Ashdown forest - a perfect spot to take some nice for sale pictures.
If you go down to the woods today....
So, once home, I posted it for sale on three local Facebook selling pages, Gumtree and Friday-Ad.
The problem was that, the next day, I drove it into work. Again the weather was fantastic and the drive home had to be with the roof off. It was a great drive with the K-Series sounding sweet (and surprisingly snorty) and pulling well and, now I'm dialled into it, the handling proving fun (I even managed to get the tail wagging a bit under power on a roundabout).
I got home in a complete dichotomy, so decided to leave it in the lap of the Gods. I'd had one interested email that I'd responded to, but hadn't heard anything further from, so I decided that if I didn't have anyone come and look at it by Friday I'd remove the sale posts.
This evening, I have gladly removed said posts, thus proving that I do love it so it's staying.
So first of all is to try and tidy the paintwork up which, as some of the detailers in this forum may notice, is a swirly mess! While I can clean a car to within an inch of it's life and I know what a clay bar is, I'm not to up on when it's time for a machine polish, so that's the first order of the day. Second is to get a four-wheel alignment done as, while it tracks straight and true, the wheel is about 5 degrees off centre.
Then it's the crispy sills.... Some money to be spent I think!
Early this week, I started hankering after another Mk1 MR2, so I decided to sell the MGF. I liked it a lot, but I didn't love it.
On Wednesday, the Weather was cracking so I took a camera with me to work, which is in the Ashdown forest - a perfect spot to take some nice for sale pictures.
If you go down to the woods today....
So, once home, I posted it for sale on three local Facebook selling pages, Gumtree and Friday-Ad.
The problem was that, the next day, I drove it into work. Again the weather was fantastic and the drive home had to be with the roof off. It was a great drive with the K-Series sounding sweet (and surprisingly snorty) and pulling well and, now I'm dialled into it, the handling proving fun (I even managed to get the tail wagging a bit under power on a roundabout).
I got home in a complete dichotomy, so decided to leave it in the lap of the Gods. I'd had one interested email that I'd responded to, but hadn't heard anything further from, so I decided that if I didn't have anyone come and look at it by Friday I'd remove the sale posts.
This evening, I have gladly removed said posts, thus proving that I do love it so it's staying.
So first of all is to try and tidy the paintwork up which, as some of the detailers in this forum may notice, is a swirly mess! While I can clean a car to within an inch of it's life and I know what a clay bar is, I'm not to up on when it's time for a machine polish, so that's the first order of the day. Second is to get a four-wheel alignment done as, while it tracks straight and true, the wheel is about 5 degrees off centre.
Then it's the crispy sills.... Some money to be spent I think!
The Arch Bishop
Active member
It is, and I can remember the rampant rot on both of my MR2's being a thing of misery. I doubt things have improved 11 years on!
Got that 218 coupe bought yet? :wink:
Got that 218 coupe bought yet? :wink:
The Arch Bishop
Active member
This is the one I was looking at. Seems good value;
http://www.classiccarsforsale.co.uk/detail/motors/classic-cars/toyota/mr2/113406
http://www.classiccarsforsale.co.uk/detail/motors/classic-cars/toyota/mr2/113406
