RE: Shed Of The Week: MG ZT-T / Rover 75 Tourer

RE: Shed Of The Week: MG ZT-T / Rover 75 Tourer

Author
Discussion

VolvoT5

4,155 posts

175 months

Saturday 1st August 2015
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405dogvan said:
On the PH Classifieds - ZT-T V8 22K miles only - guess the price (it is pretty mint for a car which spent 7 years unsold!!)

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/m...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggVIIfcFWhY
Sounds bloody nasty to me (too loud) and underwhelming performance based on the Video the seller links to in the ad?

405dogvan

5,328 posts

266 months

Saturday 1st August 2015
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slowhand99 said:
405dogvan said:
On the PH Classifieds - ZT-T V8 22K miles only - guess the price (it is pretty mint for a car which spent 7 years unsold!!)

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/m...
Mmmmmm. Front wheel drive? I don't think so. £10k?
The V8s are RWD aren't they - Rover did crazy things in those days...

405dogvan

5,328 posts

266 months

Saturday 1st August 2015
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VolvoT5 said:
Sounds bloody nasty to me (too loud) and underwhelming performance based on the Video the seller links to in the ad?
260hp - so rather unstressed to say the least 410lb/ft tho, that was stump-pulling torque in it's day and indeed now as it's more than a 458 Italia can summon ;0

I suspect the noise is simply 'windows open' - 75s are reasonably quiet at the best of times, can't imagine why the 260 wouldn't enjoy that (but it's a V8, you WANT to hear it surely?)

itcaptainslow

3,703 posts

137 months

Sunday 2nd August 2015
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Mine has the XPower exhausts on it-it's a nice muted woofle when you just want to poodle with the windows shut, but it's like a thunderstorm when you open it up, even more so with the windows open. A bloody glorious sounding engine, if you ask me.

Axionknight

8,505 posts

136 months

Sunday 2nd August 2015
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I do like a stealthy estate, but not an MG one. I just don't get the appeal at all.

As for the diesel - never in a million years, what a hateful turd of a machine, someone called it achingly pretty earlier on in the thread - are you mental, Sir? I know tastes are subjective, but my word it's a sad looking thing.

I'd rather spend a bit more for a Saab or Volvo, or even look at the cheapo Passats kicking around, personally.

anonymous-user

55 months

Sunday 2nd August 2015
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RoverP6B said:
The pre-facelift 75 is still an achingly pretty thing. I would love a 2.5 KV6 example. Saloon or Tourer, not fussy...
I had a V6 ZT and don't rate that engine at all. Sounds nice but slow tbh.

anonymous-user

55 months

Sunday 2nd August 2015
quotequote all
VolvoT5 said:
405dogvan said:
On the PH Classifieds - ZT-T V8 22K miles only - guess the price (it is pretty mint for a car which spent 7 years unsold!!)

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/m...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggVIIfcFWhY
Sounds bloody nasty to me (too loud) and underwhelming performance based on the Video the seller links to in the ad?
I love a V8 but that does sound like an old tractor.

chris watton

22,477 posts

261 months

Sunday 2nd August 2015
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I bought one of these MGZT-T 2.6 V6's (looks exactly like the blue one pictured, actually)!, at the end of 2010, when I sold our left hooker after returning back from Italy.

It was in near pristine condition inside and out, and only £3k and under 20k miles on it. I only intended to keep it for a few months, until we were sorted here in the UK (we had 5 sausage dogs at the time..., but it was so good and so reliable, we ended up keeping it for three years. All I spent on it was standard servicing costs and new SS exhaust.

We have fond memories of that car, it wasn't bad at all.

JMF894

5,510 posts

156 months

Sunday 2nd August 2015
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Always surprised me how much better the MG ZT looked over the basic 75. In the right colour they still look very smart indeed. The 75 always looked a little nautical to me, as someone has mentioned too old school.

If they weren't quite so thirsty or 'relatively' slow a V8 ZT............................Hmmmmm

Jimbo

900T-R

20,404 posts

258 months

Monday 3rd August 2015
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On my second ZT-T derv (first one got rear ended twice in a year, and while the Insurance co was dealing with the latter of those incidents I put insult to injury by damaging the front).

The four pot diesel... meh (appreciate its high mileage stamina, easy motorway gait and general freedom from trouble compared to the various K-series derivatives on the petrol front; hate its near-complete lack of response below 2,100 rpm and John Deere-like refinement at low speeds). The rest is jolly good though, great seats and driving position, interior quality and architecture, tidy handling and handsome, very British looks.

Ideally I'd want a 260 on LPG, but the V8s are thin on the ground and still well into five figures (Euro) here. grumpy

Edited by 900T-R on Monday 3rd August 12:21

wile7

275 posts

222 months

Monday 3rd August 2015
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That MG ZT-T is a cracking estate 'shed' for the money...head gaskets aside, should be pretty reliable too.

RobinBanks

17,540 posts

180 months

Monday 3rd August 2015
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wile7 said:
That MG ZT-T is a cracking estate 'shed' for the money...head gaskets aside, should be pretty reliable too.
What makes you think they're especially likely to fail on this V6 anyway?

RoverP6B

4,338 posts

129 months

Monday 3rd August 2015
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The MG always looked a bit Halfords to me, and the facelift 75 was nowhere near as handsome or well-built as the first-generation. Sure, the KV6 only made about 190hp, but that was competitive with the BMW M54B25, and enough to haul the Rover along at a reasonable rate. It was never supposed to be a high-performance sports saloon anyway.

anonymous-user

55 months

Monday 3rd August 2015
quotequote all
RoverP6B said:
The MG always looked a bit Halfords to me, and the facelift 75 was nowhere near as handsome or well-built as the first-generation. Sure, the KV6 only made about 190hp, but that was competitive with the BMW M54B25, and enough to haul the Rover along at a reasonable rate. It was never supposed to be a high-performance sports saloon anyway.
Doubt any of them made 190bhp to be honest. Had the inlet manifold wotsit replaced on mine and it was still pretty slow. Car is far too heavy for the engine and it shows. Only plus point is it sounds nice.

RoverP6B

4,338 posts

129 months

Monday 3rd August 2015
quotequote all
Actually, done my research now, they were rated at 177PS (which converts to 174.5bhp), which puts them only a whisker higher than the 171PS BMW M54B22 - perhaps indicating that, displacement-for-displacement, the M54 is a somewhat superior unit in terms of power output. I'd still love a dark red 75 2.5 Tourer - and there are supercharger conversions out there that take the KV6 to mid-to-high 200s of both bhp and ftlb...

wile7

275 posts

222 months

Tuesday 4th August 2015
quotequote all
RobinBanks said:
wile7 said:
That MG ZT-T is a cracking estate 'shed' for the money...head gaskets aside, should be pretty reliable too.
What makes you think they're especially likely to fail on this V6 anyway?
Its the only part that folk seemed to have issues with during ownership of this model back in the day from memory. Admittedly the 2.5 lump was more reliable than the 1.8T version.

RoverP6B

4,338 posts

129 months

Tuesday 4th August 2015
quotequote all
Wasn't it the K4 rather than the KV6 that had the head gasket issues (thanks to BMW paring back on costs - didn't they have plastic cylinder head bolts?!)...

andymadmak

14,597 posts

271 months

Tuesday 4th August 2015
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RoverP6B said:
Actually, done my research now, they were rated at 177PS (which converts to 174.5bhp), which puts them only a whisker higher than the 171PS BMW M54B22 - perhaps indicating that, displacement-for-displacement, the M54 is a somewhat superior unit in terms of power output. I'd still love a dark red 75 2.5 Tourer - and there are supercharger conversions out there that take the KV6 to mid-to-high 200s of both bhp and ftlb...
Thats the 180 engine - used in the ZS and in the ZT automatic. ZT 190s (manual only) had 190ps

The known failure points of the KV6 are:

1. the inlet manifolds - made of plastic and featuring VIS motors. These either wear out around the throttle spigots or get oil in the VIS motors.
2. the thermostat housing pipe - also made of plastic and it cracks/leaks when it gets old and brittle. The ensuing leak is into the V valley and tends to go un noticed (unless you notice the strong smell of coolant) until too much of the coolant has left the system, resulting in HGF for those very very unlucky few.

Interestingly both these issues were introduced as a result of the redesign of the engine under BMW ownership. (The manifolds were made in Germany too!) The earlier Rover designs for the parts were metal....

The well known plastic dowel issue on the K4 was indeed a cost cutting move by BMW. The plastic softens and allows the head to "shuffle" , thereby increasing the risk of HGF on the K4. With ALL their engine expertise, anyone would think BMW made these catastrophic mods to Rovers core engine family on purpose.......

A ZT 190 with the inlet manifolds in good condition and with the VIS motors properly functioning goes very well indeed, with a marked "step" in performance at 4000rpm when the manifolds "open". No step or sluggish = banjaxed VIS or inlet manifold.





Edited by andymadmak on Tuesday 4th August 08:36

Roverload

850 posts

137 months

Tuesday 4th August 2015
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I just bought a ZT 190 for the bargain price of £100 with a knackered clutch, nearly finished the job. Bargain!






Roverload

850 posts

137 months

Tuesday 4th August 2015
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St John Smythe said:
RoverP6B said:
The pre-facelift 75 is still an achingly pretty thing. I would love a 2.5 KV6 example. Saloon or Tourer, not fussy...
I had a V6 ZT and don't rate that engine at all. Sounds nice but slow tbh.
That engine is much better suited to the ZS. The ZT is a bit of a lard arse.