MG ZS 180

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Hi all, I used to have a 180 that had issues to say the least so never really felt inclined to show it off. 2 years driving nothing but a people carrier and a crappy non turbo diesel golf finally got to me so I decided to start looking for my ideal mk2 golf gti, so naturally I bought a bright yellow MG! It turns out it's quite rare as ZS's go, only 15 mk1's were done in this colour and this was the first! Anyway, I'm not really a rover person as you can probably tell from my awful teenage username so I thought I'd come and see how piston heads fits with my obsession with internet acceptance / stardom. Anyway here's the pics of what I'm starting out with, enjoy and hope to get to know some of you in due course!







and now the rust...


thankfully im not shy with a welder so the plan is to strip both inner wings down to bare metal, weld what needs welding, tidy up the nasty factory welding on all the brackets, strip back what is obviously poor quality seam sealer, re-seal EVERYTHING, re-paint in correct colour, and start looking for a strut brace and some sort of crossmember brace because clearly the metal work on the front of these cars moves round too much, below pic is a split in the seam behind the battery about 2 inches long. Seam welding ahoy! Deep deep joy!



also, paint has peeled right off around the clutch master cylinder!


and just to put the fear of god into all you ZS owners out there, go forth and check your inner wings....now!














Just a note, that's my old ZS and it is still on the road so all is not lost if you find something similar!

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Haha no way, yes I spotted the receipt for the slave cylinder that went bloody early didn't it?! I have your address as for some reason the second owners logbook was with the history, I have a letter written on the table ready to post tomorrow for you! Please please tell me somewhere you have the original service book? I have receipts for the 15k and 30k service but no more, also did you ever do the cam belt? So cool that you spotted this!

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Future plans are to strip back the engine bay and floor pan back to bare, weld anything that wants welding, seam weld the chassis areas, PROPERLY seal it and re paint before I even think about giving it any more power, after that it's cam belt, some fast road cams with some home brew head work, sports cat, shedist clutch, very slight lightening of the flywheel with a good clutch and a remap, aiming for 210 bhp, it doesn't need any more than that. Looks wise maybe a little lower on some coil overs and a solution must be found for the ABS which is quite frankly a joke!

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Finally got off my backside and gave it some polish, the sun came out especially!











Other than that, a few interesting developments, the spoiler is full of water which has stumped me if I'm honest, can't really see a way of solving it! Also got a small amount of water getting into the drivers footwell so I'm leak finding today. Other than that just been looking for any excuse to find a twisty B road to drive down!

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Thanks dude, Do you like green ones? Me likely this one

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2002-Mg-Zs-180-/15124131...

There's loads of nice ones at good prices on eBay ATM.

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Yes, it's a pearl type lacquer called sunspot yellow. Or super sexy yellow as it's also known!

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Well I have spoken to the boatyard and when all the boats have gone back in the water and there's some shed space available their going to rent me a corner to strip down the inner wings, weld whatever needs welding and properly seam seal the lot. Also got to do the thermostat I think, yaaaaay!

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Small update. Not done anything at all to it so far bar a new expansion tank cap. That's not to say there haven't been problems. The closer I get to Le Mans the more little problems rear their heads. First I thought the head gasket was gone due to cream in the oil cap but this turned out to be just lack of use and condensation. Compression test revealed that all is well, thermostat house is leaking a very small amount, and now my rear n/s brake calliper is binding.

Having said that. On the whole it's been a lot of fun, doesn't get used a lot but when I have it's put a smile on my face every time. Just need to decide weather I fix now and try for Le Mans or hire a car and do a big refurb in the summer. Would be a shame to touch her away for so long though.

Thanks for reading.

Ian

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Forgot obligatory pics!

Clay bar and a damn good polish needed.



But on the whole not too bad for just super resin polish!

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bks!



I've been contemplating what I'd do if, no, sorry, when this happened. So....

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Honda-Prelude-2-2-sr-a-c...

2.2 vtec zs180 anyone? As far as I can tell there's a tone of reasons why I should do this and only 1 why not, mainly the end of the v6 growl, but, no more ridiculous cam belt costs or hg problems, engine weighs roughly half of the kv6 and is easily tuneable, just a vtec controller will take me over 200bhp. So this is now my quest for vtec project thread. Will keep updated once I accumulate some parts!

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Cost mainly to be honest. Really I'm going to need a complete car to do the conversion, I'm happy with 197bhp as standard and much lower cost to do the job.

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itcaptainslow said:

Take the allen bolts out of the side of the spoiler and that will drain it.

cheers for that! I did take it off and let it drip dry but it just filled up again, not sure how its getting in there in the first place!

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From what i gather im going to need the front subframe and gearchange parts from its counterpart civic, then a 2.2 conversion kit that includes engine mounts and various cables along with a small amount of wiring as well as a full Honda prelude to pillage for parts. Need the driveshafts shortened also, if anyone has any recommendations for that id be very great full.

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Ok so cats been thrown amongst the pigeons now, a mate of mine has told me he's got a 40k v6 engine i can have and a 2.0 kv6 crank, meaning if i fit it to a 2.5 i get a low compression zs180 engine. Can you guess what I'm going to say next?

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Small update, so the car had been pretty much forgotten about until after Le Mans, the battery went dead and a tyre went flat, I don't like seeing my things fall into disrepair even if their broken, so anyway, I hooked up a jump pack, expecting it to cough and splutter and generally not start what with the hgf and all, couldn't be more wrong, started on the button and ran perfectly. Thought that was a bit odd so got a pressure test done, all clear, no hgf! So I put it up for sale and somebody saw this so thought I'd better update! Think I'm keeping it now. Not going down the tuning road as it means it will be unused for even longer, so sod it, gonna tax it and re insure it and hit the B roads again! Happy days!

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Waynester said:

Underrated cars imo.. I bought this, which was the SOTW car on here.
Had it a year, never missed a beat, not a single problem!
Fitted a stainless sports exhaust..and it sounded very fit! Not an awful lot slower than my Focus ST!

Ah no way, I did look at that one myself but I can't not have the big spoiler! That's good to hear, all I ever usually hear is people slating it!

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Pooh stiffer engine mounts! Where do I get these? I had the shedist kit on my old ZS. Such a brilliant bit of shed engineering!

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Problem solved! Oil cooler was causing the cream in the engine, bit gutted I didn't realise this before, didn't take it to Le Mans as a result, this is now a project to get her to Le Mans next year! Been looking into full body restoration, should be able to get the whole thing done for around 3k. So boat is up for sale and the mission is on to build the cleanest concours ZS out there, also turns out the car is a little bit rarer than first thought, I originally thought it was the first in this colour of 15 mk1's, turns out that includes mk2's so she's a bit special, there's also a possibility it was the first monogram of any of them. Research shall continue!

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Few pics I took at the weekend, not looking too neglected, it's defiantly not liking standing, think I'll put her back on the road in October. Got a few tasks ahead of me though,

Strip down front end and search and rectify rust.
Stonechip repair.
Replace oil cooler.
Tyres
Damn good polish!
Service





Stonechips





I have finally managed to get hold of a touch up kit for it, going to follow the guide in the detailing section, will add pics, also, I have been reluctant to admit it, I think I am facing the same rust issues I had with the last one, going to press on with this one though. I will not be defeated again!

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Cheers st150, I am rather partial to it myself!

By my calculations I should be able to "restore" it for around 4k, only major change will be that I'm going for a slightly yellower base coat and a few more layers of the pearl, in really bright sunlight the mustard base obliterates the pearl which doesn't look great if I'm honest, need to sell the boat first though!