Discussion
Well, £87 at auction to be precise. 
Thought I'd start a thread on my new purchase - a rather impulsive bit of cheap summer fun.
Its an early F with 80,000 miles - I had no intention of buying, but at that price, thought 'why not' !
I assumed the worst and half expected to scrap / break it and move on. But its actually rather nice.
Good bits:
10 months MOT, all old MOTs (less than 1000 miles / year since 2008), hood looks quite new, interior ok, no sign of HG / cooling issues (yet), drives tightly without knocks or any evident problems
Bad bits:
The paint is peel-y, the wiper stalk is broken (but works ok).
The front brakes were binding and it needed a new battery - both of which were simple fixes.
Total spend so far (car, new battery, 6 months tax and insurance) is £382.
I'm planning to commute in it tomorrow (116 mile round trip) - wish me luck !!!
Edit - and here she is:
Thought I'd start a thread on my new purchase - a rather impulsive bit of cheap summer fun.
Its an early F with 80,000 miles - I had no intention of buying, but at that price, thought 'why not' !
I assumed the worst and half expected to scrap / break it and move on. But its actually rather nice.
Good bits:
10 months MOT, all old MOTs (less than 1000 miles / year since 2008), hood looks quite new, interior ok, no sign of HG / cooling issues (yet), drives tightly without knocks or any evident problems
Bad bits:
The paint is peel-y, the wiper stalk is broken (but works ok).
The front brakes were binding and it needed a new battery - both of which were simple fixes.
Total spend so far (car, new battery, 6 months tax and insurance) is £382.
I'm planning to commute in it tomorrow (116 mile round trip) - wish me luck !!!
Edit - and here she is:
Edited by MattGTA on Sunday 1st June 21:32
Edited by MattGTA on Thursday 24th July 11:06
Just trying to work out what, if anything, to do with the peeling paint - its not a big deal but is quite extensively across both front wings and the bonnet.
Options are:
1) Get it sprayed up - local garage who I trust could probably do that for a reasonable price
2) Have a go myself
3) Whack a massive great smiley on there and be done with it !
4) Do nothing
All thoughts welcomed !
Options are:
1) Get it sprayed up - local garage who I trust could probably do that for a reasonable price
2) Have a go myself
3) Whack a massive great smiley on there and be done with it !
4) Do nothing
All thoughts welcomed !
So - quick update:
I'm now 400 miles in and no drama to report. There are a couple of additional niggles - the temp gague doesn't work (scary) and one of the tyres needs air every week or so.
I've been refining my plan - the aim is to go on a mission to rack up as much use with as little cost as possible over the next few months until it either breaks or winter arrives.
Plan is still a work in progress but will include some of the following:
Regular 500 mile weekly commute (roof down)
Track days (Brands is just down the road for me)
A Lands End to John O'Groats run
A Euro trip to do 10 countries in 1 weekend (always wanted to do this, no idea why!)
An Evo triange trip
Watch this space...
I'm now 400 miles in and no drama to report. There are a couple of additional niggles - the temp gague doesn't work (scary) and one of the tyres needs air every week or so.
I've been refining my plan - the aim is to go on a mission to rack up as much use with as little cost as possible over the next few months until it either breaks or winter arrives.
Plan is still a work in progress but will include some of the following:
Regular 500 mile weekly commute (roof down)
Track days (Brands is just down the road for me)
A Lands End to John O'Groats run
A Euro trip to do 10 countries in 1 weekend (always wanted to do this, no idea why!)
An Evo triange trip
Watch this space...
IanCress said:
You are slightly mental.
Beware the temp gauge issue. Is it 100% a faulty gauge? For peace of mind i'd be checking that the cooling system is circulating water correctly and that the heater gets hot. I'm sure you're aware of the MGF's reputation!
Already on it - it's a knackered gague. Phew. Beware the temp gauge issue. Is it 100% a faulty gauge? For peace of mind i'd be checking that the cooling system is circulating water correctly and that the heater gets hot. I'm sure you're aware of the MGF's reputation!
Update - I'm now 1000 miles in and still going strong.
About half of that has been commuting from East Sussex to Canary Wharf - twisty B and A roads (and a bit of M25, but we'll ignore that) are a great way to kick start a sunny day and make a nice change from the usual commuting transport.
The rest has been for pure pleasure - a few trips down to the coast, a few spirited drives just for the hell of it and just some short trips here and there.
Total spent since last update: £0 (excl fuel)
Miles covered with roof up: 0
Breakdowns: 0
Spins: 1
Things which have popped up:
The engine temp reading is still playing up - I'm going to have a fiddle with that later, but there is no sign of a more troublesome issue
The indicators work properly, but you can't tell from inside the car that they're on and they don't always cancel when you expect them to
The rear lights are always on
A bit of door trim has come loose (needs to be re-glued)
M
About half of that has been commuting from East Sussex to Canary Wharf - twisty B and A roads (and a bit of M25, but we'll ignore that) are a great way to kick start a sunny day and make a nice change from the usual commuting transport.
The rest has been for pure pleasure - a few trips down to the coast, a few spirited drives just for the hell of it and just some short trips here and there.
Total spent since last update: £0 (excl fuel)
Miles covered with roof up: 0
Breakdowns: 0
Spins: 1
Things which have popped up:
The engine temp reading is still playing up - I'm going to have a fiddle with that later, but there is no sign of a more troublesome issue
The indicators work properly, but you can't tell from inside the car that they're on and they don't always cancel when you expect them to
The rear lights are always on
A bit of door trim has come loose (needs to be re-glued)
M
jkh112 said:
MattGTA said:
The rear lights are always on
when you say rear lights do you mean tail lights or brake lights?If it is the brake lights then this is common on the MGF. There is a plastic plunger switch just behind/above the brake pedal which activates the brake lights and it is supposed to be self adjusting. The adjustment often fails so that the brake lights remain on. It can be manually readjusted by pulling the plunger sharply away from the body, you will feel it click against the ratchet as you pull it out, but it should then be okay (at least for a while!).
Edited by jkh112 on Monday 30th June 20:45
Marvelous! That did the job - cheers.
Been a quiet couple of weeks for the MG, whilst I found some time to look into the iffy engine temperature readings. After my last update, I noticed the fan was inactive too, so it became a priority to work out what was going on before any move fun.
Turns out this widget (below) was knackered - in fact, it was one of 2 failing connectors attached to a larger metal thing - one feeding the temp gauge and the other the fan.
Replacements from a breaker: £20
Fan now working and temperature gauge sitting exactly where it should.
Off we go again :-)
I also took the opportunity to change the oil and filter, check all the fluids and inspect the brakes, steering and suspension. Turns out the front discs and pads are pretty much brand new.
Turns out this widget (below) was knackered - in fact, it was one of 2 failing connectors attached to a larger metal thing - one feeding the temp gauge and the other the fan.
Replacements from a breaker: £20
Fan now working and temperature gauge sitting exactly where it should.
Off we go again :-)
I also took the opportunity to change the oil and filter, check all the fluids and inspect the brakes, steering and suspension. Turns out the front discs and pads are pretty much brand new.
Been a great week - another trouble free 500 miles has turned my commute into a roof down, sunny morning blast and has taken my overall mileage up to nearly 2000 miles.
Fluids are all changed now, everything tightened up / adjusted as needed and the service is complete. The car is now just really nice to drive - tight, rattle free, reliable and good fun. There is an especially challenging special stage on the last few miles of my drive home and its an absolute pleasure to hustle through there.
Some other repairs now complete: re-gluing the door trim, fixing the alignment on the roof so it closes nicely and fiddling with the central locking, which was draining the battery over a week or so, but is now sorted.
Next up, I want to understand why the indicators (which work fine) dont flash the little green arrows on the dash. I'm also going to look at the utterly s
e 90s alarm to see if I can remove it. I thought this would be easy, but it's wired into the ECU .
Oh, and I'm really tempted to have a go at re-spraying the front end myself once the summer is over.
Total spend on repairs so far: £132, making the grand total £219 if you exclude tax, insurance and fuel.
Fluids are all changed now, everything tightened up / adjusted as needed and the service is complete. The car is now just really nice to drive - tight, rattle free, reliable and good fun. There is an especially challenging special stage on the last few miles of my drive home and its an absolute pleasure to hustle through there.
Some other repairs now complete: re-gluing the door trim, fixing the alignment on the roof so it closes nicely and fiddling with the central locking, which was draining the battery over a week or so, but is now sorted.
Next up, I want to understand why the indicators (which work fine) dont flash the little green arrows on the dash. I'm also going to look at the utterly s
e 90s alarm to see if I can remove it. I thought this would be easy, but it's wired into the ECU .Oh, and I'm really tempted to have a go at re-spraying the front end myself once the summer is over.
Total spend on repairs so far: £132, making the grand total £219 if you exclude tax, insurance and fuel.
You are right, of course.
But the thread is not dead - car will be sold and whatever it makes will pay for the next chapter of this story.
It was 3200 fun miles over the summer months for peanuts and only ever let me down at the very end - I'd have taken that outcome at the beginning of this journey.
The question now is: break or sell?
Watch this space :-)
But the thread is not dead - car will be sold and whatever it makes will pay for the next chapter of this story.
It was 3200 fun miles over the summer months for peanuts and only ever let me down at the very end - I'd have taken that outcome at the beginning of this journey.
The question now is: break or sell?
Watch this space :-)
Blayney said:
Looking forward to the next chapter now! Any ideas?
I'm not going to put any more cash in the pot, but I am going to have a bit of a garage clear out to boost the piggy bank. There are things I simply don't need gathering dust - wings for a mini, winter wheels for a nissan trail, a couple of car covers, bits and bobs from various Lancias and MX5s; not to mention the radio and mats from the MG.
Can't wait
Update time.
My buyer literally disappeared off the face of the earth so I found another one, who agreed a price of £130 and then tried to knock me down to 40 quid ("for cash") when he arrived (2hrs late) 
So the car sat for a couple of weeks going nowhere until yesterday, when, armed with nothing more than the internet and a new HG kit I set about taking it apart.
Several hours later (after much knuckle grazing) I tentatively turned the key and it fired up first time
Special mention goes to my local mechanic, who gave up a chunk of his saturday afternoon to answer my stupid questions. Also to my 7 yr old, who's much better at following instructions than me.
Rude words go to the inaccessible engine bay, the angle of the bolts and the ridiculous cooling system which was a complete arse to bleed.
Total cost: £61, which included celebratory beer.
Just been for a 20 mile drive - running well, good pressure, no leaking and no overheating:
Overall, pretty chuffed.
My buyer literally disappeared off the face of the earth
so I found another one, who agreed a price of £130 and then tried to knock me down to 40 quid ("for cash") when he arrived (2hrs late) So the car sat for a couple of weeks going nowhere until yesterday, when, armed with nothing more than the internet and a new HG kit I set about taking it apart.
Several hours later (after much knuckle grazing) I tentatively turned the key and it fired up first time
Special mention goes to my local mechanic, who gave up a chunk of his saturday afternoon to answer my stupid questions. Also to my 7 yr old, who's much better at following instructions than me.
Rude words go to the inaccessible engine bay, the angle of the bolts and the ridiculous cooling system which was a complete arse to bleed.
Total cost: £61, which included celebratory beer.
Just been for a 20 mile drive - running well, good pressure, no leaking and no overheating:
Overall, pretty chuffed.
Edited by MattGTA on Sunday 19th October 10:20
MGJohn said:
Wise words
Thanks MGJohn, great post. Looking forward to keeping you up to date. I'm going to commute in the MG tomorrow (116 miles round trip), and really looking forward to it.
The feeling of satisfaction right now is huge - a mix of pride in having kept one more little MG on the road and pleasure at having extending my bargain roadster fun.
MG
Time for a long overdue update and some exciting news…
The MG sold in the spring for £220 - essentially making for a few thousand miles of free 2014 summer motoring, with some heart stopping moments thrown in for good measure. Since then, the fund has been topped up with the sale of a few mini bits and bobs, a Kenwood single din head unit, some old axle stands and other assorted nonsense from the cupboard at the back of my garage.
So now… drum role… I give you…
The £400 Eunos:
Chapter 2 begins here.
M
The MG sold in the spring for £220 - essentially making for a few thousand miles of free 2014 summer motoring, with some heart stopping moments thrown in for good measure. Since then, the fund has been topped up with the sale of a few mini bits and bobs, a Kenwood single din head unit, some old axle stands and other assorted nonsense from the cupboard at the back of my garage.
So now… drum role… I give you…
The £400 Eunos:
Chapter 2 begins here.
M
Ah yes sills - they'll need some attention.
However broadly speaking, it's pretty bloody good. The engine and box are tight and the drive is nice. Everything works (bar the air con) and the MOT runs through to next summer - it seems mechanically excellent (brave words, but it's clearly been looked after) and whilst the body needs some TLC, the tan leather interior is in great condition (there's a nice alpine cd radio too). The rear callipers and discs are new too.
It's an early 1.6 mk.1 (1991) and whilst I've had a number of UK MX5s, this is my first import. Pics to follow.
M
PS - I'm wondering if it's a 'V Spec' ?
However broadly speaking, it's pretty bloody good. The engine and box are tight and the drive is nice. Everything works (bar the air con) and the MOT runs through to next summer - it seems mechanically excellent (brave words, but it's clearly been looked after) and whilst the body needs some TLC, the tan leather interior is in great condition (there's a nice alpine cd radio too). The rear callipers and discs are new too.
It's an early 1.6 mk.1 (1991) and whilst I've had a number of UK MX5s, this is my first import. Pics to follow.
M
PS - I'm wondering if it's a 'V Spec' ?
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