MGF Abingdon | Shed of the Week
Don't want to pay through the nose for a limited-edition sports car? Perish the thought
There’s a long hairline crack in Shed’s tea mug. It’s been there for as long as he can remember, and he can feel it on his bottom lip whenever he has a brew. He knows full well that one day, sure as eggs is eggs, it’s going to burst like a miniature pottery version of the Mohne dam and drench his frontal area with scalding-hot Tetleys.
He realises that he should simply replace the mug, but he's as tight as the proverbial duck's bottom and he also quite likes the uncertainty. As the postmistress will confirm, the prospect of ending up with steaming Y-fronts always brings a frisson of excitement to Shed's otherwise humdrum existence.
You might say that the MGF's K Series engine is the equivalent of Shed’s crack. Blighted from birth by a thermostat that was put in the wrong place and a head gasket that was made from the wrong stuff, its cylinder head could blow at any moment: you just didn’t know when. This was all a massive shame because, top end woes apart, the 1.8 perched excitingly behind your nut and driving the rear wheels was a great little unit, especially in variably valve-timed 143hp VVC format.
There's something special about the particular F you're looking at here. It’s an Abingdon, which was the first special edition F. Shed hasn't been able to establish exactly how limited this edition was. Some (usually owners) say there were only 150 made with the VVC motor and another 350 with the non-VVC 1.8. Others with no skin in the game say don't believe that old nonsense, and that there were about 1,500 made altogether. Whatever the truth might be, VVC Abingdons are rarer than non-VVCs. Correct cars should have those three letters emblazoned on the valve covers. We don't have a pic of the engine, but we do of the tacho and the 7,250rpm positioning of the red zone is right for the VVC.
Elsewhere in the cabin we have wood, or a Wood-U-Like substance anyway, and plumptious piped seats upholstered in biscuit leather, the perfect accompaniment to Shed’s tea if only they had been made of biscuits and not cowskin. The moo extended to the steering wheel, gearlever and handbrake gaiters and door panels. Windbreaks and chromey bootlid luggage racks were popular Abingdon add-ons.
The 16-inch alloy wheels were Abingdon-bespoke and the paint was a lustrous Brooklands Green, with an optional hardtop available in the same colour. Brooklands Green wasn't an Abingdon-exclusive colour, leading to Abingdon status being naughtily claimed for non-Abingdon cars. Shed feels reasonably confident about this car though. It has a black soft top rather than the original biscuity one, but given that it's been around for 25 years he reckons it's nothing more sinister than a replacement item.
In the process of his research Shed found another 1998 Abingdon up for sale. According to the ad that 42,000-miler came with ‘endless’ service stamps documented ‘neetly’ (hmm) within a large 'binder folder', and there was also a mysterious 'box of original parts'. Shed prefers the original parts to be fitted to the car rather than sitting in a box, but then again he is a grumpy old sod. Anyway, a couple of years ago that Abingdon received new Hydragas spheres, a suspension system that MG binned in favour of regular steel springs for the final 2002-on TF. There was nothing in the ad about the state of the cylinder head. With such a low mileage, could it actually still have its original top end? Who knows. What we do know is that its MOT expired last November (’23) and that the price for it was £5,995.
For four grand less than that, you can have Shed’s 89,000-mile example with no obvious issues and a clean MOT running up to May. Lots of consumables have been consumed over its lifetime, telling mainly a story of wonky chassis geometry – another common F issue – that nobody has so far bothered to sort out. There are no mentions in the MOT history of rust or anything else of a wallet-disturbing nature, but there is a personal reg number that will surely appeal to an actor, a butcher, or perhaps an actor who butchers their lines. That next owner will want to make sure the cambelt is in good order. If it snaps, at least half of the valves will be bent and at least half the valve guides will be damaged. The water pump needs to be in good fettle too.
We’re not told how many owners it's had, but the treacle-slow accumulation of miles in recent times – just 9,000 in the last 14 years – suggests that at least one of those owners kept it off the roads in the hopes of some sort of jackpot arising from its limited edition-ness. Although Shed has noticed some evidence of F values creeping up of late, that thunderclap of market recognition has not yet happened. Instead, this Abingdon has ended up here in Shed’s gloomy purview at a disappointingly inglorious price of £1,995, a far cry from the £23k that MG was asking for new ones in 1998. A bargain then! Maybe.
On a side note - I'm really happy to see shed has started the year on form! Reading a bit of a tale and not just a car article is what makes me look forward to every Friday. Keep it up shed! (I'm sure the postmistress sometimes says that too)
On a side note I was expecting some postmistress innuendo about the shed having a brown gear knob.
The '2 was a lot better than my brother's MK1 Elise where if it rained and you were doing 40 or more you were probably drier without the roof which appeared to funnelled water over the tops of the closed windows....
I've always thought the original version looked better than the facelift - I like those headlights.
The MGF has always fascinated me and I'd love a drive in one, so this definitely gets my approval. They do seem very marmite on here though.
Ended up with a NB facelift MX5 instead which I still miss today.
The K series is a great little engine, especially once sorted, it sounds great (much nicer than my eunos) and revs so freely, even more so in VVC guise, I wish I'd bought the trophy f with it's 160bhp VVC when I had the chance, it was fantastic fun to drive.
Great car, too good for a shed
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