My MG ZR - nothing special (for now)
Discussion
Right sorry if this bores you all but here goes.
Bought it for £800 in May after my workhorse Diesel Xantia's hydraulic suspension died, and I fancied something sportier.
1.4 ZR+ model with 62k (now 68k), I bought it off a friend of my dad who owns a garage and who had took it in part ex - with head gasket failure. I had him replace the head gasket with the uprated one before I bought it, so as long as I don't rag the car from cold I should be ok for a while (touch wood) - Ive already done a lot of trouble free miles since May and its took me from Liverpool to Reading a couple of times this year with no problems.
It had stayed off the road in that horrible winter we just had, in a damp garage, so the cheapo tyres were shaped like 50p's and there was a fair amount of mould growing inside, as well as a badly rusting exhaust. Didnt help that the previous owner was a woman who obviously smoked and treated her car like a bin and an ashtray. I also kept on finding stuff like leaking,sticky lip gloss' and cheap bracelets for some time afterwards.
Here it is after a clean in June. Ive not got round to any serious polishing sessions yet. Despite the mess of the interior the paint and bodywork was in decent nick for an 8 year old car, only a few stone chips and some very mild scratches on one arch, which will T-cut out.
I think the car has been in a mild front end shunt, either that or the bumper has sagged, as theres a gap between the bonnet and bumper. Since the picture was taken have since reduced the gap a fair bit by messing about with the rubber stops the bonnet rests on and by re-adjusting the bolts the bumper attaches to, but its by no means perfect. Checked the car with a fine tooth comb and mechanically its great, no bent chassis or anything like that:
And since this picture was taken I have since got rid of the chav-tastic blue gearknob and replaced it with the chrome BRM knob, and I have added black tailored carpets as the MG ones were extortionate for my old jobs wage:
Ive now got a new job which pays a lot more. Ive replaced the badly rusting cat and got a new one, and will be looking for a decent stainless cat back exhaust soon. Ive added a Pipercross panel filter which helps response at low revs in town. I'm at a bit of a loss as to what to do next but I would really like to take it on a track day and give it a good thrashing and if I get another car this will become my track slag.
I havent been on a track day before, apart from drivers dream days, Im currently looking into it but I just hope I dont hold anyone up in this!!
Bought it for £800 in May after my workhorse Diesel Xantia's hydraulic suspension died, and I fancied something sportier.
1.4 ZR+ model with 62k (now 68k), I bought it off a friend of my dad who owns a garage and who had took it in part ex - with head gasket failure. I had him replace the head gasket with the uprated one before I bought it, so as long as I don't rag the car from cold I should be ok for a while (touch wood) - Ive already done a lot of trouble free miles since May and its took me from Liverpool to Reading a couple of times this year with no problems.
It had stayed off the road in that horrible winter we just had, in a damp garage, so the cheapo tyres were shaped like 50p's and there was a fair amount of mould growing inside, as well as a badly rusting exhaust. Didnt help that the previous owner was a woman who obviously smoked and treated her car like a bin and an ashtray. I also kept on finding stuff like leaking,sticky lip gloss' and cheap bracelets for some time afterwards.
Here it is after a clean in June. Ive not got round to any serious polishing sessions yet. Despite the mess of the interior the paint and bodywork was in decent nick for an 8 year old car, only a few stone chips and some very mild scratches on one arch, which will T-cut out.
I think the car has been in a mild front end shunt, either that or the bumper has sagged, as theres a gap between the bonnet and bumper. Since the picture was taken have since reduced the gap a fair bit by messing about with the rubber stops the bonnet rests on and by re-adjusting the bolts the bumper attaches to, but its by no means perfect. Checked the car with a fine tooth comb and mechanically its great, no bent chassis or anything like that:
And since this picture was taken I have since got rid of the chav-tastic blue gearknob and replaced it with the chrome BRM knob, and I have added black tailored carpets as the MG ones were extortionate for my old jobs wage:
Ive now got a new job which pays a lot more. Ive replaced the badly rusting cat and got a new one, and will be looking for a decent stainless cat back exhaust soon. Ive added a Pipercross panel filter which helps response at low revs in town. I'm at a bit of a loss as to what to do next but I would really like to take it on a track day and give it a good thrashing and if I get another car this will become my track slag.
I havent been on a track day before, apart from drivers dream days, Im currently looking into it but I just hope I dont hold anyone up in this!!
Cheers guys. The Alfa is my dads, its the facelift model 115hp diesel, hes kept it immaculate. I keep pestering him to chip it to 135hp though.
My car is a trophy blue yes, has a nice metallic sheen to it once its washed but it does go very dull quite quickly when its dirty.
I'm planning to keep it as original as possible, bar better brakes (they are woeful and void of feel) and the aforementioned s/s exhaust and air filter. Less is most definitely more with some cars. Might look into some genuine side skirts as well. I even like the original hairpin alloy wheels which aren't well liked on certain MG forums, most ZR owners prefer straights and they often change the rear lights as well. I just want to swap out chavvy bits and renew tired parts, like the steering wheel has seen better days, im a stickler for detail and it irritates me everytime I drive it!
My car is a trophy blue yes, has a nice metallic sheen to it once its washed but it does go very dull quite quickly when its dirty.
I'm planning to keep it as original as possible, bar better brakes (they are woeful and void of feel) and the aforementioned s/s exhaust and air filter. Less is most definitely more with some cars. Might look into some genuine side skirts as well. I even like the original hairpin alloy wheels which aren't well liked on certain MG forums, most ZR owners prefer straights and they often change the rear lights as well. I just want to swap out chavvy bits and renew tired parts, like the steering wheel has seen better days, im a stickler for detail and it irritates me everytime I drive it!
Looks so clean, for that price too you can't complain at all! You on www.themgzr.co.uk?
Kind of embarrasing that mine cost about 4x what you paid
Does the panel filter help round town? Low revs can be quite slow.
And I think the brighter colours suit those alloys better than the straights, but the xpower grey, blacksajd greenssuit the straights better (IMO!)
Kind of embarrasing that mine cost about 4x what you paid
Does the panel filter help round town? Low revs can be quite slow.
And I think the brighter colours suit those alloys better than the straights, but the xpower grey, blacksajd greenssuit the straights better (IMO!)
Nice, sounds like a good buy. 
If the brake callipers aren't sticky (which they probably are to osme extent if the car's been sitting for that long), set of good 'fast road' compound pads from Ferodo/Pagid et al and a brake fluid change should be all that's needed to sort you out on that front.
If the brake callipers aren't sticky (which they probably are to osme extent if the car's been sitting for that long), set of good 'fast road' compound pads from Ferodo/Pagid et al and a brake fluid change should be all that's needed to sort you out on that front.
The steering wheel is a bit big yeah, dont forget its just a Rover 25 wheel with an MG badge on it!! Ive been toying with the idea of a smaller momo etc type wheel.
I paid £800 but then spent £100 on 2 new front tyres and not long after spent near enough the same for new HT leads and coil packs. Spent a fair bit on cleaning products and mats, gearknob, filters, oil change, new plugs, pipercross filter etc it all adds up but hey who cares!
The pipercross filter made the car a bit more responsive in the lower rev range, as you will know the K series is a bit dud before 3k revs and only sings like a canary past 4500, its certainly helped driving round town
I am on themgzr dont think ive posted much on there though!!
Ive got a warped brake disc I think so a pad and disc change is on the cards soon!
I paid £800 but then spent £100 on 2 new front tyres and not long after spent near enough the same for new HT leads and coil packs. Spent a fair bit on cleaning products and mats, gearknob, filters, oil change, new plugs, pipercross filter etc it all adds up but hey who cares!
The pipercross filter made the car a bit more responsive in the lower rev range, as you will know the K series is a bit dud before 3k revs and only sings like a canary past 4500, its certainly helped driving round town
I am on themgzr dont think ive posted much on there though!!
Ive got a warped brake disc I think so a pad and disc change is on the cards soon!
Get yourself onto www.mg-rover.org and on the forums there is an area section. The Merseyside(England - North section) has a meet on the first sunday of every month and can help with anything you want to know and any problems which you might have! Last meet we changed a radiator and both inlet and exhaust gaskets for one of the members for the price of.... free!
Otherwise, I like your ZR and that blue is one of my favourate colours in which the MG's come in and the 105 may not be the fastest thing in the world but they are lovely revvy engines and as long as you have the MLS gasket fitted you should be fine with it.
Otherwise, I like your ZR and that blue is one of my favourate colours in which the MG's come in and the 105 may not be the fastest thing in the world but they are lovely revvy engines and as long as you have the MLS gasket fitted you should be fine with it.
SlowStig said:
Get yourself onto www.mg-rover.org and on the forums there is an area section. The Merseyside(England - North section) has a meet on the first sunday of every month and can help with anything you want to know and any problems which you might have! Last meet we changed a radiator and both inlet and exhaust gaskets for one of the members for the price of.... free!
Otherwise, I like your ZR and that blue is one of my favourate colours in which the MG's come in and the 105 may not be the fastest thing in the world but they are lovely revvy engines and as long as you have the MLS gasket fitted you should be fine with it.
Im already on that site, and I looked at that thread today funnily enough!! I was looking to go to the next track taster day but ill be away with work! They are revvy engines but as a result its hard to get the most out of them on public roads hence why im so interested in a trackdayOtherwise, I like your ZR and that blue is one of my favourate colours in which the MG's come in and the 105 may not be the fastest thing in the world but they are lovely revvy engines and as long as you have the MLS gasket fitted you should be fine with it.
That's a great looking car and a bargain for £800! Looks tidy. I used to have a K series ZTT 120 in the same colour with the same style hairpin alloys. You had to really rev it to get it to shift so I swapped it for a K series turbo. The turbo's are completely different, You don't have to rev them hard as the max torque is at 2K revs and by 4.5k revs you might as well change up to exploit the torque. Maybe you could consider a turbo conversion in the future!
My Mrs has a ZR Trophy SE TD which in the mid ranges goes like a rocket!
Nice car, keep it clean, try not to rev it too hard and check your coolant weekly! Although if you've had the Land Rover gasket fitted you should be ok. Funny how Lotus Elises never had a reputation for hg failure....
My Mrs has a ZR Trophy SE TD which in the mid ranges goes like a rocket!
Nice car, keep it clean, try not to rev it too hard and check your coolant weekly! Although if you've had the Land Rover gasket fitted you should be ok. Funny how Lotus Elises never had a reputation for hg failure....
I've always liked the look of the ZR and ZS and I'm highly considering one (preferably the ZS) as the next car. How come these are so cheap? between £1-2k you could find one on a 03 or 04 plate if you are lucky. Is reliability a really big issue? As this is the only thing I know of that is supposed to be bad with these cars.
EDIT: Just found the old top gear group review of all the Z cars
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XU8i8tsbD08
EDIT: Just found the old top gear group review of all the Z cars
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XU8i8tsbD08
Edited by ambuletz on Friday 13th August 11:31
ambuletz said:
I've always liked the look of the ZR and ZS and I'm highly considering one (preferably the ZS) as the next car. How come these are so cheap? between £1-2k you could find one on a 03 or 04 plate if you are lucky. Is reliability a really big issue? As this is the only thing I know of that is supposed to be bad with these cars.
EDIT: Just found the old top gear group review of all the Z cars
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XU8i8tsbD08
Reliability isnt amazing, but a lot of these cars are shagged to death by their clueless owners who of course then proclaim them to be a pile of utter sEDIT: Just found the old top gear group review of all the Z cars
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XU8i8tsbD08
Edited by ambuletz on Friday 13th August 11:31
t. I have heard of lots of minor issues with electrics (Although all of mine work like a charm. even my sunroof doesn't leak which is nice on these cars) and of course everyone knows about the HG on K series.Other than the usual consumables all I have had to do is replace the HT leads and coil packs, so far. But typically at 10pm tonight the engine management light has come on for the 1st time which is a mild annoyance, despite it running fine. Will get the code read soon and find out whats up, in the meantime ill have a play with all of the sensors tomorrow.
seany87 said:
ambuletz said:
I've always liked the look of the ZR and ZS and I'm highly considering one (preferably the ZS) as the next car. How come these are so cheap? between £1-2k you could find one on a 03 or 04 plate if you are lucky. Is reliability a really big issue? As this is the only thing I know of that is supposed to be bad with these cars.
EDIT: Just found the old top gear group review of all the Z cars
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XU8i8tsbD08
Reliability isnt amazing, but a lot of these cars are shagged to death by their clueless owners who of course then proclaim them to be a pile of utter sEDIT: Just found the old top gear group review of all the Z cars
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XU8i8tsbD08
Edited by ambuletz on Friday 13th August 11:31
t. I have heard of lots of minor issues with electrics (Although all of mine work like a charm. even my sunroof doesn't leak which is nice on these cars) and of course everyone knows about the HG on K series.Other than the usual consumables all I have had to do is replace the HT leads and coil packs, so far. But typically at 10pm tonight the engine management light has come on for the 1st time which is a mild annoyance, despite it running fine. Will get the code read soon and find out whats up, in the meantime ill have a play with all of the sensors tomorrow.
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