2003 MG ZR 160 Shed
Discussion
I posted this on my car buying thread but now it's here I suppose I should start a Reader's Cars thread:
So a shed has been acquired - it is small, 5 door and finished in X-Power Grey. I have never owned a British car before and I’ve got a feeling this isn’t perhaps the best example to roll off the Longbridge lines! My MG ZR 160:
She is a 2003 car which I believe was a slight facelift and has 80k on the clock. £550 later and she was mine and easily survived the 150 mile journey home, although somewhere outside Hawick the exhaust gained a rally car soundtrack and upon inspection the centre section is hanging on for dear life. MOT till May and rust in all the right places, sounds a bit like a diesel at idle which I’m told is the VVC valvetrain
However, it goes like stink and is far better to drive than I had expected. The steering is tight and tracking is spot on, handling is well controlled and very quick through the bends. It has two decent Uniroyal RainSports on the front and a couple of cracked ditchfinders on the back which I’ll need to sort. Brakes are very impressive and gearbox is better than my 911. Cooling system seems rock solid, apparently the MLS head gasket and belts/pump were done a few years ago but no history whatsoever so taking a bit of a punt here. Any telltale signs that this has been done? The timing belt looks new-ish.
Anyway the plan is to replace the centre section with a straight through pipe and replace the rear tyres, run some injector cleaner through it and give it an oil & filter service. It has only done 2000 miles in the last few years so probably needs a few good blasts to clear the cobwebs. I will attend to the various bits of rust nibbling away at the edges, but she seems solid enough that I think a bit of clean up and rust treatment should keep the MOT tester happy. Will give her a good clean in the new year.
So a shed has been acquired - it is small, 5 door and finished in X-Power Grey. I have never owned a British car before and I’ve got a feeling this isn’t perhaps the best example to roll off the Longbridge lines! My MG ZR 160:
She is a 2003 car which I believe was a slight facelift and has 80k on the clock. £550 later and she was mine and easily survived the 150 mile journey home, although somewhere outside Hawick the exhaust gained a rally car soundtrack and upon inspection the centre section is hanging on for dear life. MOT till May and rust in all the right places, sounds a bit like a diesel at idle which I’m told is the VVC valvetrain
However, it goes like stink and is far better to drive than I had expected. The steering is tight and tracking is spot on, handling is well controlled and very quick through the bends. It has two decent Uniroyal RainSports on the front and a couple of cracked ditchfinders on the back which I’ll need to sort. Brakes are very impressive and gearbox is better than my 911. Cooling system seems rock solid, apparently the MLS head gasket and belts/pump were done a few years ago but no history whatsoever so taking a bit of a punt here. Any telltale signs that this has been done? The timing belt looks new-ish.Anyway the plan is to replace the centre section with a straight through pipe and replace the rear tyres, run some injector cleaner through it and give it an oil & filter service. It has only done 2000 miles in the last few years so probably needs a few good blasts to clear the cobwebs. I will attend to the various bits of rust nibbling away at the edges, but she seems solid enough that I think a bit of clean up and rust treatment should keep the MOT tester happy. Will give her a good clean in the new year.
These are on my search list on the ebay for a cheap track car....
A customer has one of these and we mot & service it every year. Apart from the interior falling to pieces inside. Its been remarkably reliable. Handles, stops and goes better than it has any right to. Only one overheating issue and surprising not the head gasket it was a coolant pipe around the back of the engine
Will follow the progress with interest
A customer has one of these and we mot & service it every year. Apart from the interior falling to pieces inside. Its been remarkably reliable. Handles, stops and goes better than it has any right to. Only one overheating issue and surprising not the head gasket it was a coolant pipe around the back of the engine
Will follow the progress with interest
Haha yes the interior is not very well screwed together! I’ve a few seat covers coming loose, the electric window switch popped off and the heater temp control feels rough as anything!! Everything seems to work though.
Hopefully I will get some cheap motoring out of her. Will do a service over the next couple of weeks and sort out the exhaust/rear tyres. Cleaned her yesterday:
Hopefully I will get some cheap motoring out of her. Will do a service over the next couple of weeks and sort out the exhaust/rear tyres. Cleaned her yesterday:
dc2100k said:
Haha yes the interior is not very well screwed together! I’ve a few seat covers coming loose, the electric window switch popped off and the heater temp control feels rough as anything!! Everything seems to work though.
Hopefully I will get some cheap motoring out of her. Will do a service over the next couple of weeks and sort out the exhaust/rear tyres. Cleaned her yesterday:
If your just after a standard replacement. A off the shelf system fitted fine and gave it a bit more of a rasp over the standard system. Think it was A2A or klarius. Middle and rear were a reasonable price and everything fitted how it should. Hopefully I will get some cheap motoring out of her. Will do a service over the next couple of weeks and sort out the exhaust/rear tyres. Cleaned her yesterday:
Ste372 said:
If your just after a standard replacement. A off the shelf system fitted fine and gave it a bit more of a rasp over the standard system. Think it was A2A or klarius. Middle and rear were a reasonable price and everything fitted how it should.
Thanks. I’m looking at the sportex straight through centre pipe atm but the Klarius centre section is actually much cheaper.joropug said:
My friend had one, it handled really well until he ran out of talent
I have bought a glass hammer for the glove box on the back of this. I’m under no illusions that this is not a modern car but then that’s half the appeal. My wife has a modern 320i that’s supposed to have 180bhp but is much slower than the MG in a straight line or round the bends. No doubt it’s much safer.Anyway I grew up in 2CVs, 205s etc. This is definitely better than those.
dc2100k said:
Thanks. I’m looking at the sportex straight through centre pipe atm but the Klarius centre section is actually much cheaper.
Get the klarius and cut the box out weld in a straight bit of pipe if that's your thing. Think the klarius system had less packing in the boxes as it was raspy once it was bolted on. dc2100k said:
the heater temp control feels rough as anything!!
I had this on my 200vi. IIRC the heater temp control is mechanically connected through the bulkhead to a valve on the cooling system, around the back of the engine. A squirt of (white lithium?) grease in the right place freed it up nicely. I'd do the bonnet release latch, boot latch and door check straps at the same time.joropug said:
My friend had one, it handled really well until he ran out of talent.
Note the door handles on the interior broke off and the car deadlocked, we fortunately escaped as a friend smashed the passenger window.
Wouldn't get in another one personally.
Bit of a theme here, this was mine mid-flip and the end result!Note the door handles on the interior broke off and the car deadlocked, we fortunately escaped as a friend smashed the passenger window.
Wouldn't get in another one personally.
It had a cage in fortunately and I drove it away. Always had a bit of a soft spot for them after that
Re. The MLS head gasket-you can tell if one is fitted by looking under the coolant elbow by the gearbox and to the right of the exhaust manifold near #4 cylinder-there should be a little black tab sticking out of the corner of the cylinder head/block mating faces.
The cambelts (there are two) are due every four years/60k on these and failure is guaranteed to at least bend some valves, if not write off the engine. They’re a fairly simple job with just a cheap camshaft locking tool needed so I’d advise doing them ASAP if you’re unsure.
The cambelts (there are two) are due every four years/60k on these and failure is guaranteed to at least bend some valves, if not write off the engine. They’re a fairly simple job with just a cheap camshaft locking tool needed so I’d advise doing them ASAP if you’re unsure.
Ste372 said:
Get the klarius and cut the box out weld in a straight bit of pipe if that's your thing. Think the klarius system had less packing in the boxes as it was raspy once it was bolted on.
I ended up using a spare clamp from my 996 silencers to bolt the broken section back together as a temporary measure! gweaver said:
I had this on my 200vi. IIRC the heater temp control is mechanically connected through the bulkhead to a valve on the cooling system, around the back of the engine. A squirt of (white lithium?) grease in the right place freed it up nicely. I'd do the bonnet release latch, boot latch and door check straps at the same time.
Thanks for the advice, I will look at this when I next get under the bonnet.itcaptainslow said:
Re. The MLS head gasket-you can tell if one is fitted by looking under the coolant elbow by the gearbox and to the right of the exhaust manifold near #4 cylinder-there should be a little black tab sticking out of the corner of the cylinder head/block mating faces.
The cambelts (there are two) are due every four years/60k on these and failure is guaranteed to at least bend some valves, if not write off the engine. They’re a fairly simple job with just a cheap camshaft locking tool needed so I’d advise doing them ASAP if you’re unsure.
Good information, thanks. I have had a quick look and there is no tab so it looks like an elastomeric gasket was used. I have heard mixed reports as to which is better. The main cambelt looks like new, as does the PS belt. I can't see the rear cambelt as it's under a cover but will check this soon as I want to check tightness of the cam sprockets. Anyway the car has not lost any coolant and there is no intermix so I will just monitor it for the time being.The cambelts (there are two) are due every four years/60k on these and failure is guaranteed to at least bend some valves, if not write off the engine. They’re a fairly simple job with just a cheap camshaft locking tool needed so I’d advise doing them ASAP if you’re unsure.
Edited by dc2100k on Tuesday 7th January 16:43
300 mile update: given the old girl an oil and filter change £17, new HT leads and plugs £25, treated her to a second hand Sony Bluetooth head unit from eBay £29. I’ve ordered up a couple of fairly recent PZero Nero part worn tyres for the rear £70/pair, and an air filter, fuel filter & cabin filter £27.
Total Expenditure (ex. Tax, Insurance, Petrol) = £718.
I have had a chance to give this car a good thrashing now and can report that it is lots of fun to chuck about. It has been exclusively wet since I purchased this motor so I have been tentative on the high-speed cornering (particularly until the new rear tyres are fitted) but it really is riot. A rough-and-ready 0-60 time on a damp road was about 7.7 seconds (going by the speedo) which I thought was quite impressive, and the mid-range pick up is better since the new HT leads were fitted. I am actually impressed by how flexible the K-Series is – it will happily pull from 2000rpm in 4th and 5th and really flies from 4000-7000rpm in 2nd and 3rd. The car runs out of puff pretty quickly above 90mph (on the straight at Knockhill) but I’ve forgotten what a normal car is like after the 996. One thing it is missing is a 6th gear though! That said, the ratios are lovely and close, and help you keep the motor in the power band.
Next steps are to get the rear tyres replaced, do the remaining filters and try to find a replacement exhaust system – maybe an aftermarket stainless system if I can find one otherwise I’ll just go for the Klarius system from ECP. I would also like to swap the door speakers for something a bit less pathetic if I can find a set of cheap components. I’m looking at potentially doing the Mull Classic rally in March, or perhaps the Berwick Classic rally in May as a first event if I can prove the car reliable by then. I’m also on the lookout for a set of 15” wheels with gravel tyres that will clear the 282mm front brakes on the ZR160.
Total Expenditure (ex. Tax, Insurance, Petrol) = £718.
I have had a chance to give this car a good thrashing now and can report that it is lots of fun to chuck about. It has been exclusively wet since I purchased this motor so I have been tentative on the high-speed cornering (particularly until the new rear tyres are fitted) but it really is riot. A rough-and-ready 0-60 time on a damp road was about 7.7 seconds (going by the speedo) which I thought was quite impressive, and the mid-range pick up is better since the new HT leads were fitted. I am actually impressed by how flexible the K-Series is – it will happily pull from 2000rpm in 4th and 5th and really flies from 4000-7000rpm in 2nd and 3rd. The car runs out of puff pretty quickly above 90mph (on the straight at Knockhill) but I’ve forgotten what a normal car is like after the 996. One thing it is missing is a 6th gear though! That said, the ratios are lovely and close, and help you keep the motor in the power band.
Next steps are to get the rear tyres replaced, do the remaining filters and try to find a replacement exhaust system – maybe an aftermarket stainless system if I can find one otherwise I’ll just go for the Klarius system from ECP. I would also like to swap the door speakers for something a bit less pathetic if I can find a set of cheap components. I’m looking at potentially doing the Mull Classic rally in March, or perhaps the Berwick Classic rally in May as a first event if I can prove the car reliable by then. I’m also on the lookout for a set of 15” wheels with gravel tyres that will clear the 282mm front brakes on the ZR160.
dc2100k said:
I am actually impressed by how flexible the K-Series is – it will happily pull from 2000rpm in 4th and 5th and really flies from 4000-7000rpm in 2nd and 3rd.
The VVC mechanism gives good, flat torque throughout most of the rev range, without compromising fuel consumption. It's quite different in concept and character to VTEC - it doesn't have the screaming top end, but I think it's really well suited to both lazy and enthusiastic driving. It helps that the car is light.There's a good article with torque/power graphs here:
http://mgf.ultimatemg.com/group2/engines/engine_op...
IIRC Autocar managed 0-60 in 7.1s and 30-70 in 6.7s in a 200vi.
dc2100k said:
itcaptainslow said:
Re. The MLS head gasket-you can tell if one is fitted by looking under the coolant elbow by the gearbox and to the right of the exhaust manifold near #4 cylinder-there should be a little black tab sticking out of the corner of the cylinder head/block mating faces.
The cambelts (there are two) are due every four years/60k on these and failure is guaranteed to at least bend some valves, if not write off the engine. They’re a fairly simple job with just a cheap camshaft locking tool needed so I’d advise doing them ASAP if you’re unsure.
Good information, thanks. I have had a quick look and there is no tab so it looks like an elastomeric gasket was used. I have heard mixed reports as to which is better. The main cambelt looks like new, as does the PS belt. I can't see the rear cambelt as it's under a cover but will check this soon as I want to check tightness of the cam sprockets. Anyway the car has not lost any coolant and there is no intermix so I will just monitor it for the time being.The cambelts (there are two) are due every four years/60k on these and failure is guaranteed to at least bend some valves, if not write off the engine. They’re a fairly simple job with just a cheap camshaft locking tool needed so I’d advise doing them ASAP if you’re unsure.
Edited by dc2100k on Tuesday 7th January 16:43
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