Oops - bought another MG ZS180 needing endless work
Discussion
Well, I've done a silly.
As many of you will know I've got a bit of a 'problem' when it comes to MG Rover products - to the point where I turned my addiction into a business recommissioning and supplying MG Rover parts (I did sell up a few years ago, but still work for the company part-time).
I since made some incredible steps in terms of broadening my horizons - I bought a clapped out Mazda 3 MPS, then another, then a VW Phaeton (well, 2...) and finally settled on the E6x 5 Series as my go-to lardy estate for tip duties and other day to day tasks.
Then, one fateful day last year I saw a very early 2001 Rover 75 Tourer that looked although it was about to be scrapped - the MG Rover demon in me awoke and I saved the car from the jaws of death.
It turns out the car in question was registered just 23 days after the 75 Tourer was released - and with just 76,000 miles on the clock it was in remarkable condition if you ignore the completely dead gearbox and a few minor imperfections thanks to a poor body repair in the past.
Sadly, this rather excellent 75 made me reconsider my progression - and that's how this ZS180 arrived on my drive (while I was away on business and my partner was on nights - forgot to tell her and she wasn't overly impressed...)
This particular ZS180 has been known to me for many years - this fine piece of British engineering belonged to a good friend of mine who had to move house to somewhere with less space, and mounting financial pressure from silly fuel prices also hastened the car's demise.
Rather fortuitously I bought a house with far more driveway space than any reasonable man could ever need; as a result when I heard this 180 was heading to be bean cans I strode in and saved the day.
She's not turned a wheel under her own steam for a few years, however being ever-confident that I could turn 'sad' into 'not sad' I did the deed and had the car recovered the very morning my friend had to hand his keys in and move house.
So, the good - being a hatchback it's reasonably useful, the bodywork is tidy and the car is generally rust free. The interior is also rather nice and in good condition.
The bad - everything else is pretty gubbed; from the cambelts being well overdue a change (which is a total pig of a job) to all 4 brakes being seized to varying degrees.
The thermostat has also thrown in the towel a long time ago - this is a known weak point; ultrasonic welding holds the two halves together which regularly fails. Pink crystals adorn the entirety of the 'V' showing this is indeed the case - while pretty to look at it means yet more spannering, swearing and the parts cannon getting another work-out.
Behold, the majesty that is a ZS180 in rather depressing Platinum Silver!
There's a long way to go with this - but I'll update below with progress as I slowly turn this into a working vehicle - the plan is to have this as a basic but functional track car for the odd weekend event.
She'll be adorned in the company logo and feature our latest parts / modifications for the MG ZS - I'll post as and when we visit various venues so you can pop over and say hello.
I can't mention the company name due to PistonHeads rules but there can only be so many nutters who are this obsessed with knackered Birmingham-made rotboxes - we're based in Southampton after leaving sunny Southport when the business was sold.
If you're local to Hythe, you'll probably have seen us in our ZT260 (Nocturne) / one of our other ZS180s (Biomorphic Green or Atmosphere) or our MG ZR van (Goodwood Green).
Anyway, enough rambling - g'night all
As many of you will know I've got a bit of a 'problem' when it comes to MG Rover products - to the point where I turned my addiction into a business recommissioning and supplying MG Rover parts (I did sell up a few years ago, but still work for the company part-time).
I since made some incredible steps in terms of broadening my horizons - I bought a clapped out Mazda 3 MPS, then another, then a VW Phaeton (well, 2...) and finally settled on the E6x 5 Series as my go-to lardy estate for tip duties and other day to day tasks.
Then, one fateful day last year I saw a very early 2001 Rover 75 Tourer that looked although it was about to be scrapped - the MG Rover demon in me awoke and I saved the car from the jaws of death.
It turns out the car in question was registered just 23 days after the 75 Tourer was released - and with just 76,000 miles on the clock it was in remarkable condition if you ignore the completely dead gearbox and a few minor imperfections thanks to a poor body repair in the past.
Sadly, this rather excellent 75 made me reconsider my progression - and that's how this ZS180 arrived on my drive (while I was away on business and my partner was on nights - forgot to tell her and she wasn't overly impressed...)
This particular ZS180 has been known to me for many years - this fine piece of British engineering belonged to a good friend of mine who had to move house to somewhere with less space, and mounting financial pressure from silly fuel prices also hastened the car's demise.
Rather fortuitously I bought a house with far more driveway space than any reasonable man could ever need; as a result when I heard this 180 was heading to be bean cans I strode in and saved the day.
She's not turned a wheel under her own steam for a few years, however being ever-confident that I could turn 'sad' into 'not sad' I did the deed and had the car recovered the very morning my friend had to hand his keys in and move house.
So, the good - being a hatchback it's reasonably useful, the bodywork is tidy and the car is generally rust free. The interior is also rather nice and in good condition.
The bad - everything else is pretty gubbed; from the cambelts being well overdue a change (which is a total pig of a job) to all 4 brakes being seized to varying degrees.
The thermostat has also thrown in the towel a long time ago - this is a known weak point; ultrasonic welding holds the two halves together which regularly fails. Pink crystals adorn the entirety of the 'V' showing this is indeed the case - while pretty to look at it means yet more spannering, swearing and the parts cannon getting another work-out.
Behold, the majesty that is a ZS180 in rather depressing Platinum Silver!
There's a long way to go with this - but I'll update below with progress as I slowly turn this into a working vehicle - the plan is to have this as a basic but functional track car for the odd weekend event.
She'll be adorned in the company logo and feature our latest parts / modifications for the MG ZS - I'll post as and when we visit various venues so you can pop over and say hello.
I can't mention the company name due to PistonHeads rules but there can only be so many nutters who are this obsessed with knackered Birmingham-made rotboxes - we're based in Southampton after leaving sunny Southport when the business was sold.
If you're local to Hythe, you'll probably have seen us in our ZT260 (Nocturne) / one of our other ZS180s (Biomorphic Green or Atmosphere) or our MG ZR van (Goodwood Green).
Anyway, enough rambling - g'night all
You're a brave man. I'm looking forward to the updates on the ol' MG.
I bought one of these years ago from a colleague . I assumed because he was such a nerd about the car, that it would be in great mechanical condition. Well, it was a massive bag of s
te. However, the engine sounded so sweet and the seats were incredibly comfortable.
The best part is, I bought it for £700 and sold it for £1450 within 1 month of ownership.
I still like these cars, best of luck with the project and it's so nice to see something different.
I bought one of these years ago from a colleague . I assumed because he was such a nerd about the car, that it would be in great mechanical condition. Well, it was a massive bag of s
te. However, the engine sounded so sweet and the seats were incredibly comfortable. The best part is, I bought it for £700 and sold it for £1450 within 1 month of ownership.
I still like these cars, best of luck with the project and it's so nice to see something different.
Thanks for the lovely comments, chaps - massively appreciated!
First thing's first - make a list of all work needing to be done:
- Exhaust has a hole. Not just a 'hole' but a HOLE. Incredibly loud!
- Cambelts are due. Every 6 years or 90k on these (with all tensioners etc) and an awful job
- Little bit of scuffing here and there (front bumper being the worst) to touch up
- All 4 tyres are old Kenda Kaisers and don't hold any pressure even with some persuation
- One front brake disc missing, both front calipers in the boot, everything related is rather rusty
- Rear brakes on these are a sod for sticking, I can tell this will be the same just from a gentle tow with another car
- General inner wing surface corrosion that'll need resolving
In other news, I did something absolutely insane and bought ANOTHER ZS180. This time in Firefrost and she's a Mk2:
Also needing lots of work. Apparently 2022 is year of the 'Bilt Hamber Deox Gel'.
MOT failure on corrosion, sticking brakes and other things... sometimes I amaze even myself!
The Mk2 will be waiting in storage until this one is done and gone, I'm in no mad hurry but I've always fancied a Mk2 in Firefrost so I'm quite excited to get cracking.
I'm sure there'll be more I find wrong with the Mk1 - I've started with some of the above but keep finding more and more silly issues.
Progress pictures incoming later once I've finished stuffing my bird (she's getting hungry, and apparently now we're married that's my problem!)
First thing's first - make a list of all work needing to be done:
- Exhaust has a hole. Not just a 'hole' but a HOLE. Incredibly loud!
- Cambelts are due. Every 6 years or 90k on these (with all tensioners etc) and an awful job
- Little bit of scuffing here and there (front bumper being the worst) to touch up
- All 4 tyres are old Kenda Kaisers and don't hold any pressure even with some persuation
- One front brake disc missing, both front calipers in the boot, everything related is rather rusty
- Rear brakes on these are a sod for sticking, I can tell this will be the same just from a gentle tow with another car
- General inner wing surface corrosion that'll need resolving
In other news, I did something absolutely insane and bought ANOTHER ZS180. This time in Firefrost and she's a Mk2:
Also needing lots of work. Apparently 2022 is year of the 'Bilt Hamber Deox Gel'.
MOT failure on corrosion, sticking brakes and other things... sometimes I amaze even myself!
The Mk2 will be waiting in storage until this one is done and gone, I'm in no mad hurry but I've always fancied a Mk2 in Firefrost so I'm quite excited to get cracking.
I'm sure there'll be more I find wrong with the Mk1 - I've started with some of the above but keep finding more and more silly issues.
Progress pictures incoming later once I've finished stuffing my bird (she's getting hungry, and apparently now we're married that's my problem!)
mattyprice4004 said:
Thanks for the lovely comments, chaps - massively appreciated!
First thing's first - make a list of all work needing to be done:
- Exhaust has a hole. Not just a 'hole' but a HOLE. Incredibly loud!
- Cambelts are due. Every 6 years or 90k on these (with all tensioners etc) and an awful job
- Little bit of scuffing here and there (front bumper being the worst) to touch up
- All 4 tyres are old Kenda Kaisers and don't hold any pressure even with some persuation
- One front brake disc missing, both front calipers in the boot, everything related is rather rusty
- Rear brakes on these are a sod for sticking, I can tell this will be the same just from a gentle tow with another car
- General inner wing surface corrosion that'll need resolving
In other news, I did something absolutely insane and bought ANOTHER ZS180. This time in Firefrost and she's a Mk2:
Also needing lots of work. Apparently 2022 is year of the 'Bilt Hamber Deox Gel'.
MOT failure on corrosion, sticking brakes and other things... sometimes I amaze even myself!
The Mk2 will be waiting in storage until this one is done and gone, I'm in no mad hurry but I've always fancied a Mk2 in Firefrost so I'm quite excited to get cracking.
I'm sure there'll be more I find wrong with the Mk1 - I've started with some of the above but keep finding more and more silly issues.
Progress pictures incoming later once I've finished stuffing my bird (she's getting hungry, and apparently now we're married that's my problem!)
For some reason that facelift ZR just looks perfect in my eyes. the colour really sets it off too. First thing's first - make a list of all work needing to be done:
- Exhaust has a hole. Not just a 'hole' but a HOLE. Incredibly loud!
- Cambelts are due. Every 6 years or 90k on these (with all tensioners etc) and an awful job
- Little bit of scuffing here and there (front bumper being the worst) to touch up
- All 4 tyres are old Kenda Kaisers and don't hold any pressure even with some persuation
- One front brake disc missing, both front calipers in the boot, everything related is rather rusty
- Rear brakes on these are a sod for sticking, I can tell this will be the same just from a gentle tow with another car
- General inner wing surface corrosion that'll need resolving
In other news, I did something absolutely insane and bought ANOTHER ZS180. This time in Firefrost and she's a Mk2:
Also needing lots of work. Apparently 2022 is year of the 'Bilt Hamber Deox Gel'.
MOT failure on corrosion, sticking brakes and other things... sometimes I amaze even myself!
The Mk2 will be waiting in storage until this one is done and gone, I'm in no mad hurry but I've always fancied a Mk2 in Firefrost so I'm quite excited to get cracking.
I'm sure there'll be more I find wrong with the Mk1 - I've started with some of the above but keep finding more and more silly issues.
Progress pictures incoming later once I've finished stuffing my bird (she's getting hungry, and apparently now we're married that's my problem!)
Nice, I like the MK2 (saloon) ZS myself as well, especially in that colour/body spec, though finding them seems quite a task these days (any MG of this era that I do stumble across seem to make badgers bums look like a baby cheek). Looking forward to seeing the progress.
I was bitten by the MG Rover bug myself at a young age (R8 wedges though).
I was bitten by the MG Rover bug myself at a young age (R8 wedges though).
Apologies for the delay in updating this - but I'm back after a heck of a lot of scraped knuckles and swearing.
Long story short, a friend with a transporter had some availability to bring the Mk2 down - and not wanting to miss the chance I had to focus on what was needed to get this running so I could re-shuffle to make some room.
First up - the biggest issue was that the front brakes were half-disassembled and very rusty.
One brake disc missing entirely, calipers in the boot and the system was pretty much dry of fluid (so I'll need a T4 session in order to pulse the ABS to clear airlocks etc).
Calipers as I found them:
Into the Deox-C it goes!
The result (after about a week in the Deox-C)
The bore and seal groove are the important bits - luckily both are fine:
Into the ultra technical spray booth (a Prosecco box supplied by my lovely wife) with all ports plugged for a light dusting of rather bright silver paint
And finally, thanks to our friends at Bigg Red we have a completed caliper (all seals and piston are new)
Next up, let's have a look at the inner arches - a common rust area. Not too bad, but we'll be taking that back to metal and re-coating.
Don't worry about the hub itself - they're solid cast iron / steel so while they might look tatty they're pretty much indestructible.
After a wire wheel back to bare metal, coat with zinc primer, paint and finally some fantastic wax by Bilt Hamber (Dynax-UB) we have a clean inner arch!
A common issue on all Rover 25 / 45 / MG ZR / ZS models is the reluctor rings cracking due to corrosion of the CV joint underneath - a quick blast with Dynax-UB wax (following a quick wire wheel clean) should stop that for a while.
Front hubs were a bit crustier than I'd like - anything on the surface like this will stop the brake disc sitting flush, leading to warped discs in time.
Not perfect, but flat (which is the important bit)
With the front brakes back on, it's time to tackle the 'fun' job of the cambelts.
The KV6 uses three belts, one tensioner (operated by a hydraulic damper), an idler and a waterpump. The rear belts aren't tensioned by anything more than the fitting position on installation.
During the strip-down (you pretty much need to empty the engine bay) I noticed the battery tray was in awful condition - a good wire wheel session followed by some paint was in order.
The dipstick tube also has to be removed for this job - which revealed some metal which could also benefit from a clean up and re-paint
Much better!
Right, the main event. When you've removed the inlet manifold, alternator, power steering pump, the big alloy cover over the belts (which is horrendous in itself) along with the A/C compressor and a thousand other things, you're left with this...
Tensioner, idler and waterpump all past their best (I think the last change was about 10 years ago, when they're due every 6)
All new and shiny!
I've not got too many pictures of the whole cambelt process - but the end result is that the car fired up perfectly and is running like a dream.
Here she is in her current state, with the 11 spoke alloys shod in new rubber.
Next up will be the rear brakes - for that I've sourced some lovely new calipers as I'm pretty sure the ones on it will be beyond a rebuild.
If they are able to be salvaged, I'll use them on the Mk2.
Sneak preview of the new caliper, before it begins a life of hardship against our salty roads...
More soon, if you're not bored to tears!
Long story short, a friend with a transporter had some availability to bring the Mk2 down - and not wanting to miss the chance I had to focus on what was needed to get this running so I could re-shuffle to make some room.
First up - the biggest issue was that the front brakes were half-disassembled and very rusty.
One brake disc missing entirely, calipers in the boot and the system was pretty much dry of fluid (so I'll need a T4 session in order to pulse the ABS to clear airlocks etc).
Calipers as I found them:
Into the Deox-C it goes!
The result (after about a week in the Deox-C)
The bore and seal groove are the important bits - luckily both are fine:
Into the ultra technical spray booth (a Prosecco box supplied by my lovely wife) with all ports plugged for a light dusting of rather bright silver paint
And finally, thanks to our friends at Bigg Red we have a completed caliper (all seals and piston are new)
Next up, let's have a look at the inner arches - a common rust area. Not too bad, but we'll be taking that back to metal and re-coating.
Don't worry about the hub itself - they're solid cast iron / steel so while they might look tatty they're pretty much indestructible.
After a wire wheel back to bare metal, coat with zinc primer, paint and finally some fantastic wax by Bilt Hamber (Dynax-UB) we have a clean inner arch!
A common issue on all Rover 25 / 45 / MG ZR / ZS models is the reluctor rings cracking due to corrosion of the CV joint underneath - a quick blast with Dynax-UB wax (following a quick wire wheel clean) should stop that for a while.
Front hubs were a bit crustier than I'd like - anything on the surface like this will stop the brake disc sitting flush, leading to warped discs in time.
Not perfect, but flat (which is the important bit)
With the front brakes back on, it's time to tackle the 'fun' job of the cambelts.
The KV6 uses three belts, one tensioner (operated by a hydraulic damper), an idler and a waterpump. The rear belts aren't tensioned by anything more than the fitting position on installation.
During the strip-down (you pretty much need to empty the engine bay) I noticed the battery tray was in awful condition - a good wire wheel session followed by some paint was in order.
The dipstick tube also has to be removed for this job - which revealed some metal which could also benefit from a clean up and re-paint
Much better!
Right, the main event. When you've removed the inlet manifold, alternator, power steering pump, the big alloy cover over the belts (which is horrendous in itself) along with the A/C compressor and a thousand other things, you're left with this...
Tensioner, idler and waterpump all past their best (I think the last change was about 10 years ago, when they're due every 6)
All new and shiny!
I've not got too many pictures of the whole cambelt process - but the end result is that the car fired up perfectly and is running like a dream.
Here she is in her current state, with the 11 spoke alloys shod in new rubber.
Next up will be the rear brakes - for that I've sourced some lovely new calipers as I'm pretty sure the ones on it will be beyond a rebuild.
If they are able to be salvaged, I'll use them on the Mk2.
Sneak preview of the new caliper, before it begins a life of hardship against our salty roads...
More soon, if you're not bored to tears!
Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff