MGZT 400 and other British Cars
Discussion
Lets get straight to the point for me the Rover 75 is one of the best looking cars ever, many will disagree and they are welcome to. The car of the title was purchased in March 2008 from Browns Cars in Swafham. This was not my first 75/ZT or my last but possibly of more interest to PH readers than the others I have owned.
I am a annual 40-50 k mile driver so given a best of 23 mpg this would always be paired with something more suitable for the mileage I do.
How I got to the purchase. I first set my eyes on a 75 shortly after there release and it was love at first sight and knew I would have one soon.
By this time (2008) my daily commute to work was 67 miles each way across the Cumbria, a real drivers joy. My car at this time was a MGZT CDTI manual which I had bought new in 2003 miles and was dieing at 178k mile not due to wear and tear but a silly petrol fill! I now had a reason to buy a V8 with the CDTi and my original 75 2.5 connie disappearing in my past.
The car
To mitigate the 23mpg I bought a new Fiesta 1.6 tdi sportvan a great little thing but not for now other than it provided 58 mpg on my commute, nice.
The ZTV8 out the the box came with 256 bhp and 305 lb/ft of torque this gave it the edge on the ST220, R32, Focus ST if in standard trim (not in the wet I may add) and the like, but not by much.
I joined the Two-Sixties forum shortly after buying the car and I was lucky with my choice, but I would have been better informed if I had joined before. My 1000 mile round trip in 24 hours to view most of the cars for sale at the time was wearing but worth while. The most noticable thing when viewing these car on that day was the spread of performance between them. My car to be was one of the slowest but was the best condition and the price was good - £10450 with new tyres, a years warranty and a service included. The mileage was 10500.
My plans, well on joining the Two-Sixties the options for mods became clear, NA with pulleys and cams (310 bhp, I drove one on my buying tour) or Supercharging. Obviously supercharging was what was needed!
I made contact with Brian Luti (Scooter) at Dreadnought Garage, Calander Scotland and the car was sent north late 2009.
Due to many logistical issues the car was not handed back until Febuary 2010, no fault of Brians I may add. Well the car now had around 400bhp and 400b/ft all being delivered in quite a different manner, it now went how it sounded.
Oh the sound, well the car had by this time benefited from the addition of some MG XPower back boxes. These were a dealer only fit when new due to noise levels, I found this out in responses to the video posted at the bottom of this post.
I have now owned the car 11 years mostly without issue. The issues, two only in 11 years is something I would like to be able to say about some other so called premium cars I have had in these 11 years. The first issue and not just found on S/C cars is the famous yellow clip. The yellow clip is an aftermarket fix to a weak in-tank fuel pump construction, it's a six pound fix. Now I had known about this fix but up until I could not get the car to start I was either lucky or believed the clip was already present, it wasn't!
Now when it happened I had just been talking to a group of TVR owners who had stopped at a locally famous "Ice cream farm" near Penrith. They all found my inability to start my car far more amusing as I had just been asking about reliability and their cars.
The second issue and a little bit more costly was water ingress under load via the air inlet track post S/C mod. There was a fix (Mr Luti again) but I was unaware. Well by the time I had done the mod the damage was most likely done with a conrod leaving the car knackered on the M40 on a cold and wet night. These things never happen any other time do they? Well not being a rich man and having an other car available (Not poor either) I could take my time with the repair. I found a second hand engine with 7000 miles from a member of the Two-Sixties and a garage in Huddersfield with history of these cars. The owner had history with S/C conversions (not the Kennebell as fitted but Rouch was his speciality).
The engine swap, wheels refurbished and the bumpers resprayed came all in at £3500 including the engine. So over my 11 year tenure the total capital outlay excludeding fuel servicing and RFL has been £10450 purchase price, £7200 for the S/C fitment and £3500 of repairs all in just over £21k with the car possibly worth over £10k that equates to £1000 pounds a year, thats value for my money, So some more images and finally the video.
A love of british cars!
NC500 done clock wise and anti clock wise.[url]
|https://thumbsnap.com/ZTmeznlk[/url]
A celebration of the NC500 and a sore head.
The winner of the 2014 Chuddyball Run, sorry about the orientation.
And finally for now, a recent video. The registration plate on the ZT in the pictures is now on the AM.
https://youtu.be/L2YXplOk20Q
There have been many edits many due to a nice red!
I am a annual 40-50 k mile driver so given a best of 23 mpg this would always be paired with something more suitable for the mileage I do.
How I got to the purchase. I first set my eyes on a 75 shortly after there release and it was love at first sight and knew I would have one soon.
By this time (2008) my daily commute to work was 67 miles each way across the Cumbria, a real drivers joy. My car at this time was a MGZT CDTI manual which I had bought new in 2003 miles and was dieing at 178k mile not due to wear and tear but a silly petrol fill! I now had a reason to buy a V8 with the CDTi and my original 75 2.5 connie disappearing in my past.
The car
To mitigate the 23mpg I bought a new Fiesta 1.6 tdi sportvan a great little thing but not for now other than it provided 58 mpg on my commute, nice.
The ZTV8 out the the box came with 256 bhp and 305 lb/ft of torque this gave it the edge on the ST220, R32, Focus ST if in standard trim (not in the wet I may add) and the like, but not by much.
I joined the Two-Sixties forum shortly after buying the car and I was lucky with my choice, but I would have been better informed if I had joined before. My 1000 mile round trip in 24 hours to view most of the cars for sale at the time was wearing but worth while. The most noticable thing when viewing these car on that day was the spread of performance between them. My car to be was one of the slowest but was the best condition and the price was good - £10450 with new tyres, a years warranty and a service included. The mileage was 10500.
My plans, well on joining the Two-Sixties the options for mods became clear, NA with pulleys and cams (310 bhp, I drove one on my buying tour) or Supercharging. Obviously supercharging was what was needed!
I made contact with Brian Luti (Scooter) at Dreadnought Garage, Calander Scotland and the car was sent north late 2009.
Due to many logistical issues the car was not handed back until Febuary 2010, no fault of Brians I may add. Well the car now had around 400bhp and 400b/ft all being delivered in quite a different manner, it now went how it sounded.
Oh the sound, well the car had by this time benefited from the addition of some MG XPower back boxes. These were a dealer only fit when new due to noise levels, I found this out in responses to the video posted at the bottom of this post.
I have now owned the car 11 years mostly without issue. The issues, two only in 11 years is something I would like to be able to say about some other so called premium cars I have had in these 11 years. The first issue and not just found on S/C cars is the famous yellow clip. The yellow clip is an aftermarket fix to a weak in-tank fuel pump construction, it's a six pound fix. Now I had known about this fix but up until I could not get the car to start I was either lucky or believed the clip was already present, it wasn't!
Now when it happened I had just been talking to a group of TVR owners who had stopped at a locally famous "Ice cream farm" near Penrith. They all found my inability to start my car far more amusing as I had just been asking about reliability and their cars.
The second issue and a little bit more costly was water ingress under load via the air inlet track post S/C mod. There was a fix (Mr Luti again) but I was unaware. Well by the time I had done the mod the damage was most likely done with a conrod leaving the car knackered on the M40 on a cold and wet night. These things never happen any other time do they? Well not being a rich man and having an other car available (Not poor either) I could take my time with the repair. I found a second hand engine with 7000 miles from a member of the Two-Sixties and a garage in Huddersfield with history of these cars. The owner had history with S/C conversions (not the Kennebell as fitted but Rouch was his speciality).
The engine swap, wheels refurbished and the bumpers resprayed came all in at £3500 including the engine. So over my 11 year tenure the total capital outlay excludeding fuel servicing and RFL has been £10450 purchase price, £7200 for the S/C fitment and £3500 of repairs all in just over £21k with the car possibly worth over £10k that equates to £1000 pounds a year, thats value for my money, So some more images and finally the video.
A love of british cars!
NC500 done clock wise and anti clock wise.[url]
|https://thumbsnap.com/ZTmeznlk[/url]A celebration of the NC500 and a sore head.
The winner of the 2014 Chuddyball Run, sorry about the orientation.
And finally for now, a recent video. The registration plate on the ZT in the pictures is now on the AM.
https://youtu.be/L2YXplOk20Q
There have been many edits many due to a nice red!
Edited by stevemiller on Sunday 3rd March 04:10
Edited by stevemiller on Sunday 3rd March 04:12
Edited by stevemiller on Sunday 3rd March 04:13
Edited by stevemiller on Sunday 3rd March 04:23
Edited by stevemiller on Sunday 3rd March 04:25
Edited by stevemiller on Sunday 3rd March 04:26
Edited by stevemiller on Sunday 3rd March 04:56
Edited by stevemiller on Sunday 3rd March 04:57
Edited by stevemiller on Monday 4th March 20:43
I wish I could keep a car for that long, maybe if I bought something more interesting I’d be able to!
I always liked the idea of the ZT260, it’s a shame rover went pop and couldn’t continue developing it as the 75/ZT and the 25/ZR were very nice looking cars that could have been developed much further given the chance.
I always liked the idea of the ZT260, it’s a shame rover went pop and couldn’t continue developing it as the 75/ZT and the 25/ZR were very nice looking cars that could have been developed much further given the chance.
Mr Tidy said:
Lovely car - I must admit I got a bit tempted by bargain ZT260s in 2005!
Me too.M4CK 1 said:
Did you ever do any research into higher power crate engines from the states. I have seen stroked 5.4's with 400bhp na.
24/32 valve engines don't fit, hence the supercharger conversions. Dreadnought did make one ZT 520, used for racing, but had to make a variety of modifications to the Shell to make the 5l (IIRC) engine fit.M4CK 1 said:
Did you ever do any research into higher power crate engines from the states. I have seen stroked 5.4's with 400bhp na.
Yes I did, you do not need any increase in displacement to go above the 400bhp. There are many choices starting with the base engine, the engine is not the problems it's the drive train especially the gearbox. There is one car that is running 500 bhp+ using a 6 speed box but mods were required to the floor pan to accommodate this larger box. That all said an done putting 405 bhp/420 lbft down through 225/45/18's in anything but fine conditions is entertaining.Just a sample of possibilities -https://www.seanhylandmotorsport.com/parts-accesories/1996-2004-mustang/rotating-assemblies6
Regards Steve
Edited by stevemiller on Tuesday 5th March 20:40
Vastly underrated cars. I worked at a Rover dealer when the mk1 260 came out, and we had great fun with the xpower equipped Starlight Silver car.
I currently drive a cdti, and its one of the best cars I've owned. It surprises people who know what a petrolhead i am, that i prefer it to my Impreza!
I currently drive a cdti, and its one of the best cars I've owned. It surprises people who know what a petrolhead i am, that i prefer it to my Impreza!
JerryF said:
Great write up Steve.
Curious, what is the issue below, little confused. Is it only a SC problem?
Hello JerryCurious, what is the issue below, little confused. Is it only a SC problem?
stevemiller said:
The second issue and a little bit more costly was water ingress under load via the air inlet track post S/C mod.
The air box remains the same with the exception of a K&N replacement for the OEM filter when dreadnought upgraded the car. With the increase in the air draw through the track there can be (and was for me) an misfire when pressing on in wet conditions. This was not noticeable in the first few years after the install, but with a 5/6k service interval the joint after the filter in the inlet tracked starts to bleed air in under the S/C increase demand. This may be due to the location off-side front with access from underneath, and I am speculating here that a tiny amount of dirt may have found its way onto the joining faces behind the filter. That leads to the water ingress and hence the misfire.
By the time I found the fix as sorted by Dreadnought (self amalgamating tape over the seam before replacing the metal clamp) the engine had been weakened.
I had tried to keep the car away from the wet conditions during my investigations but living in Shap Cumbria that was not easy, it's wet even on dry days!!!
Thanks for the interest.
A wonderful machine - never mind the term 'future classic', this was a classic the first time the V8 grumbled it off the forecourt. My dream is the Rover 75 Tourer variant, perhaps a transplant into my CDTi to surprise the unwary lanehogger and wake up the countryside.
Looks wonderful.
Looks wonderful.
With the auto box its very difficult to put an S/C into the 75 V8 
, but you can plop a bigger throttle body and adjust the air intake to get it over the 300 line for small money.
, but you can plop a bigger throttle body and adjust the air intake to get it over the 300 line for small money. myhandle said:
Lovely, how interesting. I have a Rover 75 V8 and have always wondered what a supercharger conversion would do. It’s fast enough as is for my purposes, but it’s always intrigued me. I agree the 75/ZT is a very good looking car. Enjoy your car!
Jumping back in!
For other reasons I had to boot up my old phone and when on there I noticed my acceleration details as captured by an app on the phone. I started to tab through and there were 1/4 miles and various tracking of acceleration through set points. Some were for example 2068 seconds and so on so not tests more records. I then started to delete these looking for bests over a given time of interest.
I found one dated 17/10/2020 with a fall of -4.9 metres with a time through 50mph-70 mph of 2.5s, obvious this is not a perfect scientific instrument of recording but would be a good ball park record. This then led me to dig out old Autocar records of various cars transiting 50-70mph using accurate measurements for proper data recorders at the time of the tests.
So here are some comparisons
ZT 260 Test date 13/1/2004 Power 260bhp/Torque 302lb/ft timed transit 50-70mph 3.8s best time.
Rover V8 Test date 21 to 28/12/2004 Power 256bhp/Torque 302lb/ft timed transit 50-70mph 3.3s best time.
Focus ST Test date 21/2/2006 Power 222bhp/Torque 236lb/ft timed transit 50-70mph 3.4s best time.
BMW M3 CSL Test date 9/9/2003 Power 360bhp/Torque 273lb/ft timed transit 50-70mph 2.7s best time.
BMW 645Ci Test date 30/12/2003 Power 333bhp/Torque 323lb/ft timed transit 50-70mph 2.8s best time.
Audi RS4 Test date 7/3/2006 Power 414bhp/Torque 317lb/ft timed transit 50-70mph 2.8s best time.
Bentley Continental Test date 11/11/2003 Power 552bhp/Torque 479lb/ft timed transit 50-70mph 2.6s best time.
Fastest in my records of the years I bought Autocar (And kept some)
Mercedes SLR McLaren Test date 21 to 28/12/2004 Power 626bhp/Torque 575lb/ft timed transit 50-70mph 1.4s best time.
Hopefully you will enjoy some history!
For other reasons I had to boot up my old phone and when on there I noticed my acceleration details as captured by an app on the phone. I started to tab through and there were 1/4 miles and various tracking of acceleration through set points. Some were for example 2068 seconds and so on so not tests more records. I then started to delete these looking for bests over a given time of interest.
I found one dated 17/10/2020 with a fall of -4.9 metres with a time through 50mph-70 mph of 2.5s, obvious this is not a perfect scientific instrument of recording but would be a good ball park record. This then led me to dig out old Autocar records of various cars transiting 50-70mph using accurate measurements for proper data recorders at the time of the tests.
So here are some comparisons
ZT 260 Test date 13/1/2004 Power 260bhp/Torque 302lb/ft timed transit 50-70mph 3.8s best time.
Rover V8 Test date 21 to 28/12/2004 Power 256bhp/Torque 302lb/ft timed transit 50-70mph 3.3s best time.
Focus ST Test date 21/2/2006 Power 222bhp/Torque 236lb/ft timed transit 50-70mph 3.4s best time.
BMW M3 CSL Test date 9/9/2003 Power 360bhp/Torque 273lb/ft timed transit 50-70mph 2.7s best time.
BMW 645Ci Test date 30/12/2003 Power 333bhp/Torque 323lb/ft timed transit 50-70mph 2.8s best time.
Audi RS4 Test date 7/3/2006 Power 414bhp/Torque 317lb/ft timed transit 50-70mph 2.8s best time.
Bentley Continental Test date 11/11/2003 Power 552bhp/Torque 479lb/ft timed transit 50-70mph 2.6s best time.
Fastest in my records of the years I bought Autocar (And kept some)
Mercedes SLR McLaren Test date 21 to 28/12/2004 Power 626bhp/Torque 575lb/ft timed transit 50-70mph 1.4s best time.
Hopefully you will enjoy some history!
Edited by stevemiller on Sunday 26th March 15:52
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