MG TF My God that's Fantastic!
Discussion
Well, it makes a change from Lots Of trouble Usually Serious, Fix It Again Tony or Fix Or Repair Daily. it's an exaggeration to say that it's Fantastic or even Fabulous and it's not very Fast either but the acronym works and this is my thread so.... well.... THERE!
So, an MG TF. Why? Pistonheads Readers cars forum, really. I don't like sports cars and I don't get open top motoring either. With less insulation on the roof, and skin with a propensity to burn in front of 2 watt speedo bulb, I hate them. My wife takes good care of her appearance and likes to arrive in a similar state to when she set off so there's no pressure there and this doesn't make much sense at all. I quite fancied something with a little bit of excitement with the ability to flog it on and make a few bob, too, once I inevitably get bored with it. A couple of weeks should do nicely. One of the lads at work ran a TF for a while and a quick scoot round the block showed that they're not bad little cars. I got on the 'bay and had a look at what was around finding a nice Trophy Blue one down in Weybridge; a considerable distance from Sheffield. I watched the price go up then backed off when it went over a bag of sand. Not surprisingly the car was soon relisted but not through someone's dog hitting Buy It Now or the wife suddenly dying etc. etc. The original advert said that the car would come with 12 months' test and, unfortunately, had failed so the buyer backed out. A quick call to ask about the price and a deal was done for £500. I went down last Friday and collected it; a surprisingly brisk three hour trip down and nearly a five hour return. Oh, the joys of the M25 and M1. And here she is in all her glory:
Lovely.
The car failed on two items; a thin brake disc and and a worn out brake pad. Tempting though it was to pickup a disc and one brake pad (I'm kidding) I had a look and found four discs and two sets of pads for just over sixty quid; result! Unfortunately, soon after I bought them I realised that the car has been fitted with AP front calipers and big brakes so the ones I ordered were no good for the front. I don't know whether this is some special edition or whether someone has upgraded them later but the chassis number says it's a 135 so it shouldn't have them. I managed to pick up a pair of discs and pads for around £70 and I now have two redundant small discs (buy now while stocks last) but hey ho.
I got on t'internet to see what was involved with changing them and found a helpful post with pictures. Great. I also looked at where to jack them because my memory of certain subframed British Leyland products was that jacking them up in the wrong place can break screens and prevent doors opening and closing. I decided a small piece of wood under the jacking point and a trolley jack should work and so it did. No nasty crunching noises or ferrous snow appeared, either. Wheel off (locking socket in the car - thank you God) and caliper removed. Unfortunately, someone had drilled a small hole at the side of one of the locking pins presumably because it wouldn't come out but I eventually got them out then pads out, caliper back on; easy. Brake pads the right size, too. Unfortunately they wouldn't fit. B*gger. Raid the tool box and find a file then a lot of trial and error mixed liberally with oaths and I got them in. Wheel back on, other side done then a quick road test to bed them in. Job done! Luckily, I'm not charging myself by the hour because it took the best part of three hours from start to finish and I've still got the rears to do...
So, an MG TF. Why? Pistonheads Readers cars forum, really. I don't like sports cars and I don't get open top motoring either. With less insulation on the roof, and skin with a propensity to burn in front of 2 watt speedo bulb, I hate them. My wife takes good care of her appearance and likes to arrive in a similar state to when she set off so there's no pressure there and this doesn't make much sense at all. I quite fancied something with a little bit of excitement with the ability to flog it on and make a few bob, too, once I inevitably get bored with it. A couple of weeks should do nicely. One of the lads at work ran a TF for a while and a quick scoot round the block showed that they're not bad little cars. I got on the 'bay and had a look at what was around finding a nice Trophy Blue one down in Weybridge; a considerable distance from Sheffield. I watched the price go up then backed off when it went over a bag of sand. Not surprisingly the car was soon relisted but not through someone's dog hitting Buy It Now or the wife suddenly dying etc. etc. The original advert said that the car would come with 12 months' test and, unfortunately, had failed so the buyer backed out. A quick call to ask about the price and a deal was done for £500. I went down last Friday and collected it; a surprisingly brisk three hour trip down and nearly a five hour return. Oh, the joys of the M25 and M1. And here she is in all her glory:
Lovely.
The car failed on two items; a thin brake disc and and a worn out brake pad. Tempting though it was to pickup a disc and one brake pad (I'm kidding) I had a look and found four discs and two sets of pads for just over sixty quid; result! Unfortunately, soon after I bought them I realised that the car has been fitted with AP front calipers and big brakes so the ones I ordered were no good for the front. I don't know whether this is some special edition or whether someone has upgraded them later but the chassis number says it's a 135 so it shouldn't have them. I managed to pick up a pair of discs and pads for around £70 and I now have two redundant small discs (buy now while stocks last) but hey ho.
I got on t'internet to see what was involved with changing them and found a helpful post with pictures. Great. I also looked at where to jack them because my memory of certain subframed British Leyland products was that jacking them up in the wrong place can break screens and prevent doors opening and closing. I decided a small piece of wood under the jacking point and a trolley jack should work and so it did. No nasty crunching noises or ferrous snow appeared, either. Wheel off (locking socket in the car - thank you God) and caliper removed. Unfortunately, someone had drilled a small hole at the side of one of the locking pins presumably because it wouldn't come out but I eventually got them out then pads out, caliper back on; easy. Brake pads the right size, too. Unfortunately they wouldn't fit. B*gger. Raid the tool box and find a file then a lot of trial and error mixed liberally with oaths and I got them in. Wheel back on, other side done then a quick road test to bed them in. Job done! Luckily, I'm not charging myself by the hour because it took the best part of three hours from start to finish and I've still got the rears to do...
Edited by Straff99 on Thursday 8th June 14:24
Edited by Straff99 on Thursday 8th June 14:37
Edited by Straff99 on Thursday 8th June 14:38
Thanks Zetec-S. There are a few knocks and scrapes like this one:
Most of them will polish out, I'm sure, though. The biggest issue is that the roof has a tear in it that has been sewn up; it spoils the car a little so I'm temped to buy a new hood and fit it myself. On the other hand, the car is still very usable as it is once tested so there's no rush
Most of them will polish out, I'm sure, though. The biggest issue is that the roof has a tear in it that has been sewn up; it spoils the car a little so I'm temped to buy a new hood and fit it myself. On the other hand, the car is still very usable as it is once tested so there's no rush
The short road test was impressive, I must say. It's pretty nippy and there were no knocks or rattles. I didn't notice any scuttle shake, either, although the roads around here aren't too bad. The horn's on the blink and the ABS lights then goes back out at certain times so I'll have a look over the weekend and sort out the rear brakes if the weather holds. It's a revvy little thing and stops well, too.
Great cars. I used to have a TF160 and ran it for a year. Was a hoot to drive, great in summer and never missed a beat in 12,000 miles. Also much fun on roundabouts in winter 
The poster above makes a good comment though - i'm 6ft3 and at the time 20st (now 5st lighter thankfully) and it was a tight squeeze in there - mu gf at the time said i looked utterly ridiculous driving it with the roof down
The poster above makes a good comment though - i'm 6ft3 and at the time 20st (now 5st lighter thankfully) and it was a tight squeeze in there - mu gf at the time said i looked utterly ridiculous driving it with the roof down
Straff99 said:
Gareth1974 said:
I think you've got a 'Sprint' limited edition, they came with those wheels, the AP brakes, leather/alcantara seats, chromed mesh on intakes and a few other bits. I had one new in 2002.
Thanks for that, Gareth. That's the eventual sale price doubled!!Beefmeister said:
Great cars. I used to have a TF160 and ran it for a year. Was a hoot to drive, great in summer and never missed a beat in 12,000 miles. Also much fun on roundabouts in winter
The poster above makes a good comment though - i'm 6ft3 and at the time 20st (now 5st lighter thankfully) and it was a tight squeeze in there - mu gf at the time said i looked utterly ridiculous driving it with the roof down
Well I'm 6' 4" but weigh a mere 17 stone so I'm sure I'll be fine.The poster above makes a good comment though - i'm 6ft3 and at the time 20st (now 5st lighter thankfully) and it was a tight squeeze in there - mu gf at the time said i looked utterly ridiculous driving it with the roof down
Cough
To be honest..... I'm sorry I have to ask this. But. Well, do ANY men look good in an open top car?? I'm sorry, I know that's alienated me from a huge section of the public but I do wonder. Yes, I am confident in my sexuality; I do feel the desire to cut hair occasionally, though
I've found some places that offer new roof covers for these cars. Unfortunately, a lot of them are too far away to get them to fit it to the car so I'll probably fit it myself with a mate. Has anyone any experience of this and what are the collective thoughts about glass v. plastic rear windows?
Straff99 said:
glass v. plastic rear windows?
With the glass one you have to unzip every time. With the plastic one, if you're only putting the roof down for a couple of hours, it's fine to leave zipped up, which means you can just put the roof up and down while sitting in the driver's seat!Straff99 said:
To be honest..... I'm sorry I have to ask this. But. Well, do ANY men look good in an open top car?? I'm sorry, I know that's alienated me from a huge section of the public but I do wonder. Yes, I am confident in my sexuality; I do feel the desire to cut hair occasionally, though
Depends more on the car than the man. 
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