MGF Winter project found on Gumtree
Discussion
This is my 3rd MGF, and the worst! found on Gumtree and dragged home on my mates trailer from Durham to Blackburn last Saturday, bought as a project to keep my weekends occupied this winter, with a view to enjoying it next Summer as we have been promised hot summers every year thanks to climate change.
This is a VVC, 1998 model year in Nightfire Red, only 68000 miles, with a rather nice cream leather interior in not bad nick, the car has not been used since 2012 when it failed the MOT on a rear calliper, a balljoint on the front suspension and wiper blades, the previous owner got fed up with it and left it in the garage after having spent quite a bit on a top engine overhaul, four new tyres, new radiator new discs and pads all round, a new exhaust and a new battery.
He also gave me a good soft top rear window, two used but good front wings and a steering wheel in as new condition but the wrong colour ( already disposed of on E Bay).
So jobs to be done this winter.
Charging light on, no alternator belt fitted? odd must have dropped off at some point unless the alternator is seized
Fix the jobs for MOT
Replace the drivers side front wing due to a bit of rust, repaint the front bumper valance due to poor paint match in the past and peeling lacquer
A good de rusting of all the underside
Replace the coolant pipes with stainless steel
A good service and check of all the known MGF weak points.
Most importantly remove the suspension spheres and have them modified to be re gassed with nitrogen, on the very brief test drive when I got it home there is no discernable suspension movement at all, it seem the spheres have a service life of 15 years and this poor thing is now 20....
It came home filthy so I have given it a quick bath and fitted the rear window to the soft top, at five paces it looks quite respectable.
Although the car came from Durham it turns out it was suppled new by the Rover dealer in Bury our next door town so it has come home.
This is a VVC, 1998 model year in Nightfire Red, only 68000 miles, with a rather nice cream leather interior in not bad nick, the car has not been used since 2012 when it failed the MOT on a rear calliper, a balljoint on the front suspension and wiper blades, the previous owner got fed up with it and left it in the garage after having spent quite a bit on a top engine overhaul, four new tyres, new radiator new discs and pads all round, a new exhaust and a new battery.
He also gave me a good soft top rear window, two used but good front wings and a steering wheel in as new condition but the wrong colour ( already disposed of on E Bay).
So jobs to be done this winter.
Charging light on, no alternator belt fitted? odd must have dropped off at some point unless the alternator is seized
Fix the jobs for MOT
Replace the drivers side front wing due to a bit of rust, repaint the front bumper valance due to poor paint match in the past and peeling lacquer
A good de rusting of all the underside
Replace the coolant pipes with stainless steel
A good service and check of all the known MGF weak points.
Most importantly remove the suspension spheres and have them modified to be re gassed with nitrogen, on the very brief test drive when I got it home there is no discernable suspension movement at all, it seem the spheres have a service life of 15 years and this poor thing is now 20....
It came home filthy so I have given it a quick bath and fitted the rear window to the soft top, at five paces it looks quite respectable.
Although the car came from Durham it turns out it was suppled new by the Rover dealer in Bury our next door town so it has come home.
Edited by AlecT on Saturday 4th August 13:43
Edited by AlecT on Saturday 4th August 14:11
Rover only gave these cars the barest lick of paint underneath so now it is not pretty, a wire brush, elbow grease and some Bilt
Hamber rust treatment will sort it out I think. The coolant pipes look very dodgy so I will remove them and replace with stainless not expensive at about £70.00 when they are out of the way I can clean the floorpan. i will get it up on axle stands in the next few days and see what pictures I can take.
Hamber rust treatment will sort it out I think. The coolant pipes look very dodgy so I will remove them and replace with stainless not expensive at about £70.00 when they are out of the way I can clean the floorpan. i will get it up on axle stands in the next few days and see what pictures I can take.
Made some room in the garage now, I obtained an alternator belt and thought it would be an easy job to start off with...... getting the wheels off was an issue, a massive breaker bar had to used as the wheel nuts were so tight.
The corrosion underneath is all surface but very ugly nothing has been touched in years so all nuts are just so tight, anyway having loosened off the alternator mounting bolts and on closer inspection the alternator casing is split and the unit is siezed solid as I half expected.
A bit disappointing to see no disc retaining screws and a glance around underneath I can see the gear change cable gaiters are badly rotted....lots to do.
The corrosion underneath is all surface but very ugly nothing has been touched in years so all nuts are just so tight, anyway having loosened off the alternator mounting bolts and on closer inspection the alternator casing is split and the unit is siezed solid as I half expected.
A bit disappointing to see no disc retaining screws and a glance around underneath I can see the gear change cable gaiters are badly rotted....lots to do.
That's a pretty colour combo 
good to see another of these getting the TLC they deserve.
What model is it? MPi or VVC?
Managed to pick up mine for £150 which was an absolute steal, even at high mileage. Bit of work and it's done daily driver duties admirably for many months, taken me to the Nurburgring and back, taken my mate on a roadtrip around Wales and most recently a trackday at Brands
good to see another of these getting the TLC they deserve.What model is it? MPi or VVC?
Managed to pick up mine for £150 which was an absolute steal, even at high mileage. Bit of work and it's done daily driver duties admirably for many months, taken me to the Nurburgring and back, taken my mate on a roadtrip around Wales and most recently a trackday at Brands
It is a VVC, 143bhp I have only driven this one round the block, it seems to go very well. I had a VVC before, that went like a rocket so fully expecting this one will as well.
I didnt pay very much for this one but was persuaded by the previous owners £2000 spend on essentials before it was laid up, I have, today, been cleaning off some of the surface rust on the rear suspension and subframe and am pleased to say it is all cosmetic and responding to a bit of elbow grease.
I didnt pay very much for this one but was persuaded by the previous owners £2000 spend on essentials before it was laid up, I have, today, been cleaning off some of the surface rust on the rear suspension and subframe and am pleased to say it is all cosmetic and responding to a bit of elbow grease.
Due to the Bank Holiday and a few days off I have got a couple of jobs done on the project MGF, fitted a new alternator
and at the same time replaced the heatshield that protects the alternator from being fried, this was left off in the dim and distant past , I found this one on E Bay.
The alternator belt adjusting thingy was siezed onto the original alternator so I have fitted this rose jointed adjuster simple to fit and subsequently for further adjustment as nessesary.
I have also removed the front wing on the drivers side with the front bumper cover, will take them into a body shop ( yet to select one) one day soon.
This is the only nasty rot on the whole car, I have a really good condition wing in Blue that the previous owner gave me with the car, to go to the body shop.
Next, dismantle all the rear brakes on both sides replace the n/s caliper and the caliper carriers as they are both siezed, parts on order.
and at the same time replaced the heatshield that protects the alternator from being fried, this was left off in the dim and distant past , I found this one on E Bay.
The alternator belt adjusting thingy was siezed onto the original alternator so I have fitted this rose jointed adjuster simple to fit and subsequently for further adjustment as nessesary.
I have also removed the front wing on the drivers side with the front bumper cover, will take them into a body shop ( yet to select one) one day soon.
This is the only nasty rot on the whole car, I have a really good condition wing in Blue that the previous owner gave me with the car, to go to the body shop.
Next, dismantle all the rear brakes on both sides replace the n/s caliper and the caliper carriers as they are both siezed, parts on order.
Making a start now while the weather is still mild.
The basic structure of this little car is sound, the subframes (which I was dubious about) have surprised me with their solidity much poking about and banging has not produced anything other than surface corrosion, I have bought some Bilt Hamber anti rust stuff, never used anything like it before but I hope it helps, I believe a top coat of POR15 after treatment will help to give these subrames an extension in life.
Half a litre, I hope it is enough cos it is quite expensive.
To help with the derusting I have obtained (from E Bay of course) this little angle grinder, small enough to be held in the palm of your hand, little did I know until I unpacked it it is air powered, not electric, however all is not lost as I have found a compressor at work that has been put to one side and is now unused and redundant I shall have to sweet talk the boss into donating it or letting me have it for a minimal cost, it will be dead handy in the garage in any case.
There is a small rotary wire brush attachment to do the actual derusting, while I was in Aldi shopping yesterday, I also spied a very handy little hand held wire brush to get into the more inaccesible parts ( slipped it into the basket while the missus was not looking)
I noticed that the reproduction of the radio ( a Kenwood CD player/Radio) was very poor, I suspected the speakers, having whipped of one of the door panels this is what I found. Completely knackered
Again E bay is your friend, a pair of replacements on the way, while the door panel is off I also have to fix the central door locking motor in the passenger door, it works but makes this horrible machine gunning sound.
The basic structure of this little car is sound, the subframes (which I was dubious about) have surprised me with their solidity much poking about and banging has not produced anything other than surface corrosion, I have bought some Bilt Hamber anti rust stuff, never used anything like it before but I hope it helps, I believe a top coat of POR15 after treatment will help to give these subrames an extension in life.
Half a litre, I hope it is enough cos it is quite expensive.
To help with the derusting I have obtained (from E Bay of course) this little angle grinder, small enough to be held in the palm of your hand, little did I know until I unpacked it it is air powered, not electric, however all is not lost as I have found a compressor at work that has been put to one side and is now unused and redundant I shall have to sweet talk the boss into donating it or letting me have it for a minimal cost, it will be dead handy in the garage in any case.
There is a small rotary wire brush attachment to do the actual derusting, while I was in Aldi shopping yesterday, I also spied a very handy little hand held wire brush to get into the more inaccesible parts ( slipped it into the basket while the missus was not looking)
I noticed that the reproduction of the radio ( a Kenwood CD player/Radio) was very poor, I suspected the speakers, having whipped of one of the door panels this is what I found. Completely knackered
Again E bay is your friend, a pair of replacements on the way, while the door panel is off I also have to fix the central door locking motor in the passenger door, it works but makes this horrible machine gunning sound.
Whilst I am waiting for my brake parts to arrive I thought I would press on with some of the more unpleasant tasks like removing the heavy pressed steel member over the cooling pipes that run from the rear engine to the front radiator, I expected the bolts to rusted solid but as a bit of a surprise they all (24 of them) came out quite easily.
A surprisingly heavy piece, I suppose this gives some rigidity to the body shell
Not too much rust under here and in the following photos, although difficult to take good pics
Got some nice new stainless pipes to replace the twenty year old, mild steel, crusty ones
A surprisingly heavy piece, I suppose this gives some rigidity to the body shell
Not too much rust under here and in the following photos, although difficult to take good pics
Got some nice new stainless pipes to replace the twenty year old, mild steel, crusty ones
I used to have one of these! Really good fun to pottle around in. Always had HGF in the back of my mind but did 30k trouble free motoring. Only issue i ever had was when I took it in for an MOT following a service at a well known indie. Issue with rear brakes - they had put pads in the wrong way round on one side... I guess work experience kid did it...
Thats very interesting, I googled what you have just suggested and that looks ideal for loose parts that can be removed and soaked. A further poke around the internet found this which looks very good indeed
http://aquasteel.co.uk/
Used on ships and ocean rigs so should work on MGF subframes, however having forked out on the Bilt Hamber stuff I will have to give it a go.
http://aquasteel.co.uk/
Used on ships and ocean rigs so should work on MGF subframes, however having forked out on the Bilt Hamber stuff I will have to give it a go.
Work continues on the MGF, the brakes all round have been sorted, rears were both seized, so a new caliper on the passenger side,( MOT fail 6 years ago), the drivers side was a fairly recent replacement, swopped the slider for a good used one unseized the handbrake linkages, dismanted the front brakes lubed everything and reassembled with a change of brake fluid, drilled out all the snapped off brake disc retaining screws, retapped the holes and replaced with new, important on these cars as the retaining screws are the only method of keeping the discs central to the hub.
I managed to find a hard top in correct colour for a reasonable price on Ebay
This morning I collected the front wing and bumper cover from the paint shop in Bury paint match is not too bad considering that the car was in my garage, not in their shop so I cant complain for £150.00 just a shade darker but will look better once I have the whole car polished up.
Front bumper ready to refit, looking pretty ( to my eyes) with repainted grills and the MG badge refitted[url]
|https://thumbsnap.com/sq7oBLk4[/url]
Before I can finish the job of refitting the repainted arts I need a couple of lokut fixings which I have discovered are the same as grille fixings on a Range Rover P38 so they are now on the way.
Next, fit the stainless water pipes which mean scrabbling around on my back undoing twenty year old pipe clips......
I managed to find a hard top in correct colour for a reasonable price on Ebay
This morning I collected the front wing and bumper cover from the paint shop in Bury paint match is not too bad considering that the car was in my garage, not in their shop so I cant complain for £150.00 just a shade darker but will look better once I have the whole car polished up.
Front bumper ready to refit, looking pretty ( to my eyes) with repainted grills and the MG badge refitted[url]
|https://thumbsnap.com/sq7oBLk4[/url]Before I can finish the job of refitting the repainted arts I need a couple of lokut fixings which I have discovered are the same as grille fixings on a Range Rover P38 so they are now on the way.
Next, fit the stainless water pipes which mean scrabbling around on my back undoing twenty year old pipe clips......
Not so sure about that as there is still a lot to do, I have yet to start on derusting the subframes dirty horrible job I am not looking forward to.
I have managed to fix the door lock on the pass side which was making a horrid machine gunning noise and I have, I think, resolved another of the fails on the last MOT, it failed on a bottom ball joint on the front wishbones. These had been replaced some time ago according to the service history and it is plain to see that the wishbones on both sides are relatively new, no discernable play in the joints but the rubber gaiters on both sides were badly damaged. I found the correct replacements regreased the ball joints and put it all back together, this was all a bit of a struggle to get it all undone but did it in the end.
I will also need to service the motor, not been touched for 9 years so cam belts and water pump will have to be done, I have looked at the spark plugs and they look new as is the air filter, I will change the oil of course.
Then we have the small matter of the hydrogas suspension to deal with, I had initially intended to regas the spheres, but I now think that a better plan is to change the whole system to use springs and conventional dampers, Mike Satur makes a kit and I think that is what I will end up doing.
I have managed to fix the door lock on the pass side which was making a horrid machine gunning noise and I have, I think, resolved another of the fails on the last MOT, it failed on a bottom ball joint on the front wishbones. These had been replaced some time ago according to the service history and it is plain to see that the wishbones on both sides are relatively new, no discernable play in the joints but the rubber gaiters on both sides were badly damaged. I found the correct replacements regreased the ball joints and put it all back together, this was all a bit of a struggle to get it all undone but did it in the end.
I will also need to service the motor, not been touched for 9 years so cam belts and water pump will have to be done, I have looked at the spark plugs and they look new as is the air filter, I will change the oil of course.
Then we have the small matter of the hydrogas suspension to deal with, I had initially intended to regas the spheres, but I now think that a better plan is to change the whole system to use springs and conventional dampers, Mike Satur makes a kit and I think that is what I will end up doing.
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