What car is an MGF closer to?
A Volvo 240 or a Ferrari Dino?
The answer is of course The Ferrari. Why?
Is it because the Ferrari is red too?
Is it because the MG is a 2 seater sports car too?
Is it because they are both mid-engined ?
Well yes BUT it's because they both demand the same level of care.
The difference is that the Ferrari is costly and the MG is cheap.
Apart from this they are pretty similar in so many ways. Perhaps the MGF/TF is the poorman's Ferrari?
Leave it outside a pub and it'll get scratched. Yes unbeliveably people are jealous.
Leave it in the rain and it'll leak and go rusty. I have seen many really very shabby MGFs.
Abuse the car and it'll go wrong and in a spectacular way. No simple fixes with these poor access to the broken bits too. McGovern really should have designed in a bonnet like the Fiat X1/9 around the base of the hood.
Whilst you can acquire an old MGF for old Volvo 240 money, that and the fact that they both have 4 wheels is just about as close as they come to comparible. They are not the same in just about every other way. You can't expect the same level of reliability or resistance to negligence.
MGFs are not bullet proof. Far from it, they are fragile and they need to be carefully looked after. Nearly everybody on this forum has had a head gasket go and this isn't just the only fail point on the cars. Hydrogas spheres, electrics, coolant systems (part and cause of the HGF issue)
Do not expect to buy an F for sub £2000 and expect total reliability, build quality or robustness. In so many ways the MGF/TF is a throwback to the cars of the eighties where things worked...sort of.
If you just put petrol in and drive it will self destruct very quickly. Few and far between are the stories of total reliability without due care and attention.
Whilst Ally's Mr Wriggly has completed collosal miles and proves it is possible it is parked in a garage overnight and Ally is suss enough to head off issues before they become big, also if it does go wrong she knows where to get it fixed. Plus she has been lucky.
Red 19 has been mollycoddled every day of its life from new. It has always been garaged, it never gets used in winter and yet it still has its issues. An erratic Mems, errors on the test book that can't be erased, petrol smell inside (from new) leaky roof in the rain, rattles, clonks and bonks (shock absorbers? apparently not). Things seem to self-destruct all by themselves irrespective of use.
We have MGFs because they are such great fun when they work, they are also a bargain price to ACQUIRE. We have in this forum all you need to know to keep your MGF/TF on the road but if anybody asks me they want a sportscar what should they get. I look them up and down and recommend an MX5.
Owning an MGF/TF takes commitment and engagement. That's half the magic actually. It's like having a child or a dog. It needs constant care and attention. This is why so many of us name our cars.
I would not recommend anybody on a tight budget to get one unless they are a bit handy with spanners ( a lot handy) or unless they get into this forum and have a slush-fund put aside for the inevitable St Russell. Gear lust is also a problem and I apologise for making such shiny exhausts. I won't recommend anyboy who is used to a Micra to get one as it'll make me look bad as their newly acquired car detonates through lack of coolant on the way to an all important meeting/date. These cars are not Micras.
Likewise on a damp morning treat the car with respect or you will be thrown backwards off the road.
Why do we do it?
A mix of child-care, masochism, DIY fetishism, a challenge of will power over mechanical fragility, misguided style victims. Nope it's accelerating away from the lights foot-down towards some great destination, roof off, sun shining, shades on and in my case exhaust blaring (big time).
This isn't motoring...It's Rock and Roll!!
A Volvo 240 or a Ferrari Dino?
The answer is of course The Ferrari. Why?
Is it because the Ferrari is red too?
Is it because the MG is a 2 seater sports car too?
Is it because they are both mid-engined ?
Well yes BUT it's because they both demand the same level of care.
The difference is that the Ferrari is costly and the MG is cheap.
Apart from this they are pretty similar in so many ways. Perhaps the MGF/TF is the poorman's Ferrari?
Leave it outside a pub and it'll get scratched. Yes unbeliveably people are jealous.
Leave it in the rain and it'll leak and go rusty. I have seen many really very shabby MGFs.
Abuse the car and it'll go wrong and in a spectacular way. No simple fixes with these poor access to the broken bits too. McGovern really should have designed in a bonnet like the Fiat X1/9 around the base of the hood.
Whilst you can acquire an old MGF for old Volvo 240 money, that and the fact that they both have 4 wheels is just about as close as they come to comparible. They are not the same in just about every other way. You can't expect the same level of reliability or resistance to negligence.
MGFs are not bullet proof. Far from it, they are fragile and they need to be carefully looked after. Nearly everybody on this forum has had a head gasket go and this isn't just the only fail point on the cars. Hydrogas spheres, electrics, coolant systems (part and cause of the HGF issue)
Do not expect to buy an F for sub £2000 and expect total reliability, build quality or robustness. In so many ways the MGF/TF is a throwback to the cars of the eighties where things worked...sort of.
If you just put petrol in and drive it will self destruct very quickly. Few and far between are the stories of total reliability without due care and attention.
Whilst Ally's Mr Wriggly has completed collosal miles and proves it is possible it is parked in a garage overnight and Ally is suss enough to head off issues before they become big, also if it does go wrong she knows where to get it fixed. Plus she has been lucky.
Red 19 has been mollycoddled every day of its life from new. It has always been garaged, it never gets used in winter and yet it still has its issues. An erratic Mems, errors on the test book that can't be erased, petrol smell inside (from new) leaky roof in the rain, rattles, clonks and bonks (shock absorbers? apparently not). Things seem to self-destruct all by themselves irrespective of use.
We have MGFs because they are such great fun when they work, they are also a bargain price to ACQUIRE. We have in this forum all you need to know to keep your MGF/TF on the road but if anybody asks me they want a sportscar what should they get. I look them up and down and recommend an MX5.
Owning an MGF/TF takes commitment and engagement. That's half the magic actually. It's like having a child or a dog. It needs constant care and attention. This is why so many of us name our cars.
I would not recommend anybody on a tight budget to get one unless they are a bit handy with spanners ( a lot handy) or unless they get into this forum and have a slush-fund put aside for the inevitable St Russell. Gear lust is also a problem and I apologise for making such shiny exhausts. I won't recommend anyboy who is used to a Micra to get one as it'll make me look bad as their newly acquired car detonates through lack of coolant on the way to an all important meeting/date. These cars are not Micras.
Likewise on a damp morning treat the car with respect or you will be thrown backwards off the road.
Why do we do it?
A mix of child-care, masochism, DIY fetishism, a challenge of will power over mechanical fragility, misguided style victims. Nope it's accelerating away from the lights foot-down towards some great destination, roof off, sun shining, shades on and in my case exhaust blaring (big time).
This isn't motoring...It's Rock and Roll!!
