Always use 5w40 fully synthetic in all my K Series (road and track) best oil by far

 

Thanks John - I think I will go for that...

Have you seen the new Magnatect 'stop start' - I am wondering what that is like also?

 

The oil recommended by Rover was always 10W40 semi synthetic, and that is what I would always use.

5W40 would probably be fine, although I would wonder if it might be a little thinner than ideal when cold for the usual UK climate - perhaps more suitable than 10W40 in colder regions.

My only objection to using fully synthetic is that it is generally significantly more expensive than an equivalent quality semi synthetic (and bearing in mind that the K series was tested during its development with the usual poor quality testing oil without any ill effects), the greater expense is probably not justified. I would say that more frequent oil changes are likely to prolong the engines life better than using fully synthetic in place of semi.

Stop/start specific oils are formulated to cope with the more frequent tougher start cycle of more modern engines that have that feature (and which generally have finer tolerances and therefore a requirement for a finer quality oil than the old K series needs) and from what I have seen are expensive for using where their attributes are superfluous.

 

5W40 every year in my 25 1.4 remapped and that will do either for very cold or very hot weather. Climatic changes are to be toughest now and the engine should be prepared to suffer the worst.
Moreover I was told that synthetic oils were better for modern engines (I mean since 1995 onwards or whereabouts).
One more reason in my case: fluidity of oil is better on starting up - tank fuelled with ethanol (E85).
It's of no use to be mean & tight when we are keen to keep our pride & joy for long. TLC should be the motto out of consideration for the kitty.
Saving a trifle of money means you're often risking a worse bleed of smackers afterwards...

 

Yes I totally agree with this.. well I can get Magnatec on special offer (fully synthetic) but its 5/30 - will that be ok?

 

There is no reason why you can’t run Mobile 1 0w40 fully synthetic I have been using this in engines since the eighths. It is the best oil out there. If you are concerned about cold start then add slick 50 every third oil change. I have run this in my 75 since launch night. The Garage were upset and suggested that I would invalidate Rovers cover. When I told them to change the oil in my diesel conni to Mobile one. Rover had no problems with this and that car went on to do 380,000 before dying in a RTC.
We started using it back in the eighths when there was only one and not the ten or more types of Mobile 1 that are around today. That was in LMP 1 Cars at Le-Mans.
The oil will protect your engine through all driving conditions with the least amount of drag on moving parts. The Use of Slick 50 is useful if an engine is to be left standing with out being run for extended periods. This additive employs a different kind of fluid technology from that of engine oil and will adhere to surfaces in single molecule thickness, this will protect all bearing surfaces and all surfaces it comes into contact with.
There are some who will disagree with my comments all I can say is over half a century of practical experience along with my Bsc in Aero my Bsc in Mechanical my masters in Mechanical and my Doctorate in Mechanical engineering are the only credentials that I have to back up my statement.
Kind Regards
Alan



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...........If you are concerned about cold start then add slick 50 every third oil change. .............

Perhaps do a little background research into Slick 50 - regardless of your academic qualifications, there is plenty of proof out there that Slick 50 is nothing more than snake oil which does nothing more than deplete the buyers wallet.

I would suggest that 0W40 is too thin when cold for the K series. If 0W40 was suitable, why would the Rover engineers have recommended 10W40?; and if 10W40 semi synthetic was suitable in 1995, why is it not suitable now?.

 

Thing was in 95 every manufacturer was still recommending 10w40 most probably because it was cheaper and offered a wide temperature range. Oil tech has come a long way since then so why not use a better oil? Don't think anyone is implying 10w40 isn't any good

 

I personally wouldn't use 0w40 oil but I can't imagine would cause failure as caterham recommend 0w40, 5w40 or 5w50 in there K Series cars and other than sump it's same engine

 

Lotus works have been using 0w40 and 0w30 synthetic oils for more than thirty years now the K series engine loves the stuff and once you have had the lid off changed the valves and fitted a high lift cam along with a copper gasket, stuff it while we are in let’s just do the crank mains small ends con rods pistons and put in the best you can afford 4K will give you a flying machine 5 if you have carbs and have to fit a brain and injectors.
A small word of warning if you do update your k series up to full race spec, you will have to upgrade the brakes no point in doing the standing quarter mile in fifteen seconds if you can’t stop at the end of it.


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Good information Alan, thanks.

I personally use fully synthetic Castrol Edge 5W40 in our 2 F's. I've been using it because I can't get 10W40 in a synthetic locally, and I though the 0W of Mobil 1 0W40 would be to thin. But based on what you have said and that 0W40 was a recommended weight by Lotus for the same K-series engine, the next time I need to change to oil in our MGF's, I'll be buying Mobil 1 0W40.

 

Good information Alan, thanks.



I personally use fully synthetic Castrol Edge 5W40 in our 2 F's. I've been using it because I can't get 10W40 in a synthetic locally, and I though the 0W of Mobil 1 0W40 would be to thin. But based on what you have said and that 0W40 was a recommended weight by Lotus for the same K-series engine, the next time I need to change to oil in our MGF's, I'll be buying Mobil 1 0W40.

Hi,
I just wish I had kept all the research information that I had collected over the years, sadly the last house move saw a thinning out of much of it.
I know that an F1 team that recently won the constructors championship run a 0w20. Based on price it can be bought cheeper than Mobile 1. If I had a brand new engine I would probably try it, but feel that it might be a step too far on an engine showing several thousand miles of running on other stuff.
A word of Warning too all. there are synthetic oils and there are synthetic oils, please don’t be tempted down the price war oils you find in euro parts and alike there oils are not like mobile 1. Fluid technology is a science all to its self. I knew a pit engineer who had A2 size pictures of single oil molecules up on her wall. She was a bio chemist by Training. She found beauty in a single molecule. Lovely pictures but I just could not get as excited as she did by them. Though respected her knowledge of molecular science greatly. She has saved many an engine from death by her reports on fluids and their life cycle when used in an internal combustion engine. Indeed also in Aero engines and gear boxes.
I learned a lot from people like her during my years involved in motor sport. Sadly so many of the people who had amassed so much knowledge over their life’s working are now my age and older. Once these people are gone so is their unpublished knowledge. I was greatly saddened last Wednesday when I popped into the local model engineering clubs home. I only found one face that I knew well. We had a great chat about things past. I even spent part of my visit altering the reverser control lever for a locomotive whom their insurance company had had reservations over as when the loco was in steam he felt that the expansion of parts made it likely to foul the regulator leaver.
Twenty mins with a file sorted the problem. And it was great to catch up. Though I was sad to see that in twenty years time the club will probably no longer exist as there will be no engineers left.
The young boys today are sadly just fitters they don’t make things from scratch.
Sorry everyone I got side tracked there. But I do find it concerning.
That this may also becoming the case with the motor industry.



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I agree with you Alan concerning not all synthetics are created equal. I do know that Castrol Edge is not a 'true' synthetic, whereas Mobil 1 is.

A lot of companies don't appreciate the knowledge senior engineers have and provide to a company, they just see them as high-paid employees and an easy spot to reduce costs. Some many times I have seen senior engineers let go only to come back a couple months later as highly paid specialist because no one else at the company knew what they knew.

 

I agree with you Alan concerning not all synthetics are created equal. I do know that Castrol Edge is not a 'true' synthetic, whereas Mobil 1 is.



A lot of companies don't appreciate the knowledge senior engineers have and provide to a company, they just see them as high-paid employees and an easy spot to reduce costs. Some many times I have seen senior engineers let go only to come back a couple months later as highly paid specialist because no one else at the company knew what they knew.

Never a truer word. Like you I have seen this probably twenty times in my lifetime. One of my friends was hired by Manchester Health as a consultant to look at their IT and tell them what they needed to do, after eighteen months he presented his findings and recommendations. His employers said well that will never happen. They couldn’t understand why Ian stood up said thank you and left never to return. One did ask why he was leaving. He replied. “ My job is done, I have shown you the problems you have. I have shown you what you need to do to proceed. You have just dismissed me, as you have no intention of implementing my recommendations.”

Alan


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I'm thinking I will switch to Mobil 1 0W40. One reasoning for doing so is that there is a hydraulic lifter tapping noise coming from the F's engine every time it is started and I'm hoping a change to a true synthetic might help clear the blockages in the hydraulic lifter(s).

 

But then as I said at the beginning of this thread many will disagree with me.

What Do I Know? Fifty years experience plus academic.

The lab reports teams spend tens of thousands of pounds on are legal documents, unlike google.

I have worked for two seasons with Lotus along with John Bewick.
They were racing k series engined sports cars and using 0w40 Mobile One as the main engine lubricant and all parts were coated with slick50 during engine assembly.

So I have to assume from some of the posts that the experts have it wrong.

Also I suspect my critics are young men. The fact that one did not know vegetable oils were used as engine lubricants for over 100 years, with no adverse effects.

So sad these days people under a certain age, believe everything, in print and on the internet.

Us oldies want proof positive not mindless speculation.

Sorry if I have offended anyone
This was not my intention
I only wish to educate.
A very sad old Alan




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I have worked for two seasons with Lotus along with John Bewick. They were racing k series engined sports cars and using 0w40 Mobile One as the main engine lubricant and all parts were coated with slick50 during engine assembly.

Thanks Alan, that answers my question concerning the k-series and the use of 0W40 Mobil 1.

 

A small point of interest. CHP units used in industry, also high rise fire pumps sited in buildings are not routinely down for oil changes every 1000 hours. The recommended testing of oil for contaminants every 1000 hours by gas mass spectrometer. And these records must be kept on file for seven years.
A Combined Heat & Power unit is a internal combustion engine that runs on natural gas. It is sized such the heat output from the engine cooling jacket meets the minimum heating requirement of the site it is installed in. The load on the engine is produced by having it drive a three phase alternator. Thus there is an embarrassing side effect of these units that is you get electricity that you can either use or sell back to the grid.
The fire pumps must be run for a predetermined time every three months on full demand.
A bit like emergency generators in public buildings.

When I took over some housing and industrial stock. I brought in a private company to run the pumps and generators under a three hour load test.
The records showed the items had been tested every three months for the passed ten or more years, when the engines were run up to load more than 60% of them blew up sum as soon as a load was applied. Some during the test.
I was not a popular person, yet according to the records the units had performed to specification every three months since the had been installed.
Did I do something wrong? Did the company I brought in carry out the tests incorrectly?
Or had the units previously been started but never put under load?
Yet the records showed they had passed the load tests with flying colours up until my appointment.
Life’s depend on these pieces of kit, and somebody either through ignorance or by deception had failed to ensure that in an emergency that they would work.
Alan



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I have never heard of a "gas chromatograph scanning electron microscope". I'm a PhD in Chemistry (1980), a Chartered Chemist and Chartered Engineer.

Fluids are often analysed by a combination of gas-chromatography and mass spectroscopy (GC-MS). Surfaces and particles by scanning electron microscopy with an X-ray analyser attachment.

If someone tells me that such and such is "the best oil", I simply ask to see the data that confirms this. I never get it.

A friend who works for a major international lubricants company, and has a PhD in chemistry, when asked which brand of oil he uses, always responds, "the one which is on special offer at the supermarket".

B

 

You are quite correct it is not one piece of kit but four separate pieces of kit. There purpose is to identify what the sample is made up from by looking at the flash off temps of the component parts of the test sample. Whilst the collected information is checked agonist a computer database of known items. From this information you can work out what percentages of what make up your sample.
The second part of the process is to look into the sample at the molecular level to allow the experts to tell if the small bits that make up the samples are damaged in any way or are still in pristine condition.

Most teams use the same labs. In all but one of the teams I worked with it was a girl called Kate that was our point of contact.
She being the one with big pictures of single atoms and molecules on her wall.
My apologies to Kate I should have said Woman or Lady, and I apologise to her and the others out there for my poor attempt at trying to explain what their big bits of kit actually do, and what they are looking for.
I would also like to thank Kate and the many others involved in the techie bit. That give teams and businesses this most important information in a format that us dumb engineers can understand.
Many thanks for all your hard work
Alan


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https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0021967300880668

 

For what its worth, I swapped out my semi oil for fully synth about 4 or 5 years ago, car has run fine, still tappity as ever lol.

 

Regardless of how oils may (or may not) have changed in 20 years, the viscosity index means the same as it did back then.

0W30 is too thin, both at start up when cold, and when at normal running temperature. The result will be increased wear. Using fully synthetic in a non-VVC K series will very likely be fine, but you will not gain anything by using it (other than the higher cost of the synthetic oil). There is also much evidence that using the incorrect viscosity grade in a VVC K series in particular will cause problems, and Stu reported more than once that people who had problems with the VVC had all been using either fully synthetic oil, or a non-recommended viscosity grade (or both).

In the end, 10W40 semi synthetic was what Rover recommended for the K, and that advice remains just as valid today as it was then.

Yes, oils have changed in some ways, but so have engines - to achieve lower emissions, greater fuel efficiency and more power from a smaller capacity. They have differently engineered components and much finer tolerances than engines of 30 years ago, and the modern low-ash oils are formulated to work in with those changes, and there is evidence (for those who care to look) that such oils are not necessarily beneficial when used in old engines not designed for using them.

Use fully synthetic if you wish, but use a thinner oil at your own risk.

 

I know everyone hates me but why do Lotus not recommend 10w40 as the only option in the K series? They go on to list 5w30 semi and filly and 0w40 fully.
Surely Lotus have it right and Rover are only fowling their oil sponsors request.
The other question I would ask is why the many K series tuning and head gasket repair shops up and down the country use fully 5 and 0 oils. If what is being said is true then they also have it wrong.
Why does the thickness of the oil molecule matter as there is no surface in any engine that only has space for oil one molecule thick as the engine that was built in that way would seize after a 10 degree increase in temperature. Last I looked my engine ran fine at start up at -40 Degrees and was still running at temperatures of 114 degrees C.
This makes the too thin argument go away as oil is never lubricating at one molecule thick!
Please I am not trying to be cheeky nor am I in any way questioning what the Rover Manual says. I am only trying to put forward the fact that there are no valid reasons why Fully synthetic oils can’t be used.
Fully synthetic oils 0w40 and 0w 30 and 5 w 30 have been around since the seventies Castrol Syntron range springs to mind. Along with Mobile 1 and Petronius to name but three. I used to run my six cylinder land crab on mobile 1 when it was new right through to its death at eleven years old when a young lad drove through the side of her in his Ford in those days I did far fewer miles than I did in later life but she was on her third time round the clock.
What difference does the thickness of the oil make to its lubricating qualities. It’s ability to cool the engine and its ability to pick up and retain waste products from the combustion process to be removed by the oil filter Cartridge. After all these are the three reasons why we have oil in our engine.
Before someone states oil pressure! I will remind everyone that it is flow that matters not pressure.
One very confused Alan.


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Frequent changes of good quality 10W/40 semi synth for me in my K-series. Don't see the point deviating to a more expensive oil that may not offer sufficient protection.

 

I did some digging around on this last year and ended up having a quite interesting conversation with a chap at Opie Oils. He suggested the following:

The engine was not designed to run on 10w-40. That is the recommendation in the handbook and what Rover used to fill them, but there are reasons for that and the reasons are not because it was the best oil.

A 10w-40 is available everywhere, so as a handbook recommendation, it's a sensible choice as you'll always be able to get hold of it. That's pretty typical for most manufacturers.

As for Rover using it, it was a cheap option, in comparison to synthetics used by other manufacturers. If you look at other companies that use the K-Series (like Caterham and Lotus), they use synthetics to give the best protection. One of our customers has a Caterham that is used as a track training car, so it's driven very hard all day, it never has an easy time and has recently hit the 100k mark, all done on the Fuchs Pro S 5w-40 Rover cut corners with oil on a regular basis, they often used 10w-40 engine oil in gearboxes as it was cheaper than a proper gear oil.

A 5w-40 will flow better from cold than a 10w-40, giving better cold start protection. As the vast majority of 5w-40s are synthetic, the all round protection will be better and will last longer than a semi. The only difference between a 5w-40 and 10w-40 is that the 5w is thinner when cold, they are the same viscosity when hot.

I wouldn't go for anything thinner than a 40 as the K-Series can get quite hot.

A lot of this makes sense to me.
The price of fully synth oils 15 years ago was outrageous compared to today so I can see why this would be an easy cost-saving measure for MG Rover.

My personal belief is that fully synthetics do not degrade as quickly as semi synthetics, although it's probably irrelevant for me as I change my oil every 6 months in spring and autumn anyway. I'd be kidding myself if I tried to say a 5w40 didn't protect an engine better though in the long term.

I ended up getting a 5L bottle of Fuchs SuperSyn 5w40 with a Mahle filter all for £25. At that sort of price I see no reason to use semi synthetic anymore.

I initially only went for a 5w40 fully synth as I was looking for easier starting in cold weather. I also found that it quieted down my engine on the motorway a bit although you would have to take my word for that as I have no hard evidence.

I'm quite sure that 10w40 would be suitable to run on for the entire life of an engine and indeed I have done this in the past. As always with oil, it is a personal thing and petrolheads will always quibble over which is best.

My opinion is if yours runs well on the brand/type of your choosing and you have no reason to change, then that's your choice and I respect that.

EDIT:
In response to the OP (as I realise I haven't actually responded to you), I would suggest that considering your K-series has VVC, you should stick to 10w40 oil. I have read many horror stories about a change in oil grade on the VVC's causing damage.

Were it a non-VVC K-series, as in my partners 25, they run quite nicely on 5w40. It is perhaps a little more tappety when cold but I achieved what I wanted of having easier starting. The tappety noise goes away when warmed up, naturally.

Either way, I would definitely avoid going with a 5w30 as this is too thin when the engine is hot.

 

Opie Oils are in the business of persuading you to buy whatever oil it is most profitable for them to sell to you

We have had this argument with their sales reps on this forum in the past - probably why they don't come here peddling their wares any more.

The simple fact remains that there are a great many very high mileage K series engines out there which have acheived such longevity running on semi synthetic 10W40.

In any case, the real problem with what some people are advocating on this thread is the inadequate viscosity types that are being recommended.

....they often used 10w-40 engine oil in gearboxes as it was cheaper than a proper gear oil.

This just underlines the carp that Opie Oils salesmen often spout forth - Rover used to recommend 10W40 engine oil as normal fill for the Honda designed PG1 gearbox - they had significant problems with those boxes, and in later usage of the PG1, Rover reverted to recommending pretty much the same gear oil which Honda had been using in it (without problems).

Using a track car as an example is also a bit misleading - I would nearly dare bet it got a lot more frequent oil changes and engine/gearbox rebuilds than a road car with over 100k would have had.

 

Opie Oils are in the business of persuading you to buy whatever oil it is most profitable for them to sell to you

We have had this argument with their sales reps on this forum in the past - probably why they don't come here peddling their wares any more.

The simple fact remains that there are a great many very high mileage K series engines out there which have acheived such longevity running on semi synthetic 10W40.

In any case, the real problem with what some people are advocating on this thread is the inadequate viscosity types that are being recommended.


This just underlines the carp that Opie Oils salesmen often spout forth - Rover used to recommend 10W40 engine oil as normal fill for the Honda designed PG1 gearbox - they had significant problems with those boxes, and in later usage of the PG1, Rover reverted to recommending pretty much the same gear oil which Honda had been using in it (without problems).

Using a track car as an example is also a bit misleading - I would nearly dare bet it got a lot more frequent oil changes and engine/gearbox rebuilds than a road car with over 100k would have had.

Always use 10-40 semi-synthetic as recommended by Rover and MG.

Very true about the K-Series. We have a wide range in the family fleet. 1.8s, 1.8 VVCs, 1.4s and 1.8Ts. All have around 100,000 miles and in regular daily use. My old MGF is showing north of 120,000 miles and bursts into life as soon as I turn the key. Soon settles down to a healthy purr. Far faster than my 1.8Ts fire up which need a second, maybe two to fire up. They have improved since I used some Redex in their tanks twice recently.

I do change the Oil on all the cars at around half the manufacturer recommended mileage intervals. That includes the 620ti as good oil is essential for turbocharger health and longevity... on both the T and K-Series. Oil is much cheaper to renew than Turbochargers or even engines.

My son bought a very high mileage 16v K-Series Rover Metro off a Polish Guy who used it for a UK-Poland regular commute. Close on 200,000 miles if I remember correctly and still running strong.

 

If it helps you, I recently took my Rover 75 diesel to a garage in a village in Huddersfield for a service (too fat to get under car!) a few weeks back and he said he services car with 5w30 semi-synthetic. Not sure of what the brand is, because it came in massive vat-like containers, so probably some no name brand Since Rover specify 10w40 semi-synthetic in the log book, that's what I use, and that was the oil I brought with me when it went in for a service I normally buy the oil from either EuroCarParts when it's on sale, or from Home Bargains, but I think I might plump for some oil designed for stop-start

I know my car is a diesel, but it is the same oil I threw in my 1.4l petrol Rover 45 when I had it. If the boot fits, and all that...

 

Probably also worth noting that your 75 diesel engine is a BMW, so may have differing needs from the Rover petrol ?

 

I have been reading this thread for the last few days. As stated by Rover the correct oil is 10W40 Semi Synthetic. If you use that you wont go wrong. My 25s engine is sitting on well over 120K, its always been run on 10W40 Semi to this day from when it was in my old MG ZR, and from the day i fitted into my 25 which only showed 43K on the clock. The old engine i took out of the 25 had been run on what looked like regurgitated chip fat as even though it had only 43K on it when it was cold it sounded like a machine gun. From what i can gather it has been run on what ever the previous owner found lying about at work.

I always changed my oil on the 120K motor at least twice a year, using a genuine MG Rover Filter, and i always used a good quality 10W40 Semi synthetic oil. The engine is sweet, other than a little tappet rattle when its cold, it doesn't burn any oil and pulls like it always did. Why risk using anything else when you don't have to, its pointless.

I have now been put in the position where for me getting 10W40 Semi synthetic is nigh on impossible as its just not a common grade you find in Canada where my car now is. The assistant at the local Canadian Tire looked at me as if i was a mental case when i asked if they had any 10W40 Semi Synthetic, Or Blended Synthetic as they call it here. I have now had to buy Penzoil 5W40 Platinum Euro Synthetic as its pretty much the nearest viscosity i can find. I don't foresee any issues using this as my engine is not a VVC unit and as it gets a bit nippy here in the winter the lower cold rated viscosity will probably help.


I will next week after it stops snowing for the first time be filling my car with a non-recommended oil when i do its oil and filter change. I'll report back if the car makes any new noises or changes in any other way.


Unless you find yourself in the same position as me i cannot see the point in deviating from the manufacture recommended oil unless you really have to :nerd:

 

Didn't know there were Rover 25s and MG ZRs in Canada. Given the much lower winter temperatures 5w40 could even be a better alternative over there.

"Machine Gun" noises with the K-Series can be a sign of poor oil maintenance. Cylinder Heads I have rebuilt show signs of severe oil residue build up ( varnish ~ a sure sign of poor or non-existent oil maintenance ) on key components like Cam Followers ( Tappets ) . That oil "varnish" residue means the Followers are sticky ( slow to return or even partial seizure) and that causes the much higher noise levels. Sometimes in even a healthy engine there are noisy tappets on cold start up until the oil and engine warms.

Once again its the old story. Oil is far cheaper than an engine or turbocharger repair or replacement.

I change the oil in my cars using 10-40 S-S at about half the recommended mileage intervals. Those large oil change intervals recommended by many manufacturers are designed for new cars with fleet managed high mileage car costs in mind. Not MGs and Rovers which are now mostly over fifteen years old and often much older.

The 120,000 mile 1.8 K-Series in my MGF bursts into life as soon as I turn the key and settles down to a nice healthy engine sound as good as the day it left the showroom new. Same with my MG ZS.

 

My Rover 25 is only in Canada because i didn't want to leave it behind when i emigrated. Probably cost me about 5 times more than it was worth to export it. Its also fun driving a RHD on the other side of the road



I wish it was only the head that was the issue. The old engine was very cranky when it started from cold and even when warm it rumbled quite a bit. When i finally did manage to strip it down there was very little oil at the top of the engine, and the crank had quite deep scores on the main bearing faces. The bearings were even worse. Not to mention the score marks on the piston skirts and bores.



The engine was pretty much toast. All that because the previous owner couldn't be bothered to look after it. I got the car for less than £100, after installing a new engine its been a really reliable car for the most part. I used to do regular runs to Aberdeen in it from near Birmingham and not once did it let me down.


These days i don't have a tendency to take it far as parts are a little harder to get over here :surprise:

 

From what you now describe about the old engine, that would appear to be an example of total neglect.

I do not get this "More to repair than the car is worth scenario". So if a car is worth £2000 and needs £500 spent on it that's worth doing. On the other hand if a car is worth £200 ( or less than £100 in your case ) it's not worth spending £100 on it.

The last three cars I've purchased I did not go looking for. Folks on car web sites knowing my liking to breath new life in to cars they have given up on, have offered their vehicles to me for little money. £200 and the last one £75 which was the figures they would have to pay to have it taken away or get it to the scrapyard them selves and weigh in for scrap value.

I have spent closing on £1000 on the £75 car and much time getting it into shape. It is now my reliable daily driver. If I were to sell it, it would go for much more than £1000. It's now worth far more to me than a mere £1000.

As I say, I do not get it. I regularly visit my favourite local car breaker/dismantlers to check for new arrivals of interest to me. Not just MGs and Rovers, the fine old cars thrown away in the UK sometimes defy belief. In other countries, those same cars would be both treasured and held in higher value regard. Most of those fine old cars are those traded in ( part exchanged ) against a newer car. Such are the UK trading constraints, dealers no longer risk selling on these fine old cars so weigh them in for scrap ... in their thousands Nationwide. Those constraints designed to protect consumer interests result in consumers paying far more for their motoring than was once the case.

That's how I see these things.

Until I tackled the job myself, I had no idea how easy and quickly it is to swap a Rover K-Series engine in a Rover 25, 45 or even a 75 and of course their MG versions. Years ago, it was my resourceful son and his young Rover/MG enthusiast friends who inspired me when I saw them do quick engine swaps on the hard standing in front of my garage using my engine crane and tools. You CAN teach an old dawg new tricks... . Previously, my engine swaps were the much heavier O and T-Series ... those are much harder work.

 

My MGF has been in Canada since early 2011. For the past 30,484 miles, the only oil that has been used in it has been fully synthetic Castrol Edge 5W40. As Canuck mentioned, 10W40 semi-synthetic is not readily available here. 10W40 is available but normally from specialist sources in my experience.

Just this morning a sent a friend, who worked in Esso's lubricant research facilities here in Sarnia his whole career, a question about 5W40 vs 10W40. I'll also ask him about semi vs fully synthetic when I see him tonight.

 

I spoke to my friend last night and he said that the cut-off for oil grades on the chart shown in the MGF's workshop manual are very arbitrary and that there is no risk in using 5W40 in place of the recommended 10W40. He also said there is no harm in using a fully synthetic oil in place of semi-synthetic.