[steviejones133]

Decided to replace my coolant tank with a much nicer, much cleaner one that I sourced from one of my local scrapyards. Easy job, took about 15 minutes to 'turkey baster' out the current tank, disconnect, fit new tank, reconnect and refill. Much better.

 

[steviejones133]

Received the second of my replacement 'colour coded'door handles that I've been buying off eBay (it's taken some time to try and find handles that were in a reasobale state) - idea being to change my black bits for colour coded air side scoops (already done), upgrade to motorised leccy mirrors and door handles. I wasn't expecting a courier to deliver on a Sunday....still, set about cleaning both handles up and removing years of crud and tarnishes and scratches from all over. Pretty pleased with how they've come out.

Now just waiting for the mirrors to arrive - one is brand new, the other as good as, or so I was told.......

 

[steviejones133]

Used the Autoglym kit. Cleaner and proofer. The proofer leaves streaks that take a bit of shifting on the windows and paintwork if you don't clean it off pdq. It does say to mask off these areas in the instructions though. The top wasn't that dirty but having just got the car I wanted to proof it before the bad weather starts. Seems ok but obviously too soon to tell.

I've found that its beneficial to have a bucket of suds and a microfiber towel on stand-by when using the AG kit for this exact reason. Any overspray of the protector can then be dealt with immediately. Actually, I just re-proofed mine the other day and now the water beads as if it were on waxed paintwork......I think the AG kit is a very good piece of kit.

Some pics of when I first used the AG stuff: http://forums.mg-rover.org/mgf-mgtf...2/couple-snaps-after-wash-693281/#post7259985

 

[steviejones133]

Well, not so much as what I did Today but what I did on Sunday - little drive down to Stoke (in glorious sunshine with the top down all day) to pick up a lovely set of Mike Satur Mk1 Chrome roll hoops along with a set of mud flaps! - hoops look amazing once cleaned up - look like new. Still in two minds about the flaps and wether to utilise them or not....still, they got a good clean up as well.

Contacted Mr Satur yesterday and he kindly agreed to furnish me - for a reasonable price - with a cutting template and speaker mounting brackets as the car they came from was speakerless in the T-bar.....as soon as they arrive and as soon as I get some spare time and nice weather, they'll be getting installed with pics to follow. All the other fixings are stashed in the garage, ready to be abused.....

Not bad for £125 :grin:

 

[steviejones133]

Nice buy, Stevie, if you are looking to get rid of the mudflaps, I am interested, been looking for a full set at the right price. Give us a shout if you are looking to part ways with 'em!


Sundance (Dave)

Thanks Dave. Duly noted on the mud flaps.....I'm 60-40 in favour of fitting them at the mo, but if I have a change of heart you'll be the first to know :wink:

 

[steviejones133]

Cheers mate, just noticed yours is a F, I have a TF so not sure that they still fit.
Anyone advise?


Sundance

Funny you should mention that because I was Googling last night and found that they are not an exact fit for the TF - I did read this which suggest the same:

mgtf mudflaps do not fit ! - The MGF Register Forums

I'm sure that I've seen 'em on a TF though......yep. CJJ's, but he does say that they are specific ones for the TF which aren't my kind.....

http://forums.mg-rover.org/mgf-mgtf-sponsored-mgfntfbitz-12/mgf-mud-flaps-tf-503985/#post5392963

 

[steviejones133]

Maybe they will look better on your car then Stevie!
Put the piccies up when you have the roll hoops and/or flaps on!


Sundance

Yeah, I think I will fit 'em - had a look at them Today and they do look quite nice and it will cut down on paint damage. I'll post up some pics of both when I've got around to sorting them out.....still gotta fit my newly acquired colour coded door handles an leccy mirrors along with the wiring loom I sourced from a donor car at my local scrappie.......

So many things to do, so little time.....good luck with your hunt for TF flaps mate!!

 

[steviejones133]

Well, almost 12 months to the day and yet ANOTHER numpty decided to crash into me.....I must have really bad luck in September :frown:

http://forums.mg-rover.org/mgf-mgtf...y-first-part-577689/index120.html#post8099825

Not so much as to what I've done, but what some numpty taxi driver driving a Peugot Partner did today to my MG - smacked her up the rear end whilst I was stationary at a roundabout whilst waiting my turn to get on it in the usual 'give way to the right' fashion.....felt the impact and my heart immediately sank. Got out to inspect the damage and upon initial inspection, not too bad......rear passenger side of the bumper has been pushed in, bumper in tact, scuff marks and some flaked paint. Not sure if the crash cans would have been damaged but at least I'm insured (and so is the bloody taxi driver) so it should (fingers crossed) get sorted out.

My worst nightmare is that a respray of the bumper will not match - anyone with any experience of repairs care to comment or advise me?

Not only was it bad enough to be crashed into again, as luck would have it the driver in question managed to damage the rear bumper all over again after it was fixed and resprayed after the above incident.

I just can't believe it.....I'd machine polished the car to almost perfection over the last few weeks and she was looking beautiful. This prang isn't massive - some old lady in an Insignia decided to reverse into my stationary car in a car park.....it was only my car and hers in the entire car park yet she still managed to reverse smack into my passenger rear quarter panel and bumper and mess the paintwork up very nicely.

Next year, I'm staying indoors in September.............

 

[steviejones133]

Had the amber engine malfunction light illuminate yesterday, so Today I took her down to my local Rover specialist in Wrexham (R & J Motors). They very kindly hooked up their OBD reader (free of charge) and there were about half a dozen faults including short on fuel pump. misfire, catalytic converter and a few others. We (or rather he did) cleared them and touch wood, the light has stayed off thus far. I have a feeling that my rattling cat might have been the culprit - need to get that changed anyway soon.

Other than that, I finished off my project to 'colour code' my 1.6 mpi - had already changed the side air scoops, recently managed to upgrade from manual black plastic mirrors to colour coded electric ones and finally changed the door handles this morning so that they are all Tahiti Blue JRJ.

All in all, pleased with Today - next thing on the agenda is to fit the Mike Satur Mk1 chrome roll hoops that I acquired recently. A job for a nice dry day no doubt! - then it'll be on with my colour coded hard top for the winter.....god it's getting cold already!

 

[steviejones133]

I need to change my handles. Did you add remote locking/unlocking? If not how do I stand with the MOT if I can't unlock the passenger door from outside?
When I get back to the uk this is on the to do list.

I already had remote central locking so for me it was just a case of swap out the plastics and replace the original door locking barrels into the new handles - not sure how you would go about adding central locking if you didn't have it. I'm not sure if it would be a fail if you couldn't undo from the outside but curiously the passenger handle that I originally had did have a keyhole but the colour coded replacement I bought did not. I still placed the original barrel into the space simply for central locking purposes, but there is no way to undo it with a key unless one drilled through the plastic blank. In which case, I guess you could say that I couldn't undo my passenger door if my central locking failed.........

I found it quite odd that my base 1.6 mpi had a passenger handle where a key could be inserted but all of the colour coded ones I've seen do not, regardless of central locking or not. Personally, I'd have preferred the ability to put a key in, but alas no. Anyway, here's an eBay listing of what I removed and replaced:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MGF-MG-TF...324295?hash=item51ed675987:g:6xgAAOSwpLNX~gSe

Oh, just found this which may be of some help if you plan to upgrade to central locking:

http://www.mgf-tf-central.co.uk/garvin/mglatch.htm?zoom_highlight=central+locking

 

[steviejones133]

Can you tell me how the sensor on the bottom of the res disconnects . Do I pull the sensor connector down. Or pull it to the side.

My tank doesn't have the sensor fitted, unlike later models. I think if you have the correct tank (part number PCF000140 with the additional sensor plug hole in the bottom) if you remove the old tank it should pull straight down off the bottom of the tank and should be push fitted back to the new tank. I found this guide about fitting a low level coolant sensor and the guide seems to indicate that fitting of the sensor is simply a push fit, so disassembly should be the reverse of assembly.


MGF/TF coolant level sensor

 

[steviejones133]

Well, Today and Yesterday (mainly) I set aside plenty of time to fit the Mike Satur Mk1 Chrome roll hoops that I bought from our very own Dave & Kayleigh (MGRover Mobile Mechanics - Derby). They were breaking an MOT fail that they had in and I spotted them on their eBay listing for the car. I Dealt with Kayleigh over the hoops and some mud flaps (yet to fit) and a good deal was struck. Big thanks go out to them both, you're both stars!!

Anyway, took me some time as I'd never fitted anything remotely like this before. I'd spotted a few "how to's" on here and coupled with some instructions mailed to me very kindly by Mr Satur himself, I set about the task......

They are fiddly little things to fit and even the instructions from Mike were not crystal clear, but with time and patience, I got there. Plenty of time taken to chisel out the back of the T-bar and refitted my original MGF rear speakers with the bits n bobs I bought from Mike - template, speaker mounts and a few nuts and bolts. I managed to get away unscathed by the sharp wood chisel required to trim the T-bar to fit.

I picked up a neat little trick from the forum - use a 40mm rubber washer from some plumbing joints to tidy up any rough or unsightly edges from where the holesaw was used in the T-bar - finishes things off nicely, I think.

So, without further ado, here are some pics of the finished product:

 

[steviejones133]

Got a genuine MGF Trophy boot spoiler as my latest addition - arrived in very good used condition, but need it respraying anyway from silver to tahiti blue to match. Booked in with the body shop on 7th Dec to sort the spoiler and some damage after a recent rear end prang.

 

[steviejones133]

Put the hard top on ready for the winter months. This is the second winter for me with a hard top and it instantly transforms the car IMHO. I know a lot of people class them as a waste of time & effort etc, but for me, it's an essential item for daily winter driving and I'm so glad I bought one when I did.

 

[steviejones133]

Sadly, the person before me had removed the original and fitted a JVC unit, the standard one, even second hand are about twice the price of the JVC unit due to it being the same as the BMW business unit. So, if any of you have one of the ones above (XQE 100) and are not using it, they are going for silly prices on fleabay

Erm, maybe it's just me but what exactly does the OEM head unit have to offer over and above a much more modern unit other than it being OEM? - as for BMW business, what benefit is that to quality of sound reproduction? - I guess if people want to pay 'silly money' for them then they are indeed silly.

Not wanting to rain on your parade, but pray tell, what (other than OEM) advantages are there.........enlighten me because I'm all ears.........especially when it comes to music. To me, going back to an OEM unit would be akin to going back to using a cassette walkman over something like an iPod............

 

[steviejones133]

Today she went in for a new catalytic converter - the OEM one was rattling around like a good 'un inside, not bad after 16 years I guess. No probs removing the cat as I had used marine grade stainless steel long nuts bolts & washers....the bugger was the lambda - ended up having to angle grind away part of the boss to free it up. Anyway, an hour later, we left relatively unscathed and the new moggy makes a whole world of difference....even the exhaust note sounds much better.

Here's the car going in ready for the cat to be 'castrated' - well, not quite true, as at least this moggy didn't have to have its nuts chopped off with an angle grinder :surprise:

 

[steviejones133]

New stainless steel downpipe and TT mk.7 exhaust fitted today!
Lots of peeps said they are really loud, but Daz at Bitz said come over and test drive a car with one fitted, and it aint that bad at all....so a deal was done and now have a more sporty tone to my TF!


Sundance

I have exactly the same setup - well, I do have a Toyo stainless steel manifold as well - and I agree with you totally in as far as loudness is concerned. I can drive mine around without it roaring like a boy racer, but when I bury my foot, she opens up beautifully and if I really put the foot to the floor, when she hits around 4,000 in 2nd....OMG, the rasp and noise is just wonderful when accelerating hard!

Glad you like yours - money well spent :wink:

 

[steviejones133]

52mm TB and panel filter are on the cards for me after chrimbo - my F doesn't have the TB as standard and although I do have a TF style airbox, I'm still gonna chuck a performance filter in it and perhaps redirect the airflow intake to the passenger side engine vent.......the standard TF box design is as good as it can get (over the older style F box) but chucking in a better performance filter can't do any harm.....

 

[steviejones133]

Nothing major, just changed the battery in my Lucas fob. Tiny little job that has been slipping my mind for ages. Now, the range and reaction of pressing the lock/unlock/superlock is much better - arms/disarms from a greater distance and I only have to press once to unlock and twice to superlock - before required multiple presses to get it to react, even from close by range.

 

[steviejones133]

First day of what I would call 'nice weather' this year, so off came the hard top, down went the soft top and away we go!! - roll on even better weather!!