How did your ZT/75 love start and do you feel the same now?

[TomRS]

So on the back of another thread i made about where my love started it got me thinking.
Whats peoples stories how did you come to get your first zt/75 and why? and then why do you buy more and more?


My MG love started about 6 months ago i needed a work car to come over to and from barrow every week as i was putting too many miles on the RS6 so the missus found a K1.8 ZT for £400 on trader, as it was just round the corner from our house and i thought ideal runabout lets go take a look its literally in walking distance and very cheap!
Never ever looked at MG's or Rovers till that day, it was a mk2 in amazing condition and only 64k on the clock.
Drove great, but it was HORRENDOUSLY slow and i ended up flat out everywhere so it was bad on fuel and i decided it had to go, i fixed a few issues on it, serviced it and cleaned it i then made my mind up that they were really easy and quite enjoyable car to work on.

off i went into the unknown looking for diesel ZT's as i had my heart set on a MG now but wanted something a bit more economical.

So found a diesel trophy blue mk1 for £750 this required much TLC including full service, master cylinder, injectors cleaning etc etc so i did all my learning on that car and it was a joy to play around with, then came all the upgrades 190 brakes, mk2 seats, braided lines, egr blank etc etc as i found out more and more by joining this very group.
Then i liked them so much i kinda went a bit mad bidding on cars on eBay, had 5 and 2 breakers at one point.
a Solar red 190 Mk1
Anthracite 190 Mk1
XPG 190 Mk2
Trophy Blue CDTi Mk1
Trophy blue Tourer CDTi Mk1
Starlight Silver Tourer CDTi Mk1
Trophy blue 190 Mk1

And now this mk2 190 SE on LPG.

This ones a keeper though as it truly has got everything.

Probably end up with a few more over the years as I really want to try a 1.8t before I throw the towel in, but I wont ever be parting with this mk2.

Few pics of them dotted around here.

[chambl01]

Originally Posted by TomRS

So on the back of another thread i made about where my love started it got me thinking.
Whats peoples stories how did you come to get your first zt/75 and why? and then why do you buy more and more?


My MG love started about 6 months ago i needed a work car to come over to and from barrow every week as i was putting too many miles on the RS6 so the missus found a K1.8 ZT for £400 on trader, as it was just round the corner from our house and i thought ideal runabout lets go take a look its literally in walking distance and very cheap!
Never ever looked at MG's or Rovers till that day, it was a mk2 in amazing condition and only 64k on the clock.
Drove great, but it was HORRENDOUSLY slow and i ended up flat out everywhere so it was bad on fuel and i decided it had to go, i fixed a few issues on it, serviced it and cleaned it i then made my mind up that they were really easy and quite enjoyable car to work on.

off i went into the unknown looking for diesel ZT's as i had my heart set on a MG now but wanted something a bit more economical.

So found a diesel trophy blue mk1 for £750 this required much TLC including full service, master cylinder, injectors cleaning etc etc so i did all my learning on that car and it was a joy to play around with, then came all the upgrades 190 brakes, mk2 seats, braided lines, egr blank etc etc as i found out more and more by joining this very group.
Then i liked them so much i kinda went a bit mad bidding on cars on eBay, had 5 and 2 breakers at one point.
a Solar red 190 Mk1
Anthracite 190 Mk1
XPG 190 Mk2
Trophy Blue CDTi Mk1
Trophy blue Tourer CDTi Mk1
Starlight Silver Tourer CDTi Mk1
Trophy blue 190 Mk1

And now this mk2 190 SE on LPG.

This ones a keeper though as it truly has got everything.

Probably end up with a few more over the years as I really want to try a 1.8t before I throw the towel in, but I wont ever be parting with this mk2.

Few pics of them dotted around here.

Great story, beautiful cars.

[TomRS]

Thanks mate,

Was hoping i'd get some really good stories but unfortunately no ones really given theres!

[Lord of Hog]

I'd always had Mitsubishis (and still have my lovely Outlander 1). However I finally had to admit to myself that my last one (FTO Yobbomobile) just wasn't really suitable for someone in their 50s so I sold it to a local enthusiast and set about looking for something else without any real idea of what I was looking for.

I saw my X-reg 2.5 on eBay for £480. It was only a few miles down the road and I thought it looked vaguely interesting. I put down a minimum bid in the certainty that someone else would outbid me, so I didn't even bother to go and look at it.

A few days later I became the proud (and surprised) owner of a 75 with no idea what it did, how it worked, what was likely to go wrong or how to fix it. I happened upon this august forum purely by chance. On joining up my first impression was what nice people were here. A stark contrast to the cliquey FTO owners' club.

Since that point I've rediscovered the joy of spending weekends up to my elbows in engine, which I hadn't done for the last 20 years. In the 8 months that I've had the car so far I've carried out the following:

Replaced thermostat (3 times - once for duff stat, once for duff pipe, once through own stupidity), replaced rear discs, pads and sensor wire, replaced VIS motors, replaced Shannon tube, replaced headlamps (dead snail in one), carried out plenum spy-hole mod, fitted Jules plenum guard to O/S and fashioned one of my own on the N/S, replaced pollen filter, fitted a K&N air filter, replaced a window switch unit, a door rubber and the O/S cantrail trim, replaced rear light seals, re-sealed boot side vents, replaced the missing jacking point rubbers, fitted a proper smiley rear plate, fitted chrome indicator bulbs, fitted LED reversing lights, number plate lights and interior lights (including vanity mirror lights), replaced upper and lower radiator hoses along with expansion tank hose, replaced plugs, replaced broken breather hoses, replaced 2 broken injectors, replaced the O ring on the injector rail front-to-back pipe, repaired my spinning boot lock. I'm currently waiting for a wheel arch liner to arrive so I can fit that along with a brake cooling duct.

In this time I think I may have racked up all of 500 miles in it (having no covered place to work I have rather been hampered by the rain). But I've strangely fallen in love with this big lumpy blue thing that everyone else seems to hate. I've learned that they're not nearly as complicated as they look. I've also learned that there's always someone out there willing to give advice and the benefit of their experience. I'm almost wanting a wet end to the year so I don't have to struggle to choose between playing with the 75 and watching my beloved Southampton FC. In short I'm hooked and I'm loving it.

[Kennyeth]

My love of them started just a bit before 2009 when a good friend bought a connie cdt.
Every time he visited me in it I admired it and kept saying to him "it`s to good for you Gaz" one time he came he said he was selling because he wanted a BRG ZT said if I "gave him £2,250 you can have it"
Two days later it was mine, and I knew nothing about Rover group and how there were a following even then in 2009.
I searched around and joined this club but never bothered with it until a few years ago while searching for a fix to a problem, cannot remember what it was but the more I came here and read how lot`s of people "lusted" about these cars I decided that no matter what fault comes up I am going to keep and repair, something that in the past I would have moved onto another car.
I got the bug so much that I bought an identical spec but a tourer in Gold to match my saloon and here we are, two nice cars that in reality I do not need, I think both cars only do about 250 miles a year but hey, those 500 mile are very very nice
Ken.

[TomRS]

Two fantastic stories!

Its strange isnt it... how you just fall in love with them, this is what i cant get my head round.
They arent anything special in real terms... and compared to a modern car are antiquate in technology.
But for some reason i get more fun and pleasure driving the MG then i do my RS6
Can someone explain that??

Its why i asked the question, they just seem to draw you in, on first glance you wouldnt even look twice but after a day of owning the keys and having a good drive, getting your hands dirty fixing and upgrading them you really do get a really strong attachment.
The only other car that i've been this attached to is my Accord, i've had that 7yrs and i think i'll have the MG for the long haul too, it'll get parked up in my garage when it becomes too hard to maintain because of cost and will become part of my classic garage.

The RS6 will go next year for something else a bit silly, probably an R8 but the Beautiful grey Zed will stay.

[chambl01]

Originally Posted by chambl01

Great story, beautiful cars.

I've always had a love affair for the 75 and ZT...I just couldn't afford one. As the years went by, I had various second hand cars with my favourite being the Ford Sierra, Vauxhall Carlton and my first Rover 400 - all great cars of there time too. So when I had the finances available, I looked endlessly through every nook and cranny of the Internet for my new 4 wheel companion. I looked at so many colours and specs it become quite overwhelming and the decision making process a confusing but exciting time.

I eventually came across an advert that had everything I could ask for and the colour outstanding. A standing ovation moment.. Lol. I went to see the car and immediately fell head over heels that this was going to be mine. I placed a cash deposit and became the proud owner of this unusual Turquoise 75 Connoisseur SE CDT. A credit to its maker.

The drive home the following day was more than I could have imagined. The comfort of the chairs and its light sandstone interior and walnut trim left me with a sense of "Wow". A truly executive car designed to perfection both inside and out.

On reading posts and links on the forum i stumbled on an interesting find. Reebs had a very interesting record of all 75/ZT specs, colours, and even price costs from manufacture. I sent him a Pm with a query of my car. He gave me an amazing record of where it was built, the time it came off the production line and that my unusual colour was in fact a monogram Lagoon Supertallic. My Car was the only 2.0 cdt connoisuer saloon model in lagoon produced; So a very exclusive car. Everyone on here is I'm sure we'll aware of Reebs love of Lagoon cars too. He kindly also found me the original forum post's when my car was for auction on EBay (before the original owner bought it)..."Small world". Never had a car with such history. Makes me love owning it even better.

I don't really know what it is about these cars but do feel they were ahead of there time. Just wish Rover was still in production here. I can only imagine how great there cars would have been...?...well they still are. Thank you Rover/MG. Proud to own one.

[aguy]

I bought a gorgeous Rover 623 in Nightfire Red from my local Rover dealer, I had a business just around the corner so my car was always serviced by them.

I was invited to the launch of the 75 at the dealer and when I sat in my first Connie SE I was absolutely gobsmacked.

The price was way out of my league but I vowed I would one day own one.

It was around 2005 I bought my first '02 plate CDT Connie SE. It was in Moonstone with cream leather and cost me around £8000. I loved that car and to this day wondered why, after 3 years ownership I sold it. I suppose it was for no other reason that I wanted a change at the time.

My wife who does not drive always commented after that, every time she saw a '75 saying how she would like us to have another. So around 18 months ago I took the plunge and bought my current Connie SE in White Gold though this time I went for the 2.5 V6, something I have never regretted.
It's a gorgeous car to drive and be in. If only I had room, like the OP!! I'm sure I would have lots of them in different colours, just to admire!!

[KWIL]

I do not like "modern" cars, horrible styling, many with large snouts at the front, not even a styled grill amonst them. Full of unnecessary gizmos, "electric" steering and plain incomfortable ride on silly oversize rims!!

[Lynyrd Skynner]

Well my love affair started just before the 6th of May 2013 I had decided I needed to spend less on fuel so the BMW E38 728i Sport had to go , then I got to thinking what can I get for around £1500 - £2000 thats good lookin and fun so I put all this info into Autotrader and the ZT popped up and I was hooked , lucky for me there was a local meet at the Caldecotte Arms Milton Keynes so I went to the meet not knowing anyone there and they turned out to be a great bunch I even went for a test drive in a members car and that was it I had to have one , afew weeks later on a sunny afternoon just browsing this forum up popped a car that made my eyes pop out it was a ZT diesel saloon in monogram paintwork the colour was Spectre , I was straight on the PMs later that night it was on my drive , as it was my daily driver the toll of that was starting to tell , to many stone chips on the front so I sold her on as I knew I could not afford to get the paint sorted and that hurt.
I then moved on to another ZT diesel in Anthracite had it a while before I sold that to by a expensive puppy would you believe , that was septemberish last year got the dog at xmas time and now that brings us right up to date where I now have the ZT 190+ Typhoon lucky for me things have changed a bit and this will not be a daily driver it will be polished to within an inch of its life and be tucked up in the garage and will come out with sunshine and meetings ......

Here is the Spectre


And the Anthricite


And the latest the Typhoon