Tom's MG ZT 1.8T 160 *SOLD*

[JoeyTaffy93]

Nope, bought a Rover 25 instead for £500! 43,000 miles, new uprated HG, waterpump and cambelt less than 7,000 miles ago, tax and tested.

[Mark2000cc]

Lovely car tom :-)

[ady]

Nice one mate can't go wrong for 500

[JoeyTaffy93]

Exactly, it drives lovely and for a 1.4 it feels rather pokey and lively!

[MG Tom]

A bit of an update

I've now done well over a thousand miles, and I have to say that I'm very pleased. I'm averaging 31mpg over mixed driving (calculated the proper way, no IPK in mine ) I can't fault that, it has so much low down grunt it doesn't need to be revved hard, but it also has a 'useful' amount of power for overtaking and entertaining

I've almost finished a mega-service. I found a service sheet HERE and thought I may as well do a combined A/B/C and D service to basically give me a head start and know everything is just so. I've just got a gearbox oil change and brake/clutch fluid change to do and I'm done. I have receipts for the cambelt and headgasket at 92k in 2011 - a quick inspection shows the cambelt looking brand new so it can wait a few years It has however been fitted with new PAS and AC belts.

I've replaced the spark plugs and swapped the coil packs to the ones from my ZS 120, this has cured my misfire and rough running, although I think brand new coil packs would be better still, when funds allow.

I have changed my boost solenoid as per my separate how to HERE (link to be inserted). I took the opportunity to upgrade to silicone hoses too, they look much nicer to boot! This has cured my intermittent acceleration between 3 and 4k rpm



Unfortunately I've been losing a very small but still concerning amount of coolant. I have an intermittant splutter soon after a cold start so I will change my inlet manifold gasket to the latest Viton type. Also my top hose has a small nick in it where it has been rubbing on the radiator (something for other 1.8 owners to check!!), and strangely the pipes seem to get sweaty. This pipe is only available as an assembly at just over £100 delivered, so I have bought some rubber lined silicone hoses from ASH, the quality is superb and came in at under £40 delivered for the 2 top hoses and the turbo coolant feed hose. I'll be fitting these at the weekend, and will post photos. Some Harris hose repair tape is holding up for the time being (I recommend keeping some in the car, its good stuff), and I am checking the coolant daily





I also noticed that one of the air con pipes has been rubbing on the bonnet sound proofing. A quick wrap around with some self-amalgamating tape will hopefully stop it rubbing through.







I've also fitted my club sticker and tax disk holder, thanks J1MBO







I got fed up with the aftermarket stereo and separate Parrot kit, so I have fitted a high-end Pioneer unit with built in Parrot. I am planning a good quality amplifier and speaker set up (nothing boy racer here I promise), and this head unit is very good quality and perfect for the job. The Parrot works perfectly, and the display can be matched very closely to the OEM illumination indeed. The microphone has been wired to underneath the grille in the roof light so is complete hidden from view, and works perfectly there.

My iPod is wired up into the top cubby hole and there is also a normal USB for plugging in a memory stick or similar. I can also charge my iPhone etc. Its a great unit and I don't think it looks out of place. I'd be interested to hear what people think

Wires through into the top cubby, I have since fitted a grommet here too.



Illumination matches well I think, although you can have any colour you want, you can even have the buttons different to the display!



I'm pleased to find out I have the MG comfort suspension, it really does ride well, sporty but compliant, just how an MG saloon should be Picture of the build sticker for my reference really.



The previous owner had fitted some genuine MG carpet mats, but also had a genuine set of brand new MG rubber mats, albeit in LHD fitment. They do fit perfectly in every way, except there is no cut out for the foot rest. Some careful tracing around the foot rest and a tickle with a craft knife and it fits a treat, nobody would ever know



Oh, and it had an outing at MGs in the Park, I did link to my photo album in the meet thread, but it would be rude not to post one HERE too.



I really do like the chrome swage line, not too common on the ZT but really lifts the disappointing grey paint Chrome skull caps would be perfect I think

That's it for now.

Plans for the future are a full bodywork detail, polish or replace my poorly projector headlights, fit a replacement exhaust (probably stainless), refurbish the wheels, fit chrome skull caps, condition and tidy up the seats a little bit, paint the interior grey trim in piano black, fit parking sensors, remove the tow bar, fit 190 brakes and maybe a cheeky remap

Any comments positive or negative welcome.

[danbmx_69]

some very good work you have done there keep it up

[MG Tom]

Originally Posted by danbmx_69

some very good work you have done there keep it up

Thanks Dan.

Hope to be doing more interesting stuff soon, just want to get 100% on top of maintenance first

[Mark2000cc]

Great work tom, looking very nice :-)

[MG Tom]

New plates fitted - made so much difference and I'm delighted with them.

Separate thread HERE

And a quick pic!

[MG Tom]

A few cooling system bits sorted today

My top hoses were in bad condition, so took the opportunity to replace them with silicone hoses from ASH. Top service from autosiliconehoses.com, they are excellent quality, arrived quickly and at a great price. Certainly cheaper than the £100 Rimmers wanted for the top hose assembly. The hoses are rubber lined so absolutely no concerns with OAT coolant



All fitted beautifully after a little trim of the 90 degree bend to bring it away from the radiator. I went for black, but many different colours are available. I also took the opportunity to fit stainless worm-drive clips too, much nicer than the spring clips fitted as standard.



Inlet manifold gasket replaced:



Header tank cleaned with a dishwasher tablet followed by some vinegar. Came up very nice indeed







Throttle body cleaned out.



Old and new thermostats tested, just to be sure



System pressure tested to 650mmHg for 10 minutes, all perfect! Really impressed with my Sealey TP69 fluid extractor, its a doddle to use, and T-Cut's 'How To' was very handy indeed!



And of course refilled with a 55:45 OAT:H20 mixture, so that should be the cooling system sorted for a while

I also ran a Comma Air Con cleaner canister through the system to clean the aircon out, it was a bit whiffy, lovely and fresh now. I really rate these canisters!

Oh, and I fixed the n/s indicator, not the bulb gone as expected but the bulb holder was bit loose. Levered up the bottom spring and moved the connector towards the middle a bit, job jobbed.

On the down side, I have found I need a new Shannon tube, and I really must buy some new badges!!

Over and out for today. Comments welcome, good or bad! Comments help with the motivation I think, even if the updates are a bit boring