'00 MGF. Test Results are in!

[qwerty]

So after 6 years the Cortina has been sold. The more I looked the more rot was found, I lost motivation and sold it to a friend.

I decided I wanted something I could just use preferably with a decent bit of MOT. For a while I've fancied an MGF. So I decided that was what I would look for. Keep an eye out for a well maintained, red 1.8, with history and proof of head gasket replacement etc, but that I would wait until after xmas. My reasoning was that people would be selling off unneeded second cars to pay for xmas and that at that time of year they would be a bit cheaper........


Buuuuuuuut you know how it goes..... sometimes its very easy to get a bit carried away. I was browsing some of the local cheap car pages on Facebook when I spotted this:





Literally 100yards from my house. Description read:

£250 76k Has a backfire and comes with a new wing. There is a split in the back window but is repairable.

Comments showed that it lacked MOT and any history..........I got a bit carried away and said I could take cash around straight away. The guy said ok. So I went around and give him the money. Battery flat as a fart. Jumped it off his mates 306 and it ran with a mis and wouldn't idle. So we towed it back to the house and dumped it on my drive:



Safe to say SWMBO is not at all amused! To add insult to injury when I got home and checked out the v5 its a bloody 1.6...............eurgh, why have I done this to myself!?

So a bit asking around has given me a massive list of things to check to try and trace the miss and lack of idle. 1st of all I'm going to buy a compression tester and see if its worth spending any money sorting the misfire and then working through the list.

Hey Ho. Least its red!

[qwerty]

So that was Friday.

I was busy all day yesterday and not very well this morning. Come this afternoon I fancied getting on a little bit. Get the battery charged, clean the ICAV while I wait for the compression tester, maybe even swap the holey wing for the good one.

So out I went. Whipped the battery off, went into the shed and can't find the charger anywhere. Turns out its at my parents. BUMHATS!
Well I'll get the ICAV off and give it a good clean. Can't get any of my torx bits into the gap. Need a little 1/4 wrench. BUMHATS!
Well I might as well get that holed wing swapped and make it look better. Unwrap the wing that was provided. Turns out its a bloody passenger side one! Which isn't even that bad BUMHATS!

I was a bit annoyed by this point as I really just wanted to get on, but determined to get something done, I gave the whole thing a clean out, the very first modification and took some pictures:








Gave it all a look over and the rust is all quite superficial. No welding needed (YAAAAAY!), so once I've found out if the engine is healthy and its just an ignition or fuel issue, I'll crack on with the bubbles as I have everything I need barring a can of the red paint.

Also it turns out that the splitter which I was a bit unsure of, is a mildly desirable KH Aero splitter, which is designed to reduce the front end lift that can occur at speed in these.

[baggabones]

Looks good (especially at that money) I'd have thought a misfire and lack of idle will just be a simple timing/fuelling issue and nothing more sinister

[Midas]

Look at your ECU connectors for the source of the misfire and idle issues.

[qwerty]

Sept 6, 2015 18:52:55 GMT Midas said:

Look at your ECU connectors for the source of the misfire and idle issues.

For breaks and loose connections? Will do thanks for the tip.

What I have noticed so far is that MG Rover peeps are a very friendly bunch!

[Matt Hesketh]

Love a cheap car, nothing like the feeling of getting one back on the road and having some fun. Bought my first mx5 for £200 with similar issues.

Have fun mate

[qwerty]

As long as the engine isn't completely goosed I'm going to persevere with it. Most of the jobs that need doing are noce straight forward mechanical things. No welding!!!

[dodgerover]

A friend is running one as a track day car with loads of added boost, he recommends using waterless coolant once you are sure it's not going to come back out. He hasn't had his fail to make progress yet although it did have a rebuild over the winter to be ready for more boost.

[Good Scrap]

Most likely ignition issues. I'd swap the plugs for a start.

Not sure on if the mgf has vents above the engine, the elise does and water gets into the spark plug recesses and causes a misfire. Blow them out with an air line before removing plugs, dry the leads etc.
Other possibilities are dizzy cap/rotor arm and I've had a coil go, these are mounted on the block on the elise and a devil to get at.

Brian

[qwerty]

This is a late spec car and has had the coils replaced recently in an attempt to fix the miss.

[marinanut]

Engine access is a lot easier with the cover panel off.... with the hood up, unclip the five spring clips around the 'parcels shelf' and pull the back of the hood up, tie it out of the way. Lift out the sound deadening (it's quite heavy) and you will find two bolt in panels under there, the round window is for the fuel sender access, the square window is engine access. You may (will) have to remove the rear cockpit trim behind the seats (couple of screws, careful if there are speakers fitted)and unbolt the spreader rail (6mm bolts each end). You can then unbolt the big panel and hey presto!, one engine in all it's glory.

Best of luck with it; once you 'tune in' to the handling and set up the tyre pressures how you feel comfortable they go very well, but wait until the oil temp gets above 60deg before kicking the ar53 out of it! The list of 'options' is embarrasingly long for these cars and the TF and there are plenty getting into scrapyards to acquire 'that bit' you need!!!

[The Jackeria]

I used to have one of these, oil on the top of the sparks caused my idle problems, new rocker gasket, sweet as a nut! Loved it. Tyres also make a lot of difference to handling, it was horrible at anything above 50mph on country roads and downright scary on the motorway until I changed them, following literally all the dips in the road.

[grizz]

Good luck unearthing all the issues cheaply.

Thereafter, just enjoy it.

Looks like Marinanut knows his way around.

[dikkehemaworst]

Sept 6, 2015 20:20:10 GMT qwerty said:

This is a late spec car and has had the coils replaced recently in an attempt to fix the miss.

With quality items?

[qwerty]

Sept 7, 2015 10:50:07 GMT dikkehemaworst said:

Sept 6, 2015 20:20:10 GMT qwerty said:

This is a late spec car and has had the coils replaced recently in an attempt to fix the miss.

With quality items?

Euro Car Parts so probably not.

[Speedle]

My mum had a TF version of one of these, no end of issues with it.

The back window split like yours which is very common. Very easy to fix though just drill out the rivets and replace and re-rivet. Took me about an hour and a bit to do.

Real shame such little effort was put into making these cars solid by MG as they are superb to drive on the twisties and very pleasing to look at. The paint on my mums was so thin when the sun hit it you could see the primer below, and that was one of the special edition anniversary models.

Anyway enough telling you what you already know, to me that's a bargain buy and once you ensure a decent head gasket and head bolts they can be pretty reliable motors I'd recommend getting the wings off asap as they hide the rot something awful so nip it in the bud asap

[marinanut]

Check the wiring from the ECU to the coil packs; it lays on the head and the wiring and plugs can get crispy or even come adrift from the socket. I had one plug pop off on the R75 and that caused a very bad misfire; also check the coil packs are fitted correctly (should be 1 & 3 and 2 & 4). If not you will get half power...

[Midas]

Sept 6, 2015 19:12:59 GMT qwerty said:

Sept 6, 2015 18:52:55 GMT Midas said:

Look at your ECU connectors for the source of the misfire and idle issues.

For breaks and loose connections? Will do thanks for the tip.

What I have noticed so far is that MG Rover peeps are a very friendly bunch!

The connectors used aren't the best, I'm in the process of replacing my ECU plug and socket with new items as I get a different running problem every time I wiggle the plug. I'm running a kit car with a rear mounted K series just for extra fun, if you do end up taking the head off make sure you fit a decent MLS gasket, new head bolts and a water pump.

[qwerty]

Sept 7, 2015 12:38:09 GMT Speedle said:

The back window split like yours which is very common. Very easy to fix though just drill out the rivets and replace and re-rivet. Took me about an hour and a bit to do.
I'd recommend getting the wings off asap as they hide the rot something awful so nip it in the bud asap

The window is going to be fixed with a bit of "Gorilla Tape" for the moment. If the car makes the cut it will be replaced. Same with the wings really. Everything is banking on the engine not being borked. Once I find that out and sort the running problems I plan on working through the car as a rolling restomod project.

Sept 7, 2015 14:11:01 GMT marinanut said:

Check the wiring from the ECU to the coil packs; it lays on the head and the wiring and plugs can get crispy or even come adrift from the socket. I had one plug pop off on the R75 and that caused a very bad misfire; also check the coil packs are fitted correctly (should be 1 & 3 and 2 & 4). If not you will get half power...

Its supposedly had that checked, but once I get a multi meter I'm going to check that for myself as well.

Sept 7, 2015 14:26:55 GMT Midas said:

The connectors used aren't the best, I'm in the process of replacing my ECU plug and socket with new items as I get a different running problem every time I wiggle the plug. I'm running a kit car with a rear mounted K series just for extra fun, if you do end up taking the head off make sure you fit a decent MLS gasket, new head bolts and a water pump.

I'll put that on the list. If I take the head off I was planning on an MLS head gasket. Was also thinking about fitting the Land Rover spreader plate thing. Whats your opinion on that fix?

[peter96]

Can't beat that for price. I had one years ago and thought it was a great car. The rear window cracked on ours and I left it with a local car trimmer to replace it. He replaced it with a clear screen which was loads better for seeing out of than the original greeny blue one. Funny my neighbour has one at the moment and has had a misfire in it. Changed plugs leads etc but misfire was still there. Left it with the local garage who swapped the rotor arm and hey presto smooth running resumed. Let's hope you can sort yours as easily. With regard to the splitter I would leave it if you're likely to be doing much motorway work. They do go a bit light at high speeds.