[GT160]

Hi everyone,

Hope everyone is well. I have owned my ZR since approx 2006 , Trophy Yellow MK1 MG ZR 160

I wander who is still about and own their Zr a warm hello to those who i have not met and and a hi again to those that have been in touch before.

( I will dig out some old picture soon must be on an old floppy disk or cd disc somewhere)

Anyways its been on and off the road more for life and circumstances. Anyways its now got to the stage where it is need for big TLC. Soon it will be going in for a full respray as unfortunately when it wasnt being used the sun got to the lacquer etc. Im sticking with trophy yellow and then im finally going to do some modifications. I have got the ABC lights in the loft and a set of ZS wheels to go on, which im still debating on whether to go down the route of silver sparkle as o/e or white.

When i was younger i always had ideas of modifying her but never had the money, ability or time to do some, but now i am in the more fortunate position to do a few bits. I am just not sure whats the right thing to do to be honest.

Car is currently completely O/E including straights. Few usual problems, boot wiring loom, an exhaust leak near the manifold i think, a leak in the cam cover and lower gasket, power steering rack slight weepage and brakes need pads etc.

Do i do a full OE + restoration
or do i go ahead with my younger day ideas and fufill what i wanted to do, which was not dramatic to be honest, but was to lower 40mm, front splitter, interior ICE upgrade with a double din android auto unit (I remember some had modified the centre console), TF wheel, ZS alloys - white.... if i go down this route, i would ensure i kept the original parts as i am aware these are getting rare now and would give the option to go back to OE

Im in two minds, the right thing by the car would be OE, right thing for me i think the heart is saying go do what you wanted to do earlier.

Difficult decisions, it will be a slow project for me to tackle over the weekends etc, but cant settle on a direction.

Im aware the forum is not as active as it once was but not sure there is any Mg forums/groups etc that are particular active these days, if so please point me in that direction also

Many thanks , chat soon
GT160

 

[Man in the Car]

Welcome back .

As you already realise, there is very little activity on this forum nowadays (apart from newbies with problems, who never come back to acknowledge any reply, I seem to be the only one to have posted a reply for some time) - most formerly busy MG/Rover forums have gone the same way (or even ceased to exist). There are long standing forums such as mg-rover.org, theBRM.co.uk and rover200.org.uk which still see some activity. There is more activity on MG related facebook groups, but even they are a bit sparsely active (and from little I have seen (not being a f/b user), a lot of the advice that gets posted on them is either inaccurate or just plain wrong/dangerous (and due to the way f/b works as basically a messageboard, those incorrect posts often seem to drop out of sight before anyone sees them to correct them (if indeed anyone on f/b does actually know the correct answer!). I think there are fewer people who will post on the internet - there always were only a very small proportion of owners who frequented the forums etc, and as the number of cars has shrunk (I think there are less than 5000 ZRs currently 'on-the-road', and another 6000 or so on SORN) it leaves very few who will be active on here.

It is good to find someone else from earlier times who still has a ZR - there can't be many left now that have had the same owner for so long. Only you can decide what to do with it - but the changes you mentioned are all fairly straightforward and easy to revert back to standard if you change your mind. Any greater/permanent changes is a good question - there were quite a few highly modified ZRs about, but most are now dead, but there are still people modding them even now (although there is less option for 'off-the-shelf' mods now than there used to be). In the end, it's your car and it is up to you what to do with it, but (on the whole) significantly modified cars tend to end up being worth less than a standard spec one in tip-top condition. However, that is only a problem if you want to sell (which probably isn't looking likely in your case).

Good luck with whatever you do to it - hope to see some pics as the project progresses

The 160s are beginning to command a significant premium over the 105s in the second hand market, but sadly many have in the past been bought just to rip the engine out for track car projects or the like, so they are getting harder to find in decent order. Most of the regularly needed parts are still available new, and at present there are still enough in breakers yards for sourcing any other bits that can't be got new. There are however quite a number of 'amateur breakers' buying up ZRs and breaking them illegally on their driveway, selling a few choice parts and taking the rest to the crusher, so (bearing in mind the survival figures in a previous paragraph) I think the future for second hand spares perhaps doesn't look that great

Lacquer peel seems to be a common issue for cars that are 15+ years old (not just MG and Rover) and is an inevitable consequence of continual exposure to sunlight.

My own Goodwood Green +120 is now beginning to need more attention (it's my daily and now done over 105k miles) and I keep thinking it will probably need a full repray at some point. There isn't any lacquer peel (yet!), but there are a few places where rusting from stone chips and near wheel arches has been repainted by me (badly) in the past are starting to deteriorate/craze and look unsightly, and I did need to weld two small patches into the lower sills near the rear wheel arches last year. It had been a bit neglected due to getting a Typhoon 105 a couple of years ago which needed a lot of tidying up, plus a major head gasket change and petrol tank replacement. The 105 also had a lot of fairly serious surface rust underneath which took a while to remove and treat.

 

[GT160]

Welcome back .

As you already realise, there is very little activity on this forum nowadays (apart from newbies with problems, who never come back to acknowledge any reply, I seem to be the only one to have posted a reply for some time) - most formerly busy MG/Rover forums have gone the same way (or even ceased to exist). There are long standing forums such as mg-rover.org, theBRM.co.uk and rover200.org.uk which still see some activity. There is more activity on MG related facebook groups, but even they are a bit sparsely active (and from little I have seen (not being a f/b user), a lot of the advice that gets posted on them is either inaccurate or just plain wrong/dangerous (and due to the way f/b works as basically a messageboard, those incorrect posts often seem to drop out of sight before anyone sees them to correct them (if indeed anyone on f/b does actually know the correct answer!). I think there are fewer people who will post on the internet - there always were only a very small proportion of owners who frequented the forums etc, and as the number of cars has shrunk (I think there are less than 5000 ZRs currently 'on-the-road', and another 6000 or so on SORN) it leaves very few who will be active on here.

It is good to find someone else from earlier times who still has a ZR - there can't be many left now that have had the same owner for so long. Only you can decide what to do with it - but the changes you mentioned are all fairly straightforward and easy to revert back to standard if you change your mind. Any greater/permanent changes is a good question - there were quite a few highly modified ZRs about, but most are now dead, but there are still people modding them even now (although there is less option for 'off-the-shelf' mods now than there used to be). In the end, it's your car and it is up to you what to do with it, but (on the whole) significantly modified cars tend to end up being worth less than a standard spec one in tip-top condition. However, that is only a problem if you want to sell (which probably isn't looking likely in your case).

Good luck with whatever you do to it - hope to see some pics as the project progresses

The 160s are beginning to command a significant premium over the 105s in the second hand market, but sadly many have in the past been bought just to rip the engine out for track car projects or the like, so they are getting harder to find in decent order. Most of the regularly needed parts are still available new, and at present there are still enough in breakers yards for sourcing any other bits that can't be got new. There are however quite a number of 'amateur breakers' buying up ZRs and breaking them illegally on their driveway, selling a few choice parts and taking the rest to the crusher, so (bearing in mind the survival figures in a previous paragraph) I think the future for second hand spares perhaps doesn't look that great

Lacquer peel seems to be a common issue for cars that are 15+ years old (not just MG and Rover) and is an inevitable consequence of continual exposure to sunlight.

My own Goodwood Green +120 is now beginning to need more attention (it's my daily and now done over 105k miles) and I keep thinking it will probably need a full repray at some point. There isn't any lacquer peel (yet!), but there are a few places where rusting from stone chips and near wheel arches has been repainted by me (badly) in the past are starting to deteriorate/craze and look unsightly, and I did need to weld two small patches into the lower sills near the rear wheel arches last year. It had been a bit neglected due to getting a Typhoon 105 a couple of years ago which needed a lot of tidying up, plus a major head gasket change and petrol tank replacement. The 105 also had a lot of fairly serious surface rust underneath which took a while to remove and treat.

Hi nice to see your still about, do you still have the typhoon is my first question.

Thanks for a detailed reply, i just really cannot decide, but i am leaning towards the sensible changes and finding space in the garage to keep the OE parts etc safely so it can be reverted back if needs be.

Its a shame to see such little activity here but its not a suprise i guess given the age of the cars etc, i just hope i can search and bring up old threads for ideas and tips really as there was some really good ideas and changes and tips and guides previously.

I will post up pictures when i can, how is the green machine looking now. Im fairly lucky for rust other than some behind the arches its fairly minor to be honest.

Chat soon

 

[Man in the Car]

Still have both the Typhoon 105 and the Goodwood 120.

The Typhoon was pretty rough when I got it and had been parked up in a shed for about 5 or 6 years prior to that - had a lot of surface rust underneath and needed virtually the entire interior replacing due to various damage.

The Goodwood (which also required a fair bit of cleaning of rust underneath when I got it) is still fairly reasonable, but has been in almost daily use so is showing signs of deterioration. I've managed to keep rust around the wheelarches largely at bay and having removed both front wings when I first had it (in 2012/13) and completely removed the rust then present around the bumper attachment points and given the backs a good coat of paint and and then waxoyl, they have remained fairly decent since. Had to replace the front main subframe a couple of years ago too as it was rotten. Decent second hand ones are getting very hard to find now!

 

[Mean & Green]

I’m still around, well I’m around in the sense that I still have my ZR. It only comes out in summer now, I stopped daily driving it long ago.

The Internet forums are dead and as Man in the Car says, FB is full of poor information. The cars are now what I’d consider very old. With the last ones being built 16 years ago, good ones are very rare.

With regards to mods, it sounds like you know what you want to do. You want to modify it, I’d only carry out mods that are easy to revert and do ones which enhance the car rather than making it tacky.

ZS wheels are a good choice. They suit the car and can easily swap back to straights if needed. I’d be wary of lowering, the ride is hard as standard and putting extra stress on old dampers with lowering springs isn’t a good idea IMO.

I’d just keep it subtle and I’d prioritise getting the car back to good standard order over modifications If that makes sense. It’s your car though do what you like, it’s nice to see that you still have it after such a long time. I’ve had mine 17 years now, I can’t believe it’s been so long.