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Thread of remorse AKA Project Last Chance Saloon.


fatharris

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With the work you have done its practically rebuilt. Put it on the 75 forum. The problem with them is that they are seen has a bit of a duff car. When the opposite is true. Being diesel, timing chain and all that should help it sell. Mileage on the diesel 75's is not usually a problem. In my last post I was being ironic. In that some people see a 75 and want it for nothing, they usually quote what I said. When I went to look for a new modern. The salesman looked at my 75 and said " I wont take that it's worth nothing" that's ok says I because it's not for sale, but while we are on the subject its not rusty, unlike four year old ford Ka's.

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Couple of small jobs today.

 

Straight into the wheel arch, taking the filament access cover off.

 

a5614643c36c046dc548d941b18a0465.jpg

 

Changed a sidelight bulb.

 

1ebe70a2fa8c8b033b630b19b96dedf4.jpg

 

Much better.

 

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Next up, the old battery had to come out.

 

39dbe2b630bb5d3ccd6d0469321c5f26.jpg

 

Side by side, went for a new one with a 4 year warranty!

 

b0ed70b202615150943e6081f98b5f4d.jpg

 

Back in and bolted down!

 

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Out of sight, out of mind!

 

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This one actually let the engine start, so I left Herman in the car park, and took the MG home. I'll use it during the week and for Guildford, and punt it through an MOT on Friday. Once done, I'll polish the paint, give it a final hoover and put her up for sale. Only problem is, I have no idea what it'll be worth. Keen to hear your views on this.

 

On another note, I got given this at the club today, any idea what it is and if its any use to me? I thought it could come in handy on the Mini.

 

c9764c93685e63571e7283ba2f9e1d30.jpg

 

Hours worked - 122.5

 

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

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The unknown apparatus appears to be a rudimentary, 1970s automotive multimeter - it seems to incorporate a voltmeter, tachometer and dwell meter. It would indeed be GR8 for dynamically adjusting Mini points (though, in my experience, a standard A series does absolutely fine with a lazy, static adjustment).

 

It's really difficult to price the car... Decent examples on evilBay seem to be around the £1250-1500 mark. This means that, after parts costs, you would be making £2 for each hour worked on it !!!

 

Verdict : Keep it !

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First things first, the alloy was resealed today to keep some air tyres.

 

db6173dfbfb2bb05daeb4d7a778e8e81.jpg

 

Now, the next issue. I still wasn't getting full boost, and I was getting the tell tale sound of wooshing air again. I noticed on a 75/ZT Facebook group that they had two o-rings on their intercooler pipe, and I only had one, because that was all I took off, so I fitted an extra one. Then, this happened on the test drive:

 

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10153950484124669&id=633319668

 

Boosts fine, but has a high pitched whistle on boost. Took the extra O-ring back out and re-seated the pipe, but still doing it.

 

Fuck it, that's a job for the weekend, will make tomorrow's 5am start slightly unpleasant though.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I haven't really been peddling the MG that much, to be honest. That being said, I figured I'd at least give it a go to at least finish the car off, realistically, the paintwork.

 

I'd deliberately left it several weeks to allow the paintwork to fully harden before I cracked on. I used an air drill, yellow pads and farecla G3 compound.

 

First coat on the right.

 

ae53d4bc0710af2ab47a2942c4c5dbb1.jpg

 

Same thing, with flash on

 

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Then Meg's Ultimate compound, followed by Farecla G paintwork renovator. I lost track of which photos were when.

 

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Finally, two coats of polish:

 

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Dragged the old girl outside for a wash:

 

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Fingers crossed the last wash I give the old girl:

 

e9f38d0c674124cd887bedeaf52175f6.jpg

 

25a1f6e0918c8febc7b13637599aa854.jpg

 

Next up, I found out why the cig lighter socket was heating the cig lighter but not charging my phone.

 

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Quick scrub with scotchbrite, and the final result:

 

3f9dea243f0830416d641ca7fd9038f9.jpg

 

Winner. No more pics, but I fitted the to-type car mat set, which seemed to fit nicely.

 

Oh, and it should be going for a test drive tonight, fingers crossed!

 

 

 

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

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  • 2 weeks later...

Well, the test drive proved successful and the MG now resides with its new owner, I'll see it once more to cure the intercooler leak once and for all, then I imagine I'll see it around the bazaars. 

A bit of time to financially recover, then onwards to the next lost cause! Thanks to everyone who has chipped in with advice and parts over the last five months!

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  • 2 months later...

A final update.

 

The MG lasted with the owner mentioned above for about a month, where the car suddenly decided to throw more toys out of the pram, primarily the car went way down on power when cold and the ABS started kicking in at any speed regardless of pedal pressure, and the dreaded sticky piston made itself very much known once again. As I sold it to a friend, I took the car back as I didn't want any ill feeling to come from this.

 

Eventually, I got around to changing the underbonnet fuel pump, my reasoning being the engine uses more fuel when cold and it had been changed in the past. Of course, I threw away the spare unit I found in the boot when I got the car :roll:.

 

With that job done, I simply parked the MG up for a month and left it. Sadly, I had lost the will to carry on with the car, despite having bought a replacement caliper and rear wheel bearing (allegedly the source of the ABS snag).

 

Yesterday, I got in, fired her up, started first time after a month of being sat still, the ABS light letting me know that something new was awry, but killing the pulsing pedal problem. Drove her out from under the trees and gave her a quick blat with some detergent and a hoover, and put it up for £500.

 

He went today for £450 in what I would call an awkward sale and I am now MG-less once again.

 

So, a project riddled with issues throughout, including a few breakdowns, several new faults appearing along the way costing more than a sane man should have forked out, with little or no recompense at the end? Sounds like an AS project to me.

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House.

 

We're in the middle of buying a place, so every available fund is getting piled into the house buying at the moment.

 

Once the dust has settled and we're financially stable once again, I may turn my eye to the Mini that has languished in the damp garage for the past 15 months!

 

Sent from my SM-G903F using Tapatalk

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  • 1 year later...

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