Thread of remorse AKA Project Last Chance Saloon.

[fatharris]

Thankfully eBay is coming up trumps. Got loads on the watch list now, just waiting for the wife to look the other way!

 

Hasn't stopped me ordering a replacement caliper, ARB links, front brake pads and a head light today though. Damn these fat fingers of mine! The shopping list is bloody huge!

 

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[oldcars]

Great work, Didnt read first time is a diesel so even better value. Mine had the wheel arch liners bit missing for the lights as well. SCB in Newbridge in Edinburgh has once of these in a about 3 75s as well, don't know where your based but it may help.

[fatharris]

Great work, Didnt read first time is a diesel so even better value. Mine had the wheel arch liners bit missing for the lights as well. SCB in Newbridge in Edinburgh has once of these in a about 3 75s as well, don't know where your based but it may help.

Yep, those panels are missing too, so trying to find the lot!

 

Sadly I'm in exactly the opposite end of the country, Helston in south Cornwall!

[Parky]

Remember the silver one Bollox bought - didn't he remove the carpets and jet wash them to get shot of the dog odour?

 

Calling Bollox - did that approach work ok?

[outlaw118]

Sir, i'm liking the progress, glad i'm not the only one who cleans inside the boot closures....

[Jim Bell]

Holy shit.  I thought you'd hoover it, jet wash it, put a wheel on and run it.

 

Looks like we've got ourselves a bona fide mental case.  Keep it up!

[purplebargeken]

I also clean the enclosures.

[Lord Sterling]

Nice car, lots of potential there. I know of a 2.5 KV6 ZT auto going for sale which I'm kind of considering once I get back into some sort of financial normality (whatever that is)

 

I'm tired of my 800, it's a good car but I think my long commute into and out of Brum will eventually take it's toll on it, it's already a fairly tired car anyway.

 

Looking forward to seeing more updates.

[fatharris]

Remember the silver one Bollox bought - didn't he remove the carpets and jet wash them to get shot of the dog odour?

 

Calling Bollox - did that approach work ok?

 

Wow, that's a lot of effort...better resort to magic. Thing is with magic is it relies heavily on audience participation. Let's count down from 3...

 

3....

 

 

2....

 

 

1...

 

 

POOF! And the carpet was gone. Spoooky.

 

 

A very early finish at work today meant I had a couple of spare hours to strip it down this evening. Car even gave me another 23p, result! Tomorrow afternoon will see the pressure washer flashed up and we'll see where we can get with it, although with the hole in the actual carpet, I may end up sourcing a replacement.

 

Another nasty bloody shock was finding both fuel tank access panels unbolted and flapping around:

 

 

And the final picture, the interior as it stands now:

 

 

Apologies for the shite picture quality, due to the unexpected early chop at work, the good camera was at home and if I went home to retrieve it, MrsHarris would have set me on chores!

[Parky]

you know I think there might be a decent car under there!

[purplebargeken]

Of course there is

[Split_Pin]

Tip top skillz there, wiring terrifies me, as does mess!

[fatharris]

So, today then...

 

First things first, HermanTheGerman was stickered up today.

 

 

And the carpet dragged outside.

 

 

I gave it one final hoover...

 

 

The end result of that making fuck all difference, so the pressure washing began

 

 

Yummy...
 

Half and half shot. Whilst the brown-ness has disappeared, there was a lot of grit and sand still trapped in the carpet

 

 

Find a decent position to prop the carpet in was a bloody pain, as it either kept collapsing or filling up in sections

 

 

Eventually, this method worked best.

 

 

Eventually, I wet vac'd it to give it a head start on the drying.

 

 

And the final result, it's saved me having to fork out for a new carpet!

 

 

I did end up throwing some more water down and hoovered it off, which took a lot more grit off and had Auto Glym car shampoo in it, which smells lovely. Next time I'll try one of MrsH's shampoos, they always smell nice.

 

The passenger seat base got cleaned too, do to the squares being invisible under a layer of grime. No pictures of before, I lent my car to someone for twenty minutes and forgot my camera was in the back. As I don't know if I'm keeping this interior or not, I'm not going to clean it any further.

 

 

That little lot stayed in the sunshine for several hours to dry off, I flipped the carpet over and hoovered as much water out of the foam as I possibly could, then left it to dry further.

 

Time to delve inside...

 

 

Loads of debris left from moving the carpets out. A quick hoover later and...

 

 

Like new. Lovely.

 

Next was wiping down all the surfaces. From this

 

 

To this...

 

 

Even refitted this little bugger!

 

 

Once that was all done and the door cards and seals had been cleaned again, it was time to scrub everything I had removed from the car

 

 

Whilst that dried, I pulled the sticker off the bonnet edge, revealing a shite filer job, and pulling off some lacquer in the process. Arses.

 

 

Time to slap a sticker on...

 

 

...and get the fuck out of dodge for another day.

 

[jonathan_dyane]

You're doing a cracking job! I really like this; if my XM blew up I think I'd be torn between one of these an a dci Laguna...

[purplebargeken]

Great progress!

[The Moog]

That's ace. I think I am going to have to remove my focus carpet and try the pressure washing trick.

[fatharris]

That's ace. I think I am going to have to remove my focus carpet and try the pressure washing trick.

Just make sure the underlay is totally dry before refitting otherwise you'll get a horrible damp smell. It's why I normally do it during the summer months or run a dehumidifier inside the car overnight afterwards!

 

Almost coming to a halt on the interior, I need to get some trim bits sourced as well as seats! Soon it'll be time to work on the dirty bits and the shiny bits, hopefully this work will stop the car smelling awful!

 

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[MarvinsMom]

You're doing a cracking job! I really like this; if my XM blew up I think I'd be torn between one of these an a dci Laguna...

 

christ you must REALLY hate MG ZT's which is abit unjustified, the MG is a really nice car IMO

[jonathan_dyane]

christ you must REALLY hate MG ZT's which is abit unjustified, the MG is a really nice car IMO

I genuinely have an urge for a Laguna; I was being serious!

[MarvinsMom]

I genuinely have an urge for a Laguna; I was being serious!

 

i've sampled the mark 1 laguna in pez form when they were new, and it was a really nice motor car.

 

dunno about the mark 2's or the diesel one's other than the tails of misery that sometimes appear on 'tinterweb (so they must be true!)

 

what do i know, i would like to own an austin allegro......

[HH-R]

I dig the Laguna II too, but blimey, they're one terrifying ownership prospect.

[Burnside]

I dig the Laguna II too, but blimey, they're one terrifying ownership prospect.

 

 

As someone who has just entered into the world of Laguna II ownership they are a whole world of pain. Did I mention the pain?  

 

Great work on the MG seams nearly every car I've brought at this kind of money has been in a similar state including the above Laguna.

 

There a identical MG unsure of what engine though, that is being broken for spares in Wolverhampton that I spotted a few weeks back in the same colour if that is of any use.

[oldcars]

Yep, those panels are missing too, so trying to find the lot!

 

Sadly I'm in exactly the opposite end of the country, Helston in south Cornwall!

They were missing in all but one at the yard, they seem to fall off or not be fitted once the bulbs are replaced.

 

Great work on the carpet. I wet vac'd mine and the sand that came up was mad. Enjoying this one

[fatharris]

I'd be after the trims too, they have been scrubbing for ages! The 75 and ZT club are keen to follow this thread too, so hopefully they'll be able to help with parts!

 

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[mercedade]

Great thread! Great photos and nicely written too - keep the updates coming, even if every time you post a picture it's like a little shame bullet piercing my own laziness.

[Parky]

I am really enjoying this thread, the cleaner it gets the more I want to buy one myself!

 

No money or room for one, and Mrs P would go mental but I am starting to think these are minor considerations...

[fatharris]

 

 

Mrs P would go mental but I am starting to think these are minor considerations...

They were minor for me, not so much for her!

 

 

 

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[fatharris]

Whilst I'm currently sourcing interior parts, I decided to crack on with the front end, as that area had recieved very little love since I started.

First off, the bumper came off:

 

 

Straight away I notice more items denoting the MG's legacy, poorly modified and hanging off:

 

 

This'd tie in nicely with the headlight bulb rear covers having holes cut in the back. At least when I did it, I just cut a cross into them.

 

 

On removal of the bumper, it would appear I caught the headlight and scratched it. Bollocks! Luckily it's got to be polished anyway, so I'll sand it a little further down.

 

 

Grotty and grimy, I couldn't see any obvious source, although the intercooler O-rings are renowned for shitting themselves. May order a set to be on the safe side.

 

 

Once the NS headlight was out, it was onto the OS. Feeling good about this so far..

 

 

....Bollocks.

 

 

This just would not budge, even with penetrating oil and mole grips, culminating in shearing off the welded anchor nut off. Not sure how I plan on fixing that, I'll probably go for riveting a new anchor nut on.

 

 

Came out in the end though revealing a filthy lower section

 

 

 

The windscreen wash tank came out next, allowing me to clean the area as much as I could be arsed. It's a road car, not a show car.

 

 

Leaving us with a car that looked pretty bare.

 

 

This little lot came out for a scrubbing too.

 

 

 

No after pictures sadly, I forgot.

 

When I emptied the boot of this when the project began, one of the bonnet catch spigots was in the boot. The 75/ZT's have a renowned problem with their bonnet cables slipping or snapping, leaving the bonnet locked shut. In this instance, the cable had slipped off. The bumper being out providced the perfect opportunity to take the catch out, repair/clean/lubricate it, and feed some light water displacing lubricant down the cable run to ensure smooth operation. Once down, it was all refitted in the original configuration, and the spigot refitted. Ten minutes of exercising the catches later, and the system is fully serviceable at no cost. Winner

 

 

 

Whilst in the general area, I cleaned the grimy oily shite off too.

 

http://i.imgur.com/2Ydb5hB.jpg

 

I was starting to gauge what the car needed for a service - the indicator showed that it was massively overdue, so I elected to start by cleaning the filter - after all, it was a K&N according to the engine cover sticker...

 

 

So I took it off....looks pretty filthy, but a K&N can be washed, right? Sure...

 

 

...if it was a K&N filter. Full filter kit ordered. I reckon the rough running could be down to the old fuel filter getting a little clogged.

 

Next up was checking the crankcase ventilation filter. MG-R neglected to include this in their servicing schedule, despite BMW changing it every 30k on theirs. Bit fiddly to take out, you need to unship the injector wiring loom, and disconnect No.2, 3 and 4 injector leak off pipe t-piece, removing the spring clip with a flat blade screwdriver first.

 

 

Once out, it was clear this hadn't been changed in a while...

 

 

 

....or ever, as the 2003 date stamp will attest. Luckily, they're cheap at £6 including all seals, so it'll be changed.

 

Whilst re-assembling, I felt some resistance whilst bolting it down. Turns out a shard of plastic had broken off from somewhere and lodged itself between the fikter cover and the engine:

 

 

Dirty

 

 

Clean

 

 

Car left with sunken face for the night, headlight arrived this evening, and with the ARB links, front brake pads and caliper all here, we're almost ready to get into the grubber work. Until I source the treasure trove of parts I need, it'll be trickle work really, unless I can muster the arsed to do a full clay and polish.

 

Cheers!

[Shep Shepherd]

This is an excellent thread. Nice to see the car getting the attention that it deserves

[MarvinsMom]

i'm loving this thread, i don't suppose you want to give my 75 some loving later?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

No, i thought not.

 

bugger.......