MG-Cars.net

Welcome to our resource for MG Car Information.

Recommendations

Parts

MG parts spares and accessories are available for MG T Series (TA, MG TB, MG TC, MG TD, MG TF), Magnette, MGA, Twin cam, MGB, MGBGT, MGC, MGC GT, MG Midget, Sprite and other MG models from British car spares company LBCarCo.

MG ZR ZS ZT Technical - Hello... Can i join you? ;-)

Still 'Scarlet Fever' for now...

For those not in the know, i had a bit of a prang in Scarlet over the weekend (huge thread going on currently on the F/TF board) and have been offered an unbelievable deal on a new ZS 180. So, it looks like you guys are gonna have to put up with me for the forseeable future... :-)

I expect the insurance company to write off Scarlet fairly soon, book price on a 7 year old, 100,000 mile F is only £4,300.00 and i reckon that if done sensibly it will cost around £4K to repair (so the insurance assessor will probably value it at £6K). Anyway, this is speculation at the moment, in the meantime i put the paperwork in motion yesterday on the purchase of the ZS.

SF (Andrew Phillips)
Scarlet Fever

Welcome aboard Andrew!!

What u goin to call new MG?
Kelvin

Hi Kelvin, the current suggestions from the F board are (for a Le-Mans Green ZS):

Fever-ish
Gangrene

Other suggestions on a postcard to the usual address ;o)
Rob Bell

Andy, welcome aboard mate, Mike ZT 180+
Mike

Andrew, sorry to hear about Scarlet. Welcome to the Z board.


Ralph
Ralph

>>>What u goin to call new MG?
=== how about Jolly Green Giant ?
David

Hi Andy,

Le Mans Green is my personal choice but, the family mutually acceptable colour decision (diplomacy ....DOH!)is for the Trophy Blue ZS another superb colour. At one stage Trophy yellow was favourite as was silver. However, as correctly pointed out to me by several BBSers here, that colour is NOT sufficiently distintive from the Rover 45s .... I had not noticed that before. Silver is a favourite car colour for me but, sometimes you can't see things for the looking.

BTW, those "ex-SF" OEM alloys still do occasional service on one of the turbos .....

Apart from ol' SF, glad all appears well otherwise. Enjoy the ZS.

As you say, there are some near unbelieveable deals about on the Zeds.

John.
John McFeely

Haven't seen many deals on the ZT_Ts though - what's the best price you guys seen?
Rob Bell

Not actually SEEN any good deals, but, have NEGOTIATED some really decent discounts on the ZSs. No doubt same could be done with the ZTs when things are a bit quiet in the showroom ......

Keep in mind these discounts were for a straight cash, no part exchange deal ...... maybe another story if a part exchange is involved. Where possible, always best to sell your part exchange and negotiate a discount on a straight buy. Do it right and you could win on both deals ......

The privileged discount table supplied by MGCC along with the Privilege Purchase Application shows 11.00 - 22.21% discounts available under the scheme on the MG ZT range depending on which model is purchased.

For the ZRs, discounts vary from 5% (turbo diesel) to 16% (ZR160). ZS; cover 13-20% depending on model.

JMcF
John McFeely

Bloody 'ell Andy, am I goin to have to start parking next to you at Silversone again ;o)

Still, at least your bbq should be more exclusive this year, you'll have to be inviting us Z'ers instead of those F riff-raff 8o)

Andy

VE02 RHO
Andy

LOL, nice one Andy :-)

As it happens, there was a Nightfire ZR 160 (Steve Childs') and later on a Trophy Blue ZR 115 (Elaine) at last years' SF BBQ. There is always room for any MG, past attendees also include an mgb roadster. There usually are other cars there too, we had a number of MX5's (MX5 OC) a couple of years back and of course Dave B usually turns up in his Elise. :-)

This year, all being well, Scarlet will be undergoing a long and drawn out restoration and there is the possibility of a Trophy Blue ZS 180 as well as my LeMans Green one (deposit paid today).

SF / ish! ;-)
Scarlet Fever

At the risk of being "nit picky", I thought Steve Childs ZR was Copperleaf.

Nightfire red is a lovely colour ;-)
Copperleaf is an "aquired" taste.

IMHO, of course!
Chris

You may be right Chris (it was difficult to see the paint colour under all the 'MG-Rover.org' graphics!) ;-)

SF / ish
Scarlet Fever

Andy, any plans for mods to the ZS yet? Will the resurrection (if viable) of SF mean that no mods will be done to the ZS?


Ralph
Ralph

The idea behind the ZS was that i wouldn't need to do any mods (this is one of the main reasons i went for the 180). Certainly, financially i cannot justify any if i am given the opportunity for a pheonix project on Scarlet (assessor came round today, he will write up his report and then i should get a decision, hopefully by the end of the week).

So, 2 possible scenarios...

Scarlet becomes a 'unique fixer upper opportunity', i am totally skint for a year or so and i run the ZS as is (which ain't such a bad thing as the car is a riot to drive!)

Scarlet is rated category A or B and is either crushed or sent for parts stripping, i get as many items out of the car as possible for selling on (re-coup at least some of my investment) and use the cash to mod the ZS (i know of an engine chip which pushes the output to 200 bhp, plus i understand there are exhausts available too...) :-)

SF
Scarlet Fever

Andy, 190+ bhp is certainly possible with exhaust and filter swap without looking at a chip. Several of those on this board (and others) have already gone down this road.

John
JLD

Incedentally, there is apicture of the ZS on Rob's Scarlet damage page.

>> http://www.mgf.ultimatemg.com/scarlet <<

The first online image of the car i believe... :-)

SF
SF

Ouch!

Having looked at the pictures of Scarlet I wouldn't want to drive a rebuilt car that had suffered that amount of damage. Maybe it looks worse than it is...

Sorry, Andy - I had to say it.


Ralph
Ralph

Sorry Ralph - you are showing your ignorance again. (had to say it). This car is eminently repairable to an 'as-new' specification. The only thing that would write it off is the cost of labour at inflated dealer workshop rates, but that should not prevent a private rebuild...
David

Most of the front end is 'bolt on' and is a crumple zone, designed to deform progressively in an impact. This means that any damage to the front end is essentially an unbolt and replace operation. There are two areas of concern which can make the cost of a repair spiral and may make safety an issue and those are radiator damage and if the force of the impact has made it into the passenger safety cell.

In the case of Scarlet, the radiator is still sound (in so far as the coolant level hasn't dropped - it has yet to be fully inspected). Given the tendancy for an F to suffer head gasket failures (HGF) and it's sensitivity to air bubbles in the cooling system due to a complicated re-filling / bleed point set up, any damage to the rad could potentially cause a HGF in the future and this will entail additional costs (depending on damage, min £400.00).

Regarding the passenger safety cell, the subframe looks to be damage free with the exception of the very end at the front of the car, also i have had the pasenger footwell carpets up and inspected the floor pan and it there was no evidence of the impact found. This is potentially good news as it appears that the crumple zones have done thier job and prevented the impact force entering the cabin.

So, on both of these counts, it appears that i have been lucky - time will tell of course as until the strip down is started i cannot fully inspect all the components.

Suspension, steering and wheel components are also pretty straightforward to replace, indeed from our preliminary inspection it appears that despite the wheel hanging off the car, most of them have survived intact. Shopping list in this area so far is:

Upper ball joint.
Lower ball joint.
Wheel.
Shock.

And that's it. Will probably need to replace the braided brake hose as well as although it wasn't damaged in the accident, it is likely that it has been pulled since then as it and the steering rack are all that is holding the wheel to the car. Also, the 4 pot caliper doesn't look to have sustained any damage (despite my previous comments on the F board). As the wheel was off the car, it had rotated making the 4 pot caliper appear out of place, when in fact it was till in position. Still, it is probably a good idea to change them and the disc / pads anyway, for safety reasons.

SF
Scarlet Fever

Andy, I'm embarrised that I didn't take a proper portrait of Kermit the Le Mans Green ZS! :oO

Oops. As you say, it can be just about be seen in the back ground of one of the shots of Scarlet.

Andy, I can't see any reason why the caliper should not be reused - it was, after all, thoroughly protected by the wheel...

Andy, check your email when you can - got some news :o)
Rob Bell

Rob,

Will do, AOL anywhere is being a right pain today (taking ages to open each page), so it may have to wait until tonight. I managed to send an Email to Stefan earlier, but it took nearly 15 minutes... :-(

Washed EF52 DXY lunch time today - nobody told me it would need washing... ;-) Came up sparkling - Le Mans Green is a superb colour. :-)

The reason for my caliper remark was purely due to safety. Do i really want to tool around in a car where the primary means of stopping has a question mark over it? You are right though the calper was very well protected and is probably OK.

SF
N926 FEV - MGF 1.8i (wrecked) :-(
EF52 DXY - ZS 180 (new!) :-)
Scarlet Fever

Andy, don't forget to include new seat belts - they have to be replaced after an accident as they stretch. I assume that the airbags and SRS went off, if so they will need to be replaced as well.

Is Kermit the final name for your ZS? If so, will you be changing your moniker accordingly?



David, I assume that you are confusing me with Ralph, Bristol. We are not the same person! I admit that I may be showing some ignorance to how damaged a car can be and still be repairable. Luckily, I have not been in the position where I've had to restore a seriously crash damaged car.


Ralph
Ralph

>> I assume that the airbags and SRS went off <<

Funnily enough, no they didn't. I was told afterwards that the signal to fire them and the seatbelt pre-tensioners is dependant on multiple signals from a number of sensors, whether this is true or not i don't know. Anyway, because i was travelling sideways at the point of impact, thereby only activating the front n/s corner, i presume the CPU didn't get enough of a signal to fire them. Also, the F only has front airbags (and in Scarlet's case only on the drivers' side). I suspect therefore that the 'joggle sensor' behind the fascia only triggers the airbags in a rapid deceleration scenario and not a sideways shunt. If the car had side airbags too, then i would imagine they would have been triggered.

So, getting back to your point about the seatbelts, as i was thrown sideways it didn't lock at all. However, as with the brake calipers it is still probably a good idea to replace the driver's one anyway.

The only damage to the cabin area due to the accident was the mud from the hard shoulder/bank that ended up on the carpet from my shoes! :-)

Still no idea of a name yet for the ZS, suggestions include:

Fever-ish
Gangreene
Kermit
Dixy (numberplate is EF52 DXY)
'Scarlet Fever Support Vehicle'
'Essex Roadsters Support Vehicle'
'Treffen Support Vehicle'
Beer and tent transporter (for Silverstone)

I am leaning towards Scarlet Fever Support Vehicle, or more precisely the acronym, SF SV as it reminds me of the MG SV... ;-)

SF SV
Scarlet Fever

Hmm, MG SF SV? I like it Andy - but it doesn't roll off the tongue all that easily! LOL ;o)

Did you get my mail last night mate?
Rob Bell

Ralph, sorry if I came across wrong. Just re-read your post >>>Maybe it looks worse than it is...
===that's very much how I see it. It's pretty minor stuff really, front end disposable bits and a good bit of tin-bashing on the rear to weld in a new quarter panel and it'll be pretty much as good as new. Unless extremely unlucky I doubt there is any damage 'under the skin' ie subframes or mounts. Basically it was a spinning accident therefore glancing blows whch do not have the same effect as a direct hit as you'll no doubt appreciate. Andy can count himself lucky in some ways, could have been so much worse.
David

David, its difficult to gauge the intent of a posting when you can't see the face of the poster. It was the one word 'again' in your post (and a bad day at work) that triggered my response. Based on the additional information I've revised my original opinion - it does now sound to be repairable. But, we still haven't heard what the insurance assessor has to say on the matter. Any news, Andy?

MG SF SV? I thought the MGB GT was a bad enough name!

Ralph
MGZS 180 "Limey"
MGBGT "Giotto"
MGF "Gringo" - dead, but not forgotten

Ralph

No news on the insurance company yet. Hopefully not too much longer (gonna ring them tomorrow).

SOS website is 99% there, need to sort out a PO Box and the PayPal stuff, but i have an independant account now dedicated to fund the repair.

SF
Scarlet Fever

>Still no idea of a name yet for the ZS, suggestions include:

How about Snot?

Okay..... I'll just go back the the F board then. ;-)
Paul Lathwell

Scarlet, just thought I'd commend you on an excellent choice of colour, check it out under the flourescents at the petrol pumps lovely gold hint under the green.

GREEN MEANIE is mine :D

Have fun
mickeyboy

>>>How about Snot?
===as in "snot an F" - absolutely brilliant, it HAS to be
David

I had a green coloured car as my first mode of transportation. "Mean Green Machine". "Mean" in the negative sense that is.

Never ever be fooled into buying a '79 Nissan Cherry 'GT'. Never again.

Now 'snot' is a great idea Paul - I agree with you David - 'snot Fever!' is great! ;o)
Rob Bell

That's the one David - gets my vote now we just have to work on Andy.
JohnP

'snot Fever - sounds nasty! :-)

LOL, nice one guys :-)

SF
Scarlet Fever

This thread was discussed between 11/02/2003 and 27/02/2003

MG ZR ZS ZT Technical index

This thread is from the archive. The Live MG ZR ZS ZT Technical BBS is active now.