Soldato
- Joined
- 24 Apr 2007
- Posts
- 7,567
- Location
- Southport
Well, I finally managed to get some money together for a replacement to the ZS, after it was written off last week.
After calling my insurance company (Adrian Flux) and discussing possible alternatives, it turned out certain derivatives of the MG ZT are relatively cheap to insure. I made a note of which versions were insurable, and set to work to find one locally for a test drive.
I took one out at a local garage, and although very nice it was missing some history and a few important services were totally unaccounted for (6 year cambelt service and a huge hole around 40-60k, of zero receipts). I decided to give this one a miss.
I then found one with full history, the cambelts done by a specialist, and most of the other bits and pieces that go wrong with these cars have already been seen to.
It was located about 250 miles away, so I decided to have a mini-break in Devon (car was in Poole) before going to get him, giving me time to have a think about the decision to move to a larger, more expensive to maintain car with a thirsty V6.
I went ahead as planned, and picked him up on Thursday. Here is Victor, the latest addition to my household.
Some specifications:
- MG ZT 190, with the + specification
- 2.5L KV6 engine, 24 valve, 187bhp
- 5 speed manual Jatco gearbox
- 'Sports' pack (18" Straight style alloy wheels, sports suspension, 325mm front brakes)
- Car finished in 'Nocturne', quite rare as it is a Monogram colour. In other words, hard to fix if I have a prang.
- Dual zone climate control system, Auto windscreen wipers, Follow-Me-Home headlight assist, on-board computer system with Message Centre, self-dimming rear mirror, Reverse parking sensors from factory
- Silver dashboard design with matching dial surrounds
- 127,000 miles, FSH, MOT until December.
History:
- Clutch, master and slave done in January
- Gearbox replaced in May
- All belts and waterpump done last year, at a cost of £700
- 4x Firestone tyres 6 months ago, plenty of tread remaining
Some more pictures, still a little grubby in them as I hadn't finished cleaning properly:
Possibly optimistic.
A proper clock, none of that digital rubbish!
Nice, roomy interior, even in the back.
Proper engine!
These engines have a known issue with the small motors that control the variable length inlet manifold - there are a set of butterfly valves that open up at about 3,000rpm to allow more air into the engine and increase top end power.
I knew it had a new motor not too long ago, so with this in mind I decided to open it up and strengthen the solder joints and switch mountings that will eventually fail.
The motor, opened up. You can see the 2 microswitches that become detached, due to the cam (which sits through the enclosure) pushing hard on them every time the car reaches 3,000rpm.
I simply re-soldered the switches (the joints looked quite poor) and glued them to the board, to stop any movement when the switch is pressed. As the enclosure is a sealed unit, I whipped out the Instant Gasket and then refitted.
Switches, now mounted properly and glued down.
With this done, it was time to get down to enjoying the car. And what a car!
It's quiet on the motorway and pretty refined for a sports saloon, but get it on the twisties and it sticks to the road like glue, thanks to the 225 width tyres and firm suspension setup.
The V6 pulls all the way to the 6750rpm redline, and is a joy to push this far - with every 1k increase on the dials you can feel it pulling harder and harder.
The dual zone climate control combined with driving assists such as the auto windscreen wipers and the rear parking sensors mean long jaunts are a piece of cake, I've done over 500 miles since picking him up, and loved every single one.
So far I've averaged 33mpg, which is via a combination of backroads and long motorway sections at high speed.
The previous owner left an original XPower stainless steel exhaust, 2x spare 18" alloys in the boot and also a spare VIS motor in the boot for me.
Best of all, he cost me a mere £995. **** off away.
After calling my insurance company (Adrian Flux) and discussing possible alternatives, it turned out certain derivatives of the MG ZT are relatively cheap to insure. I made a note of which versions were insurable, and set to work to find one locally for a test drive.
I took one out at a local garage, and although very nice it was missing some history and a few important services were totally unaccounted for (6 year cambelt service and a huge hole around 40-60k, of zero receipts). I decided to give this one a miss.
I then found one with full history, the cambelts done by a specialist, and most of the other bits and pieces that go wrong with these cars have already been seen to.
It was located about 250 miles away, so I decided to have a mini-break in Devon (car was in Poole) before going to get him, giving me time to have a think about the decision to move to a larger, more expensive to maintain car with a thirsty V6.
I went ahead as planned, and picked him up on Thursday. Here is Victor, the latest addition to my household.
Some specifications:
- MG ZT 190, with the + specification
- 2.5L KV6 engine, 24 valve, 187bhp
- 5 speed manual Jatco gearbox
- 'Sports' pack (18" Straight style alloy wheels, sports suspension, 325mm front brakes)
- Car finished in 'Nocturne', quite rare as it is a Monogram colour. In other words, hard to fix if I have a prang.
- Dual zone climate control system, Auto windscreen wipers, Follow-Me-Home headlight assist, on-board computer system with Message Centre, self-dimming rear mirror, Reverse parking sensors from factory
- Silver dashboard design with matching dial surrounds
- 127,000 miles, FSH, MOT until December.
History:
- Clutch, master and slave done in January
- Gearbox replaced in May
- All belts and waterpump done last year, at a cost of £700
- 4x Firestone tyres 6 months ago, plenty of tread remaining
Some more pictures, still a little grubby in them as I hadn't finished cleaning properly:
Possibly optimistic.
A proper clock, none of that digital rubbish!
Nice, roomy interior, even in the back.
Proper engine!
These engines have a known issue with the small motors that control the variable length inlet manifold - there are a set of butterfly valves that open up at about 3,000rpm to allow more air into the engine and increase top end power.
I knew it had a new motor not too long ago, so with this in mind I decided to open it up and strengthen the solder joints and switch mountings that will eventually fail.
The motor, opened up. You can see the 2 microswitches that become detached, due to the cam (which sits through the enclosure) pushing hard on them every time the car reaches 3,000rpm.
I simply re-soldered the switches (the joints looked quite poor) and glued them to the board, to stop any movement when the switch is pressed. As the enclosure is a sealed unit, I whipped out the Instant Gasket and then refitted.
Switches, now mounted properly and glued down.
With this done, it was time to get down to enjoying the car. And what a car!
It's quiet on the motorway and pretty refined for a sports saloon, but get it on the twisties and it sticks to the road like glue, thanks to the 225 width tyres and firm suspension setup.
The V6 pulls all the way to the 6750rpm redline, and is a joy to push this far - with every 1k increase on the dials you can feel it pulling harder and harder.
The dual zone climate control combined with driving assists such as the auto windscreen wipers and the rear parking sensors mean long jaunts are a piece of cake, I've done over 500 miles since picking him up, and loved every single one.
So far I've averaged 33mpg, which is via a combination of backroads and long motorway sections at high speed.
The previous owner left an original XPower stainless steel exhaust, 2x spare 18" alloys in the boot and also a spare VIS motor in the boot for me.
Best of all, he cost me a mere £995. **** off away.
Last edited:
absolute beauty of a car for that sort of cash
