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Sunday found us at the workshop when it was great to meet Paul & Olivia who came over from Widness to drop off their ‘03 Stepspeed (in LEF) with us.

After purchasing the car last year it, unfortunately, only lasted about 70 miles before experiencing a misfire and a metallic grating sound. Paul took it over to the local garage and whilst just being moved on the forecourt the diff then exploded. He then got in touch with us to see when we could fit a new gearbox, Paul having sourced a brand new one from Brown & Gammons.

We then cracked on first thing on Monday morning to drop the subframe and swap out the gearboxes. Over the next couple of days we carried out a full cambelt service, replaced the underfloor coolant pipes. We noticed that the head gasket had also gone, so replaced this along with all the other gaskets, as they had definitely done their time. Few other things sorted. Now there’s just the fitting of a new stainless back-box and new reg plates that will be done on Friday. The list kind of grew, as they can do!

Good to see Mervyn and Noel who drive down from Darlington, on Monday, to leave Noel’s TF 85th (in paint code 107) with us.

Full underfloor treatment carried out and replacement of brake lines. What an interesting life this car has had, with Noel owning from new, having done hill climbs and auto-testing, amongst other activities, in. It’s fitted with upgraded anti-roll bars, Bilstein shockers, and modified control arms. Will post pics when all completed on this one.

Full on few days, looking forward to getting the last couple of things done, particularly on the Stepspeed, which has turned into another save! Great to know that it will be enjoyed for many years to come. – https://ift.tt/VZCe36A

Work today on a couple of the Charlton’s fantastic fleet…!

We ventured up to South Cleatlam this morning, where we were met with a warm welcome as always from Tony, Caroline and Joe.

First up was Caroline’s TF 135 (in MBB) for full cambelt service and alternator belt, we had to revert to Plan B as the engine mount bolts did not want to come undone. The slave cylinder was replaced too and free-off of the clutch release arm. Initially they had thought the clutch line had gone, but fortunately it was just the slave that had gone, due to the clutch pedal being a tad stiff. So she’s all ready for the spring and getting back on the road again.

Minor service carried out on Tony’s MGF 120 mpi (in JRJ).

What a fab day, lots of laughs and such great hospitality. Jon was a happy man with Colin the Caterpillar cake and big breakfast buttie! Thank you, all.

We look forward to seeing you in a couple of months on the Highlander. ⛰️

Photo credit: Joe & Caroline 😃 – https://ift.tt/hPrAvdn

Travels through Lincolnshire and a little bit further…

Yesterday morning, Thursday found us back in Spilsby for work on Denis and David’s MGs.

First up was Denis’s stepspeed (in MBB) for it’s minor service and then next up was full cambelt service on David’s TF 135, (in LEF) plus gearbox oil change, brake fluid change, and coolant flush. Always a pleasure seeing these two gents, their cars are all now ready for their runs out this summer, which includes a trip over to France later in the year.

Their friend Richard came over from Grantham for us to check out the oil pressure gauge on his TF 135, one of the post LE run cars, the gauge was found to be faulty, so this was swapped out with one Richard had managed to source.

From there we called in at Goulceby as Francene had recently bought a ‘99 MGF 120 mpi (in COF) and had got in touch as the suspension was a bit on the low side. Duly pumped up to the correct height now. Great to meet her and have a chat about her very tidy looking MG.

Then back to the workshop to get restocked on oils and things ready for today…

Set off this morning, with a slight diversion to the local shop to purchase bananas, as we’d not had chance the night before, good job we did as whilst parked in the shop car park noticed we had a coolant leak on the van, so limped steadily back home, set to and got the trusty steed repaired, and set off once more, to Bardney, arriving only just over an hour late, not bad going and saved by a banana!

Great to meet Colin for work on his TF 160 (in PBT) that he’d owned for the past couple of years.

Cambelt service carried out, we had to resort to our Plan C as one of the engine mount bolts refused to come undone. We carry spare engine mounts anyway as standard. The bolt sheared off so we were able to go with our contingency of removing the mount complete with sheared bolt and fitting the replacement mount.

Underfloor stainless pipes fitted too as his were starting to show signs of corrosion.

From there we headed over to our next call of the day, but with a slight confusion on postcode we eventually got over to Bilsthorpe, near Newark, where it was good to meet Ray and his wife for work on their MGF 143 (in JPJ), with thanks to Dave for the recommendation.

Minor service carried out, underfloor pipes replaced and hydragas pump up.

Bit of a later than planned finish, but we got there in the end and did what we set out to do.

Good couple of days, despite late finishes, with some very warm welcomes wherever we’ve been, with lots of warming cuppas, biscuits and cake, not to mention some fantastic MGs!

Not far from home now, and managed to dodge the road works as they were just putting out the cones, another lucky escape! 🍌

Not forgetting our furry friends it was lovely to meet Archie the neighbourhood cat yesterday and Ollie this afternoon. – https://ift.tt/pX16rwU

Tuesday and just got back home after a couple of days away…

Our first call yesterday morning was in Balsall Common west of Coventry, where it was really great to meet Stuart for work on his ‘02 TF 135 (in JFV).

Cambelt, water pump, tensioner and alternator belt replaced. Stuart had kept up the regular servicing of the car. He also had a fab MGBGT in his garage that he uses as his daily driver, having bought it many years ago in a fairly ropey state and completely rebuilt the engine. What a gem, I would love one, and would use it as my daily too. Although Jon’s not convinced of my colour choice!

What an interesting morning chatting to Stuart.

We bid our farewells and headed over to Rubery, near Birmingham where it was lovely to meet John, who had bought a ‘02 TF 135 (in LEF) last year.

He’d had various things sorted on the car as it had been garaged for 4 years without doing many miles, one of which was the thermostat, but was still experiencing overheating and coolant loss. On pressure test it was evident that the thermostat was still leaking, when removed it had been fitted with oversized o-rings when not required, which had kinked on the way in when being fitted. All cleaned up and new o-rings fitted.

The expansion tank had bloated quite substantially, which would eventually have blown, so we replaced this with one on stock. A few other little niggles sorted for John and he can now look forward to enjoying his car in the warmer weather.

A stay over in Bosworth Hall, where we’d stayed many years ago. We inadvertently ended up spending the night in a suite, as the original room we booked, we found on entering, was occupied. Fortunately, all parties were spared potential embarrassment! No fuss from us the manager was more than happy to give us an upgrade, which was fantastic!

So with a commute of only a few miles along the road, from there, we went along to Carlton where it was good to meet Neil for work on his ‘02 TF 160 (in LEF) that he’d owned for 7 years. On taking the car in for the annual service at his local garage they had suspicions that the head gasket had gone.

With the cambelt service being over due we replaced both belts, water pump, tensioner and alternator belt and also the head gasket.

On removing the head it was evident that k-seal had been added, so we set about removing this evil stuff and cleaning everything out, including the expansion tank that was thick with it all.

All back up and running smoothly for Neil to enjoy once more.

Some really fab cars and great people, with a good run back home, ready to head over to Lincoln in the morning for a few things. – https://ift.tt/C8Y5wxB

Ramsey, Cambridgeshire…

Neill had got in touch back in November about his new acquisition of a TF 160 in Nocturne (paint code IAP). What a fab car he’s found, complete with Bilstein shockers, Daytona back box, roll hoops and lots of other very nice added extras, the car had obviously been well cared for by the previous owner.

Full cambelt service carried out today including gearbox oil change, new Piper Cross cold-air-induction fitted and a ‘Kmaps’ remap installed too. Nice subtle pops going on there now.

What an interesting day spent chatting with Neill while we worked. His neighbour popped over for a chat about the problems he’s been having with his ZR. So might be a return journey later in the year.

Bit of a pain on the way home, the alternator on the van decided to pack up just near Markham Moor, pulled off and hooked up the battery we carry as a spare for work and the jump-pack and managed to restart and get back to the workshop just before dark!

Good old Goldie got us home. New alternator ordered for the morning in Hull as the euro car parts in Doncaster didn’t have one on stock. So another rearrange of tomorrows job in Hebden Bridge to Sunday! 😔 – https://ift.tt/c1RbKDF

An interesting few days at the workshop…

Jim dropped off his LE 500 (number 356 in paint code 108) with us at the weekend. So we cracked on with that first thing on Tuesday. We had Monday off for a few things, but most importantly it was my lovely Dads 82nd birthday so we had a visit over to him.

Jim had bought himself a front and back set of Mike Satur subframe mounts. So these were fitted, no old subframe bolts sheared off, but one new one had to be tapped out from an M8 to an M10 thread for a bigger bolt to be fitted, so on the whole not too much of a nightmare! New Mike Satur rear heat shield fitted too. Plus a full cambelt service carried out as this was due from the last time we did it 4 years ago.

We then took the car round for the MOT, but unfortunately whilst in there it became apparent that something was amiss! Despite us running the car up to temperature, when obviously under load being driven the short distance to the MOT station the pressure had caused the bleed bolt surrounding that a attached to the heater matrix to become detached!

So we set about, with probably one of the most labour intensive and frustrating jobs on these cars, with replacing the heater matrix. Fortunately, we have a few of the original MG Rover ones on stock. There’s a big difference between the two, in the quality of metals and fabrications.

We set about removing everything in the interior barring the seats, and a day spent today replacing it all. All finished this evening and running, ready for Jim to collect.

Good to see Tony again yesterday, who came over to us from Mattersey near Doncaster, with his TF 135 for minor service, wishbone replacement and top ball joint and then the MOT.

Lovely to see Mick and Sammy who came over to collect their TF. Good to have a catch-up with them. Plus I managed to get a ‘nice’ shot of the car after all the nitty gritty ones! Great to have future proofed this car for them, that they will be traveling throughout Wales this summer in on their hols.

Gary came down from Darlington this morning in his TF 135 that we named as ‘Madam’ when we rescued her and Gary bought from us 3 years ago, and has had much fun in since. The heater matrix was leaking again, unfortunately the one we fitted a few months ago that Gary had sourced had also failed. Let’s hope 3rd time lucky this one does the trick! Great to see Gary and have a catch-up and a cuppa. Not that we were putting off getting on with the other task at hand!

Silly me forgot to order in a soft ride kit for Nick to be fitted today, but he’s happy to wait until it’s in and have the MOT and other bits done at a later date. Thanks Nick for your understanding. I must try harder!

Tim’s TF 160 finally got picked up by courier and taken back down to Redruth, in Cornwall at the weekend.

Van stocked ready to head off on the road for the next couple of days. – https://ift.tt/yaIkoDZ

A busy weekend, we headed over to Chesterfield this morning as Stephen’s TF 160 had been recovered home a couple of weeks and left on the busy road outside his house, so asked if we could come over and see what the problem was and get the car onto the drive. We went over armed with starter motor and an alternator. Turns out the spade connector on the starter motor solenoid had become corroded and therefore not making a connection. Jump pack on and got the car moving. Connector cleaned up, tightened up and copper greased and and now starts first turn of the key. While we were there we carried out the minor service. Good to see Stephen again who made us a cracking brew and bacon buttie. Pleased we’ve got his car sorted for him.

We then went over to Wirksworth where it was lovely to see Pam and Tony again whose TF 135 had developed a problem with the clutch. The car hadn’t been used very much at all over the past year so the clutch release arm had seized up. Fortunately, the slave cylinder hadn’t gone too. So a good one a half to two hours later the arm was lovely and free again. When easing off the clutch arm there’s no point in just doing it for only 20-30 minutes when it starts to feel a little easier as it will just seize up again. We have a combination of lubricants that we apply which does the trick. When replacing a full clutch we would take the arm out fully and clean it up, unless it was replaced with one of the uprated ones with a grease nipple. Pleased to have got them mobile again and good to catch-up with a brew.

Bit of a slight change to our plans yesterday, we headed over to the workshop bright and early to get everything finished on Mick’s MGF. The gear cable end had disintegrated so new end and gaitor fitted. There was quite a lot of play on the clutch pedal and when we removed the clevis pin, found that it was a bit on the worn side! New clevis pin fitted and the clutch now feels really good. The drive shaft oil seals that we had been monitoring were still weeping so both of these were replaced. Front bumper back on, wheel arch liners back in, realigned the steering wheel and underseal done. Pleased to have got her all finished and ready for Mick to come over and collect on Tuesday.

So a productive weekend, a shame we missed FRL this year, but needs must. Looks like it was a good turnout and some great pics of the event. We look forward to finding out who won our auction donation of a cambelt service. – https://ift.tt/bwmP2z0

Back out on the road today, it was a tad windy in Wakefield and not so sunny in Sheffield…

Great to see Tom again, whom we last saw a number of years ago with his previous MG. He bought himself this TF 160 (in JFV) in the summer, of which he uses as his daily runner. Full cambelt service carried out for him today.

Then we headed a few miles along the road where it was lovely to meet Steve who between him and his son had bought this ‘98 MGF 1.8 mpi (in MNX) to have some fun with over the summer months. What an absolute gem they have found themselves, with one previous owner and with still a low mileage and all in the original spec. The car was sitting quite low so Steve had asked if we could pump up the hydragas.

From there we on to Sheffield, where it was great to see Tony again whose MGF 1.8 mpi (in JRJ) was having an issue with rough running. Tony had replaced the plugs and the cat as this was found to have collapsed. On investigation and code reading it was found to be the rotar arm and distributor cap that both had minor corrosion. As we didn’t have these on stock we cleaned these up and reset the throttle body plus the stepper motor, which has resolved the issue. Although Tony is going to get hold of some new ones and replace them for good measure.

Some cracking cars today and great people, not too far from home. – https://ift.tt/GRNQDvT