Category: News & Updates

Matlock, Eckington, Husthwaite, workshop and now en route to Scotland…

Another busy week full of all sorts. Gary had left his TF 135 with us from Billingham, for some further work. He and his son Liam had planned on replacing the wishbones, but didn’t have the time to do it with one thing and another. They were saved from what was an absolute beast of a job! One of the subframe bolts was already snapped off and another snapped off on removal, despite a load of heat on it. So these were drilled and tapped out. Many hours later new arms fitted, along with new drop links.

We went over to Eckington for the first call on Tuesday morning, where it was good to meet Dave and fairly new acquisition of a GTM Spyder that he was giving a new lease of life to. He wanted better throttle response and the engine to be a bit sharper, so asked us to remap it. Unfortunately, the wiring on the GTM wouldn’t allow us to read the map off the car, so the only option was to go back to the workshop and remap another 160 ECU and send it out by post to him, on an exchange basis.

Before heading back we went over to Matlock to program a spare key-fob for Stephen’s TF 135, he’d thought he’d lost his keys recently so thought it would be a good idea to have a spare just in case. Nice to meet him briefly and get this done for him.

We went over to Husthwaite on Wednesday where it was lovely to see Mark again, and his low mileage 1998 MGF (in British Racing Green – HAM) this time for the minor service and replacement of the underfloor coolant pipes. We look forward to seeing them next year.

Thursday morning and back at the workshop where it was lovely to see Sarah and Mik again, and their 1997 MGF 1.8 mpi (also in British Racing Green) for the minor service and to have the MOT carried out. The sun visor was broken on the the drivers side so this was replaced with one on stock. Thanks to Sarah for bringing us back some cake!

Van all stocked and packed to the gunwales with the kit needed for our next trip over the border.

So this morning we set off for 9 days in Scotland, with a couple of calls scheduled on the way back south at the end. Quite a few hold ups so far, so a steady plod to our digs in Ardrossan for the night. This is another chocker-block trip, with many bookings being made some months ago. I did very unfortunately forget about one chap, he’d been in touch back in November and I’d completely forgotten to add him on to the current list. I held my hands up and apologised for my mistake, only to have our customer service brought into question. Let’s hope that’s my only clanger on this trip!

We did have further troubles with our trusty steed this week too, which is also a worry ahead of a big trip. Our very kindly neighbour saw Jon with his head stuck in the engine bay one evening and came over to lend a hand for a few hours and even had the right part in his workshop to fix one of the issues, what a star. Fingers crossed we will have trouble-free motoring throughout Scotland over the coming week or so. Looking forward to seeing everyone and some new people too.

Have a great weekend everyone, near and far, and may the weather be clement. 😎 – https://ift.tt/9imRUhS

Tunstall, Harrogate, Bolton & workshop…

We got cracking bright and early on Monday morning to replace the heater matrix in Steve and Marie’s LE 500. It’s a long process especially with having aircon, but we got it all done and back together, car ran up to temperature. Then we took Ellie round to have four-wheel alignment carried out at the garage on site, following the recent rear subframe replacement. (Details on previous blog). New battery fitted and she’s all ready for Steve and Marie to collect on Saturday evening.

We went over to Tunstall on Wednesday, where it was lovely, as always, to see Mick and Sammy. Their 1999 MGF 75th anniversary (in Mulberry – CDM) was due for the cambelt service. Full service carried out, plus replacement of the clutch-master cylinder along with a flush through of the old black fluid. Car all set for its next adventure to Portugal later in the year.

Thanks to Mick and Sammy for their hospitality and the delicious jars of homemade chutney. Good to catch-up with them again.

From there we headed over to Harrogate as Karen had reported having trouble selecting gears on their year 2000 MGF 120 mpi (in Wedgewood – JBH). This we found to be due to the clutch-slave cylinder seals having blown. So we replaced this and bled through the old fluid.
Lovely to see Karen again, pleased to have them up and running again.

Today, Thursday, we headed over to Bolton, where it was lovely to meet Huw. His 2003 TF 135 (in Trophy Blue – JFV) had a suspected head gasket failure. The head gasket had been replaced twice in the past, and he was told it had gone again. Fortunately, for Huw, that wasn’t the case, the problem was due to a faulty expansion tank cap. The cambelt service was a year overdue so we carried this out for him, car ran up to temperature with the fans coming on and going off as they should. This was once Huw’s daily drive, having owned it from new. Now it’s just to be enjoyed on sunny days, so he’s looking forward to getting out and about in her again. Thanks to Huw for the cuppas, we look forward to seeing him again next year for some further work that we discussed.

Well we now have a couple of days off, well Jon has some further maintenance to do on the trusty steed tomorrow morning. Hope everyone has a good weekend near and far, where possible, not sure if the weather is looking too clever, but hopefully that may change. 🌞 – https://ift.tt/x439pvD

Northamptonshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire & London…

It’s now Friday evening after our first week back at it, following our week away of some well needed R&R.

Tuesday morning found us on our first call of the day in Great Billing. Lee and Sue Pudney had asked if we could take a look at Sue’s 2002 TF 135 (in HFN – Le Mans Green with a green hood) as she was unsure whether to get it back on the road having been stood a while or maybe call it a day. It’s definitely one worth saving, so we’ve made a plan to get it back on the road. Lovely to see Sue again and have a catch-up.

From there we went on to Swanbourne, where it was good to see another Sue for work on her 2003 TF 135, also in HFN with a green hood. Minor service carried out, we’d gone armed with a new alternator, as it had been squealing recently, but had rectified itself and also a couple of issues with overheating, which we have put down to having a poor quality coolant cap on it. New pressure tested cap fitted, system bled and ran up to temperature with fans going on and off as they should.

With a stopover in North Marston we headed on to Aylesbury on Wednesday morning, for our first call of the day, where it was lovely to meet Richard and his year 2000 MGF Stepspeed (in Tahiti Blue – JRJ). CVT fluid change carried out, the strainers (oil filter) remain unavailable, despite our constant search to see if anyone is manufacturing them again. He’d also managed to get the car key stuck in the boot lock, we’d advised previously to try Plus Gas (other brands are available) to see if that would help, but to no avail. So Jon disassembled the lock barrel to find that a small piece of casing had broken off inside the lock. Once removed and put back together problem solved.

Next call of the day was just south of Wendover for work on Graham’s 2001 Mk I MGF 120 mpi (in Platinum – MNX). Nearside lower ball joint replaced, that proved to be an awkward beggar. Thermostat and housing replaced, as Graham had noticed a couple of times that the car had overheated. On removal of the housing it was found to be in two halves. The over the gearbox return valve was also completely blocked, so this was cleared. Car ran up to temperature without any further issues. Minor service also carried out. We’d last seen the car about 6 years ago to replace the head gasket. Didn’t see Graham this time.

A stop over in Knowl Hill for the night, and then headed on to Tilehurst near Reading for the first call on Thursday morning, where it was great to see Bill again, whom we’d last seen 6 years ago, for work on his 2004 TF 160 (in Nightfire Red – CBT).

Full cambelt service carried out, along with a gearbox oil change. Great to meet and have fusses with his fab woofer Boris this time.

The next call of the day was over in Woolton Hill, Newbury, where it was great to see Roger again and his 2011 TF 135 (a post LE run car, paint code 288). Minor service carried out and a chat about a few things he was curious about. After a good old chat we bid our farewells and headed on to our last digs of the week in Slough.

We got up bright and early to head over to the last call of the week between Edgeware and Finchley (just over the road from the Royal Airforce Museum, would have been great to have time for a visit). Here it was lovely to meet Luigi and his wife for work on their 2002 TF 160 (in xpower grey – LEF).

Underfloor coolant pipes replaced, lambda sensor replaced, handbrake adjusted, new battery fitted and passenger side window stops and adjustment repaired.

A bit of a long and hot haul back home on a Friday afternoon up the M1. But, it was a good first week back after our hols, with some really great people and their fab MGs.

The weather is looking good for the weekend, may everyone enjoy it where possible and get out and about. 😎 – https://ift.tt/9SW6sgh

RLR has some R&R…

A bit of different week last week, we decided at the very last minute to take ourselves off for a bit of a break. So we headed over to Rhodes for some sun. It’s been absolutely amazing, stayed just outside of Lindos, what a beautiful and interesting place.

While out there I kept on top of the admin with a couple of check-ins each day. Signal not always brilliant, but I think the majority of replies got through successfully. I shall spend tomorrow doing a bit of a catch-up.

We’ve got two days at home before we head off Tuesday morning for the next work trip away. Van all stocked and made ready for it before we left.

So it’s back to good old blighty and back to reality. Hope everyone’s having a great weekend, we had hoped to bring a bit of sunshine back with us! 🌞 – https://ift.tt/OW8rdDY

Rear subframe swap on an LE 500

Steve and Marie dropped off their LE 500 with us at the weekend along with a subframe that he’d sourced complete with all ancillaries. This one is number 108 of 500, paint code 107 and affectionately known as Ellie, that they’ve owned since new and that we last saw a number of years ago.

We had a call over in Worksop on Monday morning to start our week, where it was great to meet Darran, to carry out the head gasket replacement and cambelt service on his 2006 TF 160 (in Sunspot – IAC) that he’s owned since it was 3 years old. We had to resort to our Plan B due to the engine mount bolts not wanting to come undone. All other service items replaced and car now good to enjoy many more miles. Thanks to Darran for the supply of tea!

So we got cracking, with an early start, at the workshop on Tuesday morning to start work on Ellie’s subframe removal.

Whilst in with us, we carried out a minor service, replaced the rear brake lines, fitted two new front shocks, a new Mike Satur anodised three-way pipe connector as the LE ones are prone to snapping without warning.

The SRS was permanently on, this was found to be due to a faulty rotary coupler, so we replaced this with one on stock.

The under-tray was rather rotten so we fitted one of our galvanized ones that we painted up.

The exhaust flange on the CAT was just about rotten through, Stephen had sourced some of the new ones that Mike Satur has now developed, so Jon welded one of these into place.

We’re pleased to report after two long days hard graft she’s now all back up and running. Although, there is a slight caveat to that, when it came to running up to temperature and bleeding the system, the LEs have a different heater matrix, made of a very light alloy. When undoing the bleed screw the threads came out with the actual bleed screw.

As some of you know we’ve come across this before and the only way of sorting is to replace the heater matrix itself. Which, of course, in the case of aircon models involves a full days work stripping out the interior. We have temporarily fixed it, cutting over-sized threads into the hole and sealing with a rubber washer. We will put it on test further, hopefully this has resolved this as we never like to give disappointing news.

This is a lovely looking example and has enjoyed many miles and adventures aboard and to many car meets, it’s great that they’ve invested in her to have many more. We look forward to seeing them both on collection. – https://ift.tt/PDJHYNC

Another week spent mainly at the workshop…

On Monday morning we got cracking with the list of things to do on Ed’s 2002 TF 160 (in Trophy Blue – JFV) that he’d driven up in from Aylesbury on Saturday and left with us.

Full brake upgrade all round along with braided hoses and brake fluid flush, Mike Satur slick-shift fitted, clutch slave-cylinder fitted with clutch-fluid flush, gearbox oil, engine oil, spark plugs, grease grease points, Lambda sensor replaced and then a full underfloor treatment.

Richard came down from Newton Aycliffe to leave his 2004 TF 135 (in Starlight Silver – MBB) with us for discs and pads replace and a track rod end replacement.

We popped back up to North Shields to refit the rear window panel in Dave’s TF that had arrived back from Ireland, as his is a blue roof we’d left him with a temporary black one while his was repaired.

We got on well with Ed’s car so he was able to collect on Thursday, along with Richard. Glad that they had some decent weather to drive back home. Pleased to hear from both later that they’d enjoyed their runs back. We were supposed to be down in Lincoln yesterday on a fairly big job, but that was cancelled.

Bit of a shorter week as we had today (Friday) off. So now we’re just on our way back home after a lovely family day out in Sheffield, which has made a very refreshing change to our usual manic Friday.

We’re looking forward to seeing Stephen and Marie, on Sunday morning, when they come over to leave their LE 500 ‘Ellie’ with us for a few things.

Have a fab weekend everyone, near and far, bit of a mixed bag of weather, but hopefully it won’t dampen any gatherings! ☔️ ⛅️ – https://ift.tt/m2exZO5

Another busy old workshop week, with only one day on the road on Tuesday and here we are it’s Friday evening again…

Jonathan’s 2003 TF 160 was completed on Monday. This was one that we had been to inspect down in Walsall a few months back, Jonathan wanted to think about what to do and was initially booked in for the work back in February, but he wanted to delay it a while. We’re pleased to have this very nice example given a new lease of life, the alternator belt had snapped resulting in extensive damage to the cylinder head.

We replaced all four liners, one of the pistons and then refitted, along with all gaskets, new belts, water pump etc. When it came to firing it up it wouldn’t run, probable cause thought to be the fuel pump, so we set about replacing this, only to discover that the fuel outlet hose had become detached from the inside top of the sender unit, which would explain why no fuel was coming through. All refitted and car fired up straight away.

All now completed with a bit of a wash and a brush up and ready for collection, via courier, at the weekend.

Tuesday found us over in Rotherham, where it was lovely to meet Neville for work on his 2002 TF 135 (in Anthracite – LQW). Head gasket replacement and cambelt service carried out. Took quite a bit of cleaning up as all parts full of sludge and the dreaded k-seal. All put back together again and running nicely.

Another one to have a new lease of life this week was Richard’s X reg MGF Mk II (in British Racing Green – HFF) that we’ve done various things on over the years.

He had it delivered to us at the weekend from Wiggenhall St Mary.

So on Wednesday morning we got cracking with replacing the front subframe with a galvanized one, plus crash cans, anti-roll bar etcetera. Plus stainless steel underfloor pipes, a full underfloor treatment, then a remap with a Kmaps map and finally an MOT put on it by the garage on the site, so Richard can have the pleasure of driving it back home at the weekend. We look forward to seeing him again.

Stephen came over today from Wistow and left his 2000 MGF (in Nightfire – CAQ) with us, as he’d noticed the car had developed a squeal on start up. He’d tried some belt-dressing, which hadn’t had any effect.

It was the alternator itself that had done its time, so a new one fitted, along with a new belt and she’s good to go.

So as Jonathan’s and Richard’s MGs go out at the weekend we have another TF 160 being dropped off from Aylesbury.

Wishing everyone a fab weekend full of fun and sunshine. 🌞 – https://ift.tt/GYmkalb

North East trip – 16th to 20th June 2025

Just arrived home this Friday evening, following a week up in the north east of the country, starting off with a bright and early start on Monday morning to head to the first call on this week’s agenda.

Durham – 2004 TF 115 Sunstorm (Nightfire – CBT). Mike had asked if he could be included on our next trip to the area to replace both front wishbones, the underfloor coolant pipes with stainless and sort out the sticking throttle, we’d taken both cable and pedal, turns out the pedal was causing the issue so this was replaced for him. All done in good time we made our way to our digs for the next four nights in Gateshead.

Tuesday – North Shields for the first call on Dave’s 2003 TF 135 (Trophy Blue – JEV).

Underfloor coolant-pipes replaced with stainless ones and replacement of the rear plastic window. As Dave’s is a blue roof, the panel has been posted away to Ireland and we will return to fit it, a temporary black one fitted for now. Good to see Dave again, we’ll be back soon!

We then headed over to Cramlington, for the minor service on Alan’s TF 135 (one of the post LE 500 run cars). Discs and pads replaced all round too. Great to have a chat and catch-up with Alan.

Wednesday – first call in Pegswood – 2003 TF 160 (Xpower Grey – LEF). Daniel had bought the car as a lockdown project, but had got busy with other things so was now wanting to get it finished. Full cambelt service carried out for him. Then he’s going to carry on replacing the interior in Grenadine, which will look fab when he’s finished. Good to meet him.

We then headed over to Belsay for work on a TF 160, which was registered in 2007 (Ignition Blue – JGY). Head gasket replacement carried out along with a cambelt service.

We didn’t meet the owner, Alastair, as he was away on his hols, but we were looked after very well by his cousin Chris.

Our last call of the day was in Dinnington, where it was lovely to meet Chris who had just bought himself a MGF 75th anniversary (Mulberry – CDM) number 1904 of 2000, which was in need of a hydragas pump up.

Thursday – Sunderland – 2003 TF 135 (Trophy Blue – JEV). It was lovely to see Steve again, who has owned this car from new and never had any issue with the proverbial, until he noticed a few telltale signs last year. So he tucked it away for the winter months and awaited our visit. All gaskets duly replaced, along with the service items. Thanks to Steve’s parents for the loan of their driveway and for all the welcome cuppas. We look forward to seeing Steve and his Dad again, next year, when they come for a run out to the workshop for the cambelt service.

That brings us to this morning, and a very warm Friday. We left our fab digs in Gateshead and headed over to the first call of the day.

Consett – 2001 MGF 120 (Platinum – MNX). Andy had just recently bought himself the car, having wanted to own one for a number of years. Initially, it was booked in for just a check over to see what was needed to be done. But, as he was having issues with the EML and had found that the cambelt service was well overdue we reshuffled yesterday’s original booking to this morning.

Full cambelt service carried out, a very timely save of the alternator belt as it was hanging on by a wing and a prayer! Catalytic converter replaced, along with the forward Lambda sensor. New HT leads replaced as his fell to pieces. A chat about a few others things he’d like doing at a later date at the workshop and he’s good to go. Great to meet Andy, thanks to him for the cuppas and not forgetting the box full of different varieties of popcorn, that’ll keep Jon quiet for a while!

Then onto our last call of the week, this afternoon, which found us back in Durham for the annual minor service on Roger’s 1996 MGF 120 (British Racing Green – HAM), plus replacement of one of the track rod ends. Great to see Roger and have chat with him before heading home.
Bit of a long slow stop-start trip in the heat, but it was great to finally get back and be greeted by our very lovely and very vocal cat.

As always warm welcomes and fab hospitality from everyone on our latest trip in the north east, on what has been a successful and productive week.

Hope everyone has a super weekend, where possible, and can get out and about for some top down fun in the sun. ☀️ – https://ift.tt/LsmN6QA