Year: 2021

This fab Rover 100 ascot se 1.1 in at the shop today for clutch replacement…

Whilst it was with us we bled the front brakes and replaced the alternator belt.

What a fab car! Nice to have a little test drive in it 😀

Really great to see Simon and Amy again.

Swap over of tools and parts to the camper ready to head south west in the morning.

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As planned, when we were there last week, we squeezed Chris in this morning, in Huddersfield, to get him sorted with a couple of his cars…

Chris managed to source a couple of replacement hydragas pipes for his lovely MGF Trophy as the one in the car was blocked up.

The first one we tried to disassemble for the section that we needed. Unfortunately, the threads stripped and it couldn’t be used once it had been separated. So we used the complete pipe and replaced it front to back. Car now up to the correct ride height and looking good!

We then investigated what was occurring with his TF 160 for an issue with stalling, when being driven. Our diagnostics showed that the throttle was closed too far. The stepper motor was then recalibrated from position 99 to position 21, which would then also allow it to open wider for cold starting. Car ticking over nicely now.

Back to the workshop to continue work on the two visitors we have in from Scotland. The stepspeed is almost done and the TF 135 has a few more things still to do.

A very productive day and good to see the sun ☀️

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Working almost on the doorstep to Brooklands this morning…

Great to see Andy again for a couple of things on his TF 135. Underfloor coolant pipes replaced with stainless and the drivers door lock wasn’t working so this was replaced too.

Shame we couldn’t pay a visit to the museum, always a fascinating place.

We then went over to Carshalton for more work on ‘Betsy’, Jamie’s Midget conversion project that is gradually coming together piece by piece. Jon carried on with the welding.

Always good to see Mark and Jamie, great to have a chat. Thanks to Mark for relieving me of ‘fire-watch’ so I could go for a walk.

Another day on it tomorrow and she will be a bit further on. As mentioned in previous posts it’s always so good to see Jamie’s enthusiasm and ideas for this car. It’s great to be part of it.



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An enjoyable day in Croydon for work on Ian’s fab ‘97 MGF 143 VVC.

Cambelt, water pump and tensioner replaced, plus all annual service parts.

Slick Shift fitted as Ian had found the gear change to be very sloppy. A marked improvement now.

Great to see you again Ian, thank you, to Juliet for the tea making facilities and choccy biscuits, really appreciated. ☺️

A slow trip back to our digs in Bromley, a marked difference in traffic now the schools are back. Good run down yesterday though.

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First call in Kettering this morning and great to see Lorraine and Marcus again.

Their TF 135 had failed the MOT on a couple of issues. So front and rear ball joints replaced on the offside. Minor service also carried out while we were there.

We then headed north to Nottingham to meet David. He had put a post on Facebook last month asking for help with his TF 135, as he couldn’t find a garage in his area that were wanting to do the work. It was lovely to meet David and get him sorted. So both lower front suspension arms were replaced, with all bolts behaving! He was so pleased to have the car back to rights again for his wife.

A good day and home in daylight. 🌞

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After a bit of diary logistics and getting everyone seen in some semblance of order we headed to Lincolnshire this morning…

Dunholme, was our first call, for CVT oil and strainer replacement on Brian’s very tidy Stepspeed.

We then went over to Fotherby, to see Brendan, for cambelt service on his also very tidy TF 135. Alternator belt was a bit tired so this was replaced. Coolant temperature sensor replaced as Brendan found it had been taking a long time to give a reading.

Slight coolant loss also, and after investigation, it was found to be a nibbled through hose from a mouse that had previously been lurking in there some time ago.

Thanks to Brian and Brendan for letting us come to see you sooner than planned, you’ve made a few other people very happy!

Great to see you both today and have time to have a chat. Not to mention the very welcome tea and biscuits, plus your garages to work in to keep us out of the all day drizzle.

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That was a later finish than expected, on our home now on the M62….

We went back over to Yeadon, this morning, and lovely to see Lorna again, for the cambelt service, on her fab looking TF 135. Full service done too. She asked if we spotted anything else while we were there to let her know. The underfloor coolant pipes had certainly done their time, so these were replaced with stainless. Car up and running nicely again.

We then went over to Huddersfield,
where it was great to see Chris again, for replacement of all spheres on his lovely looking MGF Trophy.

Strangely, one of the replacement spheres had the wrong sized cone fitted, this was only apparent when refilling the system with hydralastic fluid, we then set about taking all the spheres out and checking the heights against the old set of spheres. Only to find that the first we took off was the only one at fault. However, did find partially blocked pipe to one of the rear spheres, managed to clear it enough to be useable.

Once Chris has obtained a new pipe we will go back to replace this. Plus we ran out of time to check over the tic-over issue he has been experiencing on his TF 160. The car seems to tic-over ok while stationary, but when driving always tries to stall.

Great to have a good catch-up with you Chris, we appreciated the many welcome cuppas 🤗 Plus mouse evicted from air box!

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Good to be back home in daylight after a successful week in the south…

An enjoyable morning in Brentwood today, meeting Neil, for work on his fab 1998 Rover Coupe that he has owned for the past 11 years.

Minor service carried out and investigation of a minor weep. Inlet manifold gasket replaced and the heater matrix hose had coolant seeping out under load, not evident on initial pressure test, turned out to be snapped jubilee clip, so new one fitted. New gear gator fitted as his was a bit on the raggy side. A very well cared for car and all in good order.

Yesterday was a bit different to what was planned, went over to Clare, near Sudbury, as we had been asked to investigate a few issues and undertake any necessary work on an MGF mpi 120, turned out he didn’t want any work doing as selling the car. Oh well, we got an unexpected day off and a drive through some lovely places!

Back in the workshop tomorrow to crack on there.

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