Month: April 2024

Workshop days…

Sunday morning found us getting cracking on work on Ben’s ‘04 MG TF 160 80th Anniversary, in paint code HQM, having driven over from Easingwold to leave it with us on Friday.

Nearside rear control arm replaced, nearside front track-rod-end replaced, offside front top ball-joint replaced, both top arms packed with grease. Fortunately, for Ben it wasn’t a wheel bearing that was also required, having sorted the other culprits first.

Lovely to see Ben and Ali again when they came over in the afternoon to collect. Fortunately, the torrential rain had eased a bit for their drive home.

Chris and Carol came over from Wirral on Sunday too so that we could replace the alternator on their TF 115 1.6, despite replacing the alternator belt, and subsequently adjusting it on another visit when Chris was working the area, it was still making a bit of a din in their neighborhood first thing of a morning. This was narrowed down to be the alternator itself, and thankfully this has resolved the issues, we did have various theories about trapped mice etc! Thanks to them both for bringing us biscuits and cakes, needless to say they’ve not lasted long.

John had driven up from Croydon on Sunday afternoon, to leave his 2010 MG TF 135 (post LE 500 run) in paint code 293 with us for underfloor treatment. Jon delivered him over to Market Weighton, where he had booked in for a couple of nights in the hotel there.

Monday morning came and we got cracking on John’s car, which was very timely as, we think, given another year it would be having some real issues in certain areas, unfortunately these cars are more prone to the perils of rust.

Work continued, with a very early start this morning, everything completed and ready on time for John to collect this afternoon so he could head back home to Croydon. What fab weather too for the drive.

It was really lovely to see Steve Gibson again this morning, and to meet his beautiful woofer Truffles, what a poppet she is, we enjoyed lots of fusses!

Cambelt service carried out on his fab Trophy that he’s owned now for 10 years and uses as his daily car. Great to have a chat with Steve and a long overdue catch-up. ‘Tigger’ is now all set for many planned runs out with his ‘MG F & TF Yorkshire group’ over the coming months ahead. You never know, we might actually make it on one of them, which would be great if we could.

One no-show, but not to worry it meant we had chance to unload the interim van, which has been a total and reliable workhorse, into the ‘trusty steed’, which is now back with us, having had a replacement engine fitted. The last one was on 516,000 miles! Shouldn’t take us too long to clock this one up.

So, we’re all stocked up for some fairly local calls ahead, over the next few days. Hope this fab weather stays with us all for a while longer. – https://ift.tt/Z3f8Cql

Minor service day yesterday, plus a couple of other bits. The first call was in Norton, where it was great to meet Paul and his MGF (in paint code HFF) that he’s bringing out of its winter hibernation, ready for the summer. Hydragas pumped up too, plus we took along a new battery as the one on the car had completely given up its last bit of charge.

Next call was over to Barnsley for the annual service on Lilian’s ‘02 TF 135, on firing it up found there was a misfire, which we narrowed down to be the coil packs, which were showing heat burns to the plastic, so a wise precaution to replace with new. The alternator belt was emitting a rather unpleasant screech! So this was duly replaced along with a new splash guard. Lovely to see Lilian again and have a quick catch-up before we headed on our way over to the next and last call of the day.

This was in Rossington, where it was great to see Jane and Lee again and their year 2000 MGF 143 VVC (in paint code CAQ).

On firing the car up following the service it had a slight and occasional misfire, the HT leads had crumbled and were showing signs of wear, so we replaced these with new, and the car now running nice and smooth. They have plans to take the car over to Italy again this summer, which sounds such a fab trip.

Today we went over to Drighlington, where it was great to meet Tony finally and his TF 135 (paint code LEF).

Head gasket replacement and cambelt service carried out, along with alternator belt and new expansion tank cap, as the one on the car was next to useless. Took quite some time to drain off sludge that was in the sump. The coolant bottle had seen better days too, so Tony had asked us to supply a replacement one ahead of our visit.

Really pleased to have this car back up and running for Tony to enjoy again, good to have a chat with him throughout the day, and who also makes a cracking brew!

Have a great weekend everyone wherever you may be. – https://ift.tt/sgn2Ojz

Scotland – Days 15 & 16 of 16 – Acharacle, Mull…

We enjoyed the last couple of days having a bit of well needed R&R and the weather was really good too! Went over to Tobermory, for a few hours on Friday, and which didn’t disappoint, what a beautiful place. Jon treated himself to local Gin and Chocolates, had to be done. Then I climbed a mountain yesterday!

A great trip, all in all, with totals of:

19 cars
7 hotels/lodges/B&Bs
4 ferries
1196 miles.

So now it’s day 17 and we’re on our way home and not too far from the border as I write this, 379 miles in total to home, quite fitting that’s its ‘Drive it Day’. Looking forward to seeing the cat 🐈‍⬛

Big thanks to everyone in Scotland for your warm welcomes, we’ll be back soon! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 – https://ift.tt/lWjDZKV

Scotland – Days 13 & 14 of 16 – Acharacle…

Possibly the shortest commute ever from our digs and over to Chris and Sam’s house, that we could actually see from over the Loch.

First up was their latest acquisition, a 2001 MGF 120 mpi, in paint code GUF, that came with virtually no service history. Full cambelt service carried out, replacement alternator belt and hydragas pump up. A very honest car that’s obviously been well cared for by the previous owner.

Then a full cambelt service, alternator belt replacement and gearbox oil change carried out on their MGF Trophy, as that was due this year.

Minor service, gearbox oil change carried out on Sam’s 2002 TF 160.

Minor service, gearbox oil change, alternator belt replacement plus shield fitted, which will hopefully resolve the squeal it has recently been emitting, replacement of dipstick bracket as the one on the car had a mysterious bend in it and the dipstick couldn’t be taken out.

Investigation into why the oil pressure warning light wasn’t illuminating with the ignition on and free off one of the calipers that had been sticking recently, on his Y reg MGF 1.8 mpi.

We’d planned on two days work on their fleet, with maybe a contingency of a third. As it was, everything went so smoothly with not one awkward bolt among them, and the two cambelt services didn’t throw up any surprises, plus we took a look at the weather forecast for the following day and thought it was best to complete as much as we could, as it was, we got everything done and ticked off the list.

What an enjoyable day in Chris’s company, who kept us hydrated with a constant stream of cuppas, we also had some other great company in the form of their running ducks, what fab characters they are!

After a bit of a chilly start, the sun made an appearance and stayed out all day, which was very welcome and made things a lot easier without having to dodge the showers and faff about with the gazebo.

So today we have enjoyed a bonus day off, albeit a bit of a damp one! We’ve not had a day off for quite a while and plan on having a look about the area over the next couple of days, before we head home first thing Sunday morning. – https://ift.tt/bjCn16K

Scotland – Days 11 & 12 – Dingwall and travel day…

Another really short commute this morning, from our digs in Dingwall, and up the hill to Eddie’s house for work on his ‘97 MGF VVC, in paint code KMN, that was originally exported for the Japanese market.

Eddie’s owned the car for a number of years now and we last saw it a couple of years ago when he lived near Forfar.

Today we replaced the underfloor coolant-pipes with stainless ones and changed the gearbox oil. The heater fans weren’t working on all settings so he wanted us to replace the resister-pack, an easy job usually, but not on the aircon models, a bit more work is involved, which we already knew, but thought we’d give it a try anyway to see if we could find a short-cut. So that’s on the to-do list on our next visit, when we will return next year to replace all of the spheres and carry out the cambelt service, which will be due then.

Great to see Eddie again and have a good chat. Thanks to him for the cuppas and cakes, much appreciated. Plus it was good to have fusses with their lovely woofers Chewy, Poppy and Melvin!

Another night in Dingwall last night and we then departed from our really fantastic digs this morning. The landlady couldn’t have been more friendly and welcoming. We know where we will be staying next year for sure.

As it was a travel day today, Jon nipped over to Inverness for a part for the van, the handbrake cable decided to give up on us the other day, and I enjoyed a lovely local walk up the hills, beautiful spot and some fab weather thrown in too.

Some very picturesque scenery as we headed over to our next and final destination in Acharacle, where we’re now tucked up in a pod for the next few nights, ready for our first of two days at Chris’s in the morning. – https://ift.tt/QWRfCm6

Scotland – Days 9 & 10 of 16 – Chryston and Larbert…

Yesterday morning, found us in Chryston again for work on Ross’s 2002 TF 135, in paint code JFM. The recent MOT had advised on a few things; wheel bearing, ball joint, discs and pads all round and a possible coolant leak on the radiator hose. All of these we replaced. No evidence of a coolant leak, think it was just residue left over from when it was last bled. Plus he wanted the cone air-filter removing and the original air-box and hoses refitting.

Good to see Ross and Jacqui again and have fusses with their lovely woofer Rukia.

We left our digs in Kilsyth this morning, having stayed there for the last two nights, and headed over to Larbert, where it was great to see Craig again for some work on his 2002 TF 115 1.6 originally in British Racing Green, but had been sprayed Starlite Silver.

K-maps remap done, 52 mm throttle body fitted, airbag replace, fog-lights wired in, engine oil change, dipstick bracket replaced and replacement of the cable end on the forward to back gear-cable, which still needed a bit of adjustment as it had never been right.

Pleased to have everything sorted for Craig and ‘Tiffany’ she’s all set now for many more miles to come and good to have chats and cuppas while we worked, in between the rain showers.

So we’re now on the road heading further north to our next destination… – https://ift.tt/3dEvtF5

Scotland – Days 5 & 6 of 16 – Glengarnock & back to Bathgate…

A short commute yesterday morning (Tuesday) took us over to Glengarnock, for work on some of Alan’s fab fleet.

First up was his TF 160 in Aurora (paint code MBB haha) that was having a spot of bother with the clutch on the last time Alan had the car out and had managed to limp it home.

The slave-cylinder and master-cylinder needed replacing, along with flush-through of some very black clutch-fluid. The clutch-release arm was very free anyway, so now has a very nice smooth clutch-pedal once more.

The passenger door wouldn’t open from the inside, so we went armed with new cables and handles. Cable attachments were found to be the culprits, so these were replaced, which sorted that.

Next up his latest acquisition, a 2001 MGF VVC, in Royal Blue, that had come with a set of underfloor-coolant pipes, so we fitted these, along with replacing the alternator belt that had a very annoying and prolonged screech! We originally thought it was the engine bay coolant pipes that were to be replaced, which would have taken a bit longer.

Then on to ‘Noel’ his TF 135, on which the power-steering had given up. We had taken with us a couple of EPAS units, once swapped out with one of them, this resolved the issue.

Everything done in a day, though we had a contingency of two.

Absolutely lovely to see Alan and Andy again and have a good old catch-up with them. Thanks to Alan for lunch (another traditional Lorne sarnie for Jon) and welcome cuppas. Not to mention lots of fusses with their beautiful woofers, Bruce and Mabel.

Plus the rain that had tipped it down all night miraculously cleared when we got there!

We received a message from John in Bathgate, who we’d been to on Sunday, to say the car was making a strange noise. So having the day now free we went back over to investigate, first thing this morning. When we got there we couldn’t find anything that was making any kind of significant noise that would be of a concern. Checked the tension on the cambelt and on the alternator belt. We can only possibly put the noise, John heard, down to the inner timing-cover ideally needing replacing as it wasn’t held on by all the bolts and had obviously moved slightly having been worked on. All checks carried out to make sure all is good.

What absolutely terrible weather today! We’re tucked up in our digs again, in Uplawmoor, listening to the rain and wind battering the place. We’re staying on a working farm and just feel for all those poor ewes and their newborn lambs around us, I want to bring them all in! 🐑 – https://ift.tt/vaY4oIM

Scotland – Days 3 & 4 of 16 – Bathgate, Coylton & Dalrymple…

Sunday morning found us over in Bathgate, where it was lovely to see John again and his S reg MGF VVC for the cambelt service. We had last seen him and the car in the workshop for the front subframe replacement so it was good to have a catch-up. Thanks to John, for Jon’s brekkie of the traditional Lorne sandwich.

Making the most of an early finish we went over to visit Dunure castle, what a fab spot. Incredibly windy and some stunning views, with a cuppa in the cafe on the harbour.

Monday morning and a departure from our fab digs in Ayr, when we headed over to Coylton in South Ayrshire, where it was lovely to meet Colin and his wife Hilda, for work on their MGF VVC in Wedgewood.

Cambelt service carried out, along with replacement of the heater-resister pack and hydragas lift. A very nice example, that they’ve owned for about 5 years now and enjoy using for runs out on sunny days and meeting up with some of the local groups. They were concerned about some over heating issues, but this we narrowed down to be a rather dodgy expansion-tank cap and the fact that the tank was overfilled, plus the system required bleeding properly. Hopefully this has resolved this for them and Hilda will no longer need to take her bus-pass as a precaution each time they go out!

Really great to meet them both and have a chat, over homemade soup and sandwiches, before we said our farewells and headed a short distance along the road to Dalrymple.

Great to see Michael again this afternoon and his N reg MGF 1.8 mpi. This time the car was in need of a hydragas pump up and replacement of the front discs and pads. The discs put up quite a fight and required a bit of persuasion with the lump hammer! Glad to have this done for Michael and also the provision of the neighbours barn to work in as it was a bit on the soggy side with the weather.

We’re now tucked up in our digs, this evening, where we will be for the next four nights. It’s absolutely chucking it down now, hoping it will ease by the morning.

Found out yesterday that ‘sky-hooks’ do actually exist! – https://ift.tt/DXrs2qI