My next project

[Simply si]

hiya guys. as some of you know i am also a massive rover/mg fan and have owned at least 1 of all rovers built from 1989 onwards, so it comes as no surprise that when solarman (rick) put his mates (swifty) 400 up for sale i was gonna nab it. nice little project for me as im going to do a part mg zs conversion on it and have most of the bits already.

list of things going to be done in the next 3-4 months........

1. new 17" straights with toyo proxes tyres
2. k and n panel filter with piper cross air induction feed
3. 52mm alloy throttle body
4. black leather mg zs seats or gsdi cream leather
5. coilovers to drop it a few mm
6. omp strut brace (adjustable)
7. front leon splitter
8. oem fog installation
9. mg zs rear bumper
10. full colour code on all trim
11. mg zs electric mirrors
12. mgf interior mirror mod (has map reader lights as its from a soft top)

here she is at the moment and ill pick her up in a couple of weeks................

not in too bad a condition but will look the nutz once ive finished with it.
will update as and when she is finished.

 

[zippy656]

HAve you finished it yet?

 

[Simply si]

HAve you finished it yet?

lol, aint even took delivery yet.

 

[zippy656]

when its done youll have to post some pics.

or maybe pics as you work your way through it.

 

[Simply si]

its gonna be a before and after type post as doing gradual mods on these rovers you dont seem to notice the difference. i reckon 3 months and itll be just as i want it.

 

[Simply si]

this is an example of what it will look like once im done. this was my old 420gsi after i did most of the mods above....................

alot of people slag rovers off for the ol head gasket failure thingy, but one MLS gasket and new dowels will rectify that. the k series was a brilliant engine and like all cars, if you look after it, it will look after you. out of nearly 28 rovers, ive only had one have hgf.

 

[jims-terrano]

My next door neighbour has a 75 with MG alloy's sat in his garage with the Head Gasket problem. Shame really as it looks like a nice car. People say they're an old mans car tho:doh

Jim

 

[clivvy]

looks smart that rover mate, apart from the Hg thing, i like them me. never owned one, well, used to have a Montego lol but my mates have had them and liked them...

 

[Simply si]

to be fair, the head gaskets are shite, thats why lotus and land rover developed the MLS (multi layered steel) gaskets which are 99% effective against any further issues. any car can get hgf though, my old man had 2 xantia's and a 3 series 1.8 that all had hgf. they can be done for as little as £400 now by a mobile mechanic, or do them yourself at a fraction of that cost.

 

[TONUP]

alot of people slag rovers off for the ol head gasket failure thingy, but one MLS gasket and new dowels will rectify that. the k series was a brilliant engine and like all cars, if you look after it, it will look after you. out of nearly 28 rovers, ive only had one have hgf.

The car looks really nice, but I had a 214is on which the head gasket failed twice. I got about 11000 miles after the first repair, which I did myself so I suppose I broke even. It's a shame because Rover new about this weakness and turned a blind eye to it for quite some time, on what was a very powerful little engine.

With management like that no wonder Longbridge is shadow of its former self...

I never knew about MLS gaskets at the time. Can they be retro fitted?

Regards

 

[Simply si]

well, the problem was that the gaskets were lasting between 30-100k miles which in rovers eyes was an acceptable bracket for essentially a part that was made of the same stuff wine bottles are stopped up with lol! another issue facing rover was the fact that they had no more funds to do a recall on what was deemed a non-emergency part.

the k-series was an award winning engine and the reason for this was the invention of 'stretch bolts' which ran the full height of the engine and under extreme loads the engine and bolts could move without the same stresses as the 'a' series was prone to.

when you look at the engine line up for modern rovers you can see why they were so popular.

the 1.4 16v k series had 105bhp, fords 1.6 16v zetec could only achieve 80-85bhp at best. the 1.6 k series was 114bhp almost 20 more than fords 1.6 zetec engine. the 1.8 16v was 130bhp and the same engine in the vvc guise was pushing 160bhp with a potential for around 170bhp with new cams and larger throttle body. then you had the 190bhp 2.5 kv6 quad cam 24v which was again an award winner and although expensive to maintain, was alot more reliable than the 'k'.

i had a 600ti which had a turbocharged 2.0 'T' series, after some tweeks this was achieving 220bhp. steel caged bearings and a torsion diff made the car practically bullet proof.

sorry to ramble on lol.

 

[TONUP]

the k-series was an award winning engine and the reason for this was the invention of 'stretch bolts' which ran the full height of the engine and under extreme loads the engine and bolts could move without the same stresses as the 'a' series was prone to

Now you mention it, I remember those long bolts. They had to be renewed each time the head come off.

But as you say a good engine in all other respects... I wonder if anybody still fits them?

Alan

 

[Timbo_1975]

the k-series was an award winning engine and the reason for this was the invention of 'stretch bolts' which ran the full height of the engine and under extreme loads the engine and bolts could move without the same stresses as the 'a' series was prone to.

Indeed the MLS , dowels, and in some cases the improved girdle, HG issues can be pretty much permanantly sorted.

You are right about the instances of high stress in tuned engines and occasionally the VVC where both are operated at constant high revs (7000+) where due to the k series being an open deck design the tops of the liners can waggle around and rub the hg. There are restraint kits available to hold the tops of the liners and stop this...

 

[Simply si]

well, technically they didnt need to be replaced at all, just garages trying to make a few extra bucks but nowadays they are cheap enough.

i know several people that do cheap head work on rovers. all the k series engines are easy enough to do as a diy repair but the k series vvc variant needs proper timing or else the whole mech system gets screwed.

if i had the workshop space and time i would start it up as a 'hobby on the side' thing.

im always on the look out for a decent 216 gti manual (honda engine) or the 220 turbo 'tomcat' coupe. this 400 should see me through for a while anyway.

 

[Simply si]

new oil rail ladders are a must aswell when doing the hgf fix. shame people dont have time for these cars as you get alot for the money.

 

[Thomas-the-Terrano2]

looks good, what motor is it.

strikes me that 2.5 v6 in that shell must fly.

friend as a zt 2.5, though personally dont go
for the 75 body work, too much like a jag and
old man's acar as already said.

bro in law has ltd ed, zr 160, one of 400 i think
made. not been in it but says goes quite well.

had a couple of maestro 1.6 auto and they went
much better than most gave credit for, good little
caravan tugs too.

always yearned for an mg maestro, gather some now
put the honda/rover motors to bring upto date, though
the 2.0efi at 115bhp was really about torque. now the
turbos thats another story, i beleive faster on 0-60
than several ferraris.

 

[Simply si]

the 2.5 v6 in a zs shell is around 6.4 seconds to 60. not bad for a heavy engine aswell.