For those interested in "Modern Classic" Cars

[big jim]

1 hour ago, Phil Mc said:

Copy and paste.

 

It’s worth it......

 

cheers,

Phil.

that didn’t work either 

 

however the link above did, oh my, I need a lie down now

[russ p]

Oh wow, metro 6R4 is my all time favourite car.

I've seen that before.  If it's the actual car Jimmy McRae used on the 86 RAC he completely anialied me on the A69 Hexham bypass

I tried to overtake him and got along side him in my MG metro,  he looked across at me smiled and waved then floored his metro and it took off like we were stood still , and the noise was to die for .

Happy days and the best RAC rally ever

[peanuts]

15 hours ago, russ p said:

Oh wow, metro 6R4 is my all time favourite car.

I've seen that before.  If it's the actual car Jimmy McRae used on the 86 RAC he completely anialied me on the A69 Hexham bypass

I tried to overtake him and got along side him in my MG metro,  he looked across at me smiled and waved then floored his metro and it took off like we were stood still , and the noise was to die for .

Happy days and the best RAC rally ever

according to those ITK its not the actual competition car but the ex Rothmans publicity car basicly a clubman300 6R4 stickered up still would be nice to own but would have to be a toss up with this 

https://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C1244402?fbclid=IwAR0o8fBmGPCI8WvYRvYyGiu_DNZ3XJ38lwstsnvDKrO37aKK2SL4tStpST0

[russ p]

3 hours ago, peanuts said:

according to those ITK its not the actual competition car but the ex Rothmans publicity car basicly a clubman300 6R4 stickered up still would be nice to own but would have to be a toss up with this 

https://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C1244402?fbclid=IwAR0o8fBmGPCI8WvYRvYyGiu_DNZ3XJ38lwstsnvDKrO37aKK2SL4tStpST0

 

That's beautiful and not actually a bad price for an RS200, I went round snetterton some years back as a passenger in a similar spec car.

Out of all the GpB cars the RS is probably the best one suited for road use

The metro seems to have acquired a works dash as I believe the club man 300 retained the original dash same as the road car with different instruments 

[russ p]

 

 

https://www.desiragroup.com/mg-offers/mg-swappage/

While searching the other day came across this

It seems to me to infer to scrap a decent ZR to buy a Chinese piece of ####.
We own both a ZR and an MG3 but the 3 is no match for the ZR 115 TD in any department.
I left desira a poor review but rang them today and some idiot was basically taking the pi$$ so the review stays

The reason I'm so annoyed is that when you visit most but not all SIAC MG dealers they are very keen to tell you they are NOTHING to do with MG Rover of the past so if this is the case the ZR is nothing to do with them (I appreciate SIAC own the intellectual rights to the ZR)
It does nothing for MG Zs to achieve proper classic status and is bad for used prices of our cars.
Desira tells me that advertisement is a national MG motor campaign but I cant find other dealers with it.
I have also informed practical classics of this advertisement
I suggested to them that they photoshop something to make a generic car but he would have none of it.
If you look at their reviews you can see the one I left them , leave your own if you wish .

Although its branded swappage it is actually to advertise a scrappage scheme by MG motor , although in theory and vehicle in this could be bought unlike the government scheme but that depends on someone recognising an historic vehicle

[big jim]

I think your getting a little worked up of that ad personally, it says any car not just an MG, no different than a BMW mini dealer offering a similar scheme and putting a pic of a classic mini up
 

as a collector/enthusiast the ‘scrap’ car Picture has caught your eye and done exactly what they want the ad to do, draw you in, ok your not supposed to get annoyed with it but you have shared it with a wider audience for free, heck having seen it if I had the money I’d be tempted to scrap the convertible mini for an electric MG SUV! 
 

MG probably have that older customer base who have been brand loyal for years and have a low mileage (rover) MG sat on the drive that they may fancy upgrading, and as you say it’s not a government scrappage scheme so a savvy salesman would give bottom dollar for it then put it up for sale in the classics mags or autotrader for a profit

 

and here is the info to say it’s national 

 

https://mg.co.uk/offers-finance/swappage/

 

the electric SUV is £27995 for the top of the range one after government grants, another 7k off that makes it a quite attractive price, now where is that delivery mileage MG ZT-T I’ve got parked up that I can trade in 

 

 

Edited August 11, 2020 by big jim

[big jim]

Just flicking through the news channels and ended up at aljazeera who were reporting on the rebuild (or not) of Beirut 

 

spotted this in the background, BMW Z1, and an old Opel Astra Passing by 

 

[BernardTPM]

Except that if it's an Opel, then it would be a Kadett. They didn't adopt the Astra name until the '1992' model.

Edited August 12, 2020 by BernardTPM

[russ p]

22 hours ago, big jim said:

I think your getting a little worked up of that ad personally, it says any car not just an MG, no different than a BMW mini dealer offering a similar scheme and putting a pic of a classic mini up
 

as a collector/enthusiast the ‘scrap’ car Picture has caught your eye and done exactly what they want the ad to do, draw you in, ok your not supposed to get annoyed with it but you have shared it with a wider audience for free, heck having seen it if I had the money I’d be tempted to scrap the convertible mini for an electric MG SUV! 
 

MG probably have that older customer base who have been brand loyal for years and have a low mileage (rover) MG sat on the drive that they may fancy upgrading, and as you say it’s not a government scrappage scheme so a savvy salesman would give bottom dollar for it then put it up for sale in the classics mags or autotrader for a profit

 

and here is the info to say it’s national 

 

https://mg.co.uk/offers-finance/swappage/

 

the electric SUV is £27995 for the top of the range one after government grants, another 7k off that makes it a quite attractive price, now where is that delivery mileage MG ZT-T I’ve got parked up that I can trade in 

 

 

 

I don't think BMW would put a picture of an old mini up as they seem to be more respectful to their heritage. 

What annoys me with MG they are very quick to tell you at dealerships that they are nothing to do with MG Rover well if that's the case leave the ZR out of the advert .

I did ring the garage in Diss but the chap I spoke to was very patronizing and horrible so their review stays 

[Hobby]

He didn't agree with your point of view then... 

 

By showing the old mg they are encouraging brand loyalty which is positive. I think if they'd have shown an MGB then your argument would be stronger. 

 

I'd be more concerned about what they intend to do with all the old cars they get, though. Scrapage schemes have acquired a bad reputation in the past for scrapping true classics. 

[russ p]

37 minutes ago, Hobby said:

He didn't agree with your point of view then... 

 

By showing the old mg they are encouraging brand loyalty which is positive. I think if they'd have shown an MGB then your argument would be stronger. 

 

I'd be more concerned about what they intend to do with all the old cars they get, though. Scrapage schemes have acquired a bad reputation in the past for scrapping true classics. 

 

I was told by the garage in question that it is a scrappage scheme. 

They might get a bit more brand loyalty if they weren't so derogatory towards the real MG , I honestly think they are instructed to do so by SIAC MG

[monkeysarefun]

1 hour ago, Hobby said:

 

I'd be more concerned about what they intend to do with all the old cars they get, though. Scrapage schemes have acquired a bad reputation in the past for scrapping true classics. 

 

For absolutely no reason at all  that reminds me of the situation here with asbestos in imports.  Oz has a zero tolerance for bringing in any asbestos (ironic since we used to mine sh!t loads of it!)  and any car imported has to be asbestos free.

 

Not only brakes and clutch but every gasket, seal, body filler, ispray-on insulation  -  everything. This has pretty much stopped the import of classic cars here, other than just a bare body shell. 

 

Border Force can strip any car down, no matter how unique or collectable and test any bit for asbestos at your cost if you don't have every bit certified asbestos free before landing it here, and leave it as a pile of bits for you to put back together again.

 

A classic Holden Monaro was denied entry from NZ even though it was originally built here, all replacement  parts used on it were were from here  and there are many identical examples of the same car  on our roads.

 

For instance -  (you lot with your attempted asbestos smuggling! )

 

Six vintage Maserati sportscars meant to take part in an Australian tour will be sent back overseas because it's unclear if they contain asbestos.

The cars were brought from England for the seven-night Maserati Global Gathering, which began in Torquay on Tuesday.

But instead of being driven from the Great Ocean Road to Sydney as planned, the cars have been stuck in a warehouse.

"There was a shipment of eight cars that came from England ... some of them extremely expensive and some of them absolutely unique," Maserati enthusiast Mark Guterres told ABC Radio Melbourne's Jon Faine.

"They've all been restored to the highest of standards; they are probably the best examples in the world of their models."

Two of the cars were allowed to enter Australia as they were built after it was made illegal to produce cars containing asbestos.

Border Force initially refused to release the other six Maseratis unless holes were drilled in them to test for asbestos.

"Six vehicles were identified as potentially containing asbestos and the importer could not provide appropriate assurances that they did not," a Border Force spokesperson said in a statement.

"The importer declined to have the vehicles tested for asbestos. The importer was given permission to export the vehicles.

"Testing can be avoided if importers provide sufficient assurance to demonstrate that imported goods do not contain asbestos or that suspect parts have been removed before import.

"We don't want to unduly penalise classic car importers, but asbestos can kill and we have an obligation to protect the community from any asbestos coming into the country."

The stand-off comes a year after biosecurity destroyed one-of-a-kind plant specimens sent by Paris's Museum of Natural History to an Australian herbarium.

Mr Guterres, who is the director of an international logistics company, said those importing the cars were told last year they would be allowed into the country.

"We did inquiries, obviously, last year during the planning stages and we knew that there was an issue with asbestos," he said.

"We were informed that the responsible minister was going to issue a waiver so that we didn't need to have the asbestos inspection."

He said the cars were of "museum quality" and had participated in similar tours overseas.

"I've been on rallies in Europe ... with all these cars appearing regularly.

"There is, in the best of our knowledge, no asbestos in any of them at all.

"They've all been completely taken apart and rebuilt."

 

 

Edited August 12, 2020 by monkeysarefun

[Chris M]

I don’t mind the advert for MG but as an erstwhile owner of a couple of MG ZS 180s I don’t like them falling an SUV an MG ZS; it just isn’t. 
 

Back in the day the ZS 180 was the most fun I had with my trousers on, especially on twisty mountain roads.

[SouthernBlue80s]

On 17/07/2020 at 00:12, big jim said:

Put some new spotlights on the cooper S earlier after the last lot got waterlogged and a few of the LEDs blew

 

also treated myself to a set of refurbished alloy wheels, been looking at getting my white ones refurbished but managed to get these off eBay with the seller taking mine as part ex, got to get the tyres swapped off the existing rims when I have time 

 

also mucked the car out of pre lockdown crud while sat at saltley waiting for my train, found the cabin pollen filter too, I suspect it’s not been changed for a while! 

 

ive decided regard the manifold (The cat has gone on it) that I’m not going to put a stainless steel sports one on as the end of the day it’s my every day car and I can’t see the point in spending big money squeezing a few more horses out of it when all I do is use it on the motorway or around town

 

I think that was a sensible decision Jim. The problem with most stainless manifolds is the material they are made from (T312 from memory). Anyway they are are not that durable, on the track I treat my exhaust manifolds as semi consumable, like clutches.

 

You can for big bucks find manifolds made of higher quality stainless, for instance for Subaru I can get something imported in from the US, but as a rule it is just not worth it. 

 

So I think that often people are best off sticking with the heavier OEM item.

 

Hope you are enjoying your mini.

[Classsix T]

18 hours ago, monkeysarefun said:

 

 

 

Erm...Reliant Scimitar SE6 anyone? Even the alloys look s(c)imilar!

 

C6T. 

[spamcan61]

19 hours ago, russ p said:

 

I was told by the garage in question that it is a scrappage scheme. 

They might get a bit more brand loyalty if they weren't so derogatory towards the real MG , I honestly think they are instructed to do so by SIAC MG

Seems to me these "scrappage" schemes are just like any other trade in; the dealer takes your car, does what they want with it (resell /auction / scrap) and allows the agreed discount on what you're buying.  I'm not sure why this word "scrappage" has caught on as a marketing term for these transactions, given there was only one actual government backed actual scrappage scheme IIRC, and that ended years ago.

Edited August 13, 2020 by spamcan61

[Hobby]

It depends on the small print. A lot of proper classics have been lost due to these schemes as the terms were that the car was scrapped. I don't know what the terms of this scheme is so can't comment, but I remain wary of them. 

[great central]

Well they say that some fools never learn!

Having taken my car to the MOT station to get an opinion on the likelihood of it passing without needing major, and expensive, work I have been looking around at what was available within my fairly restricted budget.

The opinion wasn't good, pretty much as expected, suspension components on the front, around £350-400. Then welding on the offside chassis rail and both sills, another £250 perhaps?

Oh and the ABS light is on as well!

Not good all round. I've had the car 7 years and in the great scheme of things it's not cost me a deal to cover around 80,000 miles in that time, now 17 years old, 03 plate PT Cruiser.

So what to do? 

Well, with a budget of £1000 or preferably less what is there? Not much to interest me, cheap Ford's, Vauxhall's, Citroens and the like, all looking pretty much the same, until I came across another PT Cruiser. Mileage is higher than mine at 148k but then again it's a Merc diesel in the front, same as the one I've already got. Drove over to Brum with my son this morning in the Montego and brought this back!

 

 

 

06 plate, MOT til next June, feels like it could have a recent clutch as well. Needs a good clean inside as according to the MOT history it's done 3 miles between 2019 failure and 2020 pass, if I've read it properly.

All the electrical bits work, unlike my other one. The driver's door window didn't work but between us that's already sorted, just a broken wire. 

Drives nice so well happy at £750

 

And it definitely belongs in this thread cos it's a classic, says so on the tailgate

 

 

Edited August 14, 2020 by great central
Picture replaced

[298]

Oh no, not another one.

 

If it's kept those 15" wheels on all its life then the suspension should be in better shape, saying that there was a theory in the club that the suspension bushes lasted longer on lowered cars because of less movement.

[great central]

6 hours ago, 298 said:

Oh no, not another one.

 

If it's kept those 15" wheels on all its life then the suspension should be in better shape, saying that there was a theory in the club that the suspension bushes lasted longer on lowered cars because of less movement.

 

Only realised when I looked closely that the wheels are steel with plastic trims. I may well swap them for the proper alloys off my other one.

If it hadn't been for the welding needed I would have stumped up the money to sort the suspension and stuck with the old one, figuring it should have been good for another couple of years at least.

[298]

I've got one on exactly that colour...

 

We also hired a Convertible in that blue in WA and BC in 2007, the only time we had the roof up was in the traffic jam at the Canadian border because someone in a car in front was smoking the most obnoxious smelling cigars. 

[great central]

^^^ Shouldn't the loco be brown with that name on the side

[big jim]

Done a bit of work to the minis at the weekend, first up the red one, the headlights are shocking on it, at night on dipped beam Your lucky to see 10ft in front of you so I took the xenon headlights I had spare in the shed off the blue car and fitted them to the convertible, I can finally see where I’m going!
 

just need to fit the washer jet covers to it

 

 

I also had that car rolling roaded last week and it’s putting out 123bhp, which compared to its standard 89bhp is pretty impressive considering it’s only had an air filter, exhaust and super chip

 

as for the blue one, well that’s been a nightmare again, put a new 2nd hand manifold on it last Saturday only to have it fail the following Sunday at the flexi pipe, luckily the seller refunded me as it was under warantee and I picked up a performance manifold the day after off eBay which I’m hoping to get fitted this week

 

bargain of the day though is a new spoiler for it, again, off eBay for less than half the retail price, something I’m hoping to get fitted at the weekend too

 

im also going to have a try at taking the induction kit off and replacing it with a home made airbox kit, the current k&n has a metal inlet pipe that gets quite warm in the engine bay and the filter is also open to the engine bay temperatures , I’m looking at doing what John cooper works do with the air box and refit its plastic pipe and airbox but with the K&N cone filter inside away from the heat of the engine, the standard airbox also has extra ducting inlets and pipes which draw cold air in so refitting those may reduce intake temperatures 
 

 

 

[big jim]

New spoiler on the cooper S today, another eBay bargain

 

 

my dad came over and we swapped the blowing manifold over 

 

this might explain why the manifold was blowing, as I held the top part while my dad Undid the bottom it just snapped straight off from the manifold 

 

 

and on with the high flow janspeed manifold 

i also took the k&n typhoon induction kit off and replaced it with the standard airbox and air intake which I’ve modified with a k&n filter mounted inside, it should give me a cooler air intake 

 

Took it out for a spin and it sounds really nice, not excessive when driving normally but a nice rasp when you put your foot down

[russ p]

4 minutes ago, big jim said:

New spoiler on the cooper S today, another eBay bargain

 

 

my dad came over and we swapped the blowing manifold over 

 

this might explain why the manifold was blowing, as I held the top part while my dad Undid the bottom it just snapped straight off from the manifold 

 

 

and on with the high flow janspeed manifold 

i also took the k&n typhoon induction kit off and replaced it with the standard airbox and air intake which I’ve modified with a k&n filter mounted inside, it should give me a cooler air intake 

 

Took it out for a spin and it sounds really nice, not excessive when driving normally but a nice rasp when you put your foot down

 

 

That looks a b@stard to work on. I often wonder with those things that if they had stayed with rover if they would still be so popular or would the idiots in the press and the chav British public have scorned them because they weren't some so perceived German quality marque