MG ZS180

[Ricky]

Thought i'd make a little project thread for my body kitted Rover.. 

So i've owned this car since december, it was in really good condition when i bought it but due to lack of funds and other general rubbish happening in my life this year it's been neglected, driven everyday with only only enough money to put fuel in it. 

Everyday its hard work to drive, suspension is too hard, noisy and a pain in traffic. Find a good road though and it transforms into such an awesome car, chassis wise these are pretty well sorted. It gets a lot of hate, usual Rover related BS but I quite like that, it means that these are dirt cheap to buy and a damn sight more fun to drive the boring 1.6 German hatchbacks my mates think are cool! 

Plans are:
Fix all little issues, replace brakes, fluids etc. 
Build up an enclosed induction kit to lose the crap little box MG fitted it with
Replace bushes
Sort out a few paintwork issues
Change the seats

Also a few little OEM+ touches here and there, I don't want to ruin it.

After that, its all about driving it to different places and enjoying it with a couple of track days thrown in. 

Only one picture at the minute, its too dirty to take any right now!

[lolsteve]

Love the colour! Don't know a whole lot about the KV6 but think breathing restrictions is their main problem along with the VIS motors.
Theres a testing kit you can get now for fairly cheap that'll make sure they're running right.

Chassis is very good on these although a little oversteery for my liking, that double wishbone suspension and independent rear feel a world away from a mcpherson and beam.

Been asked to try and map one of these so if get any good results I'll let you know, don't think the peak power gets much but it's more an improvement across the midrange which is where it really counts

[procta]

they used that engine in the BTCC, it can be very expensive to fix, the timing belt can cost £700 quid to change! That requires to be done at 75k, so you will find a few people elbow the car on just before then.
Not sure what is still about for these now, as the performance side of MG ROVER is dead, You could get hold of a few things before, As I said to steve on here, you better off going to an MGCC event for info as they do race these too. MG live at sliver stone is the best event.

[C2K]

There is a specialist here in Rugby that tackles cambelts for the KV6 for what I understand is a very reasonable price, lates his name is.

They're tidy cars but the mk1 ZS never sat right with me, much preferred the mk2 and indeed the ZS hatch, but nice to see something different on here. I got years of the same Rover BS when i ran my Rover Turbo for a good few years, but it means that I got to enjoy a wolf in sheeps clothing.

Look forward to seeing some progress on it.

[Ricky]

It's pretty lifeless below 3.5/4krpm, especially at the moment as its running really badly.. Still kicks when the VIS opens but it definatly needs some TLC. It's got a powerflow cat back on it, once I've replaced the standard inducution I'll be interested in what improvements can be gained from mapping.

This car was owned my MG for the first year, then one person from 04 til December last year when I bought it. I've got a huge amount of receipts from an MG specialist where the owner used to take it for everything including £1400 on cambelt and a few small bits earlier last year.

I avoided the MK2 because of the tax, mine just misses out on the £400+ bracket due to its age luckily!

Can't wait to bring it back to its former glory and enjoy it! With plenty of videos and pictures along the way.. This engine sounds awesome, not the usual V6 noise.

[RetroPug]

I really like these actually. I almost bought one when my old 306 got smashed into by someone, and like you said, very cheap.

[procta]

there is a club you can join, http://mgr-forums.com They are a nice bunch of lads, not really keen on the metro side of things, but that's how the Rover world is.

[Ricky]

I'll have a look on there. As with most things MG Rover, most of the forums are pretty much dead in the water!

[procta]

I'll have a look on there. As with most things MG Rover, most of the forums are pretty much dead in the water!

a lot died off years ago, also a lot of good people went too, all I can say is watch some of the info on rover forums, some of it is questionable.
Back in the day though, they did really have a good community, that was the days of rover sport and mg sport clubs.
Not sure on how active the modifying status is now of rovers, due to the status of cars and parts.  The rover boys used to love the T series, you do get some good figures and power out that engine. but again it would be finding a T series engine, as there isn't the 800s or the 600s about now.
I do know the full rover status is in transition now, going to classic car status and rarity. Hence the club I posted to you.

[lolsteve]

Wouldn't bother too much with the forums. Facebook groups have really killed them

There's the MG ZS enthusiasts group which have quite a few 180 owners

[C2K]

http://www.mg-rover.org/ was the only one of any use back in the day. Used to have all the old school fellers.

[procta]

http://www.mg-rover.org/ was the only one of any use back in the day. Used to have all the old school fellers.

that one isn't that friendly at all sadly, when I was on there.

[C2K]

It had knowledge and knobs in equal measure I found!

[Ricky]

Not a lot has been happening with this lately, lack of funds really.

The whole clutch hydraulic system on these as awful, so I bought a new complete upgrade kit as I was having trouble getting into forward gears and reverse was no longer possible. Basically the bracket for the slave cylinder is really weak so instead of disengaging the clutch it was bending the bracket. The new kit is so much better than standard.



Also replaced the MG badge on the boot..



Today I fitted the speakers I've had sat in the boot for six months. I've been putting it off because it's a lot of effort and I'm rubbish at doing this sort of thing! So don't judge my messy work too much!..
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