Very informative, I bought a bit of a cheap and cheerful TF recently and mostly got lucky. At this age they all need a few bits sorting, but they're still great value for money at the moment. Keep the videos coming, would love to see more on the common F & TF jobs and upgrades as well as any events you go to with the TF.
Willo, a great video and touches on a lot of the problems with MG TF's. I did the same earlier this year with a cheap low risk car. The list of problems - front wings, sills on all 4 corners, rear brakes, suspected head gasket and I found the Pektron was broken 😞 For the audience I usually take an OBD2 bluetooth adapter and appropriate phone to check the cooling system. After all your checks you mentioned do this - Roger Parker (MGOC Spares) says set the heater to 2 make sure it's on hot. Start the engine and watch the gauge on the app. The apps often log the data but you should see the rise in temperature level off at some point (depends on the thermostat), after a while the temp will rise again and oil temp should start to rise too. When they are both warm the fan will eventually kick in at 103/104 deg. then com back down to 96 deg. (I have a graph if anyone would like to see how it should look) Airlocks - Roger says, if the temp gauge goes above half way - then it is airlocked and needs bleeding. My purchase was airlocked and a new coolant cap is essential (take one with you - they are cheap). Head gaskets on these engines are OFTEN misdiagnosed. Looking after the cooling system - I run the OBD2 port all the time on mine and get used to its normal. If it rises by a degree or two you may have a very small leak - go find it or get it checked. If it rises too fast in traffic it is likey to be airlocked from that teeny leak you haven't found yet. Pektron - This is an awesome service to fix these www.technozen-electronics.co.uk My purchase like yours was a gamble that has taken a small amount of investment but sills/wings all fixed, cooling system working, just the rear brakes to check and some minor interior things. These have all been cheap but I can weld and fabricate repairs or you can buy them from Mike Satur. I hope that is useful to the audience.
This is really useful info for anyone in the market for a TF. Thanks for sharing with us all! Great point about HGF misdiagnosis. It’s the easy thing for garages to say, because of the TF’s reputation - but not always the issue!
I grew up working on MGB's MG ZR's MG midgets MG ZS 180's and MG F /TF models with my old man when he passed away i inherited his MG ZS 180 in trophy blue its the 2003 model without the front vents with the 2.5l 24 valve quadcam whenever i am in it, i cant help but smile as it brings back so many memories of him and days out with the MGOC in my local area. Im looking for a trophy blue TF to join it, i love seeing people my age appreciating these beautiful british classics.
Another thing to look out for is failing rear brake calipers, this can be seen in your “new” TF where the handbrake leaver has been over adjusted masking that the calipers are failing and ultimately will seize either on or off.
I see this everywhere and I just fail to understand. All cars are very sensitive to tyres. The TF isn't more so compared to other cars. People seem to forget that this recommendation was made well over a decade ago now, and the tyres are no longer the same. Having said this, the only "decent" brand tyres you can buy for the 16 inch sizes are actually Falken and Toyo. I've had Toyos on one of my other cars and they were quite disappointing, so I would be going for the Falkens. It's a shame that Kumho don't do a 195 width tyre in the correct profile, else I would 100% be choosing those over either the Falken or Toyo.
Nice and informative video! I am in the market for a MR2 but the prices of MG TFs are more attractive so I am keeping an eye open for them. From your experience, what do you think about the steering wheel feeling and performance of the brakes. I whatched a MGTF review mentioning that they are week in these two categories. Also it mentioned that there is no ABS system on MGTFs!!! Is that true? Thanks
The MR2 and MGTF are both great cars, you’ll do well with either! From my experience, I’d also agree the steering wheel feels a like cheap and I personally preferred something a bit chunkier (it’s a thin wheel and I have long fingers!). I fitted a custom steering wheel to mine which was easy enough to do. The brakes are OK but nothing special. They’re enough for everyday driving but if you’re doing more aggressive driving then the standard brakes soon start to fade. As for ABS, it was an optional extra from factory - so some will have it and some won’t!
In Uk you have the possibility,you can order one mechanic at your home to fix the TF , its not so expensive , price is fair , don't break the car in spares, i own also one TF 135 , blue trophy
I’d love to, and it would pain me to pull it apart - but there’s some expensive bodywork to be done and I’d never get that money back unfortunately! Trophy Blue is a great colour 👍🏻
Spooky ! I was looking tonight on YT at a lovely 1999 1.8 VVC British racing green coming up for sale via Manor Park Classics later this month with only 46k on the clock.
Great video, thanks!
Very informative, I bought a bit of a cheap and cheerful TF recently and mostly got lucky. At this age they all need a few bits sorting, but they're still great value for money at the moment. Keep the videos coming, would love to see more on the common F & TF jobs and upgrades as well as any events you go to with the TF.
Starts at 6:20
Willo, a great video and touches on a lot of the problems with MG TF's. I did the same earlier this year with a cheap low risk car. The list of problems - front wings, sills on all 4 corners, rear brakes, suspected head gasket and I found the Pektron was broken 😞
For the audience I usually take an OBD2 bluetooth adapter and appropriate phone to check the cooling system. After all your checks you mentioned do this - Roger Parker (MGOC Spares) says set the heater to 2 make sure it's on hot. Start the engine and watch the gauge on the app. The apps often log the data but you should see the rise in temperature level off at some point (depends on the thermostat), after a while the temp will rise again and oil temp should start to rise too. When they are both warm the fan will eventually kick in at 103/104 deg. then com back down to 96 deg. (I have a graph if anyone would like to see how it should look)
Airlocks - Roger says, if the temp gauge goes above half way - then it is airlocked and needs bleeding. My purchase was airlocked and a new coolant cap is essential (take one with you - they are cheap). Head gaskets on these engines are OFTEN misdiagnosed.
Looking after the cooling system - I run the OBD2 port all the time on mine and get used to its normal. If it rises by a degree or two you may have a very small leak - go find it or get it checked. If it rises too fast in traffic it is likey to be airlocked from that teeny leak you haven't found yet.
Pektron - This is an awesome service to fix these www.technozen-electronics.co.uk
My purchase like yours was a gamble that has taken a small amount of investment but sills/wings all fixed, cooling system working, just the rear brakes to check and some minor interior things. These have all been cheap but I can weld and fabricate repairs or you can buy them from Mike Satur.
I hope that is useful to the audience.
This is really useful info for anyone in the market for a TF. Thanks for sharing with us all! Great point about HGF misdiagnosis. It’s the easy thing for garages to say, because of the TF’s reputation - but not always the issue!
I grew up working on MGB's MG ZR's MG midgets MG ZS 180's and MG F /TF models with my old man when he passed away i inherited his MG ZS 180 in trophy blue its the 2003 model without the front vents with the 2.5l 24 valve quadcam whenever i am in it, i cant help but smile as it brings back so many memories of him and days out with the MGOC in my local area.
Im looking for a trophy blue TF to join it, i love seeing people my age appreciating these beautiful british classics.
This is great, thanks for sharing! TF would be an awesome addition to the garage 👍🏻
@@CarsWithWillo I absolutely agree the TF is an underrated sports classic which doesnt deserve the bad reputation its received over the years
Another thing to look out for is failing rear brake calipers, this can be seen in your “new” TF where the handbrake leaver has been over adjusted masking that the calipers are failing and ultimately will seize either on or off.
Great shout! 👍🏻
Good choice of tyres, they’re very sensitive to tyres, the recommended ones are Falkens or Toyo Proxes
I see this everywhere and I just fail to understand. All cars are very sensitive to tyres. The TF isn't more so compared to other cars.
People seem to forget that this recommendation was made well over a decade ago now, and the tyres are no longer the same. Having said this, the only "decent" brand tyres you can buy for the 16 inch sizes are actually Falken and Toyo. I've had Toyos on one of my other cars and they were quite disappointing, so I would be going for the Falkens. It's a shame that Kumho don't do a 195 width tyre in the correct profile, else I would 100% be choosing those over either the Falken or Toyo.
Nice and informative video! I am in the market for a MR2 but the prices of MG TFs are more attractive so I am keeping an eye open for them. From your experience, what do you think about the steering wheel feeling and performance of the brakes. I whatched a MGTF review mentioning that they are week in these two categories. Also it mentioned that there is no ABS system on MGTFs!!! Is that true?
Thanks
The MR2 and MGTF are both great cars, you’ll do well with either! From my experience, I’d also agree the steering wheel feels a like cheap and I personally preferred something a bit chunkier (it’s a thin wheel and I have long fingers!). I fitted a custom steering wheel to mine which was easy enough to do. The brakes are OK but nothing special. They’re enough for everyday driving but if you’re doing more aggressive driving then the standard brakes soon start to fade. As for ABS, it was an optional extra from factory - so some will have it and some won’t!
Hi I'm also own a mg tf 1600 it's nice cars to own
In Uk you have the possibility,you can order one mechanic at your home to fix the TF , its not so expensive , price is fair , don't break the car in spares, i own also one TF 135 , blue trophy
I’d love to, and it would pain me to pull it apart - but there’s some expensive bodywork to be done and I’d never get that money back unfortunately! Trophy Blue is a great colour 👍🏻
Spooky ! I was looking tonight on YT at a lovely 1999 1.8 VVC British racing green coming up for sale via Manor Park Classics later this month with only 46k on the clock.
Sounds good! 👌🏻
Number 1 for me would be Subframe. Corrosion on Subframes has killed many TFs.
Great video! Where did you get the glass rear window for the soft top done? Mines got quite bad and and it almost useless now 😅
Thank you! To be honest it was already on there when I bought it- it had recently had a new soft top. But you can pick up new ones online 👍🏻
Weren’t you getting rid of the TF not buying another? What have I missed?
Maybe an update on that soon 👀😝
So no Magor issues just trim ..why bother
You can save this car come on you can refresh some issues in the underfloor and you can prepare the car for one mechanic to repair it