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MG MGF Technical - F: Every day use?

I have a YR 2000 F normal 1.8 engine and am thinking of selling my second car, leaving the F as the main transport. At the moment not getting enough use out of the F ant it is not good for it standing over the winter!
So my question is what can I do to make it comfortable every day transport that will stand heat/cold and traffic jams of the M25 on a hot day
I am worried about the car not me.

I have read a bibber radiator is advised if so which one and can I fit it my self and still have knuckles left?

Second on my thought list is a hard top. Any do’s or don’ts with them.

Any other suggestions on kit would be appreciated As I will be selling a car will have a few quid to spend.

Kind regards in anticipation and for past assistance with questions
I have joined the MG owners but papers with log on details knocking about some where.
Any Essex MG meets in the pipe line let me know
Cheers one and all.
Alan Jory

Alan

There is a 2 times a month meet of the Essex Roadsters that somebody will soon be along to tell you about (or search archive). Mainly MG but also other roadsters like Elise, Sh*t (Em Air Der as Clarkson pronounced MR2) etc

The radiator fitted to the newer TF models is lighter and bigger than the standard F radiator and well worth while if a replacement is needed anyway. Fit it yourself? Same as any other car radiator EXCEPT that the F/TF needs particular care with bleeding the system - it is very easy to get it wrong and possibly cause a HGF.

Hardtop: in theory all MGF hardtops fit all MGF/TF models. However there was a change in the height of the side windows (or the size of the glass in the side windows?) which requires different rubber seals in both softtop and hardtop. Also the seals age with time. Seals are readily available and easy to replace but it is probably worth starting with as late a hardtop as possible.

There is a problem with a hardtop that nobody evey seems to mention - there is no roof gutter and edge of the top is inboard of the door. Sorry, not very clear. Try again: if you open the window on a wet day the rain runs off the hardtop onto your right thigh. If you open the window first thing in the morning, after a rainy night, and turn left as you leave home, then you will need to park and go indoors to change your trousers. If you open the left window and turn right then you will need to look for another SWMBO.
JohnP

Depends on how much of an easy life you want...I use my '96 VVC every day through the worst of the south London traffic and have no complaints. No hard top - too much of a pain for those lovely bright sunny winter mornings!

Tim
Tim Jenner

In 1996 I bought a new F VVC and kept my old car because i was concerned in the same way you are. The old car sat on the drive unused for just over a year when I sold it. The F was my only car and daily transport to work and elsewhere until I traded it for a TF which is still my everyday car. So 8 years of F/TF and I have had very few times when another car would have been useful.

I too commute in SW London to the same place as Tim, but over a very different route and have never had any problems.

As for hard top, I bought one for the F in 1996 and still use it in the winter for the TF. I am unaware of any changes to window hight or size between F and TF and I have NOT changes any seals on soft or hardtop on either the F or TF. The HT is not necessary, but in the very cold winter months it does make the car quieter and more cosy. You get the best of both worlds and the top can be fitted or removed in a couple of minutes.
David Mills

First up, i used to use my F every day, indeed for the first 7 years she was my only transport.

I regularly commuted 25 miles each way to work and back and clocked up 100K miles in what seems like next to no time at all. :-)

Two or three days a year i had to leave the car at home and make other arrangements due to extreme weather. The F will cope with snow and ice etc (with driver care) and to some extent flooding, but there are limits and like all cars, occasionally the weather out in the sticks where i live warranted a 4x4 for the odd journey.

But other than this the F/TF is a perfectly good everyday car. It can be used for the weekly shop (with some careful packing), trips to the local recycling centre (again, careful packing, and cabin protection), holidays, tours, the daily commute and pretty much anything you want to throw at it.

-----------------------

Essex Roadsters

Meet twice monthly from 7:30pm on the FIRST and THIRD Thursdays each month at...

The Dick Turpin
Eastbound carriageway of the A127, near Wickford

and

The Half Way House
Junction of the A127 and A128 south of Brentwood

...respectively.

Next meet is on the 19th at the Half Way House.

SF
Scarlet Fever

Save your money from the radiator and get youreslf some driver training, on a low speed simulated skidpan and high speed in the F at north weild. This should set you up for all driving conditions.

The cooling system has to be in good nick, but there is plenty of capacity in standard form to cope with everything from city crawl up to racing.

I used the F every day (even in thick snow), now becky does
Will Munns

Glad to hear that someone managed to drive an MGF in snowy conditions, I found that even with snow tyres my car handled like a hockey puc. Probably just a case of very light powerful car with rear wheel drive. I changed the rear tie bar bushes this summer to PU bushes and everything feels a lot tighter, maybe this will change things.
J. A. Farrington

My 98 VVC has been in my possesion 20 months and has averaged 550km a week (17000 miles p.a) plus various club compition events. I use the car for some longish runs plus the daily city commuter grind and in summer the temp can be around 45cel.On the very hot temp days and when it rains I will put the roof up and use the air cond, when it rains it prevents the interior foging up.I can't comment on extrme cold but for the rest use it and enjoy.
Andrew Regens

I drove my F in very heavy snow here last winter (anyone remember that sudden downpour of snow which brought the country to a halt?). It did surprisingly well - until I had to stop behind a stranded Vauxhall on a slight hill and couldn't get moving again! Had to abandon the car and walk home...I wasn't the only one, there were cars abandoned all over the place. Went back to pick the car up later and it was absolutely fine on a mixture of slush, compacted snow and ice.

Tim.
Tim Jenner

J.A. - interesting to hear your remarks as I know that at least a couple of our Swiss regulars fit 'snow wheels' every winter and have no problems even up in the ski resorts.

I think the trick is to fit narrow wheels with snow tyres rather than the standard wheels.

Just to add - until November last year our 1996 *F* (owned since new) was our only car which perfomed all the normal two person family needs without any problems.

We now have a Peugeot Estate as well as the *F* because we have retired and have been doing a lot of Continental Driving with mother-in-law in the car as well (she was not keen to sit in the boot of the *F*)

Ted
Ted Newman

Thanks for the advice Ted, I might see about getting hold of some narrow wheels.
On the other hand, the Swiss still have a functioning public transport system, and using this in winter makes much more sense than taking white knuckle rides and covering the underside of the car in salt.

Cheers

Jim
J. A. Farrington

This thread was discussed between 08/08/2004 and 09/08/2004

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