Porsche Enthusiasts Club Forum

Well not one, this one

400 bhp street sleeper

What's that then?

Sad thing that it is a Rover, Sorry MG.
Does it have any guarantee worth more than a fag paper
Didn't they have a reputation for an engine design fault that warps the head

Its an MG ZT standard car has V8 Mustang engine

http://www.mgcars.org.uk/cgi-bin/gen5?r ... /ztv8.html

And that one is fitted with a supercharger = 400 BHP

So where do you go for spare parts? My '44 may be 22 years old but it's still supported by OPC. Not much chance with an Over!
If the meet at the white rose is next week will contact you before as the heads still off. Machine shop is busy they say.

95% of parts available next day from various places such as Rimmers who bought most of the spares, loads of ex-dealers under the X Parts banner service them, the engine & box are current Ford Mustang so simple technology & loads of tuning bits.

Well I speak in defense of rover. We've had them for years and they are a good value-for-money motor. They may have a dour image but who cares? Every car has a purpose and the rovers are good workhorses.

The thing I don't reall approve of is the way they just re-badged rovers as MGs..

Adam

My brother in law purchased a "new" one... its actually on a 57 plate!! (from the stock yard)

He immediately fitted the sports exhaust and it sounds amazing!!! was the only reason he wanted it, however I do have a weak spot for the sound of a V8 in anger mode.
However first time he used the sunroof its motor melted leaving it stuck open and seized..
New motor fitted a week later and all has been good from then on in... well apart from he visits the petrol station more often than me

garyw

They were more than just rebadged, the suspension settings were extensively reworked, very well done for the 2s 3d budget they had
They also are very reliable 75 & the ZT & ZT-T came higher than the Passat in quite a few reliability tests.

PS Paul Greers ZT was very reliable & gave him very little grief apart from it's fuel consumption but that'll be the 190BHP V6 & using it for shopping trips

I may be wrong but didn't the K series rover engine have an inherent fault with the head and gasket?

I certainly know more than the average number of them had problems. Four cars I know of had the same fault with the engine. I was advised not to buy one on the grounds that when they go wrong and are repaired, they can easily go wrong again with the same fault.

Are you talking ZT ? The ZT came with a 1.8 K series, 1.8 Turbo K Series & a 2l & 2.5L KV6. The 1.8K series had issues but these seem to be much less of an issue in the 75/ZT than an MGF. The KV6 had issues but never in the 75/ZT only in the Rover 800 where they did a recall.
The diseasal is a BMW one & is bullet proof, hence in great demand still by Cabbies.
But all this is irelavent the one posted has a FORD Mustang V8 & T56 box & has no issues! Apart from maybe fuel consumption & rear tyre life!

All the K-series engines are prone to HG failure, 1.6 included. But the repair will only 'fail' if not done right e.g. if the head is warped too bady or the correct tightening sequence is not followed etc etc

It certainly wouldn't put me off buying another one. And the repair itself should set you back no more than about £500.

The bigger the engine the more likely it is to fail, the 1.1 & 1.4 only fail if completely cooked. The 1.6 isn't bad.The 1.8 has a rightly bad rep especially in the MGF where it has very long coolant pipes & also has no low-level header tank warning light. They also cheapened the build through it's life span such as the plastic dowels.
The K Series was designed to run minimal coolant A. to keep the weight down, B. to give quick warm up for low emissions.
I've seen a K series in 1.8 form give 298BHP at 9,200RPM on the dyno! And it stayed inone piece for around 18 months so they can be made to go.

I think that's internet hearsay. The 1.6 is just as likely. Ask the missus Same goes for a mates lass (with a 1.4 actually).
Also I had a look at another one recently, for a possible snotter for me/us, and it had come in for a gasket at the usual 50-60k. I'm afraid they fail like clockwork. But as I said above, it is not in itself a reason to reject a car.