Nice! £3000 could definitely get you a pretty clean nc mx5, especially if you were happy with the 1.8. But you’re right, it could also get you an absolute ripen-at-home pear.

We should do a midlife crisis stw’ers meetup. Probably in a B&M Bargains’ carpark, ideally one with an AED

Never could understand car meets. Went to one once at Ace Cafe. Dull as.
However STW meet-up with bikes in or on mid life crisis motors somewhere decent to ride/drive, complete with tow ropes, jump packs and AED would be more interesting.

I went to one at a local tesco, it was great. Had everything- arrests, asbos, old people in proper classics, young people in saxos, donuts and burnouts and more asbos, someone driving into a massive bollard, loads of Honda Cubes for some resaon, and also the tesco was still open so I got some milk. On the way out I got stopped by the traffic cars who desperately wanted to find something to book me for, so I got to be an instant hero for loads of maxxers who got to sneak out while the police were busy with me. Good times.

Keep getting invites to the local subaru owners club meet, never going to that, it’ll be 20 guys wearing 555 jackets and vaping and saying “I have a subaru” “I also have a subaru”

I’ve never taken a car to a car meet! That may have to change and at 54 I’m probably the right demographic for a TF! :-)

Picking it up on Monday now – if I picked it up on Saturday I’d only waste a month of road tax.

And some time spent on FB groups has revealed at least 2 MG specialist garages on my doorstep.

Just realised I sold my MGF in 2007 to buy an engagement ring…what a bad decision that turned out to be. I could’ve replaced the head gasket every week since, and it would still have cost less than my ex wife!

Anyway, out of curiosity I had a look for the old haunts back in my ownership days and loads of them are still on the go!

The old forum is pretty quiet but was filled with really good knowledge

https://mg-cars.org.uk/cgi-bin/or17?runprog=mgbbs

For parts, Mike Satur was the go to and he’s still going

https://www.mikesatur.co.uk/

I had tweaked mine a bit and from memory I had a de-cat pipe, Daytona exhaust, bigger throttle body, ported inlet manifold & a K&N panel filter with re-routed air intake pipe as the stock one sucks in very hot air from the engine bay. I also put poly bushes on the dampers and EBC Green Stuff brake pads. It was a phenomenal wee car and now I’m browsing auto trader…

@boardinbob Thanks for the links.

Trophy Cars have some nice ‘done’ ones, but at a price! The one I’ve bought is, I think, a decent compromise – all hopefully(!) good in the important bits, just a few cosmetics bits that need attention.

I you do get one then keep it covered or in a garage.

I had one and while I loved it a combination of having a child plus rust killed it!

K

The one I’ve bought is, I think, a decent compromise – all hopefully(!) good in the important bits, just a few cosmetics bits that need attention.

This is how every new buyer of a classic car describes it 🤣

Your options from this point are either:
a) blissful ignorance, just drive it and enjoy it and sell it at a loss in a few years.
b) tear it apart to fix a minor fault, have a love/hate relationship with it for years, and sell it for what you paid for it (and ignore the cost of keeping it that way) to someone who will describe it as “a decent compromise – all hopefully(!) good in the important bits, just a few cosmetics bits that need attention.”.

🤣🤣

If you’re even remotely mechanically capable, it’s actually a very easy car to work on. Despite the engine being in the back, access is quite good and there’s plenty of room to work. The roof hinges up from the rear and reveals a panel that you remove to get access to the top of the engine. Other than a timing belt change, I did all my own servicing and spannering

I hope you get a steal, because a 3K MG is normally going to be a lot more rusty and knackered than a 3K MX5.

The raft of updates to the K series included head/block stiffening via assembly changes, head bolt torque changes, coolant system changes to reduce thermal shock and a few other odds and sods. If they’ve not been done, I’d try to retrofit them if you plan to keep it.

Welcome to classic car ownership.

One of the best/worst feelings is that one I get when I do a long journey or waiting to disembark the Channel tunnel.

It’s a sort of I shouldn’t be here in this feeling which is great and scary all at once.

Amusing moments like the car locking me in at a French service station or a rotor arm exploding in Aberdeen.
Also a small fire in Spain.

I’m under no illusion that it’s going to be perfect – it’s a 20 year old car. There’s also an element of rarity – I see half a dozen MX5’s drive past my shop everyday. Can’t recall the last TF I saw.

But from everything I’ve looked at even complete front and rear subframe replacement doesn’t look that horrendous in cost.

Then there’s the nostalgic affinity to MG’s – my mum had several MGB’s back in the 70s, GTs and roadsters. Good ones of those are out of reach for me now though.

The TF is on the driveway (yesterday) – let the adventure begin!…

…feels tiny, even compared to my Civic! :-)

Very nice. It’s amazing what you can fit in one – a mate and I drove to the alps and back in his MGF with 2 pairs of skis and poles and full ski touring kit. A bit cosy as a passenger!

K Series head gasket failures were generally thought to be down to the plastic dowel pins they used in the head/block. They used plastic as they decided it was less likely to nick the head gasket during manufacture. However the plastic pins allowed the head to latterly float on the head and this lead to gasket failures. Replacing the gasket and using metal dowels should be a permanent fix.

Nasty looking crack in that paving slab…

And there are weeds poking through as well…

;-)

because a 3K MG is normally going to be a lot more rusty and knackered than a 3K MX5.

That’s a bold statement as 3k mx5 are generally rotboxes.

4 months in and I’m loving it – it’s pretty much my daily driver now. It squeaks, it rattles, heater is a bit dodgy, drivers window leaks if you don’t quite have the hood in the right position, you feel like you are doing a 100mph at 50mph. This mornings misty commute… :-)

That looks really nice, quite Boxster-esque from that angle 👍

My mum had one for a while. Similar to that. Silver, same alloys.

Straight through stainless exhaust which made a nice sound.

Good fun on some of the Essex back roads.

Got rid just as the head gasket was on the way out.

I do love a good K, even if my Elise is on its second (cheaper to stick a vvc in than it was too repair the first). The VHPD is a beast, had the pleasure of driving a rare S1 190 on track. So much fun.

One of the issues in the Elise with a k is the poor flow rate of the water pump at idle or low rpm. Not enough water flows through the head leading to hot spots and softening. Also no post shutdown cooling resulting in the coolant boiling in the head. Addition of a Davies Craig ewp solves both issues.

First MOT with me as owner this morning – passed with no advisories!

That’s 5 clean passes in a row looking at it’s history.

I just sold my Boxster for just over £3k, they are a total bargain.

For less than that my money would go on a z3. not a rotten mx5

The MG is a little niche, but they did a great job given the budget they had.