The MGF Register Forums

Hi everyone,
my name is Tony and I have been in New Forest area for 5 months now.I'd love one of these cars as you get so much for the money and they are a proper MG.

Just wanted some info: should I only go for a car that's had the Head Gasket sorted, is DIY mechanic work easy enough and was there ever a Haynes manual on the MGF?

I have an old classic that I'll be restoring when I get more time.
I love cycling,heavy rock music,animals and classic cars/ bikes.

That's about it!

Any help much appreciated.

Thanks - Tony.

Welcome to the MGF Register forum

A car with a head gasket sorted is ideal but just be prepared to have one fixed if you buy in the cheaper level. As you say, a lot of car for the money.

No Haynes manual produced for the F or TF, but we can offer you a copy of workshop manual that the dealers used via our online shop ....
MGF Workshop Manual or a Restoration Manual Restoration Manual which is laid out more like a Haynes.

Yeah I'd recommend spending a bit more
I love my MG I got her for around £400 and my old Y Reg 1.4 Golf.

I got her cheap and so expected to have to do work but I've learned more about cars that I could have imagined so far.

I've had to replace the seals on both master and slave cylinders for the clutch, new front discs and pads and her handbrake is slightly seized.

I've also got a leaky inlet manifold, a dead catalyst and in my opionion the hydragas spheres need the Schrader valves fitted and the nitrogen refilled.

DIY is not all too difficult, provided the car has been well cared for. Otherwise removing brake discs can be a bit troublesome if they're held on with 16 odd years of rust! It's a bit more difficult in the engine bay due to a lack of room but still do-able (at least with my small lady-like hands, those with larger digits may find it a bit more troublesome

Overall I wouldn't trade my MGF for the world, I wanted a project car and she's been a great one so far, each fix or improvement I make feels all that more significant having done it myself.

Parts are easily available from brown and Gammons, Mike Satur and MG Mania as well as the well known auction site.

From my experience what I'd advise is try and get one with the head gasket done
Also try and get one with a metal manifold, all VVCs have them but I'm not sure if any F's do although some TF's do but they don't warp like the plastic ones are prone to and I don't quite trust the plastic ones in that hot engine bay especially if you're really giving it some but that's my opinion not fact
In addition really test the brakes and handling, and if you do get an F with the hydragas make sure you've got £500 in the bank for a new spring set up or for the hydragas spheres to be modified as after 16 odd years I think most are suffering from a nitrogen deficiency and as a result don't have the smoothest ride over potholes and speedbumps

I don't think I'll ever be without an MG from this point onwards

Hi and welcome to the forum

James

Hi thanks for the welcome and information.I was looking on some websites and
there were plenty of cars to choose from.I do prefer the earlier style of the F
so will be going for one of these.Does anyone know if black was a colour option
when the cars were new as that's my favourite colour and I've got a small dog so
cloth seats I suppose.

Cheers - Tony

Yes - follow this link - http://www.mgfcar.de/vin/mgfcolours.htm
Hopefully see you at one of the South Coast meets!

Hi there, i posted this a few weeks ago and the car is still there. Not much to add except its near Basingstoke and the owner wants it to go to a good home.

https://www.mgfregister.org/forum/viewt ... =9&t=23066

I have viewed the above car and it is stunning with no visible rust and not tarted up in any way. It has been garaged all it's life, full service history, all the bills, clean interior etc. If I didn't run three already I wouldn't be letting on how fantastic this one is, I would have already paid the asking price. Getting the third was a near death experience with the Mrs, four would definitely be curtains. I don't know what people are waiting for when they claim to be looking for a nice one. It is in this month's MGCC Safety Fast (Page 93) for a very fair price. This could be Concours with not a lot of money.

Hi,is this car in Basingstoke still available?If so could someone put me in touch with the seller?
Thanks very much.
Tony

Hi Tony,
It was this evening, so ring Tom on 07775730521,
It needs a good home soon,
Charles

Hi Charles thanks for that but have now got an '01 plate MGF in Anthracite - so the seller tells me.Full svc history with H/G done and S/S coolant pipes.Hope to meet up with members over the next few months.Will have a few questions to ask but just looking forward to driving it home in a few weeks.When I find out how to post pics I will put a few on.
Kind Regards

Tony

Tony,
Damn! I must now try to think of a cunning plan to deceive the Mrs into 'not seeing' yet another one on the drive .
Charles

Tom is off to sunny climes later this week so I am storing the car for him. I'll take some more pictures and put an ad up in the for sale section as soon as I can, but if anyone else is interested please contact me. The car is still in Hampshire, 10 minutes from Andover. Cheers...Geoff.