Jay-ZS+
26-06-10, 10:30 PM
Well its back on the road!!! :trampoline::trampoline::trampoline::clap2::D
Got to say a massive thumbs up to George and his team, :thumbsup: there were very few people Id have trusted to do the work and from what Ive seen tonight glad I went to MGRoverpartsLtd as its transformed the car. Although think after all the problems that were hiding within George is just as glad to see the back of it as I was to recieve it!! :yikes:
Just driven it home from work which a short distance but it feels like a different car. Think I will be taking it for a sprinted drive tomorrow :)
.................................................. .................................................. .................................................. .........................
Udate: 06/10
So for those of you that dont know, I bought the car last year with overheating problems, got it off a forum member and it was a bit special then. With BTCC replica vinyl, piper decat, cat back, Avos, piper 270 cams, and a big bottle of Nitrous in the boot :yikes:
When I first bought it:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j12/jayhowl/MK2%20ZS/Progress%20pics/Vinals.jpg
So after a bit of exporation into the engine troubles it was decided a replacement engine was the best way to go.
So George came and picked it up left me a courtesy car and to my disbelief managed to drive it all the way back to Stoke-on-trent!! I only managed 20mins before I had it steaming!! lol When he started it up he said it felt like a cracked head, sure enough one if not both of them was warped!
On the drive back G noticed a few things werent right, majorly one of the driveshafts was shot and the suspension didnt feel right. Its obvious george know the ZS and KV6 better than the back of his hand!!
So whilst George had it hes
Replace the engine,
Swapped cams over with new belts,
Fitted a lighten flywheel,
New clutch,
Replaced the gearbox,
Replaced driveshaft
Engine out and shiny new lightweight flywheel!
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j12/jayhowl/MK2%20ZS/Progress%20pics/Enginefly.jpg
Then looked at the suspension, for anyone considering coilovers they need looking after!! The ones that were fitted had been on for a long time and they were F**ked! One of the front ones had completly failed and one of the rears was leaking. All the adjustments have seized tight. Will send them off to AVO in a few months time and see if they are beyond a refurb or not.
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j12/jayhowl/MK2%20ZS/Progress%20pics/Coilovers.jpg
So George removed them and replaced with std suspension. Alot of the bolts were siezed and the N/S rear lower arm was a right PITA to remove by the looks of it, all the bolts needed to be cut out so he replace the whole lower arm. :bow: It put up quite a fight!!
I had planned to do the suspension myself when it returned but im glad I didnt as would have been a right struggle to do it on my drive with a hacksaw!!
So massive thanks to G and his team at MGRoverpartsLtd as it such a joy to have the car back on the road and no doubt in the the next few weeks when I get to grips with the light flywheel I will be spending a fortune on petrol :evil:
Took it out this morning for a sprinted drive and its so much smoother than before and its got some real poke! Didnt go too mad as had a loose bottle of NOs in the back so didnt want to throw it around too much!!!
Although after some abuse got a grinding from the N/S/F wheel so gonna look at the brakes and hub tomorrow. Wouldnt surprise me if the bearings have gone as since I bought it, its not done a great deal of miles. :slap:
.................................................. .................................................. .................................................. .........................
Update: 07/10
Been working on refurbing a set of pug 406 brembo calipers, Picked up up off ebay fairly cheaply compared to what others have paid for them :D
Anyway, thought Id go for RS green caliper paint as it was the closest to xpower green I could find.
Bought all new seals and bleed nipples from Biggred, then got to work rubing down the calipers and repainting.
After a few coats of paint, new seals, decals and a good clean. Just waiting on the 326mm discs and brackets that I believe are now on order!! So give it 3-4 weeks and should be fitted :) Hoping the missus doesnt notice them as she has no idea Ive bought them!! :ninja::ninja:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j12/jayhowl/MK2%20ZS/Progress%20pics/Brembos.jpg
Going to replace the rears and paint them to match. Got a little carried away with green paint and have an engine bay to match as well :laugh:
Ive also removed all the vinal that covered the car so its now just a XPG MK2, blends in alot more now and doesnt get eyed up the same as it did before (know some will hate me for that but Ive got other plans for it ;))
Needs a good clean as the green vinal left a load of white residue but Im planning on taking a trip back to the parents house as I left all my polish there so will be spotless next week :thumbsup:
.................................................. .................................................. .................................................. .........................
Update: 7/10
Gave the car a good clean today, washed it with body shampoo in hope it may take some of the residue from vinal off. No such luck so ended up getting some Meths on it, yes I did say Meths!! lol Took nearly half a bottle and noticed afterwards there are a few little bits I missed. Then gave it a good clay, never seen a clay bar pick up some much grime after a good clean!! You could feel that the surface felt rough but now its like glass :)
Heres the gear I used.
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j12/jayhowl/MK2%20ZS/Progress%20pics/Detailinggear.jpg
After a quick machine polish with SRP (my finishing compound had gone missing!:evilmad:) went over it with some zymol wax which brought it up pretty well. Going to give it a hard wax this week just for extra protection.
How the car stands now with painted engine bay and lack of vinals.
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j12/jayhowl/MK2%20ZS/Progress%20pics/Enginebaycar.jpg
The shine achieved
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j12/jayhowl/MK2%20ZS/Progress%20pics/Clean2.jpg
Fairly happy with how its come up, need to find a decent wax to bring the best out with the XPG. (Steve any recommendations?) The body work is in very good nick, there were quite a few swirls but got the worst of it out, can only improve with polishing. There are a few bits of the bodykit that could do with coming off and regluing. Have heard they can be tricky to remove without breaking so will have to approach that with caution.
One thing that I did notice is that the front bumper has more stone chips than paint!! Not surprising really give the mileage, so think I may dig out the fiberglass and spray gun sooner than I first planned :thumbsup:;)
The discs for the brembos should be here end of the month so will get them fitted next, with new fluid, discs/pads and calipers on the rear. Should stop on a six pence then :D
.................................................. .................................................. .................................................. .........................
Updated 08/10
Well the car is now filthy again :slap:
Although got other things happening this month, Tinted the rear lights. Did them with a spray tint, Ive written a "How To" if anyone else is intrested in given them a go. http://www.themgzs.co.uk/vb/showthread.php?p=164546#post164546
Heres the result:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j12/jayhowl/MK2%20ZS/Progress%20pics/Lightstinted.jpg
Although more exciting than that, look at what a courier dropped off yesterday! The discs for the 4pots I knew what size they were going to be but was shocked when I saw them for myself. They are HUGE!! :w00t:
Looks like a nice kit that the guys on RT have put together, Hats off to them!
Next to a size 10 trainer!
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j12/jayhowl/MK2%20ZS/Progress%20pics/Discs.jpg
Just need to get myself some rear calipers then will fit them.
Got to say a massive thumbs up to George and his team, :thumbsup: there were very few people Id have trusted to do the work and from what Ive seen tonight glad I went to MGRoverpartsLtd as its transformed the car. Although think after all the problems that were hiding within George is just as glad to see the back of it as I was to recieve it!! :yikes:
Just driven it home from work which a short distance but it feels like a different car. Think I will be taking it for a sprinted drive tomorrow :)
.................................................. .................................................. .................................................. .........................
Udate: 06/10
So for those of you that dont know, I bought the car last year with overheating problems, got it off a forum member and it was a bit special then. With BTCC replica vinyl, piper decat, cat back, Avos, piper 270 cams, and a big bottle of Nitrous in the boot :yikes:
When I first bought it:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j12/jayhowl/MK2%20ZS/Progress%20pics/Vinals.jpg
So after a bit of exporation into the engine troubles it was decided a replacement engine was the best way to go.
So George came and picked it up left me a courtesy car and to my disbelief managed to drive it all the way back to Stoke-on-trent!! I only managed 20mins before I had it steaming!! lol When he started it up he said it felt like a cracked head, sure enough one if not both of them was warped!
On the drive back G noticed a few things werent right, majorly one of the driveshafts was shot and the suspension didnt feel right. Its obvious george know the ZS and KV6 better than the back of his hand!!
So whilst George had it hes
Replace the engine,
Swapped cams over with new belts,
Fitted a lighten flywheel,
New clutch,
Replaced the gearbox,
Replaced driveshaft
Engine out and shiny new lightweight flywheel!
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j12/jayhowl/MK2%20ZS/Progress%20pics/Enginefly.jpg
Then looked at the suspension, for anyone considering coilovers they need looking after!! The ones that were fitted had been on for a long time and they were F**ked! One of the front ones had completly failed and one of the rears was leaking. All the adjustments have seized tight. Will send them off to AVO in a few months time and see if they are beyond a refurb or not.
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j12/jayhowl/MK2%20ZS/Progress%20pics/Coilovers.jpg
So George removed them and replaced with std suspension. Alot of the bolts were siezed and the N/S rear lower arm was a right PITA to remove by the looks of it, all the bolts needed to be cut out so he replace the whole lower arm. :bow: It put up quite a fight!!
I had planned to do the suspension myself when it returned but im glad I didnt as would have been a right struggle to do it on my drive with a hacksaw!!
So massive thanks to G and his team at MGRoverpartsLtd as it such a joy to have the car back on the road and no doubt in the the next few weeks when I get to grips with the light flywheel I will be spending a fortune on petrol :evil:
Took it out this morning for a sprinted drive and its so much smoother than before and its got some real poke! Didnt go too mad as had a loose bottle of NOs in the back so didnt want to throw it around too much!!!
Although after some abuse got a grinding from the N/S/F wheel so gonna look at the brakes and hub tomorrow. Wouldnt surprise me if the bearings have gone as since I bought it, its not done a great deal of miles. :slap:
.................................................. .................................................. .................................................. .........................
Update: 07/10
Been working on refurbing a set of pug 406 brembo calipers, Picked up up off ebay fairly cheaply compared to what others have paid for them :D
Anyway, thought Id go for RS green caliper paint as it was the closest to xpower green I could find.
Bought all new seals and bleed nipples from Biggred, then got to work rubing down the calipers and repainting.
After a few coats of paint, new seals, decals and a good clean. Just waiting on the 326mm discs and brackets that I believe are now on order!! So give it 3-4 weeks and should be fitted :) Hoping the missus doesnt notice them as she has no idea Ive bought them!! :ninja::ninja:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j12/jayhowl/MK2%20ZS/Progress%20pics/Brembos.jpg
Going to replace the rears and paint them to match. Got a little carried away with green paint and have an engine bay to match as well :laugh:
Ive also removed all the vinal that covered the car so its now just a XPG MK2, blends in alot more now and doesnt get eyed up the same as it did before (know some will hate me for that but Ive got other plans for it ;))
Needs a good clean as the green vinal left a load of white residue but Im planning on taking a trip back to the parents house as I left all my polish there so will be spotless next week :thumbsup:
.................................................. .................................................. .................................................. .........................
Update: 7/10
Gave the car a good clean today, washed it with body shampoo in hope it may take some of the residue from vinal off. No such luck so ended up getting some Meths on it, yes I did say Meths!! lol Took nearly half a bottle and noticed afterwards there are a few little bits I missed. Then gave it a good clay, never seen a clay bar pick up some much grime after a good clean!! You could feel that the surface felt rough but now its like glass :)
Heres the gear I used.
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j12/jayhowl/MK2%20ZS/Progress%20pics/Detailinggear.jpg
After a quick machine polish with SRP (my finishing compound had gone missing!:evilmad:) went over it with some zymol wax which brought it up pretty well. Going to give it a hard wax this week just for extra protection.
How the car stands now with painted engine bay and lack of vinals.
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j12/jayhowl/MK2%20ZS/Progress%20pics/Enginebaycar.jpg
The shine achieved
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j12/jayhowl/MK2%20ZS/Progress%20pics/Clean2.jpg
Fairly happy with how its come up, need to find a decent wax to bring the best out with the XPG. (Steve any recommendations?) The body work is in very good nick, there were quite a few swirls but got the worst of it out, can only improve with polishing. There are a few bits of the bodykit that could do with coming off and regluing. Have heard they can be tricky to remove without breaking so will have to approach that with caution.
One thing that I did notice is that the front bumper has more stone chips than paint!! Not surprising really give the mileage, so think I may dig out the fiberglass and spray gun sooner than I first planned :thumbsup:;)
The discs for the brembos should be here end of the month so will get them fitted next, with new fluid, discs/pads and calipers on the rear. Should stop on a six pence then :D
.................................................. .................................................. .................................................. .........................
Updated 08/10
Well the car is now filthy again :slap:
Although got other things happening this month, Tinted the rear lights. Did them with a spray tint, Ive written a "How To" if anyone else is intrested in given them a go. http://www.themgzs.co.uk/vb/showthread.php?p=164546#post164546
Heres the result:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j12/jayhowl/MK2%20ZS/Progress%20pics/Lightstinted.jpg
Although more exciting than that, look at what a courier dropped off yesterday! The discs for the 4pots I knew what size they were going to be but was shocked when I saw them for myself. They are HUGE!! :w00t:
Looks like a nice kit that the guys on RT have put together, Hats off to them!
Next to a size 10 trainer!
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j12/jayhowl/MK2%20ZS/Progress%20pics/Discs.jpg
Just need to get myself some rear calipers then will fit them.