MG ZS 180 Saloon (LeMans Green) - Take 2!

[top_man_eldo]

Right so as promised, and now the XPG 180 has been sold, here are some photos of the finished product of two months of hard work! This is now my only ZS and to be honest, whilst I'm still getting used to the colour, I'm quite pleased with the finished result. It may only look like it's just had a quick clean (which it just has!) but many things have been done with this car. Here are the photos taken about an hour ago after a quick wash and some Autoglym Show Shine (due to the weather!)...

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Love this photo...

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List of things done to the car...

- Underside completely stripped, primed (red oxide), undersealed.
- Fuel tank & hangers removed, primed (red oxide), undersealed.
- All box sections cavity waxed (including sills and chassis rails).
- Stainless steel rear section (unknown make), Powerflow straight through centre section + stainless steel decat pipe fitted this Friday coming.
- Polyurethane exhaust hangers.
- Dark Ice Designs hydraulic clutch components.
- Dark Ice Designs quick shift kit.
- Dark Ice Designs front strut brace.
- New front suspension (everything) - fitted with Superflex anti-roll bar pin links and inner 24mm bushes.
- Rear anti-roll bar fitted with 18mm Superflex bushes (inner).
- ITG air intake fitted to inner wing with custom made silicone/aluminium piping.
- Twin catch tanks spliced into breather hoses.
- Re-badged all round.
- New number plates.
- New bonnet cables & latches.
- Momo pedal set.
- MG mudflaps all round.
- Existing Alloy Wheels stripped and refurbished in gloss white, secured with McGuard locking nuts. Fitted with Bridgestone Potenza's (front), Falken ZE914's (back).
- OEM centre caps removed, fitted with VW centre caps and MG decal overlays.
- Calipers stripped & refurbished and painted in red all round, fitted with EBC disks and pads.
- New boot hinges (awaiting new springs) + boot re-alignment.
- Replacement auxiliary drivebelt.
- Refurbished & painted miscellaneous brackets and battery tray.

There is probably more stuff that I haven't mentioned but that is the major stuff, the undersealing and cavity waxing was a major job on its own! This is what took the majority of the time, but it's well worth the piece of mind that the underside is now protected!

The car now drives superb and sounds superb, what surpised me is that there are no rattles, bangs, knocks or anything despite almost completely stripping the car and putting it back together!

The colour is still growing on me, I have never known a car to change colour like this one. It's like a chameleon! In the photos it looks quite a darker shade of green than it actually is, but I'll get used to it!

[top_man_eldo]

Some photos of the "restoration" work...

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...Now just need to get some site stickers!

[john180]

Wow! Lots of photos and looks like you have done lots of work on it too!

Looking great!

[ZS Phil]

Absolutely stunning! So glad to see these cars are still getting pampered.
Those center caps look great, which VW did they come from, I'd love to do something similar for my winter wheels.

On a side note, I used to own its younger brother, awesome colour combo:

http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/kk11/zsphil/MG%20ZR/Photo0029.jpg (http://s276.photobucket.com/user/zsphil/media/MG%20ZR/Photo0029.jpg.html)
http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/kk11/zsphil/MG%20ZR/Photo0028.jpg (http://s276.photobucket.com/user/zsphil/media/MG%20ZR/Photo0028.jpg.html)
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[top_man_eldo]

I've been asked a lot of questions about the centre caps so I'll clear this up for good!

If you have 17" straights and want to remove the OEM centre caps, you'll need these...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/141217756509?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

...They are the standard 65mm VW centre caps - but they won't fit first time. I'm definitely not one to bodge things, but they seem to be about 1 or 2mm to small for the center hole on the alloy. A simple way around this is to wrap some electrical tape around the lugs on the inner bit of the centre cap, apply a small amount of mastic onto the tape and then push the centre cap through the centre bore hole in the alloy. It's then a nice tight fit and fully secured.

For the decals, you can stick these straight over the VW centre caps and they are a perfect fit...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/160927724272?var=460137684151&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

...these are what I used, but any 60mm decal will do depending on your preference of course! You need to apply these with a hair dryer though to make them more pliable, as they need to be curved around the centre cap. Took me about 10mins to do the whole lot and well pleased to be honest!