Cheers bud !

Thanks mate !

Hi hansligg,

I'll be getting these plugs - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/6x-NGK-IRI...-/360475871018

Being NGK you know you'll be getting a quality plug and good longevity being iridium. I've done a bit of research on the subject of changing the plugs, the fronts are straight forward to change, it's looks as if the rear bank will be the difficult ones.

I'll take a few pictures of the process and then stick them up on here when I'm done !

Jay.

The rears aren't that bad to be honest.using the correct tools makes it as easy as any others.

If you have a universal joint extension to fit your socket and can do things by feel the rear plugs are as easy as the front ones.

Cheers guys, that's good to know !

I'll dig my UJ out of the garage ready for when I get the plugs then.

Jay.

Hi guys,

Been down to the scrappy this weekend to pull a drivers side arch liner of a scrap ZS as the one on mine was broken.

Decided to change it out yesterday but when I removed what was left of the old one it all looked a bit crusty so I removed the wing to get a better look -

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...pskxzucr3b.jpg

After a quick session with the wire cup on my grinder these are the results. The holes for the plastic screw clips that hold the arch liner up have rotted out -

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...psep5wkyos.jpg

So I cut out the rot -

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...pszaxrgdrt.jpg

This is where I was planning to weld some new metal in but to be honest I hate patch welding and would rather replace the complete panel if possible. So I had a quick look through rimmer brothers and found that I could buy the complete genuine valence reinforcement panel to the tune of £2.71 for the drivers side and £2.83 for the passengers which has also rotted out in the same place. Safe to say these are now ordered and on the the way.

Here's a link to rimmers website, the panels are numbers 6 & 7 if anyone was wondering - http://www.rimmerbros.co.uk/Item--i-GRID003339

So now it's just a case of drilling out a few spot welds and replacing the complete panels. A bit more work but it'll be a much tidier job.

I removed the side skirt to have a closer look at the condition underneath -

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...psufpfzoti.jpg

All looked good with no rust what so ever until we got to the jacking point which looked very suspect -

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...psrbd77tx0.jpg

Went at it with the grinder which revealed this -

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...psunnmyqo2.jpg

I've very roughly cut the worst of the rot out and sprayed a bit of zinc primer on for the time being until I source some thicker gauge steel to repair this area -

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...pshq1bvybj.jpg

To be fair, I was expecting it to be worse than what it was but its really not too bad at all, believe me I've seen a lot worse !

I haven't checked the passenger side jacking point yet but I'm guessing it's probably going to be in similar condition.

Well .... at least you found it and have the ability to repair it. For me - it'd get spotted at the MOT and then cost me the value of the car to get it repaired.

:bow:

Good job there, always wanted to have a go at welding. Might be worth having a look inside the inner sills and checking what they're like. Mine had rotted out severely.

Christ that's scary seeing holes in her like that but that's proper job repairs your doing bud. Good work!

Seen this far in the flesh last week.

Looks good!

top guy too!

It'll probably be quicker spot welding in the new panel than seam welding all the way around the patches.

Check out your local FE college, I've been doing city and guilds at evening classes, £300 for a term, decent equipment to use and I can weld 10 times better than when I started.

Cheers, I'll look into that for definite.

Took the passenger side wing and skirt off today, just as bad as the other side unfortunately, I was expecting this though -

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...psbps1bvu6.jpg

Here's the valence reinforcement panel after a quick wire brush -

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...psnk7v5qbh.jpg

Jacking point before -

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...psckyhrl2t.jpg

After, sprayed some zinc on to stop it rusting in the mean time -

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...psinnumkcl.jpg

Also the bottom corner didn't look too good this side either -

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps0gw5fhab.jpg

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...psxglffkld.jpg

Rest of the sill looked sound though -

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...psxa1nxclt.jpg

Same can't be said for the metal brackets that hold the skirt on, crumbled to nothing when I removed it, will look at getting some stainless ones made up or buy some off the shelf if I can find any.

Looks like I'll be busy with the welder this weekend !

Jay.

I remember my old 02 plate ZS was looking rough on the jacking points and that was 2010 ish, these cars are old now :( fair play to you for doing this though a lot of people would scrap

Yeh that's usually the case, part of the reason I taught myself how to do my own bodywork and what not.

Cheers mate,

From what I can see the inner sills are looking good, looks like someone's put plenty of wax in there in the past.

Cheers Gary,

It's all essential work unfortunately, but after its done it'll be a solid rust free ZS for many years to come hopefully !

That was my thinking. I don't actually own a spot welder so I'll be plug welding them on instead. Essentially does the same job, just have a bit of linishing down to do afterwards.

Cheers bud,

Would be out of the question to scrap her, it's really quite an easy/minor job to be honest and when it's done it should be solid for a good few years !

Ps thanks for three wheels; )

Ahh, missed your comment dude !

So your the guy that came for the 11 spokes then, small world lmao !

Hope you enjoy them bud !

Jay.

Still in the shed at the mo.... don't know how to break it to the wife....

Tell her it was cheaper than new tyres?

Or when I got the 18's it just so happened to be the same weekend that I sold and delivered an exhaust, it was really lucky to find the guy who'd bought the exhaust had some wheels for sale or so I told Mrs TC. ;)

That's the second set of sideskirt brackets that have rotted away, sure Kev replaced them all about 2 years before I bought it.
Is it a build up of grime that causes the rust at that part of the jacking points/sills? Would have thought that those areas would be protected by the skirts and the exposed areas would be more susceptible.
Lesson learnt, in future remove sideskirts whenever treating zs's for rust!

Ok guys,

Big update !

Carrying on from where I left off, I cut out the rot from the jacking point -

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps1ahua8es.jpg

I gave the inner sill a good wire brushing back to bare metal where it had corroded -

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps36iquyul.jpg

Then I used some Deox Gel to remove any left over rust -

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...psu1q4muhl.jpg

Left it to soak over night under some cling film so it didn't dry out -

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...psqdli5lob.jpg

Zinc primed after the Deox Gel had done its thing -

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...psiijepkhj.jpg

Plate made up, welded in and she's nice and solid again -

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...psquic57dq.jpg

Rinse and repeat for the passenger side -

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...psplluydpf.jpg

Happy with that I decided to attack the under arch with the wire brush to remove the masses of underseal -

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...psii054oz0.jpg

Was all going well until...Oh dear -

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...psv3gzo9gi.jpg

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...pswu4nedjc.jpg

Unfortunately rimmer brothers let me down on the valence reinforcement panels so I had to source them else where, A.E Wilcox & Son MG dealers to be precise. Luckily they also had the crossmember closing panel for the R/H side too. So a trip down to Bristol and I came back with these -

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...psr0tddxxc.jpg

I've had to source the L/H side reinforcement panel from the Netherlands as no where in the UK has one in stock, this is due to be delivered hopefully on Tuesday.

I decided to start with the reinforcement panel, here it is removed -

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps2xw9fn1v.jpg

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...psags4qn4p.jpg

I ground down the left over metal from the spot weld cutter and gave the bare metal a coat of zinc -

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...psrcbs5dnk.jpg

Holes drilled in the new panel ready for plug welding -

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...pskchruxlx.jpg

Welded on, ground down and zinc primed -

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...psl4tco0gy.jpg

Happy with that I removed the closing panel, was a real PITA but got it off in the end. The box section behind is in perfect condition -

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps8yqlvuxq.jpg

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...pskvjltxyg.jpg

Comparison of the new panel and the old -

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...psc05tj2t9.jpg

Zinc primed the back of the new panel -

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...pswir8pnul.jpg

And then I welded it in, I forgot to take pictures of the finished thing though so there's a bit of a jump here.

I then wire brushed the whole under arch back to bare metal and zinc primed the lot -

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...pse36il7jm.jpg

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...psym2qg1we.jpg

Next I used tiger seal to re-seal all of the seams and then gave it three coat's of Gravigard stone chip -

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...psfbjtossj.jpg

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps6qtfwoqf.jpg

And then a couple of coats of X-Power Grey (or so it says on the tin) -

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...psybgmlqhz.jpg

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps2knjo8c4.jpg

I've also given it a coating of Bilt Hambers clear wax and I've used S-50 in the cavities so she should last a good few years !

Just got to repeat it for the passenger side now, I've already removed the reinforcement panel in prep for the new one and the box section closing panel this side is looking in better condition -

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...psxbbzqvd6.jpg

I've purchased a few other bits I required over the last couple of weeks too. When I removed the mudflap from the drivers side the body kit was cracked and ended up breaking off so I bought a new old stock body kit piece from eBay, here it is next to my wing -

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...psioudoloi.jpg

I also purchased a new passenger side skirt from rimmer brothers in primer for a whole £8.00, bargain ! -

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...psltusslgq.jpg

Funnily enough the clips have been replaced with plastic ones, must of been a known problem that the clips rusted to nothing so they changed the design I suppose -

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...pslsqibpzl.jpg

I've now had both of those painted along with the R/H wing -

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...psqprox65n.jpg

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps1nh2hm9n.jpg

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...psvba37plc.jpg

That's all the progress I've made so far, will update again when I've got the passenger side done !

Jay.

Excellent thread and progress to follow. I admire your work :thumbsup:

Lmao !

I'd take Talkingcars advice, sounds about right ;)

Hi Gary,

The drivers side skirt brackets were replaced with stainless so they're fine, the passenger side wasn't though unfortunately.

To be fair there's quite a few layers of metal that meet at the jacking point area so if water were to get in there, which is the case here, then corrosion is inevitable as it would sit between the layers and take longer to dry out. I see where your coming from regarding the skirts as the rest of the sill that's protected by the skirt is mint.

Cheers bud !

Awesome work on that rot mate!

It's way better protected than it was at build, I've used loads of the Bilt Hamber products, I've been really impressed with them.

Briiliant work happening there :bow:, makes me wonder if there will ever be repair panels available in the future like the mgb etc are catered for, looks like most 45/zs are going to go through this at some point , especially the front jacking points/floor area , had to weld a patch in my 02 plate for the mot and to be fair the whole area looks pretty terrible lol
http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/k...psdfej6rhm.jpg

Just wow! Great work again Jay, the quality of what your doing looks great. I look forward to the next update which will hopefully have no more corrosion appearing.

Thanks Buddy !

Cheers bud !

Can't fault Bilt Hambers Stuff, tried many different brands and products but I always return. Their Deox C rust remover, the one you dilute in water, is excellent stuff too !

Thanks mate !

I'd love to see some reproduction panels being produced for the ZS as the ones that were left over from the factory are spread few and far between now, took me ages and many many phone calls to find the ones I needed. Unfortunately I can't see it happening just yet, I don't think there's a big enough calling at the moment. I did try having a look on a few Honda Civic websites as I know that's what the 45/ZS is based on but I had no luck there either.

That's not too bad for an 02 plate, I've seen worse !

Thanks Gary :)

Just the roof left to sort now but I've booked her in for the last week of April for that as I have some time off work and I don't need to use the car until after that anyway. I don't think they'll be any more corrosion to find after this, I've had a good dig around the rear end and all looks excellent there, looks as if just the front end suffered. The rear arches will get the same treatment as this, back to bare metal, Zinc primed, Gravigarded, painted and waxed, in the summer.

Brilliant mate, a real devotion to the brand, hat's off to ya fella ��

Ok guys, I have an update !

Finally got my panel from the Netherlands, took longer than it should have due to customs delays I believe, but I received it non the less -

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...pscjciniic.jpg

Got the holes drilled in it and zinc primed the edges -

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...pswfrb3ylg.jpg

Bit of a jump but I got that welded in place and I also had a couple of areas to repair which consisted of a small hole in the valence closing panel and another in the lower corner of the flitch. No pictures of those unfortunately as I got caught in the moment and forgot to take some. Here's a couple of pictures of the finished area after being Zinc Primed, Gravigarded, Painted and Waxed -

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps55a5jzbh.jpg

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...psdd8zqmsy.jpg

Happy with that I got her back together and gave her a much needed wash -

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps2upmsqxs.jpg

I've also had the spare alloy that came with the car blasted and coated gloss black as the rear drivers alloy had corrosion under the powder coat and was a bit worse for wear -

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...psn97bzi66.jpg

That's been fitted and all four wheels are now mint. I also changed the front passenger side tyre for a new Hankook Ventus V12 as the one that was on there had a chunk out the side wall so now all four tyres match.

I've had to change the clutch slave cylinder for a new one as the one that was on the car was leaking quite badly -

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...psowyoltty.jpg

Was a nice easy job though, only took 10 minutes including a fluid change. Clutch now feels a million times better !

I also stripped down the air filter and cleaned it as I noticed there was a small amount of oil leaking from it -

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...psbxhmdwpb.jpg

That's all been done over the last month or so and I've been using the car regularly for a few weeks now. I must say she's an absolute pleasure to drive, especially through the twisty countryside lanes near me, she handles like she's on rails. I love it !

This weekend has consisted of a good detailing session including Clay Bar, Polish and Wax as the paint work was seriously contaminated after the work I done on the front end. Here's a few shots after a couple of days graft -

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...psf6mkq5oz.jpg

Got a decent shine -

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...psmtvnqhxd.jpg

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...psv2xntka6.jpg

After the roofs been done I'll get my rotary polisher out and do a proper job on the paint, hopefully I should get some real shine then !

I had a drive down to the MG/Rover factory in Longbridge today and took a few shots of her up on the display plinth outside the factory gates -

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps6ngkp8s6.jpg

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...pstdvcuzvs.jpg

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps8k7iwrhj.jpg

And a couple next to what remains of a conveyer tunnel and the old underground tunnels -

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps1qvguw2t.jpg

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...psu0nll8kd.jpg

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...psatd6ghbz.jpg

That's all the pictures I've got up to this point, I've had to change the date she was booked in to have the roof sorted to the end of this month so I'll have some pictures of that when its all sorted !

Jay.

Looking good mate. :thumbsup:

Theyre great cars. Good to see how much work is going into preserving this one for many years. Are you sticking with original colour for the roof?

Looks like all the XPG's are getting some love! Good to see the preservation work being put in now while it's just a few bits here and there!

Delighted to see her looking fantastic there Jay, its some amount of work you have put in to getting here back into shape and even now an excellent result with more to come. Great to hear your enjoying the drive, that's a big plus point of these with many others :)

Looking good mate, top work! :D

Cheers bud,

Always had a soft spot for the MG/Rover brand.

Thanks mate !

Agreed, they're cracking cars !

I'll be sticking with XPG for the roof yeh.

It seems they are !

Better to deal with the issues now then later down the line when it becomes serious.

Cheers Gary,

It's took a fair bit of time but it's all worth it now she's back on the road !

Cheers bud !

Had a good tap around mine when it was all apart and it all seems pretty good! Was pretty suprised but most of its life was down south before I got it and sealed it up in the boxes before using it a lot at the border

Wonder if it was because it was from across th border with wetter weather and more salt on the roads?

Should last ages now though!

What an effort, top work.
Saw this drive past at this years POL, instantly recognisable with the black spoiler.

My thinking exactly !

I believe it'd gone like it had due to the harsher weather up north, and like you say the salt has a big part to play in it too.

I went to pick a few bits up the other day from a chap called Tony who deals with these cars, and he had a partially stripped yellow ZS (front end removed) up on some ramps. Had a look around it and couldn't believe how solid it was ! He said he'd never seen one go where mine had before, making exception for the jacking points of course.

Anyway, I suppose it's all redundant now as she's been repaired with fresh panels so should last me a good long while hopefully !

Cheers bud,

Gutted it was cancelled this year ! Even though people still parked up on the road outside it just wasn't the same.

Didn't stay long though as it was all getting a bit hectic, seen a good few close calls whilst I was there so thought better of it !