XPG Part 6
 

Always wanted a 180, been searching for years for the right one and finally took possession of Kevs/Garys/Jays/Dans/Micks ZS.

http://i66.tinypic.com/10nxsep.jpg

150 mile drive home was good fun, gave it the beans for the first time through the Handheld tunnel :trampoline: What a noise. Can't believe its took me so long to get one, but after losing my 120 last year after 10 years of ownership, I've been itching to get back in one. The performance and noise is spot on and better than I imagined. Feels like driving a racecar!

Car really is stunning for its age, just a few electrical niggles to sort, new battery , paint or wrap the vents and tidy up the small patch of rust on the roof.

Thanks to Mick for picking me up from the station and being a good sport in selling me such a great car. Finally got to see his famous track car aswell :D

Oh I miss it! Glad it found a good home, still looks bloody awesome! Was good to see you, hopefully again at a meet this year.

Well done Matt.you got a cracker there.now it's time for it to settle in the one place again.it's been a nomad for to long now.for the record it's twin is still nestling quite happily in my garage away from the nasty horrible weather.

And here's to 10 yrs of 180 ownership ..... :beer2:

Great to hear that you're so happy with it and it was worth the wait. Look forward to the updates.

Another one remaining in good hands :)

And it isn't yellow...

Bloody hell at last!!!!! I remember you looking at getting a 180 about 9 years ago on xpower forums !!!

Welcome to 180 ownership Mattie :) About time too... Slippery slope now though, they get under your skin lol :cylon:

Is a great looking example and a credit to all the previous owners.

Have fun and dont go too mad!!

I know I would!!

:):):):)

She's still looking great !

Good to see it's gone to another enthusiast, hope you enjoy it !

Thanks all, yes well chuffed. Want to keep driving it but must remember I'm on a 5k policy!

Redzed, yes it's been a long time in the making! Deals fell through over the years but glad I've got one.

Grimmy, wish I had a garage although hopefully a house move with a drive and garage isn't too far away.

Quick question, will a 120 battery work on the 180? I have a new one in the shed that was ready to go but never got fitted.

And about bloody time to m8 well done

And I thought FE54 was the forum bitch....

Hindhead tunnel?

It will fit but will be more likely to run too low on juice to start the car.

Cheers Al. Good things who come wait.....a decade :D

Yes, hindhead. I'll get a proper battery put on the weekend.

Well done mate enjoy the v6 soundtrack

check the cold cranking amps (CCA) and ampere hour (AH) capacities and if they are the same there is no reason why they shouldn't work

Tried the new battery, but it's not starting, the fan kicks in straight away but no turnover? Any ideas?

Sounds like the battery is flat, strange. Has it been sitting long, usually when the fans come on it signifies a low battery. Have you tried charging it up then fitting it? What's the ratings on it, I think 180's are 160ah???

Sounds like a dud battery. It has been known for new batteries to have a few dead cells. If it was new and unused it can easily be flat and not recover.

New battery you had, or a new battery that is 180 spec ?

I bought a Exide Heavy Duty for the Derv, lasted 3 weeks.

Place checked it all and gave me a new one, so even new batteries can be duff!!

Got a belter Bosch S5 on offer a couple years back off ECP. Not a faulter!
Can recommend.

Sorry, I wasn't very clear in my last post. I fully charged up a new battery I had for the 120 but that barely had enough power to lower the window! Admittadly the CCA rating and amps were lower than the one on the car but just wanted to try.
So I went to get a new battery, same CCA and Amps as the one on the car but nothing, not even trying to turn over. Could be a dud or a connection problem. So I'm charging the one that came with the car, it was flat but has fully charged now.
Frustrating as I had another bump in my MG3 this morning and blew two tyres after a cyclist pulled out in front of me. I also had a minor collision on Friday in the 3, not a good week! Will let you all know the results on Saturday when I have time to get it sorted.

I would be checking the earth straps and starter connectors before I do anything else just to cross it off the list.

If you're having problems with windows it is probably the earth point on the slam panel or the earth clamp on the battery.

I kept on blaming my batteries, bought two new ones as they drained and had to jump start the derv after a couple of weeks just sitting.

The starter motor started playing up, corroded + battery lead to starter motor, new connector and it was OK for a bit then started playing up again.

New starter motor and the car has never started so quick, spins the engine up like a mad thing. Not touched the battery and only done a few trips, but its OK.

So dont always assume its a shot battery.

Second a "rule out other things" but I've had a duff battery too from a motorfactors.

Ended up buying a bosche one from ECP for less, and the car still ate it..... had both a duff starter & alternator...

Not been able to do any checks on the car today but will call out the breakdown tomorrow as I have homestart. Should give me an idea.

All fixed, many thanks to Jay for all his help and everyone else who has chipped in on the forum. Just cleaned and tightend all the connections, they had gone a bit green! Now for a first proper drive

You back yet? :laugh:

Afraid not :( Noticed steam coming from the exhaust so pulled over and lifted the bonnet. Steam everywhere and all gone from the tank.My luck!

Oh mate ..... coolant tank empty ..... WTF ..... ?

What? I can't believe that. I did Wales and back with no issues plus the test drive that Sunday. Can't be the pump as that was replaced by Jay, hope it is something silly to replace. Check the hoses and the thermostat housing, no idea if or when that was maybe done?

I'm back home now, recovery is worth its wait in gold owning an MG!
On closer inspection, it could be a pipe to the rear of the engine, quite difficult to tell at night though. I'd planned to get everything checked over by my local garage anyway so it's no problem. Just one of those things :)
I knew something would happen, 2 bumps in the MG3 last week and things come in threes!
Temp gauge didn't rise so hopefully no damage to the engine. Fingers crossed

Well if it's any consolation the T16 temp gauge was climbing whilst on the M4, I was watching the gauges as you would when driving a new car home. I turned the temp to cold as was a little warm in the cabin. Next thing I see is the needle slowly climbing, got to the edge of the red zone. So as you would with any car getting hot, turn it to hot setting. I was looking for the next services which was another 6 miles, but then it dropped back to mid position a few minutes later. So guess there is a 'thing' going on there!

Not good Mick, hope it turns out to be nothing serious. At least we both have the cars back home. How did the T16 compare to the 180?

I didn't really open it up if I am honest, prefer to service it and check it over. However I did push the pedal a little and it certainly has a kick to it! I can see it being totally different to a 180 as the power delivery is instant, time will tell once I get to know it. I know one thing, I will need to respect the delivery when pushed as it has quite some torque steer. But yes at least they are home and can be sorted.

My T16 maestro has no intercooler so I kept the boost down to about 6psi and it was no quicker to 90 than my ZS, and having driven several turbo and super charged cars over the years I still prefer NASP

No updates as car is still in the garage, will hopefully find out tomorrow. I've missed driving it!

Quick update, had the car back for a week but unfortunatly its broken down twice so had to call recovery out :(
The coolant issue was a split pipe, £325 for 4 hours labour over a £18 pipe, ouch :( Then I took it out again and everything was going fine, 20 minutes into the journey, the temp gauge went up to above mid point and the radiator fan was on full blast. Recovery bought me home a second time. So another trip to the garage. Finally, thinking everything was ok, bang, another temp rise on the way home. Put the heater on full pelt and it did maintain a temp below the middle of the gauge. So at least its home.
This post is no disrespect to the previous owners, these things happen and I did expect a few issues.
However, Ive lost faith in the car, 4 journeys, 3 breakdowns. I can't keep going out in it, just hoping it will complete the journey.
If anyone wants to buy it then I am prepared to sell and cut my losses. The car is in great condition, had lots of work completed on the shell, fully loaded and lots of nice mods. Just needs someone to give it a good checkover. My only option is to keep taking it back to the garage down the road but at £300 a time, I can't sustain this. I didn't want to do this as I've wanted a V6 for years, absolutely gutted.
I wil be going back to the garage tomorrow demanding they sort this out though.