If the rest of the bolts came out easy and you have access to a small air grinder or can get access with a hacksaw possibly cut slots in the bolts and use a flathead screwdriver or even an impact driver with a flat head bit to remove the bolts?

The fix for that sort of thing I see in car shows, is to weld a bolt onto the difficult part, then undo the bolt.

No idea if that'd be any good for you though ...

I remembered I had a very obscure Nut extractor set, I purchased it years back for removing a locking wheel nut but it turned out it was not suitable, so I promptly "put it away" and forgot about it.

When I had remembered, then found it again I hammered the correct size on the bolt and used a normal socket to remove the bolt from the car :)

Anyway, got really far into the rebuild to find the pistons and rods are good, removed one piston and went to install the forged ones I have, to find they are 85mm pistons, not 84.45mm as were sold to me (84.45 is std size, in case anyone needed clarification). Upshot is they don't fit unless I re-bore!

cleaned the Mahle pistons up and refitted for now, then ran out of light so tidied up for the night!

So now I have a set of 85mm Wossner forged pistons on PEC rods, that I can't fit to my car... Will have to think of my next move over the next few days.

At a loss as to why hex socket head shoulder bolts have been used. They are hardened bolts and would need grinding. I would go for a rebore if possible.

Good to see progress.

The TF that donated it's subframes to my F came from near Bordon.

I don't think those bolts are std for the sump.


Drew - streetelite.co.uk

Defiantly not, the standard bolts are regular hex bolts.

Finally got the engine back together this weekend and topped up all fluids.

Car initially fired up with a very obvious missfire, turns out one of the HT leads was not pushed in firmly enough.

Once that was sorted the engine runs, but not as smooth as I would like... There is a very slight lumpiness to the engine and it seems to threaten to stall every now and then.

Since this appears to be the Mems 1.6 ECU (Dizzy engine from a 420 Turbo) I can't just put it on my normal Diagnostics.

To this end, does anyone, localish to Bordon, have a T4 or PScan or another Diagnostics that will connect to the Rover 3-pin plug on the ECU so I can check all the sensors etc? I am hoping that will tell me, or at least guide me, to the root of the "something is not quite right".

well done for getting where you are at now.

hope it is just a sensor or bit of adjustment.

would a rolling road point you in the right direction???

found these https://www.bteautomotive.co.uk/DIAGNOSTICS don't know if they could help.

:):):)

I'd happily bring my pscan over but I don't have the MEMS 1.6 lead.

PScan... Are they still going? It might be worth an investment in few weeks time (or maybe after I get back from the Netherlands!)

Main problem I have with the car now is I can't take it to anywhere as its got no MOT (and I don't want to cause any damage!), hence looking for someone to hopefully pop over and plug in a reader :)

Anyone had any luck with https://memsdiag.blogspot.com/ ?

That's for MEMS 1.6 or 1.9 as found on early 4 pot K series, the KV6 uses a Seimans 2000.

www.pscan.uk is still in development and production and Philip is active on www.the-t-bar.com where we host his forum.

Luckily this particular engine is a 4 pot T series with a turbo and a mems 1.6 ECU ;)

The KV6 needs a new air filter(the itg maxogen filter element has litterally fallen apart and is now dust!!) and a damn good service, but that's after its had the bodywork repaired :)

I have ordered the three pin circular cable now, will update when it arrives.

In the mean time the rear of the passenger front wheel arch, under the door where the arch and the sill meet (sorry don't know the actual name) is rotten and has a hole in it. Can I repair this easily? Or does it need someone with a welder? Is it an MOT failure?

Is the hole in the wing section or the sill? If sill yes a failure. If wing then no it shouldn’t be.

Sill unfortunately.

Any idea how easy that area is to fix? I.e. can any mechanic weld it up or does it require a new sill or whatever?

Hard to say without seeing it.

mobile welder should be able to patch weld it for its MOT.

should not cost too much, just get a couple of quotes.

Good luck with it, get them to check both front jacking points, if you do get them in to give a quote.

:):):)

I need both of my jacking points plus surrounding areas plating with new steel. Not an easy job lying underneath.

Sam, when you can post a photo of the area that needs repairing.

Ok will do, I will try to get out to it after work.

Thanks :)

Sorry for the really long time with no updates! But a year later and....

She's booked in with a local company to get the underside welded up! :trampoline: - Am looking forward to getting T16 back on the road, once welded up there are a few odds and sods (new hoses etc) and then in for an MOT.

With any luck this time next month will be a really positive post :trampoline::trampoline:

Good news...

Was going to say..........where’s that photo? :laugh:

Good Luck, will be worth it when it is all done.

:bow::bow::bow:

They asked me to strip the interior out (to stop it catching fire!) before it gets welded next week...

Attachment 6425
Attachment 6426

The underside of the carpet was sopping wet and as you can see there is quite a bit of surface rust as well... So will have to sort that when the car is returned back to me!

If anyone happens to know where the likely ingress points for water is, I would be grateful... I am currently thinking the heated windscreen might have a dodgy seal or something like that, although could also quite easy be the normal hole to the interior fan that leaks on most ZS's!

Oh and I know that the seatbelt mounting is rusty, so will replace all the seatbelts when it is back as well.

Could be the screen. Part of it wasn’t working so might pay to get it removed, check the wiring and get it re-bonded. Check grommets behind the fuse box and bulkhead area in general whilst it is stripped.

not as bad as I thought it might be, good luck with it.

Update from the welder... Photos below :) (Car will be back with me this afternoon!)

think all our cars are heading this way.

just wanting to save them, will keep them out of the scrap yards. You just do not see any ZS about, even the ZR's are getting rare.

well done for keeping the love.

Looks sorted to me...

Looks to be good work there Sam.

Spent a lot of time this weekend flaring brake pipes, I've cut off the section that is leaking and put a join in the existing pipe.

However I have since been told I shouldn't have flared the OE pipe as it is steel and wouldn't have made a good flare, so will leak. However even stamping on the pedal there is no leak I can see at all....

Am I risking a leak with this? Should I look to replace the whole line (which means dropping the fuel tank!)

Anyway, both rear brakes (drums still!) are now braided and will get to the fronts when the weather clears up a bit.

Whilst doing the front lines I will clean up the suspension a bit, and then its time to book it into an MOT :)

don't they usually use copper pipe for the brake lines??

Not worth skimping on brakes, one thing I always keep up to spec.

Good luck with it.

:bow::bow::bow:

To be fair, some manufacturers (MGRover by the looks) give you steel lines from the factory. I have replaced a couple of sections with copper though.

My lines are steel. Still in good condition. If you’ve managed to flare it and it seals then you should be okay. The copper section you have added will squash to the steel flare and seal when tightened.

the TF on its last MOT has advisories on a couple of brake pipe runs, front to back, that I need to get sorted.

Always something to do.

Its the Offside Rear that was a problem, it had worn through at the final bracket that holds the steel line into place. - Seems fine now though :)

Couple of weeks ago I stripped out the offside rear pipe (from the T piece to the wheel) and used it as a pattern for a complete new run of brake pipe for the MGF. Wasn't too bad a job to be honest, but that T piece can be a pain if its rusted up!

I saw a T piece behind the engine when it was out, just after I bought the car and thought it would be better changed as it looked rusty. Like most thing I forgot and it went back as it was.

Have to see what pipes need doing, and then start worrying.

When I changed the subframes on my MGF I changed the front to rear brake pipe and the 2 that go to the rear wheels. I had to re-flair one on the car when a bolt on the suspension came out (I thought the hole was threaded) and the arm crushed the pipe, strange thing is that it went through the MOT with the arm loose.

I also swapped the clutch line for a front to back one in with a braided hose supplied for the Lotus Elise.

So... after all that work, 2 miles from the MOT station the engine decided that C4 rod should exit out the side of the block... and shower everyone behind me with engine components (it was running sweet as before hand with no issues or warning this was going to happen!)

Anyway... I refuse to let the ZS die, so I have now ended up with another Hatch T16 that needs a bit of work (although good engine etc) and plans are to make one really good car out of the two :)

Gutted for you Sam. Hate hearing such shitty news. Hope you get some luck from now on.