My ZS 120

[JoeyTaffy93]

Hi guys. I've been on .org for a while now and joined this site in April back when I had a Rover 25.

How ever I got myself a ZS 120 at the end of August and completely forgot about this site. The car has been nothing but a money pit since I got it but it's finally getting there. She's had her HG done, new rear brakes/calipers, 2 new tyres, and 12 months MOT.











I was contemplating selling her but for what she's worth and what I've spent on her already.. I may as well just keep it. It is great fun to drive, but I just lost faith after the expensive bills where as my old 1.6 Rover 25 with 180k on the clock never gave me any problems in the 10 months and 24k I covered with her.. Oh and to top it off, the ZS starter motor is on it's final legs so I have to change that sometime this month or early October.

Plans if I keep, VVC conversion, leather steering wheel, new gear knob (this one is missing the leather around the knob), and maybe a Mk2 conversion as I think it looks so much nicer.

[stamford]

Sometimes we all buy cars that feel like money pits, in your case it is one of those things. On the plus side at least you know what has been done now and you won't be looking at the car waiting for something to go wrong. Stick with it and it'll serve you well and when you get those little things done it'll be seen in a different light.

[JoeyTaffy93]

Cheers mate, that is very true. I keep on telling myself "keep it, don't sell. You could end up with another money pit". The truth is the previous owner NEVER looked after this car, he himself was a rude, arrogant man. Poor girl was neglected.

[peterzs]

Cars looking good.

Re the starter motor, they do have problems with the spade connector. It may need cleaning up and crimping in a bit, before writing the actual motor off.

[JoeyTaffy93]

Cheers mate.

The starter motor itself tries to turn then just makes a flat noise... It's gotten worse and worse. I think it is the actual motor itself.

[Enright]

Welcome. For what it's worth, I reckon that you should always allow a couple of hundred quid to get any second-hand car just how you want it.
Unless you're very lucky and buy from a particularly consciencious seller, there will always be a point at which they thought it was just worth cutting their losses and selling "as is".
You could think of it like the difference between buying a car from Jeremy Clarkson as opposed to James May.
Anyway it looks pretty good, and I like the sound of the mods you have planned.
Also remember, if you use the challenges that it presents you with as opportunities for learning how to wield spanners, then you can easily run these cars out of scrapyards.

[JoeyTaffy93]

Hehe. Cheers buddy. I'm very tempted to buy my self a cheap second run about (a Rover 220SDi) as I do a fair bit of mileage and fuel economy would come in handy. At the same time doing so will give me more time to tinker with my car as I still have a mode of transport.

I came up from a Rover 420TD before this ZS and I must say, the ZS is in a complete league of it's own for driving and I absolutely love it. It's just no matter how much fun it is to drive, I'm always going to to be thinking "it cost me £££ to get it where it is now" but at the same time I know it's working and shouldn't let me down..

[andy-81]

Hi pal welcome to the site I myself am a zs120 owner and the fuel economy isn't that bad at all I do roughly 4-500 miles a week and only spend £7o on fuel give or take once the repairs are complete you will have a very sound car that will serve you well with minimal problems plus the smiles for miles factor is un matchable for a sub 1000 pound car, just persevere with it and you will soon find yourself thinking it was worth it

[JoeyTaffy93]

Cheers dude. It does put a smile on my face when I drive it.

[Smokey]