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The story of my ZR **Warning - Rover Content** PIC HEAVY



Thought I'd share with all of you the story of my ZR. I know a lot of the comments will be "It's a Rover","Headgasket" etc, but oh well.

So it started in February 2008 when I received a £1500 bonus, and decided I should get another car after 5 months without one. At the time it was a toss up between the ZR and original Fiesta Zetec S. Eventually, lower insurance and me preferring the ZR's looks made the decision for me.

So after much searching through expensive 3 door sheds, I looked at this 5 door. It was up for £3000, most 5 doors started at £3500, and was £30 less to insure than the 3 doors. I haggled the guy down to £2700 due to no service history (bar phoning the previous owner) and it needing a cambelt & service. It had 2 previous owners, and about 47K on the clock (IIRC).

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So I got it home, serviced it and swapped the cambelt for piece of mind. I also resealed the sunroof as they are renowned for leaking.

Next up was refurbishing the alloys. In the end, we (me & Bri - stepdad who owns Wheel Specialist Leeds) did a chrome paint over an Anthracite base. I also had to get a new windscreen due to a massive stonechip (it spread right across the centre of the windscreen!), but it had an awful blue sunstrip tint which I wasn't too happy about.

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Then took it to Wales in July 2008, did 1000+ miles without it missing a beat. Then disaster struck when I got home. The grill ripped off down the motorway and was smashed up by the following traffic. The mounts were still in the bumper, my guess was some scrote tried having it off.

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I still haven't bothered putting a grill on, I got fleeced on ebay for one, then bought one off theMGZR.co.uk, which was damaged by the postman and still needs repairing and spraying.

It was at this time somebody pointed out I had one ZR headlight (driver side) and one Rover 25 headlight (passenger side), which bugged me then as I'd now noticed it.

Come August 2008, my brakes were on their last legs. So i bought myself some Rover 620 turbo calipers, EBC Ultimax ZR 160 discs, Yellow Stuff Pads & Goodridge Hoses. I rebuilt the calipers and powdercoated them gloss black. I also tinted the rear lights with some black paint & lacquer mixed together.

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Come September 2008 I wanted to euro it :)rolleyes:), so stupidly sprayed the fogs yellow (they are still yellow now, but I'm going back to clear when I can be bothered) and also dewipered the rear. I had tried using lamin-x twice, but the fogs were too rounded for the film.

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Then I needed new wipers and a new exhaust for the upcoming MOT in November. So I got some flat wipers and a Janspeed 6x4 oval catback system. They are renowned for not sitting straight, and after many attempts mine is still wonky lol. I also got a K&N Panel filter for some noise.

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It passed it's MOT with only 2 advisorys, and away I went a happy bunny.

I got a Richbrook MG Touring gearknob off Soph for christmas, so fitted that ASAP! I also bought a pair of TF135 camshafts. They have greater lift than the standard ZR 120 camshafts, and were a straight swap. These were fitted in January 2009, and gave a noticeable power increase. I also bought a VVC inlet manifold (larger ports) which I powdercoated Black. I haven't fitted this yet, due to needing to portmatch the cylinder head.

It stayed this way until March 2009, when I decided to sort the Headlight, flush the cooling system, and give it a service. Unfortunately, I melted my headlight trying to split it, so had to buy another! I also noticed part of the OEM CAF is hidden behind the bumper, so routed a CAF to it in a vain attempt to get more air in (it probably does nothing though!) I also ordered some custom spec GAZ coilovers from AAautosport (a story in themselves!), and bought some OEM sideskirts (these are yellow, need spraying and I've not touched them yet lol.)

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So rolled on April 2009, and I popped over to a a RR day I found on here. With the TF 135 cams, K&N panel filter and Janspeed Catback, it made 115BHP and 109 ftlbs at the Wheels. Flywheel power is around 127BHP, which I came to by adding 10% for transmission losses, but to allow for the Dyno over reading. I also fitted some 8mm Magnecor Leads after this, modified my airbox and acquired myself another Cylinder Head. It is a 1.4/1.8 34mm Ports Cylinder Head, never had HGF and only done 37K. Thumb was purely for cheese effect. Plans for this are to tidy up the coolant and oil ways, port match to my VVC inlet, DIY headwork and larger valves. Valve wise I think I'm going to go for QED 29mm Inlets and 26.4mm Exhausts, as these come in a lot cheaper than Paul Ivey or PTP valves.
Headwork wise, I've been reading a lot about it, and I'm reasonably confident. Will just take it easy and play it safely, instead of charging in like a bull in a china shop. I still haven't touched this, nor bought the valves lol.

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Be patient, another post is to follow which brings us to the present day.
 

Coby.

ClioSport Club Member
  XC60-R.......V40-R
I don't mind the look of these but for the cash you've now spent you could have got yourself a Nice Ph1 172..... Harsh question but any regrets??
 
May 2008 came, and I bought some Poly H Frame (Rear Beam) Bushes (which I haven't fitted yet lol) and a 52mm Throttle Body, compared to the 48mm Standard one. I was still waiting for my coilovers!

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July 2009 came the big day, my coilies had arrived. Promptly fitted them, dropped the car by 50mm and this was the result. I also had to have a new tyre, as I found some damage on the O/S/R one.

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I left it at this and went to an MG show at Pateley Bridge on the 1st August 2009, which was a good weekend. Whilst I was there I picked up a smaller MG TF steering wheel & airbag for £20. All I need is an airbag coupler to cancel the Airbag Warning light.

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I then bought myself a Janspeed Manifold & Sports Cat about a fortnight later. Fitted it, and it sounded brilliant, plus more power to boot.

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So that's how it stands. Grill-less, with many things to sort, covered in dents, scratches & stone chips. I'll leave you with 2 recent vids, a 0-60 which is around 8 seconds, and a 30-70.

[YOUTUBE]PeICVAFsA7g[/YOUTUBE]
[YOUTUBE]lV2f-sM2CMU[/YOUTUBE]
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I estimate the car to be around 135BHP ATF now, will be popping along to a RR day at RSTuning in November to find out what it's running. Will the stuff lying around to fit ever get on, I honestly don't know!

Thanks for looking,

Gaz
 
I don't mind the look of these but for the cash you've now spent you could have got yourself a Nice Ph1 172..... Harsh question but any regrets??

Erm, yeah I could have, but I'm not into clios. I've been to a few CS meets, been out in a trophy and I can honestly say I don't want one. They are fun, they are fast, they handle well, but they aren't my cup of tea.
Regrets, none really. It's never missed a beat for me *touch wood*, and served me well when I was travelling to Loughborough from Selby every week. I guess my only regret is spending so much money, but it keeps me quiet!
 

Ben

ClioSport Club Member
Nice little read, I always wanted an MG ZR but after all the rumours I never bothered with one. I'd get some of the newer style rear lights though as those make it look really dated from the rear.
 

Bluebeard

ClioSport Moderator
  Whichever has fuel
Needs the Multi spoke wheels.

I really like these. I've had a few now. All in the same blue aswell!
 
Nice little read, I always wanted an MG ZR but after all the rumours I never bothered with one. I'd get some of the newer style rear lights though as those make it look really dated from the rear.

The rear lights are the same across the whole ZR range, unless you mean the factory add on "Red ABC" lights, which command stupid prices.
 
Looks nice mate, not always about buying a quicker car when modding.

Cheers. Nope, I did expect that to be said though.

I'm a bit loathed to spend much more money on it now TBH. I'll be sitting on enough money come July 2010 to get myself a new car, and I fancy an S14 200SX. However, I suppose I should sort the stuff I have sat around. The only things I probably won't get round to fitting should this be the case are the inlet manifold and cylinder head. This is because modifying the head will cost around £300 (valves, plus paying for valve seats to be ground), then I need to buy a Headgasket kit etc, so it soon adds up. We will see though, never say never.
 
  FF RB 182
and i think he should sell the stuff that he has had in the garage forever and stop wasting money on it because he is going to sell it next year. This is my opinion as I am his nagging girlfriend :p
 
Headrovergasket. Sorry, noone had said it yet, couldn't have CS not meeting your expectations lol!

I like what you've done with the wheels. Mate of mine has an identical ZR, or at least it was until he went a bit mental with graphics and stupidly loud exhausts.
 
Headrovergasket. Sorry, noone had said it yet, couldn't have CS not meeting your expectations lol!

I like what you've done with the wheels. Mate of mine has an identical ZR, or at least it was until he went a bit mental with graphics and stupidly loud exhausts.

Lol. Someone had to say it ;). I detest the graphics all over them. On the rally/track cars fair enough, but on road cars it's toss.
 
  05 Plate MG ZR 105 Trophy
Looks nice :)... Have ya thought about changin the rear lights like my mk ZR?. Fotos taken with crappy fone camera. These rear lights are standard on the Trophy edition....

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Lol. Someone had to say it ;). I detest the graphics all over them. On the rally/track cars fair enough, but on road cars it's toss.

Aye this one has full on MG graphics right up the back doors and across the bonnet and a shopping list on the door :dead:
 
  120d M Sport
I like it mate, you've done some good work on that.

I'm familiar with a lot of the mods you've done such as the 135 high-lift cams, 620ti brakes etc as two of my mates have 1.4 ZR's and have done similar stuff.

I personally think theyre a real bargain for what you can pick them up for. Reliability doesn't really seem to be worse than some Clio's, my mates gets abused from cold every day and has had no real problems other than the infamous HG and cambelt which he did himself before they were due.
 

Pep

ClioSport Club Member
  M2,XJS,S1000RR
Why are you on here if you have no intentions of buying a Clio?!

Car looks decent, I nearly bought 1 ages ago now, really like the styling even std.
 
wouldn't it be cheaper to put a 2.0 litre lump in it?

To do it properly, costs a couple of Grand. Then it becomes a group 20 for insurance, and you have to fork out for more custom coilovers as you've ruined the handling by sticking a heavy lump of pig iron in place of the lightweight aluminium lump in there now. Plus I'm getting rid for RWD & Turbo next year anyway.
 
  320d
I won't lie and say I like ZR's normally. However I do like yours because you have done proper mods to it which is rare on these cars, usually just driven and badly modded by chavs tbh.
 
  e60 M5 -172- dciheid
mate of mine had one and it went boom, his was the 1.8 as well, went well, but handling was average
 


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