New life for an old MGF - my modding diary

Have just managed to go for a quick spin to test out a proper wind stop. The plastic one the wife got me seemed OK but she was still unhappy with the amount fo wind coming in. This led to me trying to snag an ebay bargain. One unused mesh windstop later for a little under seventy quid and all fitted.

I have to say the difference is miles apart/ 70 mph and no real wind coming in at all. I am very happy and can recommend the proper wind stops no end. It is a little bit of a fiddle getting it to clear the glass rear window when putting the hood up but only really adds about 10 seconds to the hood up / down process.

Mods to date:
wiper linkage (Mike Saturn)
[strike]plastic wind stop[/strike] OEM mesh wind stop
dial rings (with a little tweaking to allow smooth needle movement
instrument panel rings
new rear view mirror
Chrome oil filler bracket
Heated glass rear window
light covers for inside the boot

bought but yet to fit:
dashboard heater vent brushed metal facias
electric boot release (wire run but waiting on a switch)
replacement air filter
Coils / leads / plugs
Black window surround
replacement shiny bolts for roof brackets

and after that in no real order:
new headlining in the hard top
new shocks
front splitter
making headlamps have black surrounds
roll hoops
new sports exhaust
lexus style rear lights
get the soft top recovered (winter time when hard top on for a while)
seat belt clips

Making good progress.

I have got the same surrounds... I think they look smart.... Look forward to seeing more of your mods as you do them :broon:

I finally got the time to replace the horrible cream surround for a much better looking black one. I also took the opportunity to run the hand free microphone to site immediately above the rear view mirror and angled perfectly at me. All bolts were also replace with nice new shiny polished stainless bolts including the ones on the hood latches.

The before:


and the after:

I like the mod on your car, but "horrible" cream might be overstating it, just a bit, don't you think?

how do you even see out of the front window on a sunny day? surely that all reflects on the window?

It is hard to tell from your reply, but I assume that you are joking. Never heard of sunglasses?

I had a car with a lighter dashboard once and every time the sun shone the internal reflections made driving a joke but I also did not intend to offend anyone with my hatred of the creme coloured trims. We should be safe provided no one starts me on magnolia coloured paint, painting perfectly good brickwork, fake leaded windows and the whole shed load of things I have learnt to hate as I get older. maybe time to move any other gripes elsewhere and keep this just as the diary for the mods I have made.

Fair enough. I'll just ignore the thread in future. FWIW, I have never had trouble with light interiors impeding my driving.

modding has been on hold for a little while. An oil leak of indeterminate location took over. Eventually I decided it was the oil filter, sump plug or the rocker gasket. Starting out with the oil filter - I popped to an ex neighbours garage and got it up on the ramps. I took my newly purchased oil filter removal tool and watched in disbelief as the filter disintegrated. Major leak resolved with a new filter.

Next came the rocker gasket - an hour and a half later and the minor oil leak coating the block resolved.

Now to find a new sump plug as I have about half a tea spoon of oil every few days still making its way out.

It is nice to drive without the smell of burning oil.

On the plus side - I have been putting off fitting new spark plugs (mainly due to being a bit lazy recently) as I was going to fit new ignition coils and leads. This was to sort a minor stutter I was getting at low RPM. Seeing as I had all the engine exposed I decided to fit the plugs despite not having the other bits sourced yet. RESULT - all of the stuttering gone with less expense than required. She is driving really smoothly now the care has been put in.

:broon: Sounding good! :yesnod: :broon: