More Questions, but some solutions as well.

OK - I have now done the following....

Fixed the gear gaiter.
Installed a CD/radio.
Installed a HR switch and relay.
Replaced a faulty window switch.
Fitted a wind deflector.
Replaced the lighter.
Replaed a broken door pin.
Replaced oil gauge and clock bulbs.
Fixed broken boot light.

I think I now know my way around the interior a lot better than I did

After some advice on my previous thread I have decided to abandon the 'OEM' attempt and I have seen the light and will be going down the mod route

I have bought a vinyl repair kit to have a go at fixing the 'standard' drivers seat damage - I'll post how this pans out.

I have booked Russell (MG Rover Solutions) for Wednesday week to sort out the cambelt etc, so that's the engine covered.

This left me to properly check out the other areas, which has resulted in two more problems and one suprise.

Firstly the surprise. I adjusted my tyre pressures to the reccommended 26 psi front and 28 psi rear and then left the car on the drive (flat) for a couple of hours and then checked the distance from centre of the hub to the wheel arch and got a measurement of 335mm !!!!!!! no wonder I thought that the car was quite hard but that it wasn't feeling that 'light' at speeds over 50mph. The car had 4 new hydrogas units fitted 12 months ago, so either they aren't set up correctly or this car has been lowered at some time. Anyway Russell is going to check that out for me as well

And now the problems.....

I checked the soft top for leaks and got water coming in the drivers side. On checking, the back part of the seal that the top of the window rests against appears to be too low, but I am having problems finding any diagrams/instructions to show me how these are fitted/adjusted - can anyone help please?

The off side headlight is not as bright as it should be. I have found articles on the net and I think it is due to relector degradation. Has anyone ever had a reflector chromed (I saw this mentioned somewhwere on the net) or would it be better to get a relacement?

Alternatively, how hard is it to fit 'trophy' units, which I believe are much better?

Yet again, thanks for all the help everyone :thanks:

I won't be able to get to MGF15 this weekend but if any of you are ever near St Albans please let me know and we can meet up.

Laz, you have been busy..... I would have thought that if the reflector has degraded that would be an MOT fail. It's not difficult to change the headlight units, just a bid of a pain. You have to take the front bumper off, which involves removing the front indicators to access the large fixing nuts. The clips that hold the indicators in are very brittle and, if your luck is like mine, they will break.

Some people have come up with a fix involving self adhesive velcro, but I opted for replacement indicators. Freely available at a cost.

To be honest I have read criticism of the OEM headlights, the reflectors on mine are fine and I have no criticism at all of my lights.

Where is the water ending up when it comes through the window seal? If it runs down onto the door speakers there's a well known fix for this, Involving 2 feet of plastic tubing ( like that used for aquarium air pumps ) per side. slide that into the rubber seal to 'fatten it out' again.
The tubing is virtually invisible when fitted and it certainly worked for me. There are drain holes in the seal to slide the top and bottom ends of the tubing to neaten it up. New seals are like rocking horse droppings and twice as expensive!

Check that the glass lens within the headlamp is not dirty, cloudy. You can dismantle the lights to clean it. The Trophy lights are no better than standard, the only difference is that the outer bezel is painted black. You can fit higher output bulbs. eg Osram Nightbreakers +90%.

That suspension height is correct IF lowering pins have been fitted. You need to check the pressure to tell if they have or not. Should be around 400psi.