The un-named ZR Project thread

Hey guys

have had a project thread going on theMGZR.co.uk for a while now, it's had over 1000 views so thought might be nice to put it up here too

the post i put up about getting the engine is included so apologies if you've read that thread but im trying to keep the saga all together in one thread




Hey guys was going to wait to post my project thread untill it was done but a few issues im having require me to post some pics so here goes

yes yes it's very boring another T-Series conversion anyway heres the engine




















any that takes care of posting the pics lol

i also have this little lot sat in my room




thats an alloy 220 Turbo radiator

a jbi motorsport 4 core aluminum intercooler
intercooler fitting kit in aluminum (the blue hoses i have returned and there sending me red ones)
2 9" slimline fans
a HKS SSQV dump valve and wastegate plate

soon to follow when there made will be a coolant hose set and a stainless coolant rail set form silverstorm Ai

and a set of magnicore plug leads

and a decent clutch

when i can get the engine home (need a crane and having woes) i'll start the engine re-build

more updates soon

UPDATE

I have my engine! what a carry on though! this is what we accomplished in 6 hours in the rain last night!



got to martins house (who i bought my ZR off and the engine) and un packed the engine crane... we then realized we had to build it

"some assembly required" my arse!



and this wasnt a promising start!




and then it bucketed down! just after unloading my tools, the crane and unpacking it all from cardboard packaging....... so as my brother and martin cowered in martins shed i plugged on until i was so soaked i was considering changing my overalls for swimming trunks

martin then mentioned he had a large pice of tarpauling we could put up and we - that is i could stay dry while building the crane and lifting the engine

i swore at him

so up went the tarp



helpful... so now they could stay dry and i could slowly dry out!

martin felt guilty for staying dry and not helping and offered to sit down and read the manual while i used my frozen fingers to mess on with sopping wet tools and sware allot

for some reason we wernt getting very far very fast



anyway i took over and we started getting somewhere



inspite of growing darkness i decided to pose for my entry for 2011s calender as Mr November



fearing i looked less like a manly workman/modal and more like a raving homosexual in a damp boiler suit i decided to do some proper work

posing for this picture made me feel much more manly as i decided we didnt need the crane after all and i'd just lift the engine



sadly im quite weak so we had to go back to building the crane, my brothers contribution up to this point included taking pictures using the flash to give us all epileptic fits and declaring himself shop forman and above petty tasks like making me and martin a cuppa

the work force was not amused



fortunately martin found a large hydraulic extending ram... for some reason he found this amusing



and once i torqued up his nuts for him he was back to high spirits





fearing i hadn't been manly enough to make up for my earlier homosexualism i swore at some things and looked like i was being strong



then my imiture side got the better of me and i decided to drive round making motorbike noises



then i stopped been a prat and the work force had a conflab and decided the self declared shop forman needed to be punished for giving us both seizures/brain damage and not putting the kettle on



muwahahah and lift



my brother found this annoying and was very cross so to stay out of his way we buggered off for a cuppa and left him 'hanging' so to speak



we then came back and after we stopped laughing decided to try moving my engine

unfortunately we had a small problem



oops

as my little brother is the biggest and strongest of us i tempted him out of his moody by offering him a bag of chips and some chiken nuggets

so he dragged the engine to the back of the pallet



and we realised we'd have to take the manifolds and a few other things off

this wasnt a big deal but took some time



eventually we got the engine in the air and plunked it on matins mums trailer for the trip to my house

getting the TF out my garage proved to be a right arse on as the breaks had seized on the dam thing but out she came, seeing daylight for the first time in what 3 months?

also the first time i got a chance to get a pic of my two MGs together



sorry for the bad quality of the pic but it was quite late by this time so i photoshopped it lol

anyway here she is sat in my garage!

engine ready for a strip and re-con before going to AA Autosport!



not a bad nights work we had a right laugh all round in-spite of the conditions and all went for a pint after

brilliant

500 views but i dont think anyone but me is posting much here lol never mind im having allot of fun!

so

i stripped my first engine last night (And some the night before)

been a petrol head since i could say "Daddy's got a XR3i" and played with cars for a couple of years now and oddly until last night i'd never seen the inside of an engine (except on pictures) much less taken one apart with my own hands

time to put down the porn so to speak and become a man

so with mr Lee Olver talking me through the steps i learnt not only how to take the engine apart but also how it all works... it's devastatingly simple! i really reckon i could do it on my own now!

he was actually quite impressed at some of the design simplicity on the T and how it was done ... which was nice...

anyway here comes the pics

when i got the engine Martin had allready played with it... some of the ancilleries had been stripped off like the manifolds



so that was some heartache saved unfortunately this would prove to be a big spanner on later...

the engine was a bit of a confusing mess of new shiney blots, allmost all of them the wrong length, new gaskets... rust... oil... some compleate pipes and some cut ones

what a mess





so i decided to just remove everything possible before lee came round to help strip the actual engine...

off came the coolant rails



and various pipes



then the cam covers



these wont be going back on the engine so if anyone wants them pm me

at this point i was so cold and so confused by all the new/old bits and such that i just gave up and had a cuppa

never fear here comes the mate to help

first job off with the box (to make moving the engine about easier) and because the box is going to a gearbox specialist mate of ours who's going to strip it to see if it's ok

if it needs any work it'll get done if not it'll just go back together i'm undecided on the issue of steel caged barings... time and money will factor here but they seem likely

off with the clutch slave cylinder



and then the box... the bolt right at the bottom (the hardest to get to) was a ultra fine thread and a total arse to get off

anyway lee told ya i'd make you famous... or at least the top of his head



note high visibility clothing (The health and safety directorate would be pleased by this we feel)

anyway the box came off nice and easy oo look a clutch



flywheel and pressure plate are top notch

see



and the plate has loads of material left but the springs are a bit shoddy



great excuse for a AP clutch then ....

now the fun begins

belts off



which allowed us to see our first problem



rubber seal has gone on the bottom pully

at this point i had a nippy bum as we hadn't evan got inside the engine yet and i'd found 2 nakered bits

nothing to do but plug ahead really

off came the cam covers to reveral.... dun dun durhhhhh



perfect cams

aren't they shiny? and they smell nice too MMMmmmmmm.....

anyway

time to whip the head off and pray!!!!



i can vouch for the fact this picture is an utter lie! lol the head bolts were NOT easy to undo

i had to straddle the block and lee had to pull on my big pry bar...... that sounds so wrong

anyway

the head came off and in my excitment i forgot to take pictures :oops:

the good news is the pistons were stamped and are indeed standard... if your as noobish now as i was a week ago you wont know why this is good

basically it means the engine hasnt suffered failure in the past and as a result been bored out (in which case the pistons would be stamped to show the bore is bigger)

evan better news the cambers were clean as a whistle (Well a whistle covered in allot of soot) anyway no scoring or marking!!!

i clapped like a mentally deficient smiley.... like this -> :clap2:

anyway time to take the sump off

heres the sump



nice eh?... think the picture is pointless? i dont care it's my thread so :trease:

anyway

we had some issues with the oil filter... i snapped my strap in the summer servicing a mates ZS

so lee in a moment of epic originality wrapped the engine cranes strap round it and...



look at that it worked... now i'm making his legs famous, how good am i?

heres another pointless picture of the sump



but now my leg is famous too

oh look a sump!



another moment of truth... will the crank need re-ground??? will the barings be spannered? will i have no money left to buy presents this year?



more famous legs

well we decided to find out if my GF was getting a lovely dress she wanted from top shop and some expensive lady smell.... or a voucher for an hour of adam love redeemable at a time of her chooseing....

first off came the big end (Sniggers) baring

interesting note the star nut which you need to undo to get the barings off is imperial... luckaly it's not torqued up very tight so came off with a slightly oversized metric drive with no problem



thats the big end baring on

and off



as you can see



the crank is perfect :headbang:

i was happy and did a little dance

it was lees opinion that we COULD re-grind it but there was tons of life in it yet and he was evan happier (although my wallet wasnt) because....



the bearings were showing very early signs of ware (enough not to damage the crank at any rate)

to round the evening off we checked the thrusts (sniggers) as well



same story repeated really

the crank was fine but the bearings were showing signs of early ware


and that was it for the evening really

oh except for the problem martin has caused me

you know i mentioned he sand blasted the manifolds?

well he seems to have done the exhaust manifold with the turbo left on it!!!!

arghhhh


so the turbo was really hard to turn

we poured oil into the oil inlet and the blades span a little easier

anyway lee is going to take it to work and blow it out with an air line

if its shagged then fair enough a T28 it is

Here comes the bit that will hurt my bank account!

I'm going to list what i need to buy here whats necessary and what is an "i'd like" will be separate

i'll also pop up a link to here im buying the bits... this is to help me find them again and so if anyone knows where to get better/the same cheaper you can let me know

i will be ordering EVERYTHING i need on the 17th of December so i have 2 weeks to decide what i need to get



ok first: MUST HAVE

Head gasket and seals

http://www.gb-ent.com/store/engine/engine-internals/rover/rover-t16-headset-including-klinger-head-gasket.html

66.04


Bottom end gasket kit (im confused by why GBE lists this as a 'conversion'?)

http://www.gb-ent.com/index.php?option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=26&page=shop.product_details&flypage=garden_flypage.tpl&product_id=663&category_id=20&manufacturer_id=0&vmcchk=1&Itemid=26

66.50


Set of Shells and bearings

http://www.gb-ent.com/store/engine/engine-internals/rover/rover-t16-shells-%11-mains,-bigs-and-thrusts.-std.html

145.58


Oil Filter

http://www.gb-ent.com/store/engine/engine-internals/rover/rover-t16-turbo-oil-filter-%11-genuine!!.html

10.00


Oil

???


Thermostat

http://www.rimmerbros.co.uk/Item--i-GRID003930 No.12

9.76


Waterpump

http://www.rimmerbros.co.uk/Item--i-GRID003930 No.1

47.94


Oil pump

http://www.rimmerbros.co.uk/Item--i-GRID003926 No. 1,2 or 3

50.00 no idea which serial number my engine is though, shall need to check


Lower Pully

CRAP!!!

no longer avaliable
http://www.rimmerbros.co.uk/Item--i-GRID003928 N0.2

but aircon version is 50.00 so thats a guide price


Set of Spark plugs (I know/like NGK) but otherwise

???


AP Racing Clutch

http://www.gb-ent.com/store/drivetrain/clutch-%11-rover-t16-turbo-%11-roversport-ap-model.html

199.00

Some would argue this is a "i'd like" not a "must have" but as everyone who knows me will tell you i DESTROY clutchs lol i have no sympathy for them so stronger the better really


Mgnecor ignition leads

http://www.gb-ent.com/store/ignition/rover-%10-mg/magnecor-ignition-leads-%11-kv85-rover-620-turbo-%28dizzy-models%29.html

68.00 (have seen marginally cheaper on ebay but mights well get with everything else off GBE)



Open cone filter of some decription as i dont think the enclosed cone for my K series engine will be up to the job



And some engine paint


thats what i have so far

can anyone think of anything else i will need?

oh god, just added up the list and without spark plugs, any oil, an oil filter or engine paint i got to 712.82

expensive month! lol

and i forgot about skimming the head, the cost of the gearbox rebuild

oh and this

http://www.gb-ent.com/index.php?option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=26&page=shop.product_details&flypage=garden_flypage.tpl&product_id=46&category_id=6&manufacturer_id=0&vmcchk=1&Itemid=26

16.86

and some piston rings:

http://www.rimmerbros.co.uk/Item--i-GRID003921 No22

79.96

thats 809.64 and i have officially passed out lol

and thats all the posts form themgzr.co.uk

some more news, which the guys on there dont know about yet

i've bought some TF160 AP front calipers... bargin at 100quid for 2

AA Autosport who are doing my conversion for me make an adaptor kit so they can be fit to a ZR along with braided hoses, grooved disks and green stuff pads im hoping that's stopping taken care of (oh and i need to fit ZR160 rear breaks as mine has drums!)

anyway i've also bought a new re-conned head which has been modified to use M series cam covers for reasons i shall show you when i do it

that cost me 200.00 and has altered my shopping list as i dont need oil seals and gaskets for the head, just a head gasket

but i do need belts which isnt included in that list

anyway hope thats all interesting, was my first ever engine strip and it was great fun

adam

Interesting stuff mate

those manifolds and turbo don't look to far away from fitting an F with the usual tweak here an there

Interesting stuff,Adam.:yesnod:

Have you had to sell one of your kidneys yet?

Interesting stuff.

For your shopping it might be worth ringing GBE (Grant is the man IIRC) and seeing if he can match rimmers and eBay on prices.

Have you been using www.rovertech.net ? Properbly the best place on the net for T series info.

I am trying to put togeather a website for T series conversions, just can't find the correct WYSIWYG programme at the moment.

probably would mate... both my manifolds are spare if you want them and the turbo will be as well! lol

david aiketgate wrote: Interesting stuff,Adam.:yesnod:

Have you had to sell one of your kidneys yet?

all organs in tact for now! lol but only just

it sounds totally mad david but this isn't THAT expensive... for the past year i've thought of nothing but V-TECing the TF

my naturally aspirated engine for that is running far more BHP and Torque than this engine ever will

simerlary breaks for the ZR... will i got a seal of a price on AP 4 pots off a TF for the ZR (can be made to fit) and 160/ZS rear calipers and such are a direct fit and not costly at all

Gaz coilovers are 480 quid and are the first stop for any serious modder of ZRs and very important for me as because the ZR has a bodykit i need hight adjustability... 480 may sound allot but i spent more on polybushes for my TF! lol never mind springs and shocks!!!

so in the grand scheme of things when thinking in TF tuneing money the ZR is a manically cheap project... heck the labour to fit the engine and the cost of the engine/ecu/gearbox is less than i'll have to pay for a Honda Gearbox for the TF


the main cost is in re-conning the engine and in dressing the engine bay... but most of the cost of dressing the engine bay future proofs the engine... so the way i'm thinking im buying a fast hatch BUT mainly im buying a reliable MG to run and put a smile on my face while i do the TF

so far i have all the big bits of the conversion with not allot left to buy and i've spent less than i have already spent just on suspension for my TF!

come TF time though the left kidney will go (my right one is my fav) lol









a T series site would be great! i wish themgzr,co,uk would have a T series section as a T series forum/conversion forum would be fantastic

i'll be buying allot off GBE (not least of which 260quids worth of clutch and magnecore leads... so will try and get some discount and if he can match rimmer bros i shall buy all off him lol

need to start on ebay after christmas to get my gaskets/seals/shells/etc

adam