Dilemma

Morning all,

Not been here much for a while now, but as I trust the opinions you all give I thought I'd post this.

My TF is starting look a little sorry now. The boot lid needs a respray as it looks like in an earlier life someone has stood hot cups on it.... white rings under the paint. There is rotting around the wheel arches and on the front wing, the plastic rear window has cone unstitched at the bottom and my tyre fitter said the sills are about shot.

It's costing me £40 a month to keep on the road - which although not a huge sum is still £40. So I have to decide if now is the time to scrap it or whether look at restoration. I have no idea how much the work would cost but imagine the respray alone would be £100's.

The rub is that last year, I had an engine swap due to HGF killing the old one, had a new clutch and put 2 tyres on it...it owes me! I've been offered £80 for scrap. I looked on ebay but all the cars on there are pretty good ones so I can't see anyone wanting mine.

I have a second car anyway so it's not essential, and at some point I would buy another TF.

Decisions decisions....

wings and boot lid will be available from mgf n tf spares or ebay, rear screen isnt a biggie either.

sills maybe a couple of hundred done properly.

if it owes you and is good apart from the cosmetics then keep it and do it up at your leisure.

Yes a big call here. You need to break it down cost wise and make a decision.

Wings are not an issue, a pair of new wings cost in the region of £300.00, plus fitting and painting. If it goes into a body shop you can add £600.00 pound plus for this including the boot lid. Or, you can purchase second hand wings, which cost peanuts on eBay, but you will need to be really selective, as these may well be pretty rusty but serviceable.
The bigger issue is the sills, if the sills are rotten, then it probably would not pass its mot anyway as this is an integral part of the safety structure. So the decision on scrapping the car would be made for you.
The priority here is the cost of the sills, and the removal and welding in place, you also mention the wheel arches, I take it the rear arches here, this rot would need cutting out and repairing, so it looks as if a total respray is just about on the cards, so an expensive total repair, probably costing in EXCESS of £1500.00.
That is just a guess and I am sure other people will have a better idea than me.
So, an mot failure is on the cards, when is this due by the way? Followed by a sorn and restoration project, or just scrap it!
Unfortunately these cars due to their age do take a fat wallet to maintain, and unless you are very handy and a half decent mechanic, with mates in a body shop they will cause a bit of hardship.
What else looks in need of repair? Exhaust, underbody coolant pipes, how many miles has it done?

Good luck here, it is always a shame when the tin worm takes hold, but sometimes the cost of maintenance can be very prohibitive.
Guys, any other comments?

Always comes down to the cost...and if you rely on quotes from garages to get the job done then it's a no go and the car is a scrapper....the knoledge is here to do the work and..don't let paint jobs put the car off the road...I once bought some enamel paint and thinners plus rollers....1/2 a day etching paint and ppainting and I had a tidy car....paint job was less than the price of a pair of trainers...ha... size 50..

Thanks guys,

I had a look at the car yesterday and managed to poke a finger through the wing whilst checking it. The Sills may or may not be as bad as I thought - it was only mobile the tyre fitter that said it when he tried to jack it up ....

There is quite a bit of rust appearing now. I had a think and spoke to an MG mechanic mate that has done all the work on it for me so far. He said he will buy it off me with a view to restoring it or I guess breaking it for spares the engine is worth something as it was a fully reconditioned one when I got it and has only done a few miles since then. To me the repair cost makes it uneconomical - I paid £1500 for the car 3 years ago and it's cost me over £2k in repairs so far including the new engine. If I leave it on the drive as a project then it's just going to rot over winter(s) and I have no garage. So I shall let it go and start saving for the next one - there will be a next one, but this time I'll pay a bit more and get a nicer example - there seem to be some lovely ones out there. I'll miss the fun of that VVC as my Focus is waaaay under powered by comparison - but it gets me where I need to be.

Hi Sean,
An informed and wise decision. It is a shame, but throwing hard earned cash into equipment that potentially is a rust pit is not advisable.
Good hunting next year. At least you will have plenty of experience of what to look for.

Look for a cheap car with HGF. If you wait you cqan get them very cheap (under £500, and in otherwise good rust free condition).

Then do an engine transplant.

You will keep the value of the new engine, and resolve the rust issues. Use yours as a doner for other nice bits.

I understand you do not want a project, but to me (who admitidly does my own work) this is the most atractive cost effective solution.