Topic

I bought a 2004 TF 135 earlier this week for the princely sum of £467, I collected it yesterday and today I have had a good look at it. It's a basic one with part cloth part vinyl (leather?) seats. A previous owner has fitted the wood effect trim, various bits of stainless steel trim and an almost new TTMK9 exhaust. To me the one thing that I cannot understand is that the nearside rear wheel has an ABS sensor that is properly wired in and the driveshaft has an ABS ring on it. None of the other three hubs have sensors or ABS rings on the drive shaft CVJ's, neither is there any wiring for any sensor to plug into. There is no ABS pump although there are three stainless steel bolts where it would be fitted. All the brake pipes look original and plumbed for a non ABS system. So what is that single sensor for? As far as I know both the EPAS and speedometer get their signal from a sensor on the gearbox.

I would wager that in a previous life the then owner or proxy has had the original replaced with one off a scrapper.
This could be quite innocent & a valid way to return a car with “little value” to the road, however that’s seen with the front suspension from time to time but it’s the first time I’ve heard of this ruse on the rear. I would be inclined to look for any misalignment, it could have needed a replacement after a curb strike after bit of over enthusiastic cornering.
M

Are you going to restore the car or use it for parts ?

When I first saw it on eBay my thoughts were that if it sold at a reasonable price then it would be a cheap parts car. The almost new TT exhaust would cost more than half the purchase price.
Having collected the car it is far too good to break, the car was wax oiled in 2012 so the underside and subframes look like new.
On the other hand it does need quite a number of small repairs and replacements. The rear calipers are partially seized and the discs front and rear need replacing and a bit of rust each end of the sills.
My retirement has been put back for another month or so, I have a MGB to restore then I will set to work on this TF, by then I will have formulated a plan. I am thinking about the possibility of a power upgrade, plenty of small powerful (non Rover) engines these days. I have ridden in the Honda powered TF that Maidstone Sports Cars made and a supercharged K series, so who knows?

Maidstone shoehorned a V6 into a tf as I recall, it must have gone like stink, however there must have been a lot of cutting, bending & welding as well as extensive use of a ruler.
I think a new fuel tank had to be fabricated.
I’m sure you’ll keep us up to date when you start. Did you form any conclusion with the odd man out hub?
M

We went to a MG’s on track at Castle Coombe two weeks ago and rode as passengers. My first ride was with a supercharged TF, the second was in the 350bhp Honda powered TF that features on Maidstone Sports Cars website. http://www.maidstonesportscars.co.uk/projects/honda-powered-mg-tf/
The third was in a MG ZS fitted with a Chinese 1.8 turbo engine, again about 250bhp and the last was a 4.6 litre MGB V8 which had been totally stripped of all the interior. The best car? The supercharged TF, but the driver made the difference, he was a racer through and through.
The V6 cars were built by Retro Sorts cars: https://www.retrosportscars.co.uk/v6-mgtf
I think it is far too much money and work for too little gain though.
I have discovered that on non ABS cars a single sensor was placed on the rear nearside hub to supply the engine ECU, apparently the engine has a tendency to misfire if it cannot tell whether the car is stationary or moving. The information that I had also said that the ABS only monitored the offside rear wheel due to the ABS controlling the two rear wheels as one. There is only one brake pipe to the rear.

I’m sorry I missed this last post, I was obviously busy (not paying attention) & Forwent a treat.
That would have be one heck of a day out & for someone considering dipping their toe into the deep waters of engine swaps, very informative.
The car you outlined as most impressive would be the one I’d have liked to have a ride in & as you intimate the driver makes the difference between a ride where you have to concentrate on clenching hold of a point to brace against & concentrating on clenching your sphincter!
A friend has a MG RV8 which I haven’t driven but I’ve ridden a few times & I know it can be quite rewarding in competent hands but he drives it with all the verve of a recently passed young lady in mother Ka.
And the supplementary information is interesting also.
M

Airportable wrote:

I’m sorry I missed this last post, I was obviously busy (not paying attention) & Forwent a treat.
That would have be one heck of a day out & for someone considering dipping their toe into the deep waters of engine swaps, very informative.
The car you outlined as most impressive would be the one I’d have liked to have a ride in & as you intimate the driver makes the difference between a ride where you have to concentrate on clenching hold of a point to brace against & concentrating on clenching your sphincter!
A friend has a MG RV8 which I haven’t driven but I’ve ridden a few times & I know it can be quite rewarding in competent hands but he drives it with all the verve of a recently passed young lady in mother Ka.
And the supplementary information is interesting also.
M

I would recommend going to a https://www.mgs-on-track.com/ViewEvents They were incredibly friendly and they immediately found a ride for both my wife and myself. I certainly went out in the "best car and driver" combination first, the next three rides were different though, the Maidstone Sports Cars super charged Honda engine in the TF didn't seem any quicker though, it was the actual car featured on their website. Neither was the stripped out MGB GT fitted with a highly modified 4.6 litre V8. My wife wasn't over keen on going but she enjoyed it so much that we will be booking our TF in for one or two next year, she felt extremely safe with novices going separately to more experienced drives.
Engine swaps really need a deep pocket (which I don't have ) and in a TF there isn't much room for anything other than another inline four cylinder engine. There was a chap who had a long running thread on one of the forums where he was fitting the Honda engine himself, spent a fortune and abandoned it after breaking driveshafts and before he got it running properly. The more I think about it the K series is perhaps the best all round, sadly they are so expensive to get more power from. Still I still ponder on what to do with my newest acquisition, what I need is a sub five hundred pound engine and gearbox combo, deep down I have an idea but it will remain a secret until I know if it will work.

All good stuff. When I started this caper, firstly with the f & later with the now departed tf, the intended performance trajectory was up. Sadly my arms were not long enough to reach the funds, which were at the bottom of long pockets, sometimes I managed to flick some cash up by straining my index finger & effect an improvement but all the time the ability trajectory was on a downward trend as the age trajectory was inexorably up.
The tf departed & I had to make do what I had, which was always brilliant.
M

Thats got me wondering. Would a K series fit on an LT77 rear wheel drive gearbox I wonder

With enough adapter plates & spline modifications. We can consider the K series engine outmoded & obsolete, the LT77 is from a mindset stretching back towards the last lot of European hostilities we got involved in. Dare I ask why you are interested?
M

I could think of better gear bags than the LT77…… Celica 5 speed from @ the 80’s or 90’s Ford Sierra 5 speed both spring to mind.