MG ZS 180 Mk1 - Spares or repair

I have a 2004 Mk 1 ZX 180 non-runner for sale.



I will describe the car with good, bad and ugly descriptions as I have not exactly treated her with respect recently. (This may also result in me receiving a flogging from devout MG enthusiasts).

(The car is a non-runner due to having a severe coolant leak).



The good:

It is a mk1 as stated, in trophy blue and is, in appearance, almost completely immaculate. The only cosmetic issues are a very small dint in the nearside wing and a small amount of damage to the bottom of the front spoiler where I hit a pheasant. Up until the car became undriveable the car hadzero mechanical faults in five years of driving (no VIS or clutch faults at all!) and passed every MOT first time except the last one where the only failure was an unsecure battery (annoyingly the unsecure battery was there the year before, but was only an advisory before the rules changed).



The bad:

For a couple of years before the major coolant leak I noticed a general reduction in coolant level, which after a bit of checking looked like being the thermostat housing leaking into the middle of the V (a common problem I am led to believe). However, about one month after its last MOT I came to the car to notice the entire volume of coolant on the carpark floor. After topping the car back up with coolant and driving her home the car has remained undriveable.

I have not been able to work out exactly where the coolant is leaking from, but it appears to be leaking through a gap in the timing belt cover where the tensioner is. The possible cause could be either a severely leaking coolant pump, a head gasket failure on the side of the engine, or a failure of one of the 'pennies' that seal the holes in the coolant channels at the end of the block. I have checked for obvious head gasket failure signs and there are none. There are no signs of coolant in the oil and there are no signs of oil in the coolant.

Although the car passed the last MOT after securing the battery there were several minor faults, mainly regarding the state of the suspension bushes. Also three of the tyres are near the limit and it is likely the exhaust back box needs replacing.



The ugly:

The car became undriveable in June 2013. I haven't driven it since then and it has remained on the drive since. Another issue I forgot above is that there is a bit of a water leak into the passenger compartment somewhere, definitely one in the boot and possibly one elsewhere. The car does take in water when it rains. This was not a problem when I was driving it every day, the odd misted window, having to de-ice the inside of the windscreen in freezing weather were pretty much the only issues there. Having not driven it for 18 months the damp has caused a bit of superficial mold on the steering wheel and a general musty smell inside.



My hope is that someone will take the car on and repair it, so I am only looking for any price above scrap value, although I don't currently know what that might be. I am open to any offer basically.



I can't break the car for parts as although this would be better financially I can't afford to have an increasingly smaller car sitting on my drive.



Obviously the car is undriveable and would need to be recovered (or possibly towed?) away.



I have since bought a BMW 335i, and although it is significantly faster than the MG it doesn't even come close to it for the engine note. In terms of six cylinder engines, apart from a TVR Sagaris I saw a few years back nothing has come close to the sound of the KV6. I will be sad to see it go, but I don't have the space or know how to get it back on it's feet without paying a garage more money than it's worth to repair.



The car is in Ledbury in Herefordshire.



Feel free to ask any questions,

Volcane.

from the last news http://ift.tt/1z37kNQ

via IFTTT