Hi from a new member.

[Ken B]

My names Ken, i signed up yesterday so this is my first post.
I have just got back from looking at No. 070, a Mk 1 SE in trophy blue. What a car excellent condition full service history, Price is agreed and I pick her up on Saturday, can't wait.
Shes due a 50k service soon, i would like to know what level of service is due at 50k and where would be best ot take her ( i'm based in Colchester Essex )...:wave

[Tim]

Welcome aboard Ken. Bet you cant wait until tomorrow :D

[dobbo]

Congrats! Get some pictures up when you've got it.

[GeoffW]

Welcome Ken, feeling like a kid before Christmas eh,

[ColinE]

Welcome to the best place to be (well as far as 260's are concerned)

Austin Garages come highly recommended if you are OK to travel a bit

www.austingarages.co.uk (http://www.austingarages.co.uk)

[JohnB]

Well done Ken and welcome. I got round the waiting problem by driving it home 1 hour after turning up to view it :)
There is something special about these cars and that feeling hasn't diminished after 1 1/2 years of ownership.
John.

[colintf]

Hi Ken and welcome!

:cool:

[kcv]

Hello Ken.
Welcome to the group. Enjoy the fun factor.
Keith

[Roadsterstu]

Hi and great choice of car!

[Malcolmr]

Congratulations Ken - you should have taken it for its first spin by now - great isn't it!!

[ksilver]

"JohnB" - "kenB" must be related !

[Ken B]

Thanks for the warm welcome, car is fantastic in every aspect. Its virtualy unmarked throughout and sounds great. have'nt stopped driving it since i picked it up.
Will get some pictures up soon, once I've worked out how to do it...
Ken B.

Went to a party last night with the wife and picked up her friend, She said as she was caressing the leather seats, this is nice is it a subaru:Duh. in her defence she had been on the vodka.

[black olive]

Hi Ken welcome to the collective.

They only sound like a Subaru when a couple of coil packs fail :o

[ColinE]

And like a steam engine when the heater valve faile :D:D:D

[Ken B]

Thanks Black Olive and Ragman, Thats interesting, on a couple of start ups i've noticed a message to "check engine" pop up on the display and felt that it was'nt firing on all 8 however she runs and sounds ok especialy at crusing speeds. Please tell me more.
She's due a service and hopefully that will be this week.

[Tim]

Ken's new baby :D

https://www.two-sixties.co.uk/gallery/albums/500/medium/ken_B.JPG

[Martin]

Hi welcome I to am a new owner of 4 weeks and still smileing I wish you well with her Martin
PS I took a mate out for a run he said it sounds like it wanted to eat the road ............... apt I think

[colintf]

Ken's new baby :D

https://www.two-sixties.co.uk/gallery/albums/500/medium/ken_B.JPG

looks good Ken!

:cool:

[Ken B]

Thanks again for the welcome and thanks to Tim for posting the pic. It dose put a smile on a lot of faces especialy mine. Ive not seen another around the Colchester area before, in fact I dont recall ever seeing one. I came across the model whilst searching for V8's in Google. I was making plans to go to Antrim to look over a XPower Grey 260 when a Trophy Blue SE came up 22 miles from me and at the right price, as Blue is the colour for me I went to see it and even though it was dark i did the deal there and then. Its like new only a few scuffs on the wheels, 50k on the clock, service history up to May this year new tyres, clutch, clutch master and slave cylinders and front discs fitted earlier this year. Fuel pump was replaced last year, its an awful lot of car for the money, i'm chuffed to bits with it.:D:D:D

[ColinE]

Good to hear you're pleased - must admit my purchase process was similar

[Malcolmr]

Having at last got my car home to Australia and had a chance to look underneath properly, I'm amazed at the amount of surface rust on all sorts of fixtures and fittings, from the main crank pulley (which is so rusty as to be beyond cleaning up - I'll just get a new one I think) to the engine sub-frame and suspension components. I guess a few hard years in Kent has seen a lot of salt thown up under there. Even the top of the engine has rust on many iron components as well as surface corrosion on all the alloy parts. Lots of cleaning up to do, and new nuts and bolts to buy - lovely weekend activity!!

Ken, I suggest you look underneath soon!

[Ken B]

Hi Malcolm, Went over and under mine as soon as i got it home last Saturday, Engine and engine bay is clean no corrosion apart from the crank pulley, front bumper screws need replacing (a kit can be purchased from this site). There is some rust underneath, on the rear axle cross beam and a small patch on the boot well. Other than that she's prity good. I'm having the wheels refurbed as soon as i can and at the same time will have the underside cleaned up and any rust treated and sprayed.
She's being serviced tomorrow and having a thorough check over as I bought the car privately (no guarantee). Good luck with yours, much better looking than the aussie V8's...:wave

[kcv]

Hello Ken
I bought 070 from Horners in Manchester as an ex demo in 2004. I had no problems except the heater hose bursting. I sold it when MGR went bust but only because I had concerns about getting spares for the 260 as they were such a rare beast, at that time I did not know about the 260 club (I don't kger a membernow if the club existed while I had it). When I bought my current 260, I just missed buying 070 back at that time, I found a mention of the 260 club in the MGOC magazine and joined from there, one of the best things I ever did.
As I said I had no real problems with 070 but the next owner had a few issues, he made contact with me through the 260 club and I reprint his comments below. I believe he left the club when he sold 070 and is no longer a member. If you want any more info or whatever drop me a p.m. and I'll get in touch with you.

COMMENTS OF OWNER AFTER ME
The car was immaculate when I purchased it so definitely a credit to your ownership. I did have a few problems with it over the years though. Oddly, the fuel pump and filter went in quick succession after two months so I was surprised to hear that they had already been done before. I replaced the hose with the 260s variant as a precaution and never had a problem with it.
I also had to have the diff resealed and the clutch slave cylinder failed, requiring an engine out job replacing the master/slave cylinders and the clutch (ouch!). The AC compressor had decided to give up recently and I suspected the rear springs were cracked so, despite having spent over £4k in repairs and maintenance in 3 years and with a heavy heart, I decided enough was enough and traded it in at Gloucester SAAB. I was uneasy with selling it privately so it's probably just as well you were too late to buy it, as despite my best efforts and a hefty pile of garage bills to prove it, it did have a number of jobs needing doing. Having said that, somebody picking it up cheaply and spending £1k will have a really good car.
So my tenure of ownership has certainly been eventful (and this is the short summary version!) but it was a superb drive and a car with great character.

[spunagain]

Hi Ken

Welcome to the fold

Re your servicing, see below for the schedule!

http://www.spunagain.co.uk/ZT260service.html

Regards
Spunagain

[Ken B]

Thanks Keith (kcv) thats great, will PM you shortly.

[Ken B]

Thanks for the service schedule Spunagain, very helpfull.

[John Newey]

Hi Ken, the service due is the cheaper 5000 mile oil and filter service and I can recommend Summit Garage (Dudley) Ltd- www.summitgarage.co.uk (http://www.summitgarage.co.uk) (mainly cos I own it and cos I love me MG V8's!!). If you need anything, then this website gives you everyything you need to know about MG ZT260's.:)!

[Ken B]

Thanks John, I've had it done locally now. you're quite a distance from me but if i'm ever passing i'll pop in for a cuppa.