MOT results are in!! PLUS.....the long awaited first drive! 

Lee, have a go at doing the sills yourself. If you can afford to get the welding gear, go for it. If you've not already seen the YT channel Soup Classic Motoring, your missing out. His earlier video's show his learning to weld, doing real stuff on cars with a welder he bought from that well know welding supplier, Lidl's. My own journey with no previous experience turned out to be something I really enjoyed doing, and has lead to an interest in metalworking, and the enjoyment of watching RU-vidr Trev's Blog who does breath taking work. All you need is a patch over them holes sitting atop the existing steel, fully welding around the edge for MoT standards and your done. It doesn't have to be wonderful at this stage, because you can always replace the entire sill next year, or make up a better patch. Ebay will deliver a sheet of steel for you to your door. Use this for practice, then use it for your patches. Choosing a Welder advice is go for the LOWEST amperage mig welder you can get, 30 amps some will go to 25. You can always turn it up, and you may have to. If your seduced by buying on maximum power and end up with a minimal 40 or 50 amp as the lowest setting, you can't turn that down if its blowing holes in the steel, and then your screwed. Gas systems almost always have lower ratings than Gasless, and flow meters for gas are a couple of quid off ebay. Mig welding is the least skill involved gear, that's why it was invented, to ease production by semi-skilled people, not pro welders who can use a stick. Check out Soup Classic Motoring's story.

Great it failed, so we are going to see more videos 😂 can’t wait for the next one. Thanks Lee

The more I watch your videos the more at ease I am of buying my Mg tf and tackling whatever it will throw up ,,,, brilliant

They sound horrendous without the sound deadening and engine cover! Took mine out after changing the cambelt kit without them in place and couldn't wait to get home and put everything back in place!

SRS AIR BAGS. I had similar issues when I first bought my 2003 step speed 120 in August last year. On the third day of ownership the battery was flat. So I installed a new battery and instantly no more SRS light coming on. Not to say that may be your problem but worth looking at. Good luck with your project I have enjoyed watching.

The soft ride kit transformed the ride in mine.

It's riding

Not bad Lee, glad your tapping cleared, sounded quite nice once warm.

Oh yes forgot to add, your driving experience, you got it spot on, they are like sitting on a skateboard, which personally I don't have a problem with. Just be careful of giving it a big bootfull coming off roundabouts in the rain, they can be prone to swapping end!

Hi Mglee Loved watching your videos . Like you just restored a mg tf 135 did the head gasket timing belt water pump and sil repair too , brakes as well. I found mine quite bouncy or rough roads but ok on a good road . Mine had been stood for 2 years I’m enjoying driving it it has taken about a 1000 miles and the engine has bedded in and got better I guess it’s got all the muck out the engine after been stood so long . I even got the exhaust noise valve to work too , mine had seized At the linkage and also the purge valve had broke . Keep up the good work

Ive just had to replace some rusty brake lines on my mr2 of similar vintage. Top tip is that the factory steel coated brake lines are hard to flare. Make sure they are roughed up/clean of the paint, make sure your tool is very clean and on tight. The copper stuffs easy to flare and bend.

That’s not too bad Lee. Might be worth changing all of the brake lines for braided type, they really reduce any loss of pressure due to internal corrosion or damage, great feel to the brakes. I think Mike Satur do part-sill replacement panels...worth a look. Going going mate👍

Yep have a go with the rust yourself, nice video

Love the TF, keeps me busy with odd jobs now and again and great fun to drive. I wait until the oil temp gets up to about 80 - 90 before I boot it though

Covered the inside of the engine cover with body deadener, and along with a return to standard exhaust, much quieter

Yes they bounce all over the place 😂 my mgf did the same brake trick mot day, I couldn’t find anyone local to fix the brake lines so did it my self in the end. Can’t wait for the next video 👍

My SRS light never came on until I changed my battery for a new one, my SRS light now comes on intermittently, every time I attempt to fix it, the damn thing won't give a warning, I've cleaned every connection I can find with no luck, changed both bags, changed the module still no luck. I eventually took the bulb out, now fixed LOL!!

The ticking usually goes within a few seconds of startup. It could be a small restriction in flow to one or more of the buckets. Might even be a bit of air in them that'll get ejected with time and lots of Italian tune-ups. The suspension on the TF is extremely hard. I changed over to the soft ride suspension and it's like night and day. Felt like the car was floating on the road haha. Took a while to get used to it. Oh, and the door rattle... You'll have a hard time sorting it! There's so much that rattles. I'm thinking of 3D-printing some custom clips to hold things in place. Tape holds things for a while but it always starts rattling again.

Mine is very similar, tappety sound till it warms up, had an SRS light on after I moved the seats , unugged and replugged the connectors and it hasn't happened since. Once you're on the road , if you're out in the peak District, let me know, I can come for a run with you always assuming my head gasket change goes well this week. Great video s,

Sills - Mike Satur kit £80 a side, some nice stainless hoses £30. Tappits - yes they all sound like that when cold

Yep they always sound Like that she sounds good. Like someone else they do rattle and knock a little. There were 2 suspension set ups from the factory one a lower sports pack and the softer higher one. I have the factory lowered kit on my spark and the higher on my 160 and they ride very different.

You can buy the very popular Clarke 135TE Turbo MIG Welder from machine mart for £312 if you haven't already got one and as someone has said below repair panels are avalable if you don't fancy fabricating your own. You can spend more time on it and would probably do a better job than a garage; good content as well!

Lee you are more than.able to tackle the rust. There are tutorial videos out there. I changed all my brake pipes and it was easy.

I've two. One has the soft ride kit and that is much better to drive on British potholes than the other which also has a tick on start up. Pretty sure it's a sticky hydraulic tappet. The other engine, which I'm guessing is properly set up, has no top end noises.

Mike Satur is selling TF repair sills for around £80 each. Edit: As do MG Obsession

Yes they do have a firm suspension. The faster you go the smother it gets.

On my way home last night in th3 pouring rain I managed a 360 spin , not a great feeling . Only damage after mounting the kerb is a damaged front splitter 👏

Seems expensive lee for rust holes...have a go yourself, you’ve done everything else, you can do it...avid follower 👍

That rusty sill; I don't think it is a major structural part. The one that runs up the inside forming part of the tub that the driver sits in is more likely to be. The outer one seem only tacked on with holes for draining condensation. I reduced the bounciness on mine by fitting the VHS 'Comfort' damper kit. They're maybe many other options to tweak this, like the choice of poly-bushes, but it is a small car with little weight to give resistant anyway.

The door rattle should be an easy fix if mine was anything to go by , there is a plastic part that guides the window and can detach itself.

Brake lines should be fairly straightforward and the SRS light is , as you said, probably th3 under seat connector, best of luck Ken

House fire? DId I miss something!!?

The first time I drove my TF I was surprised how a bouncy & stiff the suspension was, one of the mods I have is the MGOC Comfort pack, it is now sporty (stiff) but does not bounce.

Mines exactly same car and was stood 18 months, engine rattled like hell when cold exactly same until I'd done about 500 miles,it now seems to have calmed down

The bouncy-ness and crashing and banging over bumps is normal. You get used to it after a while (especially if you drive a tf daily like me 😂)

Hi, just picked ours up yesterday, 2002 65k miles and so far love it after a 5 hour drive home yesterday. I also have the tapping noise under acceleration, nothing on cruise, did you figure yours out?

Nope it’s fine. Mine ticks, and I know others do. Also yes they’re very bouncy :)

you might recall me telling you i hit a pothole at 40 in my tf and practically got a concussion from the roof bar lol that hurt more than i can describe

Hi excellent videos I have a MGF the clutch pedal has gone floppy any ideas thanks

SRS light can be difficult to sort. I've changed everything on mine and it still comes on sometimes.

I have tried all sorts to get the ticking noise to go away and nothing works, I think it is just how the engine is.

The ticking doesn't sound like normal k-series ticking, is it coming from the engine or the fuel pump?

£500 is very dear, buy a cheap second hand welder, buy sills, cut out the rust and weld it. Did chassis rails on an mx5 quote was 700 quid and i did it myself for 90. RU-vid vids and scrap metal makes for great learning.

I find mine quite tappy/ticky all the time. Guess it’s K series loveliness?

Bounciness is normal, just watch out for speed bumps and potholes, the dashboard might come loose lol

Sounds a bit tappy. You can get a hydraulic lifter treatment to free that sticky tappet.

Yep in fact skate boards are likely a better ride !

Mine is a bit bumpy/bouncy :-)

Oh and get yourself some cunifer (copper nickel) brake tubing; it's better than copper