2004 MG TF 115 SUNSTORM

Owned and fully restored by a professional engineer, this well-sorted MG TF is a testament to one man’s love for the marque. Mechanically and bodily sorted, it has been lovingly repainted in Audi Sonoma Green - and the only flaws he could find to point out are two small areas on the driver’s door that he had to touch up after it suffered a car-park ding when it was unattended.

With just four previous owners, it is only being offered for sale because he isn’t using it as much as he’d like. Being sold with no known faults, it’s in need of nothing other than love and the odd tankful of petrol.

Fittingly, it’s with us here at The Market HQ in Abingdon, and we’d welcome potential bidders who’d like to pop in to see us and to check out the quality of the workmanship on it for themselves.

The owner restored the car’s mechanical components in 2016-17 - and then drove the car for a year to let things bed in and to give him time to de-bug any problems. 

He then stripped the car down in order to change its colour from silver to Sonoma Green, which is an Audi colour. The paint is as expensive as you’d expect of anything that was used by Audi and the vendor paid £500 for the top-coat paint alone. This huge sum is partly explained by the presence of platinum, gold and silver in the paint. 

It was worth it though because the result is flawless and looks stunning; we can’t help but think that MG missed a trick by not offering something like this as it is so much more interesting than British Racing Green could ever be.

Sadly, the car picked up a couple of very minor car-park dings shortly after being painted, but the owner painstakingly touched them up and the result is almost invisible.

A new double-duck fabric hood, complete with heated rear glass screen, has been fitted. It fits very well indeed and looks terrific. 

The owner also fitted front and rear fog lights, plus front and rear parking sensors; this is an MG TF that benefits from all the latest goodies.

The owner had the wheels refinished too, and Kumho tyres fitted all round, all of which have good tread as they are almost new.

The interior is every bit as good as the exterior. The seats, which are the original black leather items with a tan Alcantara centre, needed nothing other than cleaning as they’re virtually as firm and supportive as they were the day they left the factory. Of course, it goes without saying that they are free of rips, tears, scuffs and other damage.

The carpets were too badly worn to be reused and were put in the skip. A new set was fitted along with a set of door cards. The end result really is utterly lovely and way, way better than the Internet trolls would have you believe.

If we are being picky, then the white symbol on the cigarette lighter has worn away. Yep, that’s about as bad as it gets…

The car was a non-runner when the vendor bought it suffering from (you won’t be surprised to hear) a blown head gasket. He removed the engine and gearbox and cleaned and checked both. The gearbox was fine and was refitted but the engine needed more work.

This work included a reconditioned cylinder head, along with an MLS head gasket and an upgraded oil rail to ward off future problems. The engine was then meticulously reassembled with a new water-pump, cambelt, cambelt tensioners, and a three-piece clutch kit. It was then fully serviced and reinstalled into the car.

The front and rear suspension systems were removed from the car before being stripped to their component pieces. The various parts were then cleaned and professionally powdercoated before being carefully reassembled with new parts as required. These new parts included new front upper and lower ball joints, a set of inner front suspension arm bushes, front wheel bearings, shock absorber mounting bushes, a track control arm, a rear trailing arm, and a rear track control arm. 

The front and rear suspension assemblies were then refitted to the car before the whole thing was set up on a four-wheel alignment rig – and the owner forgot to centre the steering wheel, which is the only job he thinks needs doing on the entire vehicle…

The brakes were fettled too, with new front and rear discs and pads plus new braided and rigid copper brake lines. 

Miscellaneous work includes a set of new front-to-rear coolant pipes, and a new radiator. The original four-channel ECU has just been professionally rebuilt and a new stainless steel sports exhaust and catalytic convertor finishes off the car’s mechanical specification.

As you might expect given the extent of the work that has been carried out, the MG TF runs like a dream.

The online MOT history shows nothing of concern whatsoever and confirms the car’s low mileage. The car comes with a current MOT certificate that runs out in October 2019 and it also comes with a number of expired MOT certificates. 

A number of invoices and bills confirm the recent restoration work that was been done to it and there is a typed summary of the work that was done from the man who carried out that work.

It also comes with two keys, the warranty paperwork for the catalytic convertor, the owner’s handbook and a photographic record of the restoration. 

Please visit the documents section of the gallery of this listing where you will find photos of this and other paperwork to support our claim that this car has been restored to a very high standard.

This really is a lovely little car and one that would make a lovely introduction to the marque for someone who has always fancied one but has been put off by the MG TF’s reputation for poor reliability. Fettled by a professional who loves and understands the marque better than most, this is a fully sorted example that is ready to faithfully serve it new owner for another fifteen years.

And, despite the time and money that has been poured into it – and there has been plenty of both – the sad fact is that even the very best MG TF isn’t worth a great deal of money.

That means that this unique, one-off, fully fettled example is being offered with no reserve. It’ll sell after the first bid has been placed, which must be heartbreaking for the owner but is terrific news for potential bidders.

If you’re in any doubt as to whether to bid or not then viewing is always encouraged, and this car can be seen here at The Market HQ in Abingdon; to arrange an appointment please use the ‘Contact Seller’ button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.

If needed, please remember we have a network of trusted suppliers we work with regularly and can recommend: Classic & Sportscar Finance for purchase-financing, Thames Valley Car Storage for storing your car, AnyVan for transporting it, and Footman James for classic car insurance.