The Corgi Car AX54JVN

Ant Sheehy · 30th July 2013, 22:12

Hi all.

Wanted to share the story of my special car. Now known as The Corgi Car. My X-Power Grey ZT 190+

I had always been a Rover and MG fan with owning a Rover Metro, Rover 100 Gta, Rover 200 and 2 Rover 400's. But always wanted an MG.

I purchased my pride and joy from Cressmore Autos, Kidderminster in August 2012.

Autotrader Advert Pictures

Autotrader Advert pictures

1st Picture at its new home

It was in a poorly modified condition, but mechanically sound with only 47000 miles on the odometer. I very quickly discovered that the car was a little special. When searching on ebay for parts, I came across the Corgi Vanguards model of an MGZT 190 in X POWER grey which happened to share the same registration as the car I had just purchased.

The Corgi Model. AX54JVN

I had always planned to return the car to its original condition but on discovering this it made it all the more important.

The cheap modifications where removed and a set of the original alloys ordered. I’ve even replaced the number plates so they match the plates on the model. On the body work side I had the front corner of the bumper repaired and tweaked and restored other areas on the car and have spent numerous hours on the paintwork bringing it back to life. I still have things to do on the Corgi Car, but that’s the joy of owning this great 1 off car. My goal is to continue to restore it to its original showroom best and do justice to the model that has been made.

Here are some progress pictures.

As purchased.

The grooms car on my wedding day.

Aftermarket 17s Fitted.

Original 18s ready to go on.

Original 18s fitted

Decided to fit my flip up DVD player.

Dash lights with the DVD player fitted.

Red Callipers

Original style plates fitted to match the model.

The result so far.

I have contacted CORGI to obtain more information regarding the model and had the following response from Martyn Weaver (Corgi Marketing Manager).

The model that you are referring to was produced in 2007 and carried the registration plate AX54 JVN. Hornby Hobbies acquired the Corgi brand in 2008 so we have limited information on models that were produced before 2008. Our current process is that when we decide we are going to make a model we search for a suitable registration and try and contact the owner of the car, this can be difficult because of the data protection act but in most instances we do get to speak to the owner and they are thrilled that we are modelling their car. It has been known to help the sale of a car if it has been modelled by Corgi!

Few jobs completed recently.

Headlight Refurbishment

The headlight had started to look rather tired. So i purchased the 3M headlight restoration kit from ebay for £18.99. Today is the day I got to use the kit and I have to say the results are amazing. The headlights suffered from various scratches, chips and UV deterioration. The process can appear to be quite scary as it requires you to sand down the fascia of the light to remove the damage and then bring the finish back up to a clear polished look. I would highly recommend this product to anyone else who suffered the same issue with there car. :-D

Before

After

Quick alloy wheel refurb.

This was done to improve the look of the wheels in the short term. Quite pleased with the results considering, and they will definitely do until i can raise the funds to have them done professionally.

All the hard work paid off when I took the car to the fantastic MG's in the park organised by the Oxfordshire MG owners Club. Came away a very happy man as The Corgi Car won best ZT in the pride of ownership competition. It was so nice to see that other people appreciate the story and the work put in to restore the car to its original best. :-D

This is the info I display on the car at the various shows Ive been to. Thought it would be good to log them on here as I hope to update them next year.

Thanks for taking the time to read up on my pride and joy.

Ant

Mark2000cc · 30th July 2013, 22:21

What a great looking car, love all the work you have done to it, and a brilliant story to go with it. Thanks for sharing it with us :-)

Mark2000cc · 30th July 2013, 22:22

Ps, glad you got rid of those horrible wheels!

Canonite · 30th July 2013, 22:31

Fantastic write up. I had followed your requests on Facebook in trying to source the owners of the other Corgi cars.

Ant Sheehy · 30th July 2013, 23:06

Quote:

Originally Posted by Canonite

Fantastic write up. I had followed your requests on Facebook in trying to source the owners of the other Corgi cars.

Thanks Alan. Im still searching for info.

Ant Sheehy · 30th July 2013, 22:36

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mark2000cc

Ps, glad you got rid of those horrible wheels!

Cheers Mark. I must admit, I was pleased to see them go. I had real problems removing them as each nut was a unique team dynamics nut which could only be removed by a special key. Which just so happened to be made of the cheapest metal out there. 3 broken keys later and they where off. phew!!

generic_username · 30th July 2013, 23:07

Really enjoyed reading this, good effort!

AURORA MG · 30th July 2013, 23:34

Glad to see such a car has gone to an enthusiast. I do like aftermarket wheels but they were just wrong for a ZT (you should be able to sell them as they fit some Golf's, Oktavia's etc).
I was at MG's In The Park in my Red MG Montego.

30th July 2013, 22:12	#1
Ant Sheehy Newbie MG ZT Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: Kidderminster Posts: 13 Thanks: 1 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	The Corgi Car AX54JVN Hi all. Wanted to share the story of my special car. Now known as The Corgi Car. My X-Power Grey ZT 190+ I had always been a Rover and MG fan with owning a Rover Metro, Rover 100 Gta, Rover 200 and 2 Rover 400's. But always wanted an MG. I purchased my pride and joy from Cressmore Autos, Kidderminster in August 2012. Autotrader Advert Pictures Autotrader Advert pictures 1st Picture at its new home It was in a poorly modified condition, but mechanically sound with only 47000 miles on the odometer. I very quickly discovered that the car was a little special. When searching on ebay for parts, I came across the Corgi Vanguards model of an MGZT 190 in X POWER grey which happened to share the same registration as the car I had just purchased. The Corgi Model. AX54JVN I had always planned to return the car to its original condition but on discovering this it made it all the more important. The cheap modifications where removed and a set of the original alloys ordered. I’ve even replaced the number plates so they match the plates on the model. On the body work side I had the front corner of the bumper repaired and tweaked and restored other areas on the car and have spent numerous hours on the paintwork bringing it back to life. I still have things to do on the Corgi Car, but that’s the joy of owning this great 1 off car. My goal is to continue to restore it to its original showroom best and do justice to the model that has been made. Here are some progress pictures. As purchased. The grooms car on my wedding day. Aftermarket 17s Fitted. Original 18s ready to go on. Original 18s fitted Decided to fit my flip up DVD player. Dash lights with the DVD player fitted. Red Callipers Original style plates fitted to match the model. The result so far. I have contacted CORGI to obtain more information regarding the model and had the following response from Martyn Weaver (Corgi Marketing Manager). The model that you are referring to was produced in 2007 and carried the registration plate AX54 JVN. Hornby Hobbies acquired the Corgi brand in 2008 so we have limited information on models that were produced before 2008. Our current process is that when we decide we are going to make a model we search for a suitable registration and try and contact the owner of the car, this can be difficult because of the data protection act but in most instances we do get to speak to the owner and they are thrilled that we are modelling their car. It has been known to help the sale of a car if it has been modelled by Corgi! Few jobs completed recently. Headlight Refurbishment The headlight had started to look rather tired. So i purchased the 3M headlight restoration kit from ebay for £18.99. Today is the day I got to use the kit and I have to say the results are amazing. The headlights suffered from various scratches, chips and UV deterioration. The process can appear to be quite scary as it requires you to sand down the fascia of the light to remove the damage and then bring the finish back up to a clear polished look. I would highly recommend this product to anyone else who suffered the same issue with there car. :-D Before After Quick alloy wheel refurb. This was done to improve the look of the wheels in the short term. Quite pleased with the results considering, and they will definitely do until i can raise the funds to have them done professionally. All the hard work paid off when I took the car to the fantastic MG's in the park organised by the Oxfordshire MG owners Club. Came away a very happy man as The Corgi Car won best ZT in the pride of ownership competition. It was so nice to see that other people appreciate the story and the work put in to restore the car to its original best. :-D This is the info I display on the car at the various shows Ive been to. Thought it would be good to log them on here as I hope to update them next year. Thanks for taking the time to read up on my pride and joy. Ant

30th July 2013, 22:21	#2
Mark2000cc This is my second home MG ZT CDTI Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Sutton in ashfield Posts: 6,751 Thanks: 1,017 Thanked 699 Times in 501 Posts	What a great looking car, love all the work you have done to it, and a brilliant story to go with it. Thanks for sharing it with us :-) __________________ http://i1151.photobucket.com/albums/...b595c11ba6.jpgStill going strong!

30th July 2013, 22:22	#3
Mark2000cc This is my second home MG ZT CDTI Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Sutton in ashfield Posts: 6,751 Thanks: 1,017 Thanked 699 Times in 501 Posts	Ps, glad you got rid of those horrible wheels! __________________ http://i1151.photobucket.com/albums/...b595c11ba6.jpgStill going strong!

30th July 2013, 23:07	#7
generic_username Loves to post ZT 190+ Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: North Wales Posts: 366 Thanks: 22 Thanked 6 Times in 6 Posts	Really enjoyed reading this, good effort! __________________ http://www.forum-signatures.com/wiza...dd490004cc.jpg My progress thread: http://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/foru...46#post1278046

30th July 2013, 22:31	#4
Canonite This is my second home BMW 330d Tourer, MG ZT 180 SE XPG, VW Polo 6R 1.2 TDI Bluemotion Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: York Posts: 6,030 Thanks: 363 Thanked 574 Times in 319 Posts	Fantastic write up. I had followed your requests on Facebook in trying to source the owners of the other Corgi cars.

30th July 2013, 23:34	#8
AURORA MG Banned (EX)-ZT-T190SE in Aurora. Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Medway Posts: 2,954 Thanks: 42 Thanked 53 Times in 46 Posts	Glad to see such a car has gone to an enthusiast. I do like aftermarket wheels but they were just wrong for a ZT (you should be able to sell them as they fit some Golf's, Oktavia's etc). I was at MG's In The Park in my Red MG Montego.