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MG TD TF 1500 - Back on the road again

Lily Christine IV has been on jacks for a month while I've taken the tank off, had it cut open, sandblasted, welded, pressure tested and then painted it. This should solve my endless fuel, filter, pump and debris problems once and for all! I also installed a new license plate lamp unit, which hadn't worked for tweny years. Additionally, I replaced the rubbers, repainted the back blocks, fixed the fuel warning sending unit and added a drain valve. I also replaced the tailpipe and installed new hangers throughout. It's all back together now and I'm waiting for three bits: two bolts to replace stripped ones holding the spare tire bracket on, and a cap to give me a redundant safety measure on the drain valve. Once these are installed, she's back on the road again, better than ever before. And yes, she now has rollbars and an invisible Bluetooth sound system.
I can't wait to go for a drive!
Next project... maybe the heater? But it was 70 degrees today... can't complain!
Geoffrey M Baker

Geoff I'm about to use the KBS tank sealer. I've been putting it off for ages for fear of stuffing it up. I've heard stories & seen tanks where the process went horribly wrong. Wondered what the inside of your tank looked like when you cut her open & what you did to the inside of your tank, if anything, apart from what you've listed above? Cheers
Peter TD 5801
P Hehir

Peter, I let the shop coat it. Whatever it is, is a reddish coating which is not a thick gooey sealant. I am confident if I ever need to remove it a standard stripper will take it out.
I asked them to take pictures of the interior, and they did, but their camera was so lowres the pix aren't much use. But when they opened it up the pictures sho that there were large peeling sections of this thick wall coating which were NEVER going to come out any other way...
so sometimes it really is necessary. Then they sandblasted it, welded it up and sealed it.

If I had to do it over again, I would cut it open myself. Their method was they cut open the tank a little too close to the top (which meant the work was more visible than it might otherwise have been) and they cut it open and then bent back the sections they cut to get access. The bending required some bodywork and filler to hide.

If I was doing it, I would cut it open in the dead center of the back, and cut out complete squares from each baffle. Then I would clean the square sections and weld on some strips on the top and bottom of each square cut-out section (on the underneath) then use magnets or rivets to position them back on the tank and reweld or braze them into place. There would be no bends to have to fill, just excess metal to grind down. I'd probably tack weld it in the corners and then simply solder it carefully; that way there is much less heat to cause the surface to deform. Done carefully, it could leave you with a tank looking perfect.
The rest of it - sandblasting and coating - anyone can do.

As it was, I was left with more body work that I wanted to do, and the paintwork that I did I am not happy with. It's too cool here to do good paintwork right now. So I'm reinstalling so that I can have the car to run around with until spring, and will probably pull the tank and repaint her again this spring, once temperatures are a constant 70F or better.

Geoffrey M Baker

Could have been this they used. It's top quality. PJ



Paul S Jennings

Back in the day we used to just hot tank fuel tanks for days (same as was done for blocks etc) and then use a slurry like Paul showed. Would not work if you had rust holes that were bigger than pin holes though or broken baffles. You could do some limited welding after it was hot tanked.
Christopher Couper

Paul, I've just emailed them to ask that; I should know in case of problems in the future!
Geoffrey M Baker

"and the paintwork that I did I am not happy with"

Are you the one who was going to use spray paint cans a few weeks ago? If so it would be useful to others if you could post a picture of the results. I, for one, am very curious!
Ed
efh Haskell

Ed on the question of spray cans if you download TTT2 Issue 22 there's an article on a blue TC that was painted that way. It made the cover & looks great! I'm also using spray cans & will post some pics once I've painted everything & then wet rubbed the final coat with 2000. Still have the front guards & the doors to repair & respray. I'm very happy with the finish out of the can. Very smooth & no orange peel. Using acrylic lacquer in a German can with a quality propellant & nozzle. I had the paint matched & mixed locally. Pic below shows repairs to rear guard. Following pic shows paint to same guard yet to be wet rubbed & polished. Cheers
Peter TD 5801

P Hehir

After paint

P Hehir

Ed, as I mentioned earlier, I'm not at all happy with the result. I'm not blaming the spray cans, I'm blaming the temps in Tucson; it was just too cold to do a good job. Rather than sand it back down and repaint, I've put it back on the car (temporarily) so that I can drive the car till March, at which point I will take the tank off again and give it another go. I'll post pix then; in the meantime, trust me when I say that the work is NOT acceptable, but that's all my fault.
Geoffrey M Baker

Paul, the shop emailed me back and that is exactly what they used.
Geoffrey M Baker

Guys As part of my restoration of a TF that hasn't been on the road in 40 years should I be thinking of doing something to the inside of the petrol tank. From what I can make out it appears to have some surface rust inside. I dont think there have been any sealers used inside. I do remember there being a small leak in one corner and the paint on the tray below marked because of the leak. (see pic) Thanks for any advice you may give.

D Lamb

Peter, with all due respect and I hope you prove me wrong, but I've got to ask if spray cans work well why has the whole world not switched to them? Not to hijack, but I would be interested in hearing others' opinions on this.
efh Haskell

D Lamb; my advice is do it now and do it right. There are plenty of threads on how to clean the rust yourself if no coatings have ever been applied. I would clean the rust out, take it to someplace to get a pressure test and find the leaks, and have someone fix them (or do it yourself) then seal it with a GOOD (not MIRACLE) sealer. Or you'll be doing what I did - cutting it open, ten years from now!
Geoffrey M Baker

Thanks Geoffrey
D Lamb

Ed, IMHO the main reasons that everybody isn't doing it are that the perceived level of skill required to achieve a professional result & the bad rep that ordinary spray cans have, put a lot of potential DIY's off. Believe it or not I've seen a panel on a TF that was painted with a brush, cut back & buffed & looked like a professional paint job. The key to a great paint job isn't how you apply the paint, but how you prepare the surface. Modern cars painted with spray gun wielding robots are turned out with orange peel paint jobs every day of the week. In my day those cars wouldn't be allowed to leave the shop. Why do I use a can? Simple answer Ed is $$!. DIY is much, much cheaper & with a spray can you don't even need a compressor & spray gun. I have a 14 cfm compressor & a quality gun & yet choose to use the cans. As I'm doing a panel at a time, don't have a garage & have to spray in the backyard, a quality can is more economic, gives me more control & there's way less over-spray & waste. Cheers
Perter TD 5801
P Hehir

If you are going to paint a T type with acrylic lacquer you will need at least two gallons of paint.

On average a 12 oz spray can holds 1/5 of a quart of paint so you would need 40 spray cans to equal 2 gallons of paint. Not only that but the spray area of a spray can is just a few inches versus 8 inches with a spray gun so the application time would be at least 4 times as long and that does not even include the paint delivery rate I would estimate to be less than 25% less per square inch.
Christopher Couper

This thread was discussed between 12/01/2015 and 14/01/2015

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