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MG TD TF 1500 - Main Beam Mortise Angle?

What is the correct angle of the half-lap mortise in TF bottom main side beam that accepts the latch pillar? I bought new beams and pillars from Abingdon Spares. The latch pillar is more vertical than the old pillar that I removed, which affects the position of the door and the cowl.

The mortise in the Abingdon Spares beam and the front edge of the latch pillar are 71-degrees from horizontal. The front edge of the old latch pillar was 67-degrees from horizontal. (The old beam and pillar were severly damaged, but the angle of the old pillar allowed the door, cowl, and front quarter panel to position correctly.)

Thanks for any help and advice that you can give to me. I've wasted a month trying to fit new pillars into bad beams; and now trying to fit new pillars into new beams.

Lonnie
TF7211

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TOP PHOTO:
+ New main beam with new latch pillar sitting in mortise. Notice the position of the pillar in relation to the dash frame.

BOTTOM PHOTO:
+ Blue tape on the body frame shows the angle of the new latch pillar. (71-degrees)
+ Pencil line on the body frame shows angle of old latch pillar. (67-degrees)


LM Cook

IMHO You should do whatever is necessary to make the New pillar match the old pillar. If not the old front quarter panel will not fit correctly.

Also the front of the Main rail (side beam) needs to blend into the existing side rails 450-895/900 and 450-905/910. No bumps.

Jim B

JA Benjamin

Perhaps temporarily fit the front quarter and adjust the wood angle to fit that. Put screws or something through the windscreen bracket holes to align the top of it. I think Jim is right that the front of the rail needs to be blended in. As we now know most of the wood was not original, I think best to fit wood to the metal, rather than just using the old wood as a guide. George
George Butz III

I know that I must fettle the wood to make it fit the sheet metal. However, I want to make sure that the replacement wood was cut correctly before I start modifying it.

Perhaps my replacement beams are for a TD(?). Perhaps they were cut wrong ... both main beams are the same. Or maybe that's just the way that it is. And of course, I could be totally wrong.

>> If you have the wood for your TF tub exposed, will you please measure the angle of the mortise in the main beam that accepts the latch pillar relative to the main beam. Or tell me the angle of front edge of the pillar relative to the main beam. I would like to know the angle for TDs and for TFs.

YELLOW LINE IN PHOTO:
I believe that the bottom of the plate that holds the scuttle side rail should be parallel to the main beam. See YELLOW line in the photo.

RED LINE IN PHOTO
The mortise in the replacement main beam positions the latch pillar more vertical so that the rabbet at the top of the pillar is not parallel to the plate for the scuttle side rail. See RED line in photo. The top edge of the pillar should be parallel to the main beam so that it mates with the mortise in the scuttle side rail.

(Yes, I know that the pillar is sitting on the wrong side of the scuttle plate, but necessary to demonstrate the angles)

The rabbet in the latch pillar at the front plate on the body frame is also at the wrong angle when the pillar is inserted into the new main beam.

FYI - This is the second set of replacement pillars that I have bought in the last couple of months. I tweaked the first replacement pillars to position the quarter panels correctly. The fit of the doors was pretty good. However, I was killing myself trying to tweak the fit to perfection. Then I learned that the main beams had been replaced by a former owner using a rough diagram "drawn with a grease pencil and cut with an ax." ... well almost that bad. The pencil line that I drew on the front plate of the body frame is the correct angle and position to make the doors, quarter panels, and cowl fit. It is a good starting point for the new-new wood.

Thanks for your help,

Lonnie
TF7211


LM Cook

It has been 12 years and I don't remember the supplier, but the main rail/latch pillar and hinge pillar fit was way off. It took hours to get it all to mesh- even had to make some filler pieces/shims. So don't assume the wood is correct. Try slipping the front quarter on, put the folded over front edge over the front wood piece and maybe even tack it with a few nails, then put screws or rods through the windscreen bracket holes in both. The quarter should be hung correctly that way. Then look at the latch pillar fit- it should fit snuggly up to the opening metal inside of the door edge. That will set the angle of the pillar. You may have to cut/shim/reshape to change the angle. Possible the top angle could have been cut wrong as well, the vertical part and fit in the metal most important. Hope that makes sense. George
George Butz III

Thanks George.

This is so obvious and so easy to cut correctly that I hope the supplier made a mistake.

Restoration is going s-l-o-w.

Lonnie
TF7211
LM Cook

Lonnie.
I would mount the door in position and from that and the original cowl you should be able to position the front piller.
Sandy
Sanders

If I was going to re-frame a TD or TF, I believe I'd use Hutson Motor Co. Ltd. products in the UK

https//www.hutsonmoco.co.uk/mgtd
PJ Jennings

This thread was discussed between 11/09/2018 and 13/09/2018

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