MG-Cars.info

Welcome to our Site for MG, Triumph and Austin-Healey Car Information.

Parts

MG parts spares and accessories are available for MG T Series (TA, MG TB, MG TC, MG TD, MG TF), Magnette, MGA, Twin cam, MGB, MGBGT, MGC, MGC GT, MG Midget, Sprite and other MG models from British car spares company LBCarCo.

MG TD TF 1500 - Pad-Body Frame to Chassis part 2

I have some more questions about the mounting points where the body frame attaches to the chassis on my TF-1500. This is a somewhat follow-up to my previous thread titled "Pad-Body Frame to Chassis".

The front and rear supports on the chassis for the body frame on both sides have an approx 1/8" steel plate welded to the tops. The center supports have none. Therefore, the center supports are 1/8" lower than the front and back.

1) Did all chassis have the steel plates only on the front and rear supports, or were they added as needed at the factory when the tub was attached? A factory photo of a TF chassis appears to have a plate on the center and rear support. Can't see the front support in the photo.

2) Was a soft pad (e.g. cork) between all three supports and the corresponding points on the body frame, or just the center support? I believe that my chassis and body frame had remnants of cork between all three points on each side. Unfortunately, my notes and photos didn't document each mounting point or the thickness of each pad.

3) Should I shim the center mounting point to be level with the front and rear points? I'm replacing the main wood beam, pillars, etc. on each side.

4) I have read that the angle of the latch pillars can be tweaked by adding or removing shims between the chassis and body frame. I don't see how shims could move the center of the body frame after the wood beam and pillars are screwed/bolted to it. I got a lot to learn.

Thanks for your help,

Lonnie
TF7211

Photo:
Steel plate welded to rear (and front) support on chassis.


LM Cook

It's all driven by the doors Lonnie and getting them to fit in the opening. Stay focused on them and you won't go too far wrong. Cheers
Peter TD 5801
P Hehir

I agree with Peter. The location and thickness of the original body mounting pads is not important. With a 50 plus years old tub, and one modified at that, the only criteria for the placement and thickness of the body pads is to align the doors. I spent several hours mixing and matching different thickness of body pads to arrive at the door fitment that I'm very happy with.

Regards

Tim
Timothy Burchfield

I am almost back to square-one in replacing wood in my TF. I'm nowhere near adjusting the hinge pillars for final door-fit. I haven't even finished fitting the pillars to the wood bottom main rail. So I am asking questions about tasks that I haven't started.

> Should I shim the center support to make the body frame level with the front and rear support before I bolt the wood bottom main rail to the body frame?

> I don't understand how shims under the body frame can flex the wood bottom main rail. Seems the wood rail would need to flex in order for the hinge pillars to move. They are (will be) bolted to the wood rail.

I didn't see anything by Horst Schach or Malcolm Green about shims to adjust the hinge pillar position.

Be gentle. I've been trying to get my head around the process for months. What am I missing?

Thanks,

Lonnie
TF7211
LM Cook

To clarify, I am building the tub on the chassis not on a separate jig.

Lonnie
TF7211
LM Cook

Lonnie: The shims are the most difficult part of restoring a TD/TF. It's a real art. These control how wide the opening for the doors are and they are directly related to the hinges and those two straps that are on the door. All three work in concert and effect each other so it's trial and error.

You can search back within this forums archives for detailed instructions but this is a net:

First the hinges determine where the door is placed in the opening. You may have to bend them slightly in a vice. Wrap them in cloth first to prevent them from being severely scratched. Next you will need to adjust the shims under the body where it attaches to the frame. There should be various pads at these locations. Experiment with different thicknesses of pads until you have just the correct opening. You may need to adjust the hinges at the same time. Generally thicker pads in the middle of the door will make the opening wider while thinner pads at that location will make the opening smaller. Lastly you can adjust the strap on the door to change the angle that it closes at.

BTW you cannot just place the shims in position but have to tighten down the bolts too because you are torquing the body bucket frame. It takes a lot of time and patience.
Christopher Couper

I’ll have to restart my wood replacement to watch how shins can warp the 3-inch wood rails that will then change the angle of the hinge pillars.

Lonnie
TF7211
LM Cook

They won't warp the the 3-inch wood rails, but they will pivot at the joints, unless you over fixed it. :-)
Christopher Couper

I suggest loosely attaching everything, shimming as needed to alter the door openings while cinching down as mentioned above. Then screw/tighten the main rail to latch and hinge pillars. The wood will flex, and you don't want torque on it when finished, the back end of the tub jacked up off of the chassis or any other issues. Hope that makes sense. George
George Butz III

This thread was discussed between 20/05/2019 and 21/05/2019

MG TD TF 1500 index

This thread is from the archives. Join the live MG TD TF 1500 BBS now