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MG TD TF 1500 - Rear bumper spacer differences

Curious find here. While prepping the original bumper bars for fit and then powder coating I had to use some heat to break free the bolt from the shorter spacer shown above. I believe the longer of the two came from one of my past projects and I had a set of those prepared to use on the TD 1250. Note that both bolts are marked as Newtons.




L E D LaVerne

I compared the length to both the spacers on my TF and those on another TD I have here and they both measure at the longer 1 1/4"




L E D LaVerne

So I guess I'm asking if the early cars had shorter ones for some reason or if perhaps the shorter one was just down? Seems unlikely but I suppose it is possible. Thoughts?




L E D LaVerne

OK. The $64k question:

Are your bumpers original? I.E. do they have the flat topped profile? That would go a long way in establishing that these were original spacers.

Also how close is the bumper bracket to the front splash with both bolts? Can you even use the shorter ones?

And we all know that MG at times ran out of standard parts so they did whatever was needed to move the car through the lines.




Christopher Couper

It's the rear bumper Chris and yes these are the original bumpers and brackets. Off the car again at the moment as he is waiting for the over riders to get back from the platers and the framework from powder coating. Fitted them shown here with the longer of the two.




L E D LaVerne

I didn't notice any difference in the fronts but I imagine I will take a closer look at them as well.




L E D LaVerne

OK. Will for the rear bumper there could be a tire issue. I have my new 550 x 15" tires and got the widest tread profile I could which I think is either the same or slightly larger than original.

Now I am running wire wheels on a custom rack so I cannot tell what would be the original distance but I can tell you that I really have to struggle to get my tire on the rack. Lots of pushing, shoving and tilting.

So now that we are talking about the rear I wonder if the car had slightly larger tires than original and it needed the extra space so it did not press against the bumper. I can't tell from your photos but it also looks like you are running radials so the question now is moot.

But if the car had 590 x 15" biased ply tires, I wonder if the original spacers would fit OK?
Christopher Couper

Possibility. I had just never run across the shorter one in the past and it made me wonder.
L E D LaVerne

Oh. I made a mistake.

So the ones that are unique are shorter? That does not make sense to me, unless it was purely a supply problem.
Christopher Couper

When I got my 51 TD in with the nuts and bolts were 2 shorter Newton bolts exactly like what you have but the spacers were longer. I decided they were too short and ordered replacements from Moss.
rich40701

Mine are 32mm. I cannot guarantee that they are original but the car had not been restored when I bought it in 2006 so I think it is very likely that they are.
Gabriel Martínez

This thread was discussed between 16/03/2022 and 30/03/2022

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