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MG TD TF 1500 - Removing Chassis to Tub Packing

My 1250 TF is fully assembled however I am not happy with the door fit ups.

To improve the situation I purchased used door hinges that are in pristine condition. I have fitted one pair of hinges and new pins on the passenger side aligning them using the thru rod method. The door now swings perfectly however the door is low at the top corner of the leading edge,the latch components are misaligned.

I am inquiring whether I can access the tub packings, removing the rear item to alter the angle of the door pillar. This is my preferred option to shimming the bottom hinge.

Appreciate your best advice.
G Evans

Many alternatives can be considered to rectify this condition although, knowing the extent of the misalignment would narrow your options . What is the misalignment? John
J .R.C Cavey

John

Thanks for your reply, to obtain lock alignment I need to raise the door section of the lock by half an inch(12mm).

The alignment to the scuttle does not appear as great perhaps this is a function of the door sitting low on the hinge pillar, I believe that error is simpler for me to rectify.
G Evans

Never adjust the door to line up with the latch. Once good door alignment is achieved,the latch assembly needs to be adjusted to align with the door fit. You may need to bend the hinges to achieve a good fit. The door needs to fit the opening, with no gaps, but with enough space to not hit.
The striker can be moved up or down about 1/4 inch, in or out about 1/4 inch, and the striker bolt can be moved for and aft with adjustment washers.
David
D. Sander

You can achieve this in two ways with packers.

You can add packers to the body mount directly below the hinge pillar, or remove packers at the rear body mount by the fuel tank. Or use a combination of both. This will lift the front of the door up the pillar.

Note only on the side that the door is misaligned.

Once the door fits the body in correct alignment then adjust the striker plate to fit the lock.
Rod Brayshaw

David Sander is spot on. Shims are used to get the opening correct, not aligning. Obviously everything has to be sound first.

Once you have enough room then you need to work the hinges, although you may need to bend the hinges first if the opening appears big enough. I know that many don't think you need to bend the hinges and you can try all of the other techniques first, but don't pad the hinges. That's wrong.

http://www.mg-cars.org.uk/mgtd/mgtd_tips.htm#Finishing
Christopher Couper

Under the assumption that your door in question is relatively a good fit and that only the latching assemblies are misaligned, I would suggest that you concentrate on adjusting the latching assemblies even to the point of modifying the latching assembly plates . I fore-see no end of problems playing around with the body packing's. This is my humble opinion based on considerable experience . John
J .R.C Cavey

John is correct if the door fits the opening but my understanding of your question......

"however the door is low at the top corner of the leading edge, the latch components are misaligned."

......will require packing alterations. In fact if the door is low by your measurement the door should not even close.

I have restored 30 TF's and have never bent hinges, so persevere.

Post an image?
Rod Brayshaw

You can raise or lower the doors quite a bit just by adding or removing tub shims. You can also add or remove, if you already have them, metal door hinge shims. When I set my doors and got them prefect, I used a white out pen and wrote the number of shims at each point on the chassis. When the tub is ready to go back after painting, I now know many shims go in each position, no guessing. Wasn't really all that bad, it's just I wouldn't want to do it again! Grin. PJ
Paul S Jennings

I should have provided these images when I originally communicated my problem. The images will have to be provided in 3 posts.

Image 1 Latch misalignment

G Evans

Image 2 Door to scuttle misalignment

G Evans

Image 3 Door to door pillar misalignment

Thanks for all the advice I will investigate the options available.

G Evans

Image #3 shows the hinge connected only to the door and not the rear quarter panel . Is this correct? John
J .R.C Cavey

The hinges are definitely all fixed to both the door and the hinge pillar, optical illusion John, bad photo I was shooting into the sun.

This car restoration was not started by me, I dont know who replaced all the tub timbers. Easy to say in hindsight I should have stripped it back to a bare chassis and started from scratch. Inspection today revealed there is only pieces of inner tube used between the tub and the chassis, this left no margin to adjust the tub to alter the door pillar.

If I was inspired I could go thru the misery of correcting this, I took the shortcut and packed the bottom hinge out 6mm in conjunction with some judicial hinge bending. This corrected all the misalignment and the door swings without binding. Graeme
G Evans

Based on the information brought forward so far on this issue the problem'(s) it would seem originated when re-work on the rear quarter panel hinge pillar was initiated . If such be the case you have been presented with a challenge to correct this fault . Your options are indeed limited other than major re-work . Allow me to suggest that prior to digging in you heels you may wish to carry-out some dimensional checks first . John
J .R.C Cavey

This thread was discussed between 21/08/2014 and 22/08/2014

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