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MG TD TF 1500 - Side screen socket

Is the hole for the side screen socket drilled straight down in the door or at an angle. The reason I ask is that with my car, the hole on the inner frame is offset from the hole in the top of the door.

Bill
Bill Reid TD4618

Vertical Bill. If you're referring to the thin U shaped sheet metal stiffener that traverses from the rear of the top door rail, down the B pillar stile and part way along the bottom rail, the hole in mine never aligned either. The mods to the door pillar hinge supports and the hidden 1/4" metal corner brackets that I've incorporated make this piece redundant. Cheers
Peter TD 5801
P Hehir

the pin on the sides screen frame is angled to the flat section it is welded to. The socket is at 90 deg to the face of the door.
At least it is on mine.
Ray TF 2884
Ray Lee

Just to be clear, which, if either, is correct? Yellow or green?

Bill Reid TD4618

If you hold the side screen in position against the door, the peg on the side screen should provide the answer.
Lew Palmer

It is yellow but yours looks angled a bit too far forward, but as Lew says check the frame against the door. The sleeve screws in true to the door top.
You probably know the hole in the sleeve is off centre to allow for a bit of back/forward and L/R adjustment.
Ray
Ray Lee

Got it....thanks
Bill Reid TD4618

I will probably be drummed out of the group for this but I don't believe the hole, is eccentric.

Such a design would only allow 3/64" of adjustment. Thats 0.047"
The sockets on my TD were both badly worn and mismatched.
I made new ones out of 303 SS.
Carefully measuring the old ones, I found that the originals were not brass and were not magnetic.

I found the OD thread to be a 9/16-20 thread. I used a BS 55º threading tool to fabricate mine.

The root diameter of such a thread is 1/2".

The rod on my Side Curtains is 3/8" You need some clearance in the socket for the pin plus paint so I made the hole 1/32 larger. Thats 13/32 or 0.40625.

Subtract 13/32 from 1/2 and you get 3/32" thats both walls so the amount available for off center drilling is 3/64. And at that point the off center hole would just touch the root of the threads.

OTOH if the hole were drilled at an angle to the center of the OD threads, then at a distance of one foot the side curtain socket it would be tilted in, or out, about 0.4". But that could also move the position of the side curtain laterally forward or backward as much as 0.4". However perhaps the slot in the front bracket would accommodate this.

I made mine true to the OD threads, but perhaps if I made them, tilt by 3/64 over the 1-3/8" length of the socket it could be adjustable..


Jim B.
JA Benjamin

Jim, I won’t drum you or your usually good comments out, but the holes are eccentric in original sockets. The centered hole repros have been around for many years . George
George Butz III

A few things that aren't in dispute. The top of the door is angled down towards the rear of the car. The 1" flat bar that the pin is welded to is vertical but the pin itself is angled. The pin that engages with the socket is angled towards the front of the car. See the attached pic of an original albeit rusted frame from a RHD car sitting on my jig. The angled pin is clearly evident. This plywood jig is what I used to recreate my new frames from I' x 1/2" angle cut down to 1/2" x 1/2". The T refers to the tapered section. I was incorrect in stating that the hole is vertical as it has to be at 90 deg to the TOP of the door. Lew's test does provide the answer. Apologies for the misinformation Bill. The threaded sockets on mine were both brass but the stuff that I purchased from Moss appears to be made of some sort of chrome finished plastic. The ovalised hole Jim is supposed to allow for in/out adjustment. A small movement at the pin by turning the socket will allow for considerable movement in the same direction at the top of the side curtain. Cheers
Peter TD 5801


P Hehir

I still have the old ones but they are not in good shape. Tried to install the ones from Moss (very lightweight, maybe chrome plated plastic). They have an elliptical hole in the top. As I was twisting them down into the hole, they were coming apart at the other end. The separation was between the lands (correct word? As in lands and grooves in a rifle barrel) on the screw thread. By the time I got them in they were mostly in pieces. Pure junk!

Ordered a set from AS. They came today. They are a bit more substantial, but the hole in the top is circular, not elliptical.

My old ones are probably too rough to replate.

Anyone know where I can get a proper set?

Bill
Bill Reid TD4618

Bill, the hole in top is indeed circular to accept the post of the side curtain. It's just that the hole is offset from the center axis of the piece itself. It you put a rod into the hole and start screwing it down into the door, you'll see it wobbling back and forth as it goes down. Bud
Bud Krueger

I'm with George on the original sockets being eccentric, as opposed to concentric, in the sense that an off centre hole could produce the intended/desired in out adjustment, but it would also move the pin fore and aft, if it were to be adjusted by rotating it. I still have what was fitted to the car in 1969 in the garage and I'll post a couple of pics of the junk and what I believe to be the originals side by side. Ovalised may not be the right word. I'll add the Moss sockets to the junk list. That's item # 88. Does anyone know if Moss Europe sells the same crap as Moss USA or do they source their products from completely different suppliers and hence are hopefully better quality? My guess is shipping costs to Australia from either Europe or the US wouldn't be all that different? Cheers
Peter TD 5801
P Hehir

The holes in my doors are 90 degrees in relation to the top of the doors. When screwed completely in, the head touches the sheet metal 360 degrees. My doors have the original wood in them. PJ
PJ Jennings

This thread was discussed between 06/07/2020 and 10/07/2020

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