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MG TD TF 1500 - TD 4139 Resto Progress

After having a few parts that needed respray (learning curve on cutting/buffing). I finished getting the last part buffed out.

I also got the rims painted. Tomorrow I put new tires on the rims, mount the rims and move the frame out or of the shop for a good cleaning

The shop is going to get a good cleaning also. Then the body is going back on this week.




Bruce Cunha

You missed a spot !

Bill Chasser
TD/c-8151
W A Chasser

Armstrong’s require the spacer. Armstrong’s became regular equipment by mid 1952. Peter, I thought you had a TF? All TFs came equipped with Armstrong’s unless they were swapped out.
W A Chasser

Feel for you Bruce. The experts on Youtube for example make it look so easy. Telling and showing you how to do it even with the greatest care in my case something seemed to go wrong. Yesterday was an influx of "storm flies" into my inflatable booth. Today will be spent erasing them.
JK Mazgaj

I guess I have Armstrong’s, the ones with the skinny mounting flange.

I guess I need to figure out the length of the bolt.

Thanks Bill.

Peter
P G Gilvarry

JK. I have been using the 3M Trizact sanding system. 800 grit, 1500, and then 3000.

I also bought a cheap paint thickness meter. That has helped a lot, but I still cut through in a few areas.

One of the drawbacks of using Acrylic Urethane paint is that it does not blend well, so you end up repainting the whole panel instead of just doing touchup.

The other thing I tried is foam cutting pads VS Wool. I found that a good quality wool pad (both 5 and 9 inch seems to work better than foam.



Bruce Cunha

I mounted my new Michelin tires today. It helps to have our own tire machine and bubble balancer.

A couple of questions. Has anyone used the stick-on wheel weights? Any issues with them?

I note the valve stem hole is the older TR15 size VS the TR13 valve stem size on the tube. They make a bushing for this issue. Are they needed?

I am assuming the issue is the smaller valve stem might wear against the edge of the hole.

As for balance. Three tires are under 1 ounce of weight out of Balance. One is about 2.5 ounces and the other about 4 ounces. I plan to deflate the two that require more weight and move the tire around to see if I can get the weights down a bit.





Bruce Cunha

Stick on weights are fine since your wheels are freshly painted. Simply wipe down the area to remove any oils before application of the weight

W A Chasser

Were the tires marked with the paint dots on them? The Red dot should be near the valve stem (that is the lightest part of the tire.)

By all means use the bushing around the valve stem. The tube will move a little and can get cut by the hole in the rim.
.. CR
CR Tyrell

CR. I did not see a dot. I will look at them.

Today, I did let the air out, added the valve stem bushing, and moved the tires around the rim. Checking it on the bubble balancer at different spots to find the best balance. What a difference.

I was able to get all 5 balanced with 1/2 to 1 oz of steel stick-on weights.

I also checked with our local tire shops. None of the 4 in our area can accurately balance lug-centric rims.

I would love to find a shop that can still spin balance tires on the car. There may be one in Sacramento. I will have to ask the club.
Bruce Cunha

Bruce I have my disc wheels balanced at Wingfoot in W Sacramento. I know club members take their wires to Radial Tire on Cottage Way not far from my house. I’ve had RT do the front end alignments but I will no longer recommend them after the rude service and price gouging I received when I took dads car there earlier this year.
W A Chasser

Three years ago I bought a new set of Michelins for Lazarus. Took them to a local tire dealer who is a Michelin dealer and supposedly can do a good job of mounting and balancing. Took Lazarus out for a test drive and couldn't get above 50 mph without shimmying. The dealer wasn't happy with me for not buying the tires from him in the first place.

Finally learned of an old-timer who speaks MG and can do on-the-car balancing. No shimmying now at any speed. BUT --- A few months ago I decided that it was time to take the fenders off and de-rust the undersides. Discovered an OH-OH when I went to remove the front wheel - The brake adjusting hole in the wheel is not aligned with the hole in the brake drum! All four wheels are that way. Just means that adjusting the brakes is now a multi-step process.

Bruce, you might want to keep that in mind when you find the shop who can do on-the-car balancing. Bud
Bud Krueger

Good Point Bud. My car originally did not have the brake adjusting hole in the drums. I added it years ago to make that job much easier. If I find a place that does on the car balancing, I will make sure they get that correct.

I wonder if the hole was introduced with the single-piece brake drum with TD 4251 Nov. 1950?
Bruce Cunha

Cleaned the shop today to get it ready for the next big step tomorrow. Putting the tub on the frame.

I also got all the body parts laid out on the floor.




Bruce Cunha

That is one small step for a TD owner. One large step for a 1950 MGTD. (Sorry Neil)






Bruce Cunha

Excellent Bruce. Whats that red thing in the front lol.

L E D LaVerne

Bruce,
I can see not having a brake adjusting hole in the WHEEL but without it in the drum how would one adjust the brakes?

"My car originally did not have the brake adjusting hole in the drums."
John Quilter (TD8986)

Lovely to watch such progress, Bruce. As an aside, you mention buying Michelin XZX ( an unbeatable tyre in my experience) three years ago; are they still available in the States? - I've been told by dealers here that they are nla. I would put them on BGT and TD in a heartbeat if I could get them. Thanks mate. John.
J P Hall

Hi John. They are from Coker tires. Micheline had a $70 rebate on their tires. That made the decision on which tire a lot easier. While I was leaning towards the Biased Ply Excelsior tire to be more like the original, I decided this was one area where it was better to go with the radials.
Bruce Cunha

John. I mistyped that. There were no holes in the wheel for adjusting the brakes. There were holes in the drum. I think the wheel holes were added a bit later than Nov of 50 when my car was built.
Bruce Cunha

Beautiful!! Suggestion: after the back of the car is assembled, take it for a good shakedown drive before you put the bonnet and front wings on. Much easier to address any engine issues like that. George
George Butz III

Looks great Bruce,
Thanks for all of your helpful posts.
Jim
JV Smith TD17744

I got the footboard bolted in, and got the rest of the body secured to the frame. Just some small spacers to get the doors set.

It is interesting how just a little spacing under the attachment points changes the door opening.




Bruce Cunha

"It is interesting how just a little spacing under the attachment points changes the door opening."

It is indeed. And good to probably let it rest for a few weeks too before loading a bunch more stuff in. If you can it might be good to get the fenders on before you do the interior and floorboards just in case you want to do a bit more tweaking and settling.
Christopher Couper

Good point Chris.

I was asked what I used for shims. I found these U shims at my local hardware store. They come in different opening sizes and different thicknesses. Unfortunately, the thinner the thickness, the smaller the shim in the ones I found.

They were in the Nut/bolt isle in the slide-out boxes you find at Ace or True Value in the US.

I painted them black so they are less likely to rust.

I also have the stick-on rubber isolators on the frame that From the Frame Up sells for tub to frame use.



Bruce Cunha

Bruce: Those are metal shims? If so I would be worried about both rust and squeaking.

If not, carry on.
Christopher Couper

They are. Rust is a consideration. I used a rust-preventing spray on them. I did not think about squeaking. I may revisit the thinking on this.
Bruce Cunha

I test fitted the floorboards that I got from NTG in the UK. They fit perfectly. All the holes line up perfectly and the cutouts on the underside fit the bolt heads without any issue. There is a nice cut for the speedo cable with a routed out area beneath it.

I did a lot of looking at various floors being sold for the TD. I went with NTG because of the look of the material they use. NTG has done a great job of coming close to the grain of the original.

I know this all gets painted (tomorrow's project) but I still like the looks of this wood vs pine plywood that others are selling.


Bruce Cunha

This thread was discussed between 02/08/2021 and 24/09/2021

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