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MG TD TF 1500 - TD Body Construction Video

Very interesting video of the construction of a TD body from scratch. Hutson Motor Co in England.Real skilled craftsman at work


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEqpqZj8FPw
DLD

DLD,
I haven't watched all of it yet (that is one long video)but it is amazing that such a detailed documentation even exists! Should be of great value for those doing a complete re-working of the wood.

Bobby L.
B. F. Loughridge

A friend ordered a body from Hutson. Looks great, and even with the shipping and tariffs was cheaper than fixing the original body.
C.R. Tyrell

I agree with C. R. Tyrell. I ordered a TF body from Hutson. It is amazingly well done. The fit on the doors is perfect, completely even all around.
And all new metal... no rust or repairs!
Best decision I made on the restore of a "barn find"
Don Harmer

When I rebuilt the TD, I strived to keep it as original as possable. Due to prior rust repair and accident damage. I ended up replacing the cross bar, side curtain box, and inner rear quarter panels due to rust. These parts were simply not salvageable. The inner quarter panels alone were more fiberglass, plastic and rust than steel. I replaced the front and rear outer quarter panels due to rust and accident damage. Here too, most of the original panels had already been cut out and replaced with a steel patch panel (covering badly rotted wood).
I had to replace every piece of wood in the tub, and the hinge pillar in the doors.
All the angle iron pieces were heavily rusted and bent. I had to straighten them, sand blast them, epoxy prime them, fill in the rust pits, sand them, prime them and paint them. By the time I was done the firewall, scuttle, most of the doors, and the angle iron brackets were all that was left of the original tub.
The cost of all the parts alone comes close to the cost of a new tub. By the time you figure the labor, it is a no brainer. Rebuilding a badly rusted/rotted tub is almost impossable without having a wood shop, metal shop, welder, skill and time. A new tub makes a lot of sense for those cars that are so far gone.
-David.
D. Sander

I bought rear wheel wells from Hutson. They fit very well. The only problem was the usual with rust repair - the quarters were quite thin is some areas and hard to weld without blowing through.

I also bought new door bottom flange sections and the sheet metal across the back of the tub. The door bottoms were well made but the flange under the door skin was shorter than the original and had to be extended in one place.

I agree with David, CR and Don, that faced with a lot of rotted wood and corroded sheet metal it would be quite easy to justify getting out the checkbook and simply ordering one.

My Father-in-Law did a lot of work to the doors alone. I welded in new sheet metal on the tub after media blasting revealed the problems. The tub looked great, I just had it blasted because it was painted with lacquer and I knew that a paint job with modern materials on top wouldn't last.
JE Carroll

If I may be indelicate....about how much is the price of the tub from Hutson, and how much additional freight/shipping say, to the U.S.A?

Just wonder'in,
Brian W.
ZBMan

This thread was discussed between 14/02/2014 and 15/02/2014

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