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MG TD TF 1500 - TD body panel assembly proceedure

Okay this may be premature questions but, when reassembling a body to the chassis I would like an idea as to what the order is once I have the tub back loose on the chassis. Do I install the rear fenders next and work forward with the running board boards then front wings, leaving everything loose until the radiator and bonnets are on or??? Also, the doors are currently off the tub. I was planning to paint them off the car. Should they be put back on before I remove the tub from the frame. My concern is potential body flex through the door sills upon removal for painting.

When reinstalling the tub back onto the frame are there any rubber pads that rest between the mounting points to isolate rubbing of the metals?

Re wing and running board mounting bolts, were these originally zinc plated and left unpainted once the wings, and other panels were bolted into place? How thick are the washers? Are the Moss parts the correct ones? Anybody have any tricks of the trade they wish to share?

Regards

Bill
W. A. Chasser Jr

Doors most important, fit those first. The angle of the hinge pillar effects the front height of the door and shimming the tub at various mounting points will be needed to get a good fit. The spare tire carrier needs to be trial fitted on a TD, as that moved the rear of my tub up and down. Allow extra clearance at the bottom for the thickness of the threshold plates/screws. Trial tighten all of the tub mounting points after doors are fit, when you are satisfied, then remove label and mark exact location of all of your shims. Search archives for shim material- everything has been used from from roofing felt, vinyl floor tile, washers, etc. Then bolt on the rest of the stuff and carefully align. Somewhere on T-talk are pictures of steel shims to put behind the door hinge nuts to avoid crushing the wood, etc. which will make re-mounting pretty exact. I think the bolts were painted? I spent several hours aligning the bonnet to the cowl/quarter panels, you will need to temp. install the rubber cowl rubber, etc. George
George Butz

Once the tub is mounted with the door gap correct and the gas tank tightened down, the hood (bonnet) is next. The grille shell to hood gap and the hood to tub gap should be adjusted. Once the hood fits well, the front fenders should be loosely placed on the car, but not bolted to the tub yet. "hang" the fenders with the hood latches. Install the rear fenders, then "hang" the running boards between the front and rear fenders with 5/16 BSF bolts finger tight.
The hood latches need to be adjusted to get the fender alignment correct.
When you have achieved a good fit of the fenders, with a gentle, continuos sweeping line from the tops of the fenders, down through the running boards and terminating at the bottom of the rear fenders, only then can you mount the fender and running-board to tub bolts. Measure twice, drill once. Gradually tighten all the hardware, constantly checking and adjusting the panel alignments.
David
D. Sander

Bill, see http://www.ttalk.info/KelleyTubAssembly.doc for information from Hiram Kelley about the big picture of tub rebuilding. His detailed 'how I did it' is at
http://www.ttalk.info/KelleyTub.htm and following. Bud
Bud Krueger

Oh Boy Mr Kelley's info gave me a big head ache just reading it. Great info but I'm pretty sure the only panel that needs attention is my dash sub panel which is broken and the fuel panel (just because). The timbers all appear to be rock solid and I did a great deal of poking prodding and picking.

So, am I to understand that I should rehang the doors and fit the tire carrier in order to see what shims I will require to get my door alignment and to determine what body to chassis shimming is required in the rear and for the door to fit right in the front? I know the body has already been off before as the chassis was painted. I just removed the original hinges that were still attached to the tub. the doors were already loose. The screws all came out of the hinges snugly so won't it just go back together as the factory fit? Am I just naïve in this regard? I thought I just asked a simple question, aye yi yi!!

Sounds like I need to reinstall the strikers latches and doors before I lift the body off the chassis, yes?

My inquiry re the wing hardware is that in looking at several factory photos on the assembly line the wings appeared to already be painted on hooks behind the installers station on the line.

I should get the drivetrain in place then the tub mounted then the radiator, then the bonnet alignment with seals in place. hang the fenders loose and on the latches , then the rears and running boards. tie them all together and draw them into the frame and tub
W. A. Chasser Jr

In the same picture I'm noticing that the bonnet hasn't been installed but the wings and running boards have

W. A. Chasser Jr

Yes, they installed pre-painted components. Bud
Bud Krueger

I recall reading in the archives the fuel tank and tension of the tank straps can impact door fit and should be test fitted as well.

Is this accurate?
Frank Cronin

Making very slow progress on the fitting of panels and have already hit a snag after getting the doors to line up with only the need to shim 1/8" on the right rear corner. I'm trying to hang the right rear wing as a next step and for the life of me I can't get the fender to bolt up around the radius. These are the fenders that came off the car. they are not damaged, and the only way the holes line up is if I don't use any shim stock between the fender and tub along the radius. I started with 1/8" rubber washers to no avail after getting only three bolts in. I've been trying with 1/8" rubber washers to mimic the welting but I can't get the last bolt in at the bottom front. The fender hole doesn.t even come close. Have about a 1/4 of the nut plate showing. I don't really want to start slotting holes and really make a mess out of things. What the heck am I doing wrong???
W. A. Chasser Jr

Why are you using these washers? There were none. The welting is less than 1/8" thick and in fact is cutout where the bolts go but it would still have some thickness.

I expect something else is wrong but cannot tell from your description. Keep in mind that until you snug up the top bolts, it will not draw the fender in enough to get the bolts on the extreme of the arc lined up. Its a circle thing :-)
Christopher Couper

Christopher, I was trying to use the washers because they are payable. I know they aren't there originally I was simply using them as a gap in place of the welting for the purpose of trial fitting the panels. I see in my post I made an error. The second time I tried I used 1/16" rubber washers and could get all the bolts in but the last one at the bottom. Since the car was apart when I received it , I'm try to use this time as a learning effort so I can, figure what all need to be accomplished before I do my finish paintwork
W. A. Chasser Jr

This thread was discussed between 04/08/2014 and 23/08/2014

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