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MG TD TF 1500 - TF Bonnet Alignment/Fitment Questions

I am bolting together the body panels on my '54 TF to fit and align them prior to paint. I'm finding the left front top of the bonnet is contacting the radiator cap. I'm thinking that the radiator must be lowered or the bonnet side panels be raised. So I tightened the radiator to the lower cross brace using the factory rubber donuts and rings. That proved to be not enough as the radiator cap was still hitting bonnet. I removed the left front wing, loosened the bonnet side panel and pushed it upwards. I also temporarily put 4 1/4" washers as spacers between the bonnet side panel and the radiator and also the rear mount. The bonnet did move upwards but still not enough! I do not have the radiator shell lacing in place or the rubber cowl to bonnet strip. I'm assuming with them in place it will give some upward lift to the hood as they will prevent the bonnet from contacting the radiator shell as it's now doing. Can someone please measure the thickness of the radiator shell lacing so I can mock something up and see if I'll be OK where everything is now mounted. Also, for those that have done this, did you have to use spacers where the bonnet sides bolt to the radiator and the rear mount on the cowl? And if I missed anything please let me know. Thanks in advance! Lou
L Staller

Lou,
This topic has been covered before, it may help to search the archives. I had the put packers to lift the front of the side panels, I was able to loosen the rear brackets and lift them.

I am not sure what you mean by the bonnet hitting the radiator cap. Do you mean the false cap on the grille or the real cap under the bonnet. I don't understand how either would happen. Can you post a picture?
Max Irvine

Max, I'm refering to the actual cap on the radiator. As I lay the bonnet top piece onto the car it hits the top of the cap. There is not enough room between the radiator cap and the underside of the bonnet top panel. That's why I asked if someone would be so kind to measure the thickness of the radiator she'll lacing. Whatever the measurement is, that might provide the necessary clearance.
There really isn't much a photo will show but I'll post one later today or in the morning. Thanks.
L Staller

I believe the rubber lacing is meant to be only about 1mm thick. I have cotton webbing on my car which is a bit thicker. The bonnet and radiator are out of my car at the moment so I can't check the clearance
Max Irvine

The radiator lacing is actually supposed to be 1/16" thick but most repo stuff is a lot thicker.

I think you need to look for another source of your clearance problem. Perhaps you have the wrong radiator cap?
Christopher Couper

Mate there is something out of order in your fitup. Has your radiator been rebuilt or replaced, the bottom fixing bracket may be incorrectly fitted.

I believe your starting point is get the shroud height and radiator height correct. I think you can do this without the bonnet sides in place, after achieving the correct radiator/shroud relationship you may have to adjust the securing fixing holes in the bonnet sides and packings to suit.

Correct assembly and compression of the rubber radiator shock mounts does effect this relationship

On my TF there is minimal clearance between the top of the radiator cap and the bonnet however there is clearance even with no radiator shell lacing in place.


The bonnet rests on the rubber cowl strip and the radiator shell lacing. The front pivot point for the two bonnet halves is via the centre chrome strip end bracket secured to the shroud.

Graeme

G Evans

You can adjust the radiator stay bars to help push the radiator out or in at the top, even take a slight twist out. That's how I got the bonnet and side panels to fit properly on mine. I'm still not clear on how the bonnet hits the false cap. Photos? PJ
Paul S Jennings

You've got me worried since we appear to be about at the same stage of a rebuild and I didn't realise the radiator cap was an issue. I have trial fitted a bonnet side and measured the gap to the radiator cap with plasticine. Without lacing or the rear rubber strip I have 4m/m clearance. The only way I can see this being increased is to bend or raise the two angled brackets fitted to the radiator header tank. One of mine had had been bent slightly and I recall straightening this. If you want any pics of mine let me know

Jan T
J Targosz

Lou
You are right, it is a limited clearance over the cap. But, it should go together without the cap fouling the bonnet.
Perhaps the brackets on which the chrome surround have been bent down. These help to guide the correct placement of the surround and then the bonnet.
Does this photo help?

Tom
'54 TF

T Norby

Based on all your input I took a close look at the two brackets on the top of the radiator to find the left one approx 2 to 3 mm lower then the right one. I very carefully bent the bracket upwards equal to the height of the right side bracket. I haven't had the chance to reassemble everything yet but will do so in the morning.
I'm hoping that by raising the bracket the little bit I did it will raise the bonnet enough resulting in sufficient clearance between the bonnet and the radiator cap. I'm pretty sure the little bending of the bracket has done the trick. A minor set back with a easy solution!
Thanks again for all your suggestions!
This is a great group of MG lovers! Lou
L Staller

Lou, Very sorry for miss reading your initial post, as I thought you were speaking of the false cap on top of the grill, not the actual rad cap and that's what really threw me. Someone else had a problem with the brackets being soldered in the wrong position. I can see now how the bonnet could hit the cap with the left bracket bent down. Hope all's well now and your back in business. PJ
Paul S Jennings

Tom, your photo tells me quite a lot. It illustrates the thickness of the radiator shell lacing and brought to my attention that the inward edge of my shell where the center bonnet bracket attaches is slightly bent and dis-formed which would cause the bonnet to not sit evenly. I'm still feeling good about bending the left radiator bracket evenly with the right side. I think with all the little tweaks I'm making the bonnet will sit and align with the radiator shell and the side panels quite well.

Paul, no problem thinking the bonnet was contacting the false nose. If it was I would have other problems as the false nose is in a box up in the attic rafters ready to go to the plater! The rafters would have to collapse and fall onto the car to get in the way of the bonnet! HA!

I'm all good now. Rafters are still in place, radiator shell edge will be straighten when I get back out there and the bracket is now where I think it should be. Life is good!

Thanks everyone!
L Staller

Chris was right, I had something else going on that caused the radiator cap to contact the hood. After closely looking at the radiator I noticed that the top of the radiator (header tank) was quite uneven as the front of it was considerably higher then the back. After even closer inspection I determined it looked like the top swelled from excessive heat and pressure pushing the top up, thus raising the height of the cap. So I grabbed a small piece of wood and hammer and tapped the top until it was flat. Now the cap is sitting straight, parallel to the top of the tank and the hood fits like it should!
I had the radiator pressure tested and all is well. Now to move onto the next project! Thanks everyone for your input, especially Chris! Lou
L Staller

This thread was discussed between 20/09/2014 and 28/09/2014

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