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MG TD TF 1500 - TF Windscreen Assembly and Fitting?

Hi Guys

I am trying to trial install the TF winscreen on to the rebuilt Tub and I have a couple of queries.

1) as you can see in the picture there is quite a large gap when the windscreen is attached to the bracket. Is this normal.

2) as the tub was sent back to me without the holes to install the windscreen I now have to create these.

I am a bit nervous to put it mildly about drilling into the metal or getting this wrong. I have noticed that the bracket behind the scuttle top has the 3 holes necessary for the bolts to pass through. Does anyone have any advice for drilling these holes.

Should I mark up and drill from the outside through the metal then the wood and hope to pass through the holes in the brackets or drill from the inside out.

Possibly from both sides and hope to meet in the middle.

Any advice would be very much appreciated.

See the following 2 pics to see my problem.

D Lamb

Need to drill holes here

D Lamb

And also manage to drill through these 3 holes!

D Lamb

On point 1 there has to be a gap to allow the screen to pivot & lay flat.

On point 2 it would be good to know how the body shop filled the holes. Whether it was with bog, brazed or ideally MIG or TIG. I think drilling just one very fine pilot hole from the inside keeping horizontal to the floor would be the way to start. Next set the windscreen in place & examine the relationship of that pilot hole to the hole in the bracket. If you're happy that it is close then I'd drill from the outside & the inside & as you say meet in the middle. I'm not too far away from securing my windscreen & I'm toying with the idea of installing captive nuts here mainly to make subsequent removal of the windscreen easier. This may help you as an oversize hole in the timber then wouldn't really matter. The rubber pad & the bracket itself will hopefully hide any ugliness around the 3 holes. Good luck. Cheers
Peter TD 5801
P Hehir

It looks like you've assembled the complete windscreen with brackets, etc. Good start.

I would suggest installing the hood, and doors with sidescreens. Then place the assembled W/S so as to locate it with respect to the correct geometry for hood, and doors with sidescreens installed.

Gord Clark
Rockburn, Qué.
Gord Clark

Hi Gord,

If the body has been rebuilt there is a fair chance the side screen wing nut plates and the hood pivots have been removed. You need the windscreen to be securely fixed and then use this as a datum for the side screens and hood. Also absolutely vital make certain the fold flat screen is very securely fixed in the upright position. If the wing nuts are loose the top of the frame can be 1/2" forwards. Fix the top rail with the screen in this position and it will never be taught.

Cheers

Jan
J Targosz

It is essential that the 6 windscreen holes are a tight fit. If they are oversize no matter how tight they are the soft top tension will pull the windscreen assembly back and out of position. Captive nuts on the inside will not work.

allign the windscreen frame to the sidescreen etc and drill the centre hole 1/8" only to establish position, then fix with 3/16 bolts and nuts when fit is ok. Only drill neat 1/4" holes when the fit is correct, possibly after painting.

From the images it looks like you have a Hutson body? if so there will not be any holes through the wood.

If holes are miss aligned then they will have to be doweled and re drilled tight in the correct position.

start as described from the outside and the inside with 1/8" holes untill they meet.

Rod Brayshaw

Thanks for the info on the captive nuts Rod. I defer to your experience on this one. Cheers
Peter TD 5801
P Hehir

Well spotted Rod. It is a Hutson Tub rebuilt using many of my original parts. Thanks for the good advice. I don't have much le weigh as I need to get the 3 new holes through the bracket on the inside of the car where there are holes.
Thanks Peter and Gord for the good advice. The gap on the windscreen just looked excessive but I guess it's ok. No other way for it to go together.
You are right Jan it has been rebuilt so no holes yet. It's a new top so nothing hidden away in terms of holes. Just want to make sure I get it right first time!
Not going to rush into this one. Will dig out the old top and measure up correctly based on this. Then fingers crossed and start drilling!
Will keep you updated....
D Lamb

Here's another pitfall.

I bought a TD last year because the owner was fed up with a myriad of problems, one of which was that he couldn't get the hood to fit.

It didn't take long to determine that the brackets that go between the windscreen and the main mounting brackets, had been reversed.

In other words, the rh bracket had been mounted on the lh side of the W/S, and vice versa. This is shown in my below pic. The "lump" was facing backwards, whereas, it should have been facing frontwards.

The result was that the entire W/S was inclined forward, being more vertical than normal and of course, the hood came up short.

It appears to me in one of your pix, that this indeed, is exactly what has been done.

Check your "lumps". I think they too, are reversed - note short arrows below.

Gord Clark
Rockburn, Qué.

Gord Clark

When drilling the holes,keep in mind the three(3) sets of holes the bolts go through,are rarely horizontal!

Many restorers use the windscreen frame to tension the wet weather hood material fit up.This is an incorrect
proposition.The cloth is actually set (with tacs) in tension ON the hood frame front (wood) cross member.It should be possible, with one hand, to simply drop the front of the hood onto the two(2) windscreen top pegs without any effort ie.no tension affecting the windscreen frame.

Cheers
Rob Grantham
TF3719("Aramis"),TF9177("Athos").
R GRANTHAM

Gord I think I am correct. Check the pic below but I think it agrees to yours.

D Lamb

Sorry Gord I see now what you are talking about. Great spot. I thought you ment the bulge on the bracket that's attached to the car. But it's the bracket attached to the screen I have on the wrong side. Thanks for that.
D Lamb

Nice pick up Gord. Well spotted! It never ceases to amaze me just how easily a myriad of bits on our cars can be installed upside down or back to front. Cheers
Peter TD 5801
P Hehir

Hi Gord Just to recap as I am now changing the brackets. The piece with the lump goes on the other side and actually extends out past the frame of the windscreen ad in your picture of the red car? Thanks Darryl
D Lamb

Gord

If I am understanding you correctly the attached picture is now correct. The bulge actually protrudes out past the frame pointing forward. I can see why I might have got this wrong! It does kind of look more correct the other way.

If anyone else reading this could also check their car and confirm this configuration I would be very grateful.

Thanks

D Lamb

Darryl, You have it correct now as the bulge goes in the front. Here's a pic of mine, sorry for the fuzzy print. PJ


Paul161

Cheers Paul

You could help me further if you don't mind. I had my tub rebuilt and there were no holes put in for the windscreen struts. I am drilling these out myself nervously! I reckon the distance from the end of the strut to the edge of the tub is about 9cm. Would this be the same on your car. See pic

I have one further added complication in that on the old scuttle top the same measurement on the other side was 7cm.
I now understand why as I have removed the interior metal bracket and the holes on either side are in different places by about 2cms Again see pic.

Can't imagine how this ever got through quality control but now considering re drilling these holes to match the other side. But which is right!

Any help before I attack it with my drill would be really appreciated.

D Lamb

Left side of the bracket about 8.5cm to the first hole versus

D Lamb

Versus right side (right hand drive) first hole located at 10 cm.

This has to also affect the fit of the soft top when up.



D Lamb

Darryl, I'll check those figures this morning and get back. If your tub is on the chassis and the doors are mounted, a quick check would to set your side curtains in place as they should tuck right in flush behind the bracket in question. I know that's a little off the wall, but it could give you an idea how close you are. PJ
Paul161

Cheers Paul there is also no hole in the door for the side screens to slot into but I could give it a go anyway.
Going to need a couple of extra hands for this one 😀
D Lamb

This thread was discussed between 01/11/2015 and 15/11/2015

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