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MG TD TF 1500 - Attaching TF Vokes Air Filters

(There has been some conversation on a different thread about this, but I thought that I’d start a new thread to make searching for this in the archive a bit easier. )
One of the least fun things to do on the TF is removing and replacing the Vokes air filters. There is no clearance around the bolts. They are inaccessible. You need hands the size of a two-years old’s. And, while you can see the damn things, you can’t do anything about it. On a separate thread there was some talk about using allen head bolts. As I found out, using them is only half the solution. The other half is determining what tools to use to make them work. Here is my solution which seems to work well for me.
The bolts are 5/16 BSF. I was able to find allen socket-head-cap-screws (SHCS) from British Tools and Fasteners:
http://www.britishfasteners.com/index.php/products/shcs-bsf-516-22-x-1-12-2270.
They were out of stock on ¾” which is the length of the current bolts. So, I cut them down from 1 ½”, which as it turns out was okay, because I found that making the ends more pointed helps in getting them positioned during installation. (I was fortunate enough to find a 5/16 BSF nut to chase the thread back off after cutting them.)
In order to use the set-screws, I found that I needed to make two tools. The first was a 7/32” allen wrench cut down to a very short “L”. I can use that on three of the four bolts into the cleaners. The front-most one, however, is the sonvabitch. For that I took a 7/32” hex drive bit (which fits a 1/4” drive), reduced its overall length, and ground part of the back end into a cylinder. I found a stiff spring that fits over this ground end, to make a flexible extension. Then I used a ¼” box end wrench to crank on the bit. With this set-up, I am able to manipulate the bolts in and out without any disruption to carbs or overflow tubes.
One thing to be concerned about is that the bolt from the front of the cleaner and from the rear of the cleaner are in the same threaded tube. Make certain that the two bolts don’t bottom out on one another.
British Fasteners had a $5 minimum order (and $6 shipping), so I ended up getting twelve of the allen set screws. The first two folks that want a set can have them. They are already cut and ground to a point. Just send me your address.
Safety? Fast?
Scott Ashworth – ’54 TF



S. R. Ashworth

Here's a tighter view of the 7/32" hex drive compared to a regular one.



S. R. Ashworth

I agree whole heartily that they are a pain installing, but I had no difficulties installing these with normal tools. Maybe I'm just lucky. PJ




P Jennings

These are the junk filters that were on the engine when I bought it. Ok I cheated installing the Volks and had the side panel off. Only fair. (Grin).




P Jennings

Paul,
One of your pictures shows a bolt head on the lower left side of the carburetor. On mine, it is brass (and they get in the way of putting on the air cleaners), but I have no idea what they are for. I have rebuilt my carburetors a couple times, doing so along with the videotape from Moss, but I do not believe they are referenced. Do you / anybody know what they are for?
Safety? Fast?
Scott Ashworth - '54 TF


S. R. Ashworth

Scott,
I'd love to give those a try.
Not sure what I did with your info...(know I had it at one point)...can't find it!

Drop me a line:
hootersvilledavid "at" yahoo "dot" com
David Sheward

Scot,

Hard to tell from the photo but in the past people often changed out carb bodies. This body may have had an air intake hole that needed to be plugged...hence the bolt in that position.
Gene Gillam

Bondhus ball end Allen bits/wrenches/nut drivers. Best thing ever! Now as knock-offs for cheap. Or once you understand the idea, you can make your own, but it is not worth the effort (except at 3AM on Christmas).

Scott-
Can you get a better pic of that bolt?
What does it do, where do it go?
Not shown in SU Master book, And the only possible function in that location would be as a replacement/repair for the piston orientation key.
In any event, I expect the heads could be slimmed down to near zero.

FRM

FR Millmore

It looks like Scott came up with a good solution to a real bear of a problem. The first time I tried to reinstall the air cleaners my wife and the cats left the house due to the swearing. I was using new gaskets which also added to the fun. The next time I removed the cleaners the gaskets stayed stuck to them which made things a bit easier. I cut a notch in the forward bolt of the forward cleaner and used a standard screwdriver to get the bolt started. On my TF it is also much easier to position the cleaner from the top of the carb rather than the side.

Larry
LD Kanaster

"my wife and the cats left the house"
Wife came back ...cats still gone!
David Sheward

FRM,
Here is the brass bolt head to which I am referring. On the left side of both carbs. Any thoughts as to what it might do? Horsepower adjustment? Where you inject the nitrous? Socket for anticipated Lucas fuel injection? Or just carburetor tchotchke?
SRA


S. R. Ashworth

Scott-
Beer?

That passage is normally undrilled, and I've never seen anything attached to it. It goes straight to the annular space around the jet, so it can only be to draw fuel for something. The only thing it could be is to feed a different cold start, like the auxiliary starting carb fitted to Jags. Those were on Thermo and HD carbs though, fed off the float bowl mount arms, never saw one on an H. They were messing around with things then, and some applications used stuff that MG did not. I suspect that they were short on supply of parts, and so bodies machined for other apps were pressed in to service. SU belonged to BMC, but other makers used SU, so BMC had first call on pieces. Especially if they were for cars that never made it to production, etc - lot of those back then.
If it is in your way, you could cut the head off the bolt and LocTite the screw bit in as a plug, maybe a screwdriver slot added.

Curious point here is, I wrote pretty much the same thing about some SU strange a few months ago - can't recall the exact subject, but I think it was on this board, and it may have been the same bolt!

FRM
FR Millmore

Originally, the setscrew on each air cleaner
located toward the front of the car,had a slot with a rather larger than usual head!
This makes the removal and re attachment of the Vokes air cleaners on TFs fairly easy and relatively straight forward.

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

Rob,

Thank you for posting the correct answer.

All the above problems with the Volks and those in other threads arise from the SLOTTED deep hex 5/16 BSF bolts being lost by DPO'S.

A picture of this bolt was posted in a current thread: special bolts
Don Harmer

FR Millmore, Pennsylvania, USA, gofanu@usachoice.net

That passage is normally undrilled, and I've never seen anything attached to it. It goes straight to the annular space around the jet, so it can only be to draw fuel for something. The only thing it could be is to feed a different cold start, like the auxiliary starting carb fitted to Jags. Those were on Thermo and HD carbs though, fed off the float bowl mount arms, never saw one on an H. They were messing around with things then, and some applications used stuff that MG did not. I suspect that they were short on supply of parts, and so bodies machined for other apps were pressed in to service. SU belonged to BMC, but other makers used SU, so BMC had first call on pieces. Especially if they were for cars that never made it to production, etc - lot of those back then.
If it is in your way, you could cut the head off the bolt and LocTite the screw bit in as a plug, maybe a screwdriver slot added.

Curious point here is, I wrote pretty much the same thing about some SU strange a few months ago - can't recall the exact subject, but I think it was on this board, and it may have been the same bolt!

FRM

Nice article! Thanks.
I wonder why my carbs have those plugs in them? They look like their factory and cad plated. Don't know if their Brass or not. They look like they've never had a wrench on them. PJ
P Jennings

Seems to only apply to early H4, but is clearly factory, since numerous TF report them, and few people would have the expertise to invent whatever it was for. Reports from late TD/TDC w/H4?? AH 100-4?? I'm now pretty sure I did write about this within the past year, somebody please search - I may have had more ideas back then, they come and go like cats!

FRM
FR Millmore

Are the SLOTTED deep hex 5/16 BSF bolts available from Moss or any of the other major dealers?

Jan

54 TF 1500
Jan Kristoffersen

When I talked to Moss, they only had a 5/16 bsf set screw. Full response from their technical guy is shown in a previous thread (still active) "Vokes air cleaners for TF".
Good Luck,
Safety?
Fast?
Scott Ashworth - '54 TF
S. R. Ashworth

Activate
J E Carroll

This thread was discussed between 16/07/2012 and 02/06/2013

MG TD TF 1500 index

This thread is from the archive. The Live MG TD TF 1500 BBS is active now.