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MG parts spares and accessories are available for MG T Series (TA, MG TB, MG TC, MG TD, MG TF), Magnette, MGA, Twin cam, MGB, MGBGT, MGC, MGC GT, MG Midget, Sprite and other MG models from British car spares company LBCarCo.

MG TD TF 1500 - Front Shocks and Peter Caldwell.

Front Shocks and Peter Caldwell.

On a trip from the UK to Chicago and Sheboygan in July I arranged with Peter to drive to Madison and exchange a pair of front Armstrong shocks for my TD.
Peter is a charming man who was very happy to show me round his works and introduce me to Art, one of the technicians. I’ve never seen so many shock absorbers in one place and Peter has some very early Armstrong’s in their original colours.
He showed me the refurbishment process he has developed and the improvements they have incorporated, and he also showed me some of the projects he’s working on, interesting stuff.
My exchange shocks were waiting for me and since they had to be drained for the flight, Art demonstrated the correct way for me to fill them once I’d got back to the UK.
Because I packed the shocks along with some electrical cables for the flight back, when I arrived home I discovered that security in the US had opened the bag they were in. I can see that they may have looked suspicious on the X-ray scanner!
Art’s instructions proved to be invaluable because despite considerable care I still managed to get some air trapped under one of the pistons. Initially this felt like a ‘mechanical’ problem and after a couple of emails to Peter I decided to drain the oil and refill the shock which solved the problem.
I should mention that Peter didn’t hesitate to assure me that if there was a fault with the shock he would replace it immediately.
This was a very good purchasing experience and anyone contemplating sending their shocks to Peter to be refurbished should do so with complete confidence. If only he had a branch in the UK!
250 miles later and the shocks are fine and the car feels much more balanced than it has for a long time.
Thanks Peter and Art.

Mike.
Mike Christie

How right you are.

I met him in Gatlinburg in 2006, at which time he made a presentation on rebuilding the Girling & Armstrong shocks.

He subsequently counselled me on my selection for valving my TF shocks.

A great resource for all MG owners.

Gord Clark
Rockburn, Qué.
Gordon A Clark

Peter is the man - on two continents now! Mike, I'm glad to hear that you got to experience the joy of doing business with Peter that all of us over here have experienced. Cheers - Dave
David DuBois

Just got the shocks back for the TD. Great looking as usual. TD moving ahead.
LED DOWNEY

Laverne

Any pictures that you can share with us? Really enjoy seeing the progress on your TD.

Brian
Brian Smith

One of my new rebuilt shocks from Peter developed a leak very quickly after installation this summer. Of course he offered to replace it. Unfortunately he won't send me a new shock until I ship the bad one back to him. He said my leak doesn't sound major and to wait till after driving season and send it in. Other than that he has been very good to work with.
efh Ed

Not much progress of note Brian but I'll see if I can put something together tonight.
LED DOWNEY

Just to clarify, as I said above, Peter has been very good to work with and has offered much advice and help and I recommend him highly! Some of these parts, however, apparantly have original design characturistics that he must do his best with and he warranty's all of his work! We are lucky to have him as a source.
efh Ed

Peter is really "the only game in town." I have his shocks on my TD as well as my midget vintage race car. He stands behind his product and the customer service can't be beat. The other "usual players" are not to be trusted.
JohnD
Deikis

This thread was discussed between 25/08/2009 and 01/09/2009

MG TD TF 1500 index

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