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MG TD TF 1500 - Has anyone here bought this brake kit?

Or do you know anyone who has or do you know this fellow? I have some qestions.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/MGTD-TF-DISC-BRAKE-CONVERSION-KIT-/231458563547?pt=Vintage_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item35e40165db
MG LaVerne

I have been reading about this conversion and it looks good but I have no real knowledge of it. My brakes are from an A and I love the discs. there is also a company out there that makes disc brakes for the TD TF. Saw that on Jay Leno's website. Mine have been on 8 years and still going good. Weather here sucks, 2 below this am.
PS going to try and see Gene at a show in NOLA in march maybe you can make it also...
T Maine

If my memory is correct (often isn't these days) you have an MGA rear end in yours Tom? I have concerns about brake imbalance with stock rear drums and master cylinder capacity. I asked him for contact info to some of his customers about a year ago but did not receive any. Weather unlike last year has been pretty damn nice around here for the last month. Been in the 50's just about every day and hit 60 plus a few times this week. NOLA in March? Mardi Grass? Don't see me headed anywhere for a while. :-(.
MG LaVerne

I gave some consideration to this package myself. In his description there is no mention of what needs to be done with the master cylinder or a differential pressure valve. In my past experiences I had to add/modify both.
Looked at his Feedback and see that he has only sold one (on EBAY) and the buyer had not installed as yet. As a EBAY seller he has a total of 58 sales. The last twelve months indicate only one Disc Kit sale. Mmmmm?

I would want to hear from others who have rolled the dice and tried it.

Anxious to hear if someone will respond.


Dan
Dan Nordstrom

Supposedly Wilwood came up with a system for Jay Leno's 52 TD hot rod and was going to put it in their catalog. I haven't heard any more about this.

Bill
TD24570
Bill Brown

MGB discs are a straight up swap. I bought an MGB for less than $100 (sold the seats for more than that), got the front discs, antisway bar, 3.92 rear (supercharged engine can handle it) the splined adapters for wire wheels, plus odds and ends.
Considering it came offf the B, the front & rear brakes were engineered together. I still put a dual circuit master cylinder and proportioning/compensating valve on.
The TDs are wifey's toys and she leave no margin of saftey when stopping!
JRN JIM

LaVerne, I have a 4:1 MGA gearing in my rear axle. no mods to the MC at all. works just fine. I feel more confidant with the discs up front and the rears are straight MGTD rear brakes. no mods there either. my rear end is an original TD with the 4 1 gears adapted to my housing. local member of our club did the swap, I had put in 4.55 but that set howled like a banshee. The member who did my rear end also has the same MGA front end setup I have. has done nothing to the MC or the rear brakes. They feel fine to me.
T Maine

I contacted Wilwood brakes right after the leno video came out regarding the kit and never received a response back. must be only for the very rich and famous. Too bad, as I was ready to plunk down a stack of hundreds as I'm sure a few others would do as well

Bill Chasser Jr
TD4834
W. A. Chasser Jr

After hearing that Wilwood had done a disc brake kit I made a phone call to see about details. I was told that there is no disc brake kits for the MG TD or TF by them. The person I talked to was aware of the Leno TD and gave me the number of the MGB mechanic who worked on that car. He also said there was not a kit available to purchase from him. He did say that the Leno TD has an MGB front cross member with the MGB front disc brakes. A small but important detail. I too am considering disc brakes for my TF. Does anyone know if the rotors for a MGB are the same diameter as the MGA 1600 rotors or the same diameter?. I would rather not relieve the tie rod end to allow clearance between it and the rotor so was wondering if its possible to swap the right and left steering arms to gain some space. Any thoughts on this approach.
F. Driver

Moss has different numbers for MGA & MGB, so that doesn't answer the dia. question.

I do recall now that I used two sets of steering arms (MGB + TD), cut them, welded, heated and tweaked to my satisfaction. They are a touch longer for slower but easier steering and clear everything just fine. The tie rods are located proportionally between the suspension pivots to avoid "bump steer."

Stops and handles great & looks fantastic with wire wheels.

Just for the record, I doubt you'll find swapping to discs is going to make any huge improvement in braking over the original twin leading shoe front brakes. If they did, your car would tend to spin out on severe braking.
JRN JIM

Moss catalog does not show any proportioning/compensating valve for the MGAs & MGBs. The TD rear brakes seem to be about the same as the MGB, but can't swear to it.
The weight of the MGA is on par with the TD/TFs. The weight of the MGB ranges from 2000#+ to 2500#+ over the different years which is more than the average TD. The Bs used the same caliper for many years, so it is not like they brake performance increased drastically with time.
My opinion is the disc swap would not overwhelm the drum brakes in back and not be hazardous.
JRN JIM

Thanks Tom...good to know.

I saw just the one sale as well Dan.

Bill and Fred, I never saw Wilwood going into production for something so limited. Was pretty sure it was a one of deal for the publicity.

Jim the rear drums are larger on both the B and A. No proportioning needed as they mate up well enough with whats going on at the front. I still have concerns about the discs up front with the smaller drums at back. I'm pretty sure these are MGA discs and calipers with a modified hub/swivel assembly. Not particularly high tech in todays world. My interest lies not in "improving the stopping action" but in eliminating brake fade. I have lived in the mountains all of my life and know very well to gear down from day one of driving but keeping the speed down on some of our steep decents in the TF is akin to flashing light semi stuff. It would be nice to have just a little more spirited driving without the fear of needing the non existant runnaway ramp on most of the roads. I'm pretty easy on brakes for the most part. Doesn't happen often but I've been in some expressway driving where brake fade was in the back of my mind. It doesn't take a lot to get to that point. You make a couple of hammer stops due to the "bungee effect" of the freeway running at 75 or 80 to 15 or 20 in a short span and you will know what I mean.

Like your wife, I drive this thing a lot harder than it was ever designed to. I'm a hack welder and have no desire to monkey with the steering arms.
Again I seem to remember you did a couple of modifications for the master cylinder for a couple of reasons.

I'm just in the thinking about it stage at this point. My reason for the "why" is valid to me. My questions have moved to the execution and possible results.

Thanks for all the thoughts.
MG LaVerne

One thing that is usually overlooked is the metering valve component in the "combination" valve.

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/auto-parts/brakes/brake-types/master-brake2.htm

It compensates for the shoe/drum clearance by engaging the drum brakes first before energizing front discs. Without this, the front would start braking before the rear which is bass ackwards, or may make the car bass ackwards!

I wanted the safety of a dual circuit brake layout and elected to go with a Chevy Vega or Nova NOS master cylinder because of its size, shape, small bore for high pressure and it was cheap. Since it needed modification, I brazed the reservoir shut and have a glass filler up on the firewall for quick inspection and topping up. There have been numerous occassions before when we found out the hard way the reservior was empty.
JRN JIM

I converted my 54 MG-TF to MGB front brakes about 1990. I used the complete vertical portion of the MGB. I did make two spacers to centralize the upper portion to the shock absorber. I cut two spacers for each side from aluminum bumper spacers as the were convenient. If memory serves me they were 1/2" in length.I did not need any brake compensation at all.
Sandy
SANDY

This thread was discussed between 12/02/2015 and 13/02/2015

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