MG TD TF 1500 Off Topic But Very Interesting BBS discussion at MG-Cars.net

MG TD TF 1500 - Off Topic But Very Interesting

Some of you may have watched the HBO series on the Lady and the Dale. About Elizabeth Carmichael and the Dale automobile. Carmichael got the idea for the Dale (and named her car) from a vehicle that engineer Dale Clifft built in his garage. There are pictures of Clifft's car in the series. He built a three-wheel vehicle that was powered by a 305 honda motorcycle. He removed the fork and welded the motorcycle frame into the back of the vehicle. On Monday, I had the privilege of pushing out the original car that Clifft built, out of a garage in Southern CA where it has been stored for 43 years. The vehicle is in remarkably good condition considering it is skinned in red metal flake Naugahyde. A few areas of the Naugahyde have come unglued from the metal frame, but it is pretty much in the same condition as it was back in 1978 when Clifft put it in his neighbor's garage. The owners are going to loan the car to the Peterson Museum in Los Angeles so it can be displayed alongside the Dale car that the Peterson has. They are going to tell the story of Dale Clifft, and how his life was pretty much ruined by allowing Carmichael to use the car as the general model for the Dale car. Clifft had nothing to do with building the Dale or the scandal that came about from it. Clifft died in 1981 at age 49. You should be hearing more about the car in the near future in the Automotive Magazines and potentially on one of the TV car shows. The vehicle is actually very well made. Clifft was an engineer and also an inventor. He used the front fork shocks of the motorcycle for the front struts. He used motorcycle headlights mounted on the front struts for headlights. It was reported that one of the cylinders was low on compression when it was last used. In inspecting the motor, it does look like there is oil around the cylinder base, so I suspect a headgasket leak. There is no plans to start the vehicle or put it back on the road, but it is not locked up. I would think it could be easily fixed and used again. The gas peddle is the hand lever for the brake, the brake pedal is the rear brake pedal off the motorcycle and the clutch pedal is the shift lever from the motorcycle. It has an alternator run off the side of the primary. It also has a motor that you can engage from the cab that moves the vehicle backwords. The shift lever is located to the left of the seat. It has blinkers and a horn. The motor mount has been modified so the motor can be removed from the bottom of the vehicle The windshield appears to be german according to the writing on it.

Bruce Cunha

This thread was discussed on 18/03/2021

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