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MG TD TF 1500 - TD/C 16480: Four years later

It's been a long haul, but we're almost there, and it's time to show. She really goes, too. I took Manley Ford's advice with the engine: header, new crankshaft, Saenz rods, Arias Pistons and a B&G lightweight flywheel. The Crane camshaft (340-002) seems to deliver lots of torque. Peter Gamble's 5-speed is a joy. Dave Anton at APT did the headwork, and Dennis Tolley in Lemon Grove (San Diego)did the engine build.

Thanks to all on this forum, past and present, for tons and tons of information and advice.

Jim


J Barry

Another angle.


J Barry

Another.


J Barry

And most important!


J Barry

Very Nice J Barry
Bruce Cunha

Ohhhh Purrrty
MG LaVerne

She's a beauty!
Jack Long

Very nicely done!
David Sheward

Beautiful !
Mike
Mike Fritsch

Didn't know CA plates were good in Hawaii? Pictures of engine bay? Which 5 speed is "Peter Gamble"?
efh Haskell

Looks great Jim. Congratulations.
Mort 50 TD (Mobius)

Nice looking car...have fun driving it..
Tom Maine


Thanks everyone. Elf, the car is in San Diego, where I work on it several times a year. I have some road trips to make in California before bringing it over. Unfortunately I don't have much in the way of engine bay photos, except the attached. Kinda slowed down on the photos after a while. Peter Gamble runs the Hi Gear 5-speed shop, so it's a Ford Sierra transmission. It really has a nice feel.


J Barry

The backstory: the car has been in the family since 1967. It was a daily driver for 20 years, but it finally broke down and was at rest in the garage for another 22 years. The dash was my Dad's one and only nod to the spirit of the '60's. He'll be 90 in a couple of months - and driving his car again.

Jim


J Barry

Looks good Jim. I've seen differences with the fit of the top radiator hose on a few cars & wondered if you had experienced any problems. Some seem aligned, some are stepped forward & others seem compressed. As both the position of the radiator cross mounting rail & the elbow (TC/TD/AM) below the thermostat housing can be altered, any of these can affect that relationship. NOT critical just curious. Cheers
Peter TD 5801
P Hehir

What a transformation. Nice work! I actually think the old 60's dash is cool. Dad must be real happy.

Frank Cronin

Peter,

Good eye. Yes that misalignment was definitely a concern, and I actually posted that very question some time ago. I did everything I could to correct the top hose alignment, but it ended up crooked. The old hose was crooked too, so I stopped worrying about it. I figured it would be a mistake to adjust the engine out of vertical.

Thanks Frank; we all thought the dash was pretty cool in those days. Actually I think it still is, but that stuff is no longer around.

Jim
J Barry

Isn't that an MG B/C dash emblem on the glovebox door? My car had one of those too sometime in the late 60's.

Was that dash made out of Formica like the late 50's counter tops and dinettes?
Chris Couper

I don't know where the emblem came from. It was just always there. Ixnay on the formica! Old dash was a foil sticky-back, new dash is koa wood, made by this guy:

http://www.cgwoodcraft.com/vintage.html

Jim


J Barry

Chris,

My car came with one of those Formica dashboards. It was so faded that I didn't realize that it was a fake wood grain until I was doing an initial cleaning and discovered it accidentally when I was wiping it down with a damp cloth. I wondered for a while whether any of the later T series cars might have come from the factory with Formica but, there seems to be absolutely no evidence of that according to all the wisdom on this board. I still find myself wondering whether these dashboards could ever have been a dealer installed option. I have seen photos of a few of these dashboards on other cars.

Just curious,

Kirk
Kirk Trigg

What... No pics of the header? I have a very similar build except with Len's cam. Congrats!

Alex
Alex Waugh

Okay... since you insist! It seems like ages ago (2011). Also Tom Lange's core plugs. Build philosophy was to maximize breathing. That also means working on the air filter set-up one of these days...


J Barry

Kirk: Don't want to hijack this thread but Formica dashes never came from the factory but it was somewhat popular in the late 50's early 60's.
Chris Couper

Thanks Chris. Sorry about pushing the topic off course. I should've been adding my congratulations to Jim for a job well done. It's beautiful!

Kirk
Kirk Trigg

Nice work Jim!!!!!!!!
I see that Gary made your dash,,, He does some real nice work. He used to be a vendor at our British By The Sea Gathering in Waterford Ct for a few years.
Also like that alternator withthe tach drive,,,,

Steve
STEVE WINCZE

Thanks again everyone. We're obviously proud of our car. Of course, there is much more to do.

I do recommend Gary at CG woodcraft. We went over a lot of options via email and phone, and he gave excellent advice. A true craftsman.

Jim
J Barry

Somehow, crazy as it was, I would have been tempted to keep Dad's dash ... at least for a few more years. Its something that can be changed at a later date without too much disruption. The Paisley effect is retro-cool.

However Jim, the item that caught my eye, is the alternator with the tachometer drive take-off. That is something that definitely interests me.

Who did that?

I have been dreaming of up-dating my entire electrical system, including lighting, pos to neg grnd, etc. An alternator would just push me over the top to DO IT!

Kirk Trigg and other interested parties - The wood dash wasn't standard on any T-Series, but many of us may feel it so, because it was a standard on so many MMM cars. My own PA came with a burled walnut dash, but the product became so expensive, that with the TA, it was dropped in the interests of cost.Also, good burl was and still is, getting scarce (an outrageously costly!).

Gord Clark
Rockburn, Qué.
Gordon A Clark

I should have included the below photo of the PA and PB dashboards ...

Gord Clark
Rockburn, Qué.




Gordon A Clark

Gordon,

We thought seriously about keeping the dash, because we all loved it, but it was really too far gone, and we could not find anything comparable on the market. The tach drive was a product of my brother-in-law's creative skills and a very good machinist. We used a Delco CS-121 alternator, a nice compact unit. I would recommend getting Jerry Felper's version. He actually helped us out a bit. I think he uses a CS-130, a slightly larger alternator.

We also put in relays for the lights and the fan, trying for that bit of modernization anyway.

Jim


J Barry

This thread was discussed between 20/04/2014 and 22/04/2014

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