MG TD TF 1500 TD/c-8151 assembly begins! Pt 2 BBS discussion at MG-Cars.net

MG TD TF 1500 - TD/c-8151 assembly begins! Pt 2

I’ve been remiss in keeping those here updated on the progress and setbacks being made on dad’s car. I thought I’d start a new thread as the first had become unwieldy to navigate. So to recap what had occurred since March 2021. After the car returned from Jim Silva’s pholstery shop it was time to get the engine fired up. I made a video of the event and Laverne Downey put it up on YouTube for me. Type in “ Bills MKII start up ”. After running the engine in for a bit in the driveway and fiddling with other details it was time to take it for its first drive under its own power since the early 1960’s prior to Jarl DeBoer acquiring it. My initial impressions…. what a different experience than my fast road car. The engine has a smooth idle, the complete NOS transmission gear set shifts as smooth as butter. The factory bucket seats are very comfortable and provide excellent support. They also provide better leg room and egress. The only drawback was/still is that the replacement R&P had been filled with grease by a DPO. The steering is quite heavy. This was not the rack originally intended for the car. I have an NOS rack but I somehow managed to break off a mounting ear from its casting. Also the replacement boots had already failed after several years. I had plans of pulling the rack out of the chassis to flush out the grease and replace the boots but for some reason I could not get it out of the chassis. I have no problem removing it from TD-4834 but no amount of fiddling would derive the clearance I needed without pulling the engine, radiator, apron and crossmember. So the boots where changed with great difficulty in situ and the grease remains. I put 37 miles on the car and discovered a bad oil leak from the rear main seal conversion. So much so that it fouled the new clutch. The engine was pulled. With the sump and flywheel removed I discovered that I had not cut the flywheel bolts flush with the back of the crank flange. It was just enough to cause the bolt to grind against the rear seal mounting flange creating swarf that then cut the seal. After inspecting the bearings, flushing the bottom end and making the necessary repairs the drivetrain was reinstalled. Immediately upon starting the engine, oil was again leaking from the rear main. &@$?!!! The engine and trans came out again. This time the inspection showed the leak came from the mounting flange. In my attempt to keep RTV use to a minimum I had failed to lay a bead sufficient enough to seal the mating surfaces. With that now repaired, and the drivetrain returned I have successfully tamed the errant leaks. But, as I write this I just realized that while I had everything apart I failed to pull the R&P out to clear the grease. Drat ! I now have all the pieces to install a correct remote ignition advance. But will wait until after the next oil change. At the same time I will be installing the oil temp gauge at the oil drain plug. Currently I’m awaiting for my chronometric speedo, tach and clock to return from Hugh Pite. These needed cleaning and he is working his magic with the clock works. They should be coming home soon. I also sent a dual gauge off to the UK for restoration. It should be back in several weeks.

W A Chasser

Last week I began preparations for the Smith &Son’s HMV 100 Radiomobile installation. Working with 1/4” plywood I fabricated the fascia that will fill in the glove box opening. The radio’s faceplate passes through the plywood due to its design. Once the plywood was fitted to the opening and the radio, I covered it in red vinyl to match the interior. At this time I’m struggling with the support bracket for the radio to the dash board and firewall bolts. I began by making a sheetmetal template but after three hours of shaping, braking and trial fits it ended up a failure. I will take another piece of sheetmetal and make another attempt at it this week. Once the template is to my satisfaction it will be transferred to a piece of 1/8” plate. The plate will be “Swiss cheesed” to lighten the end product. The radio alone weighs 14 lbs so the bracket needs to be stout enough to support it. Bill Chasser TD/c-8151

W A Chasser

Thanks William JK I know a few years back the CR seals Moss was incorporating in their kits weren’t holding up to the task. They did make a change a while back to a graphite impregnated seal that seems to hold up better to the RPMs that the seal has to work at. I’ve had good success in my other car and have installed several others which have held thus far. The seal failures on dads engine were my fault in not paying closer attention to the details. I created my own mess which cost me a great deal of time and added expense. Here is a pic of the radio fascia panel in situ. The camera angle make the plate look crooked but it is only a focal illusion. Bill Chasser TD/c-8151

W A Chasser

Bill, I did need to add a spacer to get the door to close. It is 7/16" thick. that is the minimum required for clearance. You can see it in this picture. Also, are you planning to split the power supply from the radio, if not I suggest that you do so. That way you will have more room for the support brackets. John

J Scragg

We had a great time at GOFWest 2022 during the first week of July. Dads car got an honorable mention at the car show. After thrashing in the car for several weeks prior to the event and considering there were still a dozen glaring. visual details left undone I was quite happy that the car was recognized. The rally was quite enjoyable and with Maddie navigating we managed to complete the drive answering all the questions albeit a few answers Maddie gave where “Squirrel !” During the drive we had an opportunity to chase a hopped up midget up a twisting mountain roadway. The midget gave us a good run as we hung on his bumper and if Maddie hadn’t been riding shotgun I’m sure I could have overtaken him when the opportunities arose I really love how this car handles and drives. Such a different experience compared to TD-4834. Pics of Maddie and I at the field show and the Honorable Mention presentation at the awards Ceremony

W A Chasser

At the GOF Live Auction I managed to outbid another gentleman in a heated bidding war for a MG logo’d MotoMeter. This was one of the last details needed to finish the car to the Day 1 standards that dad had spec’s the car. I was very happy with the purchased though I paid more than I had expected. I’ve been looking for a presentable example for more than a few years now and have only seen one come up to be available and it is in quite ooor condition and the seller wouldn’t budge on his price. Vintage pic of dads car with the MotoMeter and of the new addition to the restoration

W A Chasser

I scored a new find off of eBay several weeks ago. This is a period correct HS-12 Lucas Sports coil for dads car. It is a brownish/gold color. Bruce Cunha recently found a similar coil that pre dates mine in manufacture indicated by it’s black paint. The only info I am able to find regarding vintage sports coils and their history with ample photo documentation was this informative link. www.bobine.nl/jaguar/13-electrical/lucas-sports-coil The relevant portion is added here: “1.1 First version HS coil The black HS6 and HS12 coil had a brass Lucas type plate, which was fixed to the clamp with 2 screws. All HS coils are marked SW (ignition SWitch) and CB (Contact Breaker points) for the 12 Volt circuit connection. The Lucas part number was 406996 for the 12 V version and 406997 for the 6 Volt version. These part numbers remained unchanged for all HS coils although several development changes took place. The text on the brass plate reads: MODEL HS12, TYPE L-0 12V ER 45038A but other (pre-war) plates refer to the Lucas part number 406996 for the HS12. Lucas catalogues indicate that coil 45038 has been replaced by coil 45058 in the early 50’s. ER stands for Earth Return meaning no separate earth connection but the can itselfs acts as connection to earth. The type number of the HS6 version is 45037A. 1.2 Second version HS coil Early 1950 saw the introduction of a grey-brown painted HS coil, initially with a black metal plate fixed with 2 slotted CSK screws. The housing was painted in grey-brown which Lucas called “polychromatic brown” (like the colour “polychromatic grey”, a colour they used for many products like the HF1748 horns). This coil was available in both 6V and 12V. The part number of this coil versions remained unchanged (see 1.1).” Below are pics of my Sports coil. Note there are no markings on the base of the can to determine date of manufacture. The tag stampings are also light and difficult to read but there doesn’t seem to be a date code there as well. Bill Chasser TD-4834 TD-5779 TD/c-8151 TD/c-16920 TD-19408 TD-24060

W A Chasser

This thread was discussed between 30/06/2021 and 28/07/2022

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