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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 - TD Piping

I have sourced the solid 1/4" rubber core for TD piping here in Sydney from Ludowici, a company that specializes in all manner of rubber products. See pic attached. (The vinyl is beige long grain 254 from Daley's, also in Sydney). I originally had the piping stitched with a nylon rope but was not happy with the less than solid feel & lack of uniformity. This stuff is the correct diameter & looks & feels just right. Firm but still very flexible. A local seamstress sewed it up for me for $5/metre. Rubber is just under $6/metre. Cheers
Peter TD 5801


P Hehir

Nice job, and EPDM rubber is a sensible choice too - it'll last longer than Natural or SBR.
Dave H
Dave Hill

I used Morris Minor rear win piping and covered it in leatherette and Mrs. B ran it through the sewing machine for me.
Regards
Declan


D Burns

Thanks Dave. You're lucky to have a Mrs B Declan. My wife HATES sewing! So much so that she gave away the sewing machine that she got as a wedding using wedding cars tonbridge present! Cheers
Peter TD 5801
P Hehir

Peter,

Can you provide vender information please. Website? This is exactly what I'm looking for.

Thanks Frank
Frank Cronin

G'day Frank. If you Google Ludowici Sealing Solutions you'll get their details. Seems like they're an Oz company with their main warehouse in Victoria. With your dollar you get about a 23% discount. Cheers
Peter TD 5801
P Hehir

Hmmm. Looking for a US source I found the following:

http://www.theoringstore.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=117_527&products_id=18621

Dave Hill, any opinion on Buna-N versus the other materials? I've no idea what that is.

They've also got a EPDM product, but not in a 1/4" actual size-- it is 0.275". Would it work? Only $0.66 per foot.

http://www.theoringstore.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=117_120&products_id=5063

Peter, your quantity is 15 feet (though apparently priced by the meter). Does that length work well or do you wish you got more or less?
David Littlefield

Buna-N is nitrile rubber, which is oil resistant. It'll do the job but no better than EPDM.
Dave H
Dave Hill

15 metres Dave & I also bought an extra metre so I hope I have more than I need. I didn't actually measure the car so this was a rough estimate. Interior piping is from the same 6 metre roll as the interior trim & the exterior is also the same stuff but dyed with a purpose made vinyl dye which I had put into a couple of spray cans & colour matched to the body. I'll make the continuous dash piece & the front apron the same size, however I've seen the 6 metre dash bit a larger diameter & the apron smaller on some cars. As I'm not convinced that this is correct mine will be the same diameter, just under 5/16" finished all over. As I'm still painting (if it ever stops %$#*&^ raining here!) I'm yet to fit any to the car so I can't comment on the quantity. Cheers
Peter TD 5801
P Hehir

Frank, DL's source is way cheaper than the stuff I purchased. EPDM @ 66c/foot is a great deal! Cheers
Peter TD 5801
P Hehir

Still working my way through the extensive archive on piping and updating as I go. The 6 metre roll of vinyl wasn't long enough for the 7 metres I required to make the tub piping in one piece. If starting again I'd purchase 7 metres as a 100 mm strip is immediately cut off along the length to make the correct 7/16" wide hidem binding and a further 100 mm strip to make the piping. I had to join the piping in the most inconspicuous spot (at a point beside the rear of the seat). I joined the rubber core with Super Glue. Seems like the 15 metres I purchased was plenty for the whole car. I initially used a nylon rope for the core but this proved totally unsatisfactory so I replaced it with the EPDM. The rope core is shown being replaced with the rubber in the following pic. I'm using a polyester thread in the existing holes. Cheers
Peter TD 5801.



P Hehir

"I had to join the piping in the most inconspicuous spot (at a point beside the rear of the seat)."

Welcome to an elite club. :-)



Christopher Couper

There's a story Chris that the very best Japanese artisans who are recognised master craftsmen introduce a tiny flaw at the completion of their work because of the belief that only the Gods can achieve perfection. We are in good company. Cheers
Peter TD 5801
P Hehir

For those of us who may be a little less pure of heart flyscreen spline is available at most hardware stores in Aus and comes in 4.5 and 6.5 diameters.
This is for the wing/fenders so the thread won’t show.


C I Twidle

Peter, that sounds like the Amish quilt makers who will have a tiny mistake in their quilt pattern as only God is perfect.
M Magilton

Ok, after reading this. What was the original material?
Bruce Cunha

Rubber. See pics in Chris's gallery. I used the following. Cheers
Peter TD 5801


P Hehir

Rubber with a hollow core. On the TF's the 'dogleg' at the start of the rear wing had aluminium wire reinforcing inserted so the piping would not move.


M Magilton

You don't need the aluminium wire if you attach some extensions to the flap behind the bead. Then you can hold it in position whilst you tighten the wing/fender bolts. Its good idea to attach extensions all the way along the flap for the same reason.
Dave H
Dave Hill

I would use rubber from a local supplier, but if that were not possible there is a better solution than the one used by the current manufacturers: coaxial cable. I have not needed it in my car, but I bet it could pass an elegance contest without being discovered provided it will be installed with the proper discretion and gives an appropriate rigidity as well as flexibility. I always look for purity and originality, but if the current manufacturers allow some cheap licenses, we can improve them.
Gabriel Martínez

Pic 3 from Chris's gallery https://www.mg-cars.org.uk/mgtd/Pictures/TD11272/Thumbnails/mgtd_gallery_thm_TD11272.htm shows the rubber on a TD. Although out of focus it is clearly solid. Cheers
Peter TD 5801
P Hehir

Peter. You comfortable that the rubber you are using is pretty close to original size and feel? If so, I will go ahead and order some when I get to that part of my restoration.

Mine currently has a stranded cord inside it. (but it is not original material)
Bruce Cunha

I believe so Bruce. Obviously the thickness of the vinyl will impact the overall O.D. Modern vinyls seem to be much thicker than the Rexine or Vinide that was used originally. I dislike the thick piping I've seen on restored cars here and in pics from overseas. I do know that the thickness makes it a bugger to deal with on folds, corners and radius bends. Getting an acceptable finish on the 3 rear tacking pieces using the original folding techniques is a problem. I'm having to glue and staple in stages. Knowing what I know now I'd try and source the modern equivalent of Rexine and not use vinyl. It'd be a helluva lot easier to work with. David Littlefield seems to have found a very reasonably priced rubber. See above. Cheers
Peter TD 5801
P Hehir

Peter, the hose photo you showed has a shadow in the middle of the rubber section. Hollow maybe?? I don't know for sure.

Gabriel, I used co-axial too and am happy with the result. Seems to sit fairly straight and not wobble around.

Matthew.
M Magilton

Peter. I have done a lot of looking at the current Rexine materials. I feel they are similar to the original and can be used, the issue is how well the colors match the upolstery kits.

I am hoping to do the dash in the new rexine, but will need to wait until I get the interior kit to compare color. The external piping is not as important to be an exact match, but the inside piping will need to be exact.
Bruce Cunha

Bruce if you look at pic 93/141 on 23834 in Chris's gallery it gives a really good idea of the piping thickness. The interior and exterior piping certainly appear to be the same diameter. I can't see that one is thicker than the other. Just on the kits, I think you'll be disappointed with the quality, colour, fit and the oversized hidem (5/8" as opposed to the finer looking and original 7/16"). Given the extra work required, apart from the colour matching, I believe you're better off doing the job yourself and just having the door cards, the wheel arches and the hidem stitched by a professional, once you've cut and shaped the boards for the cards and made a template for the wheel arches.

Matthew I'm still trolling through the gallery trying to find other examples of the rubber core to determine whether it is indeed solid or not. Yet to find a definitive pic one way or the other. The one I suggested I see as having an uneven break rather than a hollow core.

I've installed the continuous length of piping around the scuttle and am about to attempt the area around the striker. I've had some correspondence offline that suggests the reason for the removal of the core in that area has more to do with ensuring that the striker sits at an angle to mate more easily with the tongue, rather any possibility of fouling with any part of the lock, including the tongue, as I can't see how this could possibly happen, even if the door were to sag. I still intend to attempt to fit that section intact and will pack the forward section of the backing plate, tilting it towards the exterior of the car to ensure the striker engages easily with the lock. The piping around the semi-circular cut out in the A pillar should compress enough to enable this to happen. Cheers
Peter TD 5801
P Hehir

Happy to report that the passenger door now closes with a very positive clunk in the manner that it should AND with the piping around the striker intact. No fouling. Looks pretty. Sounds even better! Once I refit the finished door card and make the front 1/4 panel, I'll post some pics. Cheers
Peter TD 5801
P Hehir

This thread was discussed between 17/06/2015 and 24/04/2019

MG TD TF 1500 index

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