There goes our professional writer again!

Good job Ed!

 Ed, Where do you buy ”fat” cut pile carpet?

Ed,
Check the adjustment on the rears before you start spinning wrenches. I once saw a Squareback that wouldn’t go forward until you reversed to release the leading shoe on one side. That’s tough to do at a light. People told the owner it was a transmission problem. I adjusted the brakes and the problem was solved.
Rear brakes can stick when t…[Read more]

Black, cut pile, no edge binding.I bought a roll of marine carpet for the purpose and it’s looking pretty decent so fat.

Good questions, all, Peter.And confession: I ain’t done the rears yet. Didn’t have the giant socket. Got it now. Maybe I’ll start there.To your question: I do leave the e-grake on when it’s parked. I think the cables are set nice–since I just did that when I moved the handle. But my theories about how things work are often proved wrong.I’ll let…[Read more]

Mrlmd..just curious if you picked up the infrared thermometer and if so what temp reading did you get as compared to your gage? I also am curious if you checked your thermostat controlled flaps on your shroud to make sure they are opening. Mine does not have the thermostat installed and the flaps are always open.

I noticed that too, it won’t work on my car. I found a aluminum mesh grill at Home Depot that I am going to put over the front of the engine compartment to try and filter out stuff like that, to keep it from getting sucked into the fan. If a bag or a bunch of leaves got stuck on that screen it could possibly block off the whole intake into the…[Read more]

I was about to order one of the shroud intake screens and discovered they only fit non doghouse shrouds. The early shrouds have a lip the screen will attache to. The  doghouse shrouds do not have this lip. You could still fabricate a bracket to use the screen or simply screw or pop rivit some wire mesh over the fan intake opening on the later…[Read more]

 Allen, All the trim/piping is the same color as the seats and panels on both of my cars. I think that some of the newer MGs used piping that was a different color but to my knowledge ,the TDs always matched the piping to the rest of the material.
 Can’t help with the amount of material needed.

Ed,
You felt the front end dive. That’s a characteristic of the rear brakes. The front brakes cause the rear end to rise.  
Your problem might not be in the front brakes.
Was Bridget stored with the parking brake on? That would have left the retraction spring extended for a long period of time. Have you adjusted your rear brakes lately? Is the e…[Read more]

Allen,Classic Roadsters provided pre-sewn side panels and door panels. And, pre-cut and bound carpeting. All the Duchess builder had to do was install them.The door panels were pre-edged with piping in the same color as the interior panels. I added weather stripping to seal the door opening,I’m not able to help you with the dimension info. Sorry!

Paul and Larry,Going to make/cut templates for the carpet tomorrow. Then get them to Over the Top, a local convertible top, carpet and upholstery shop to make the carpet for me. They did the seats for my Ghia and do just about all work for the local Mustang club . Excellent workmanmship and prices. And they have the white vinyl that matches…[Read more]

Ed,
You made a comment that triggered an ancestral memory. You blasted the brakes to seat them. Brake shoes are not completely cured when they come out of the box. The heat of the braking process is used to cure the ablative material that is the lining of a brake shoe. You may have overheated the surface when you blasted the brakes to set the…[Read more]

Ha! Good catch Paul. I wrote that post at work.Looks like my decision not to get the hardware kit didn’t pay off. Will order & redo the job as soon as I can find a few hours.edsnova40767.8708449074

Hey Ed,Maybe it’s because you should be working on your BRAKES, not your BREAKS!!!(Sorry man. You’re a writer. I couldn’t resist!)

Boy Ed you have all the fun
 

Thanks guys. I did get new soft hoses, front and back, and a couple hard ones too. New shoes, new wheel cylinders. I emoried the insides of the drums and I blasted the breaks to set them after install–and yeah, figured out the star wheel adjusters too–or thought I did.Obviously did something wrong. Or…Could’ve been the months the things set…[Read more]

I vote brake hoses…the most overlooked thing in a brake job. A good idea to install new springs/hardware when you do drum brakes too. Rock Auto sells VW brake hoses (there are 4) and brake shoe spring and hardware kits cheeep! Pink MG40767.4673263889

I’ve had both.
Often, if he car sits too long over a lovely northeast winter, a brake pad or two will have fused to the drum. A few clutch pops usually will break it loose and a couple miles gentle dragging the brakes will clean it up.
I had the rear brake lines collapse on themselves too. The symptom….apply the brakes, they work fine, but f…[Read more]

Paul, try to disconnect relating Fan Speed to MPH. It’s all about engine RPM to Fan Speed. Again, the engine has no idea how fast it’s going down the road. The most important ratio is between the crank and gen/alt pulleys for cooling, not the transaxle.
The Super Beetle’s had a higher ratio ring and pinion. That actually lowered the RPM’s in al…[Read more]