I think the medallion would look good on a smoothie. I agree that the convex surface will be more difficult to layout the center and drill. If I go the smoothie route I will clamp my spare tire to a mill table and indicate the center hole on the wheel. Then I can use the wheel as a fixture to quickly drill all five caps dead center. If I use the…[Read more]

I can also suggest sticking some masking tape on the hubcap and marking the center on it before drilling. The tape should keep your bit from wandering away when you first start drilling.

Mike,I have not seen them on smoothies. But given the shape of the stock MG TD hubcap, they should work fine.Measure and mark a hundred times before you drill the center hole!

Allen,We never tire of questions. That’s probably the primary reason we’re all here!Most gauges are manufactured with the assumption they are going into a sheet metal dash. Our wood dashes are much thicker, so you need to either trim or bend the brackets.

The Speedo in my CMC is marked the same as yours Allen. Its kind of odd at first, but you will get used to it in no time. Once a friend rode with me for the first time with the wind beating us up and he looked at the speedo and thought I was doing about 75. He had a we need to slow down look in his eyes. I laughed and told him not to worry it was kph.

My old speedo was marked that way–Old Classic Instruments jobby that went to about 85mph.You could bend the mount bracket too.PS: To replace the old speedo, which read 20 percent slow, I ended up grabbing a 72 Bug speedo on ebay for about $45. The size of these–about 4 3/4 inches, is much closer to the original TD size than the ones our kits…[Read more]

I just got my MG wheel medallions from Moss in today. They are as Paul described with a post that mounts with a cotter pin. These Moss parts really look good by the way. They are recessed between the edge and center post area which makes sense when you look at the MG caps like Paul posted the link to. Those caps have a flat outter rim and a convex…[Read more]

Thanks guys. Carried the tach and speedometer (different size and type bulbs) into O’Reilley’s and got the new ones.

A a very common transplant into an original TD is an 1960’s Volvo four cylinder (I forget the exact engine). It is a drop in fit, has more horsepower and torque and is far more reliable.
 

What would be interesting is putting a Ford drivetrain in an original to resolve any dependability issues.  If you didn’t open the hood (bonnet) who would know 🙂

 If you are referring to the socket that holds the bulb and fits into the back of the gauge,most parts stores will have those as well. Carry one of the gauges with you to get the correct size socket .

 I checked MG Magic’s price list and they are $42.50 each. Making your own from scrap iron would be cheaper,just a matter of getting the holes in the correct places.

I really like that grille treatment and dash, although the speedo and tach look a little small.

 
EXACTLY!
So what’s wrong with being a blond?
The joke tellers are just jealous. 
Enjoy the heating grate and take the kit car comments as a compliment. 
  
 

I replaced a bulb in my dash a few months back. Just pulled the old one and took it to the nearest auto parts place (O’Reilly’s, I think). Found a replacement, paid a couple bucks for a pack of four and popped the new one in a few minutes later. I’m a mechanical moron, but not even I could mess that up.

I have my fuel filter mounted up front on the opposite side of the car from the brake master cylinder. Included a shut-off valve ahead of the filter so I can turn the fuel off when I’m changing the filter. I don’t want one of those little fire starters anywhere my coil or distributor if ya know what I mean.

Why can’t you just go to a machine shop or metalworks place and have them cut a piece of 3/8″ stock and drill 2 ( or 4) holes in it to match up the bumper brackets and bolt it behind the chrome bumper?I will probably do that one of these days. It sounds like a good idea to beef up the chrome bumper just in case.

I have a very good friend who is almost ten years into a restoration of an original TD. The bare frame is on jack stands. The body panels are in the rafters of his garage. The rest of the parts are in boxes around the garage.
In 1982, I built my Duchess in a one car garage. Most of the work was done solo. It took me about nine months working ev…[Read more]

I can’t see or feel anything under my fan shroud, it’s the doghouse shroud and it’s completely sealed up underneath, can’t see anything with a mirror either, and I sealed up the tin to the body with some metallic heat resistant duct tape to try and keep the heat from rising into the engine compartment and that seems to be working. I don’t feel…[Read more]

Calling a TD replica a kit car is like kids calling each other names on the playground. They can’t beat the other kid at kick ball and so they call him a doofus. That’s like telling blond jokes about Marilyn Monroe.
Think about the original TD in the context of today’s traffic for a minute: Slow, fragile mechanicals, mediocre brakes. pricey…[Read more]