Also, that is a very interesting solution for getting some color to the grill slats. How is it to clean though? Just wondering.

I don’t know if you have seen it, but Ringo’s MG has reflective tape over it’s slats that also looks really cool.

   Keep up the creativity, it’s giving me some good ideas!

James,

    Real nice details! Some creative and unique modifications for sure. I especially like the trim on the dash and the TD radiator cap. Very cool. Thanks for posting pics, Post more!!

The radiator slats on my replica are chrome. I wanted to add some color without painting the chrome. I removed the slats and inserted a section of metal window screen that I had painted to match the interior. I replaced the polished chrome slats behind the painted screen material. From side angles, the slats pick up the color, but from straight…[Read more]

James and Mark,
Thanks, I guess I’ll just buck up and buy a new one. I may mess around with shimming, per James suggestion, a bit before I do. The starter is very easy to access on this car. Two mount bolts and the electrical cable connection and it’s out.
Thanks,
Rich
 

Ford starter with external solenoid?
Sounds like the bendix spring on the starter is shot. The solenoid is nothing but a switch, so it’ll work or not work. Those Ford starters are not that expensive. If you get one locally and the problem still exists, you can bring it back.
I actually use the FoMoCo style external solenoid with my GM starters.…[Read more]

Rich,
Is the starter alignment good? I ran into that problem before where it worked great on the bench, but would either not engage the flywheel or would grab it. I adjusted the alignment with some shim washers since my starter was actually slightly too close to the flywheel even tho it was the correct replacement starter. I did not have problems…[Read more]

Thanks Paul. You said what I meant without malice! I went with Grundy years ago because J.C. Taylor would not insure the first Pink MG. I am glad that J.C. Taylor have changed their policy.
The bad thing about classic car insurance agents is that when their “parent” company changes, as happened to me with Grundy, what they will insure may also c…[Read more]

OK here’s the “Pink MG” story.
Back in 1952 the other person in my family enamored with the ’52 MG-TD was my mother. My Dad like big cars and could not fit into an MG, thinking they were ridiculous excuses for a car. He was 6’8″ tall and weighed 300 pounds. Although he sometimes car pooled with a guy who had several Crosley’s. Go Figure
I used to…[Read more]

I pulled together all the companies from my and Mark’s notes below. I mentioned a few, then Mark mentioned two more. Then I added contact info. It was all getting hard to follow. So here is the list in one place:American Collectors: http://www.americancollectorsins.com/
Grundy http://www.grundy.com
JC Taylor http://www.jctaylor.com
Heacock…[Read more]

A clarification…ALL of the companies I included above are insurance agencies or brokers that specialize in classic cars (and other specialty risks).They each have at least one insurance company with whom they place the insurance.There are no direct writers that specialize in classic cars (a direct writer is a company like GEICO that does…[Read more]

Mark,I was hoping your first ride story would include the explanation of your “pinkmg” screen name!For all of you in love with TDs since childhood and even those who were smitten later in life, I strongly recommend you pick up a copy of “The Red Car” by Don Stanford, first published in 1954. It’s a great story of one young man’s introduction to an…[Read more]

Wow, some great stuff here…I read a few time that we were all enamored with the TD at very young ages. That goes for me too. In fact, it’s how I got the handle “Pink MG”. That’s in another thread on the names of our cars.
I was born with 10w-40 blood. I never remember NOT being totally cativated by cars. Models Cars, Slot Cars, Go-Karts, Race…[Read more]

My first ride ever was in my replica during the test drive the day I bought it. When I test drove it, the interior was out of the car, we placed the seat bases in and used the seat belts to hold us down. My son was with me and his seat was low and mine was high. I did replace both seat bases with new lower bases that sloped back once I bought the…[Read more]

I’ve had a very bad experience with Grundy. The cancelled me after my Oct 2007 – Oct 2008 insurance year. I had been with them for over 10 years.
My personal opinion of Grundy is that they suck. What a bunch or morons! They are not an insurer, they are an Insurance Agency. They screwed me around and had lousy customer service.
Actually is was t…[Read more]

Paul,
Thanks, as usual you’ve come through with the details. Hopefully others will benefit from this update as well.
Rich

I agree with all of the above.
A good friend is in the middle of an original MG TD restoration. “In the middle” is being kind. After a few years, the frame is pretty clean, the engine is “over there” in the corner of the garage, the body parts are “up there” in the rafters of the garage. You get the picture!
In 1981-1982, I was about to buy a Fiat…[Read more]

I checked the info in a couple of the closed threads. The companies I listed several years ago are all still  in business and the leaders in classic car insurance. They are listed below, with updated phone numbers and web sites as necessary.
I have two cars insured with American Collectors: http://www.americancollectorsins.com/
Total cost for t…[Read more]

LOL….I really like the excuse of ‘having to get new tools’, that is priceless . I’ll put that in my vocabulary for future use. Probably get to use that many times over and over.
One of my favorite tools that I found at an off brand tool store was for a metric adjustable wrench. It was on a rack next to the SAE adjustable wrenches….the metric…[Read more]

Because of a co-worker with a real TD, my wife had wanted one for years.  I remembered from the 80’s when all the replicas were first coming out so I went for a search for one. The wife couldn’t understand that I wanted to “go with what I know”.  When I explained that I would have to get all new tools (I know, that was kinda sneaky of me), she w…[Read more]

I fell in Love with the TD on a road trip to Maine with a friend who has a stable of restored MGTD’s.  Last summer we went back to Maine to his restorer to check on a 1953 RED MGTD is was going to put up for sale.  I was in Love, but my wife can’t drive a stick and after all the years of marriage I new that would be a problem.  Also I wanted a sp…[Read more]