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Last month I bought a completed FiberFab MG TD at a dealer auction. I am very impressed with the workmanship I see in the car, except for the wire nuts used to join much of the underdash wiring, a couple hours and my solder gun will rectify that issue. Days before the auction the dealer had installed a remanufactured GEX 1641 engine so the little car should be good to go. But, and there always seems to be a but, the little car waunders all over the road at 60 mph. The previous owner, and I think the builder, has left 2 bags of steel washers forward under the bonnet, each weighing about 35 #’s. Is this a common fix for the weigh distribution difference between the Bug and kit? I will find a source for lead bars, or make some, if this is the way to go. How much weigh should I add? When the weather warms I will check the suspension and steering box adjustment also. I have never worked on VW’s before so this will be a new experience, my experience level does range from Corvairs to Cadillacs and every make of motorcycle so how hard can it be? Thank you.
1. Take the weight out and redo your front beam. It needs height adjusters and you need to remove the small leaves.
2. Add a caster shim to the bottom tube.3. Look for a new/spare engine. Google GEX to understand why.One day when I was underneath my London roadster I noticed a 2 inch thick 8 in. by 10 in. steel or lead plate welded on to another one in the middle of the front of the car. It probably weighted 200lbs. I’m guessing it was put on there at the factory . Some of you guys might know if it was factory installed or aftermarket.
Geez, I’m a jerk.
Sorry, Red. My post was way too tart. So, starting again:WELCOME TO TD REPLICA WORLD!You’ll find a lot of honest help and encouragement here. These cars are really diamonds in the rough, and with a few little tweaks they drive and handle very well.There is some disagreement regarding the weight question. A lot of these cars so have some front end ballast & it does them no (or little, anyway) harm. I am in the camp that says it is unnecessary.*One of the main knocks on the VW-based TDs is that–in most cases–the kit manufacturer instructed that the beam be “cut and turned” to lower the body over the front suspension. This was seen as a quick and easy way to get the ride height correct, because the Beetle’s front sheet metal (200 pounds worth, at least) was removed and the car’s center of gravity moved further rearward by the relocation of the seats aft.The problem with this (typical, though by no means universal) diktat was that it left the front suspension way too stiff for the amount of weight on it. The addition of some ballast (in some kits) does little to improve matters.The better fix is to reduce the spring rate by taking out some of the torsion leaves. Many of our members have done this and no one, to my knowledge, has regretted it. (The other surprising thing that makes a huge difference is tire inflation: you want less than 20 pounds in the front tires; I run 14 most of the time. The rears are maybe 25 or 26). With the front suspension fixed that way you’ll find the car much more pleasant to drive–and it will handle much better as well.Here is my step-by-step on the process. The adjusters cost about $25 for the pair and must be welded in, one at a time, by a pro. The full adjustable beam is a stock item at Chirco and Cip1, retailing for $300 (I just went for the whole beam; if I had it to do again I would have gone for a 2-inch narrowed one). Some guys have gotten away by just removing leaves, finding the suspension height comes right just by doing that. It might work that way for you too if you also take out the weight.The caster shim is a simple, $7 part available at your VW retailer. I think you can install them by just loosening the four bolts that hold the beam on and sliding them in from underneath the lower tube. They really help with stability at speed–assuming your ball joints and tie rod ends are all in good shape.Regarding the GEX. Sorry, again. Not every engine GEX makes blows up within hours, and I’ve had no personal experience with them. You may never need to replace your engine.But the company really does have a bad rep in the VW world.Good luck with your new TD! These things are wicked fun and everyone you meet on the road loves them.*My kit is among the lightest and it seems to be made with an especially extreme rear weight bias, and yet it does not feel flighty on the highway–even at 75 mph–and on a short auto-x track it behaves very predictably and pretty well.edsnova2013-12-14 18:03:02
greg press wrote:One day when I was underneath my London roadster I noticed a 2 inch thick 8 in. by 10 in. steel or lead plate welded on to another one in the middle of the front of the car. It probably weighted 200lbs. I’m guessing it was put on there at the factory . Some of you guys might know if it was factory installed or aftermarket.Greg –I beleive it was factory installedI had that same weights on my London Roadster. she kept bottoming out on bumps and scrubing the fenders. Rather than mess with the coil over shocks( I couldnt get a striaght answere on replacement shocks-remember my chassiss is not a VW pan ) I toook one weight off and that solved one problem ..Yes she is kinda light in the front end but I never go over 50mph in the’86 rebuilt ’72 dual port 1776 flat 4.Ok I can hear the moans and groans now ..:Pjebarry2013-12-16 16:01:26
50 mph? You never go over 50?? ….and my kids tell me that I drive like an old man!
Moan! Groan!Royal wrote:50 mph? You never go over 50?? ….and my kids tell me that I drive like an old man!Moan! Groan!hahaha its safer for evryone …John, that may be, but if your car feels “light” above 50mph, there’s something to fix. Mine does not feel light even at 75, and I am very much of the opinion that TDrs ought to be highway-driveable. We need to analyze your front suspension & isolate the problem.
Do you know what your alignment specifications are?
Ed -Thanks …I dont know the Alignment spec..- being it is LR custom chassis ..I guess I shouldnt say light ..when its windy I do have to pay attention to the detail of driving keep her stright on the road again I dont think its bad but I have neevr driven another TDr…hopefully one of these days I can get up with Roy ..cuz I wanted to see if we had the same type tub..I would love (in the future )to get a fold down windsheild and racing screens(for looks only
)Once you get them, you have to race. Otherwise you can’t look the guy in the TD next to yours in the goggles.
John,
I am quite sure that the LR and Daytona MIGI fiberglass is identical. LRs had more bling in the form of pin striping and they modified the front end and as you know they “embiggened” (thanks Ed) the VW engine to 1776cc so that it could get all the way up to 50 mph before going airborne. 😆Converting to a fold down windscreen on our TDs is not easy and would involve fiberglass work and painting. I think that you would be getting up close to $2k in parts, paint etc before it was done. I considered it and decided that to impress all the folks at the show, I’d just tell them that Ed’c car was mine. …it’s a heck of a lot cheaper.By the way, if you really want to be cool, like Ed with his Brookland racing screens, you have to go to Carlisle. It’s not cool pedaling around Oak Island at 26 mph with Brooklands.And don’t forget the “Snoopy” hat and goggles!!
Allen Caron
VW based 53MGTD - "MoneyPenny"
"If one thing matters, everything matters" - from the book The Shack🙂
Royal wrote:John,I am quite sure that the LR and Daytona MIGI fiberglass is identical. LRs had more bling in the form of pin striping and they modified the front end and as you know they “embiggened” (thanks Ed) the VW engine to 1776cc so that it could get all the way up to 50 mph before going airborne. 😆Converting to a fold down windscreen on our TDs is not easy and would involve fiberglass work and painting. I think that you would be getting up close to $2k in parts, paint etc before it was done. I considered it and decided that to impress all the folks at the show, I’d just tell them that Ed’c car was mine. …it’s a heck of a lot cheaper.By the way, if you really want to be cool, like Ed with his Brookland racing screens, you have to go to Carlisle. It’s not cool pedaling around Oak Island at 26 mph with Brooklands.RoyThanks- I thought I saw a picture of your TDr on your photos site with a fold down windshield or a Daytona Migi with same .It always fun dream !🙂John, See what I mean about it being so much cheaper to pose with Ed’s car? You must have seen a picture of me drooling over Ed’s. My MiGi doesn’t have a folding windscreen. The only ones that I am familiar with that do are Ed’s SubiTDr, Happy Jack’s 2332 Firebreather, and Wobby’s (I think). 2 BCW’s and Wobby’s Allison.
There was a guy on this board before i joined who remade his car’s windshield to fold down and put the wiper motor on top too. He went away just about then, but the pics are still around. Wish I could remember his handle.
yea but did he run the electric wires through the inside of the windshield frame as you did? That was a true piece of work Sir Ed!
Allen Caron
VW based 53MGTD - "MoneyPenny"
"If one thing matters, everything matters" - from the book The ShackRoyal wrote:John, See what I mean about it being so much cheaper to pose with Ed’s car? You must have seen a picture of me drooling over Ed’s. My MiGi doesn’t have a folding windscreen. The only ones that I am familiar with that do are Ed’s SubiTDr, Happy Jack’s 2332 Firebreather, and Wobby’s (I think). 2 BCW’s and Wobby’s Allison.Royok my bad ..eyesight .I still like your windshield side plates/ braces whatever you call it.do they fit over the outside of the frame or what ?wonder if they would fit over my side of the frameAnywaythxz for the info..Here’s a close up. They are not “plates” over the extended frame but do look a bit more TD’er than the frame with the extended leg??
thx Roy
would it be easy occasionally to remove your
windshieldif one had the racing screens ?thxzOriginal Daytona TD sales brochures advertised that a folding windshield was an option. I didn’t think that I had it since I had studied Ed’s and Jack’s BCW and my brackets are slightly different. The windshield to frame rubber is quite different and I didn’t have any wingnuts holding the frame to the brackets. Also, I have an aluminum windshield frame.
I saw a Daytona on eBay that advertised a folding windshield. Looked just like my TDr. Sent him a message and he responded and sent pictures.A couple of times over the years I have sat and studied my TDr and decided that the windshield would not fold. The angles just didn’t look right. …..and I was hesitant to try it since I was worried that the bolts that hold the windshield to the brackets would be age frozen (my term) in place, and that removing the bolts would take out enough of the aluminum threads from the frame that I could not put them back in and snug up.
I was wrong.
All you have to do if you have brackets like mine (which are almost, but not identical to real TD’s) is remove the top bolt and loosen the bottom nut 1/4 turn. Takes less than 5 minutes.
Now I have to re-mount my wind wings since I wasn’t thinking about folding the windshield when I installed them.
Now, I’m (almost) as cool as Ed and Jack.
Maybe time for a Brooklands for Christmas.
Very cool Roy!
That bracket design looks like it could be adapted for any TDr with a fixed windscreen.Paul Mossberg
Former Owner of a 1981 Classic Roadsters Ltd. Duchess (VW)
2005 Intermeccanica RoadsterIf you own a TDr and are not in the Registry, please go to https://tdreplica.com/forums/topic/mg-td-replica-registry/ and register (you need to copy and paste the link)
Paul, yes, I agree. The biggest problem I see is that my upside-down lazy “T” brackets are no longer available. They are rather heavy aluminum and could be cast quite easily assuming a foundry could be located and two sample brackets could be obtained.
HA! Nice, Roy! Welcome to the fold-flat windshield club.
Love those numbers too. You are in the lead!
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