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This is a CMC Chevette based kit bought in 1987 and never started. I bought the kit on Ebay for an undisclosed price. It is a complete kit less seat foam and tonneau cover. Everything else seems to be still included. Here it is clamped together to get an idea of the look of a complete car.
The body, as other owners of FF/CMC know, is a double walled top body that loosely fits into a bottom shell that fits between the two top shells. Kinda like an upside down tupperware bowl that is too small for the lid. I don’t like this sloppy fit and am going to recut the bottom shell so it fits the top inner shell exactly. I will then glass the top and bottom together in a clean plane all the way around. This way I will end up with a stronger body shell that is one-piece, water and air tight, but the best part is that the one-piece body can be removed from the frame. Another problem with the FF design is that the firewall is incomplete and is built around a hoop that stands up from the chassis frame. I can understand the use of this hoop with the wooden MG, but not a modern fiberglass one. Properly build, the glass cockpit should be strong enough to hold the steering, pedals and windshield without a steel bow. I’ve been around fiberglass boats all my life and have never seen a steel frame holding up the top of the cockpit.
This shot show the poor fit of the hood to the sides. When the gap on the right side is pulled closed, the gap on the left side between hod and side panel is about 1/2 inch. I will have to extend the hood side to make this fit. Also, the hood seems to have been taken out of the mold to soon and has lost a lot of it’s curve. I had to glass in an arch to get the curvature back. Another problem is that the hood has developed bumps all over. I certainly hope that it is a shrinking caused
problem and not the infamous gelcoat bubbles.I have an un built FF/CMC VW kit . It has a metal bracket that bolts to the firewall to hold steering shaft.
When you are doing your work post some pictures as the build progresses. I would like to see pictures of frame .
What engine are you going to use ?
I look forward to following your build too!
For what it’s worth, Classic Roadsters Ltd. agreed with you! Other than front and rear sub-frames supporting the body, there is no steel in the body, under the cowl or anywhere else.
So your plan seems sound to me!
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)
Planning to attend Carlisle..
Engine: Presently planning to use a 60 degree V6: Ford 2.8, 2.9 or 4.0 fit this and so does the Chevy 2.8/3.4. The choice of engine can be delayed for a while. I will definitely use a stock Mustang II front and rear suspension, already bought and stripped a donor car for those parts.g,
Being that your kit is a CMC who bought Fiberfab, the kit has (or had at one time) scribe lines on the parts. I have three scribe lines on my front hood. The scribe lines are where you are supposed to cut the body parts to fit. Check out your parts and see if you don’t have the scribe lines. Also what might be helpfull would be to use the Download Manuals tab on the left and take a look at the assembly manual for your car. There are assembly manuals for ford and chey based TDs as well as vw based. And they have some pretty handy tips for assembling the kit. Even though I have a Fiberfab VW based TD I have read the other manuals to get a better insight of how these cool ars go together.I like how your build is coming. I and some other members are building our kits as well and you are doing a great job. Keep it up and keep us posted.newkitman2012-12-05 08:15:39
Allen Caron
VW based 53MGTD - "MoneyPenny"
"If one thing matters, everything matters" - from the book The ShackHere is a collection of Mustangs parts getting sandblasted…and making a new beach in my driveway.
The infamous Mustang II crossmember. I can personally verify that it’s popularity has nothing to do with it’s ease of removal. It was truly a PITA to cut it out of the donor and then to cut and grind off the unibody frame pieces out of the crossmember. However, I am taking advantage of it’s other reasons for popularity: a good working geometry and long-term availability of parts.
Before you go to the trouble to install those springs I recommend the installation of coil overs. These simply replace the factory shocks. #653 or #653A. The original Pinto/Mustang II springs are too tall and way too stiff for the lighter TD.
http://aldaneagle.com/shocks.html
One other recommendation would be spindles. This is personal preference to ride height.
http://www.heidts.com/mustang_ii_2_dropped_steel_spindles.html
Just a suggestion. Check them out.
Bill Ascheman
Fiberfab Ford
Modified 5.0, 5sp., 4:11
Autocross & Hillclimb
"Drive Happy"$390 for springs and shocks are more than I have budgeted for those two items. I’ve read a lot of the streams here and have followed this link before. I also read advice here about using a minimum strength spring in the front so I don’t plan on using the stock ones. For ride height, I can weld the crossmember at any height so I wasn’t planning on drop spindles. I’m going to do a dry fit before I weld so I’ll know then if I really need drop spindles or not. I did use drop spindles in my 68 C-10 and really like the result. Thanks for the response.
Here are fronts suspension parts blasted, primed and painted, ready for bushings and ball joints.
Enjoying your build journey. You seem to be on the right track and have the experience to build something special. A weakness of my 2.3 liter Ford based kit is the brakes since they are manual. There isn’t any room for a power booster. Just a little caution. I can’t imagine building anything with high horsepower with these brakes.
The discussion of manual vs. power brakes continues here:
Now…back to Alfred.
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)
My thoughts on brakes:
First of all, I’m going with a V6, so I would not call that high HP. (I’m not using a Buick Grand National V6).
When I build a car, I always replace 100% of the brake parts. The capability of the car to stop is mainly a factor of the quality of these parts. The difference in my future car between power brakes and manual brakes is the effort expended on the foot pedal. They will both use the same rotor, pad, drum, shoe, and master cylinder. I plan to build this car light (but safe) so the inertia will be much less than with a heavy frame carrying a heavy V8.
Finally, if after I’m done building it and it turns out that the brakes are inadequate, I will still have several options. One is to go 4 wheel disks, second is to get much bigger rotors. Finally I can look at using a hydraulic booster setup, which is much smaller than vacuum but requires a power steering pump. One of the reasons that I decided to make a unified body is to be able to separate the body from the frame for any major redesign.Your brakes should be more than adequate.
The capability to install the front crossmember at any given height is a definite plus.Changing the springs to a light aftermarket setup will give you the ride quality you’ll enjoy.Bill Ascheman
Fiberfab Ford
Modified 5.0, 5sp., 4:11
Autocross & Hillclimb
"Drive Happy"Gabor: If you’ve not yet got a v6 for this puppy, some guy in DEL just posted one for $100. (No relation; just happend across it)
http://baltimore.craigslist.org/pts/3450920713.html
jz232-3450920713@sale.craigslist.org[?]
Early mercury capri v6 engine. These were installed in 70’s capri’s
that were made in Germany.It was popular during this period to minstall
these narrow v-6’s in small sports cars like MG, Sunbean Alpines, etc.
The weight factor was lighter than the heavy 4 cyl engines and of course
there was greater performance. These engines were built to last and
many did, but the car bodies that houised the v-6’s just rotted away
well before the engines could ever wear out. They are great canditates
for installations on before polution controlled cars that used a
carburetor, not fuel injection.. They are very compact and have a narrow
v-6 with imprint, which made them so desireable at the time. I sold the
trans but have the engine for some performance minded person who wants
alittle more out of his older sports car or whatever changes he has in
mind. Where can you get a v-6 German quality built engine for $100.
These engines came in 2200 nand 2400cc and this is the earlier model
2200cc. Give me a call if you have any questions about this engine. Call
302 593 1668. Jimedsnova2012-12-13 21:30:32
I have a date tomorrow to pick up a complete 1983 2.8 Ranger engine in Front Royal. Same 60 degree block but a few years newer. BTW, this same block was later a 2.9 and then the popular 4.0 used in many Rangers and Explorers. The 2.8 was the last to be carburetor fed.
Big milestone yesterday. I’ve finally stopped taking things apart and degreasing them and started putting the new front end together.
I made a shock absorber dummy out of a threaded rod and 3 inches of pipe so I could set the crossmember height. The bottom of it ended up 6 1/4 inches from the floor. The bigger plywood platform is 5 inches tall and will be used to lay out the frame at that height. This is the equivalent of a 1 1/4″ drop spindle.
Next step: I plan on making a dummy frame out of wood to make sure everything fits before I make the real one. Then I’ll have an exact model to copy the angles and lengths. I’m more of a woodworker than a car builder so this is easy for me.
I’m not familiar with the piece on the rear of the crossmember. The piece with the arms on it that appear to be
body mounts. My FF kit does not have that. I see that the factory Ford lower control arm strut rods are not presented.
Not quite sure how that gets assembled.Bill Ascheman
Fiberfab Ford
Modified 5.0, 5sp., 4:11
Autocross & Hillclimb
"Drive Happy"On the Mustang that crossarm is what the strut rods connect to and the whole assembly serves as an additional isolation bushing to the subframe. I left it together to help in locating to location of the strut bushing hole and will probably only use that part of the structure welded to the new frame. You are right, my next step is to bolt on the strut arms.
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