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Excellent work Gabe. Keep up the great work.
Allen Caron
VW based 53MGTD - "MoneyPenny"
"If one thing matters, everything matters" - from the book The ShackWhat do you call a car that has an MG TD body, with Mustang steering, suspension, engine, transmission, differential, brakes and seats?
Why it’s a MustanG-TD, of course.
That’s awesome!
And looks better there than on a Mustang IIPaul 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)
Well, that’s the first thing I’ve seen you do I do not approve of. That does not belong there…I do hope you’re kidding.
Bill Ascheman
Fiberfab Ford
Modified 5.0, 5sp., 4:11
Autocross & Hillclimb
"Drive Happy"I’m with you, Gabe, but I’d go a step further. Find another to match that one, and mount them on either side just in front of the doors. Or maybe on the rear someplace.
1981 Lafer TI
1600 cc Type 1 engineGet another one and mount them under the windshield posts where the union jack cloissons get mounted. Then you’d have an MGTD Poney!
I will say I like how your grille looks. Nice and shiney.newkitman2013-10-10 13:28:27Allen Caron
VW based 53MGTD - "MoneyPenny"
"If one thing matters, everything matters" - from the book The ShackThe radiator shroud and grill is 26 years old but I did run it by a buffing wheel to get rid of a lot of small scratches. The light blue compound works best for stainless.
Stainless?
The grill is not chrome plated brass?
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)
Entire radiator shroud and each grill bar is stainless. When I received it, there was no lip towards the back for the bonnet sides to attach to. I had to add them. The whole thing looked like a prototype. The bars are thin stainless and were poorly welded to thin cross strips top and bottom. About a third were broken lose.
Kit was CMC with serial number starting with a zero, but I don’t know if CMC used the ones digit of the year like Fiberfab later did. I was told the kit is from about 1987.Nice.
I wasn’t doubting you Gabe.
But I WAS surprised!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)
I was just giving background as there seems to be a lot of interest on here in the differences between the various kit makers’ approaches.
Gabe,
Thanks for the encouragement. What size tubing did you use for the frame build? Since my kit is vw based do you know if width dimensions
would be the same as a Pinto/Chevette based kit?
Regards
MelvinI used 1-1/2 X 3 box 11 GA rectangular tubing. I welded extra gussets and straps on the outside of every main joint. Finished frame, including Mustang II crossmember is 200 pounds. The original frame was for a chevette and was made out of 2X4 1/8 inch tube. Extremely heavy, probably over 400 pounds. I can measure the body on my kit if you want. Just tell me which dimension you want. You can find the full specs including track and wheelbase for almost any car at
http://www.automobile-catalog.com/Thanks Gabe for the info and a really great looking car. Your fenders cover the tires nicely. The kit is in “cold” storage now so I don’t know yet what dimensions to ask for. I’m suspecting the vw kit may not be as wide as yours. I have built a couple chassis before and I have installed Mustang II type front suspensions as well. When it warms a bit I’ll pull the body and fenders and start to look at where to start.
Regards
MelvinThe fenders cover the tires nicely because the Ford Focus wheels have a whole lot of offset. The original 13″ Mustang wheels stuck out almost 2 inches.
According to AutomobileCatalog.com
VW rear track is 53.1
Mustang II rear track is 55.8
Chevette rear track is 51.2
52 MG TD rear track is 50.My guess is that these fiberglass bodies were originally designed for the VW conversion, that”s why they all have the fake gas tank big enough to hide a VW flat 4 engine.
Yup. Kit makers modded the glass bodies to work with a front-engine layout. They left the “gas tanks” alone, mostly.
Gabe,
Is your shifter in a good location to reach from your seating position?
Also, how much kick-up is in the frame, front/rear? How far in front of the cowl did you start the kick-up?
Thanks for your reply.
Mel
I’ll start a build post soon.Shifter is in exact location as originally designed by CMC. Matter of fact, I located the shifter in the middle of the shifter opening in the body pan and located the engine/transmission from that point forward. It’s quite comfortable at that spot. I have an Autocad sideview of the frame somewhere…..
Gabe,
Thanks for the drawing. Did you set the frame with the middle section parallel with the ground? I’m thinking the 77 degree angle on the front kick up is for caster with crossmember welded flat with that section (or what is the caster in degrees).
Also I tried to start my build topic but I don’t think it is posted.
Any advice on getting it started.
Thanks
MelThe bottom of the frame is exactly 5″ from the ground, front to back. That’s with 24″ diameter tires. The Mustang II (and Pinto) crossmember has a flat bottom and an angled top. It’s important to make sure that the bottom is parallel to the ground and not the top. That is why the front frame member is angled front to back. Yes it’s to tilt the top control arm back. If you would want more ground clearance then the front arms would have to be lower along with the back suspension. Somewhere back in my build thread I discussed the setup, but I think that I spaced the crossmember bottom 1 1/4″ higher than the frame bottom.
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