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Hi Folks,
I posted on this forum with my “Fred Flintstone” floor pans back in 2010. Delays and a couple of surgeries took me out of commission for a while, but a few days ago the wife and I actually began the project. Today we got the body lifted off the chassis. After the floor pans and general clean up, we plan to put in a new dash, do some body work on the fenders and paint them black, put in a new stereo and speakers, etc. We took lots of pictures and labeled just about everything, but I’m sure I will be asking a lot of questions when it is time to put stuff back together. I have been lurking here the last few weeks, reading with interest everything related to what we are doing. I was especially blown away by the job Rockyx did back in 2011! Paul, thanks for posting the Duchess manuals and for the advice via the phone call back in 2010. Maybe this project will finally get done.
Jim
I second that!
Glad to hear you are back on your feet and back in the garage!
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)
Thanks guys! It’s good to be back. I am actually thinking about using the Duchess to take a little of the load off our Durango. We need the Durango as a tow vehicle, but it only gets 10 mpg in town and that hurts! I am hoping the Duchess will work for quick trips to the store, etc. plus a few smiles along the way. I plan to add a few photos as the work progresses, but I am humbled by the quality of work I have seen on this forum! It has inspired me to try to limit my Red Green Show fixes.
Learned a lot watching that show.
Bill Ascheman
Fiberfab Ford
Modified 5.0, 5sp., 4:11
Autocross & Hillclimb
"Drive Happy"It really is a how-to teach-a-thon. I always change my own oil now.
Wow – that video reminded me of getting the body off the Duchess!
Only got a couple of hours in tonight, got the rest of the old pans cut out.
You’ll love driving your car. I’ve just had mine for a month and it’s already become my daily driver when it’s nice weather and I’ve not got it apart working on it.
Love your garage… Glad to see I’m not the only person that has to stand nose to nose with a project to work on it. Where do we get all this crap?!
Congrats on the progress Jim!I love that picture of the Duchess body floating in mid air! A testament to the strength of the Classic Roadsters body.
When you build the car from the kit, the body goes together from the VW pan up. It’s not preassembled, then dropped onto the pan. So you never get to see the body alone.PMOSSBERG2013-06-20 10:22:33
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)
Dick, wish I knew where all that junk in the garage came from. It seems to multiply at night!
Paul, the body pulled up real nice – it was completely removed by just the wife and me. This is actually turning into some good quality time – with both of us working on the Duchess. My wife even tried a little welding. Guess I’ll be naming the car after her…:lol:
Looking at the picture of the Duchess suspended in the air, where was your hoisting point on the fiberglass body?
I used tie down straps – the front strap is attached to a piece of angle iron that is fastened inside the body near the front of the car. The rear straps are attached to where the door hinges are mounted. (Doors have been removed).
The front and rear straps were raised at the same time by using 2 come-alongs and two people.
The come-alongs are attached to 4×4’s, that are laying across several of the roof trusses.I hope to be able to drop (poor choice of words) the body back onto the chassis in the next week. Work keeps interfering with play…
Man is it hot in the Ville! Makes it difficult to get much done, but we have made some progress.
The Duchess lowered back onto the chassis without incident, and all holes lined up – yea! Brakes have been reconnected, as has the steering. We fashioned a new dash out of Lauan, stained and sealed it up, and placed it in front of the original fiberglass dash. Replaced the original lights with blue LED’s.
Next thing on the list is the wiring. I have a feeling there will be hours and hours of trouble-shooting ahead.
I’m located just south of the ville in Bardstowm. I have a Fiberfab and one built by Kyana Shriners. Lets get together some time.
Sounds good Dennis! We have gotten down your way a few times, once on the motorcycle. I am hoping the Duchess will be running before too many more weeks, but still lots to do on it.
Jim
Jim: Big thumbs-up on the dash!
Gorgeous! Is that a map light in the center? And just what’s involved in switching the gauge lights to LEDs?1981 Lafer TI
1600 cc Type 1 engineThanks Bill. It was quite a learning process, as this whole project has been. The first time we stained the dash, we sprayed it with a “clear coat” with UV protector. Turned the dash milky white. Sanded and stained again. The stain is a red mahogany, a Minwax product. We finished it off with a Minwax Polycrylic. It is supposed to render a high gloss with a hard surface to resist scratches. Seemed like a good idea at the time. We read the label AFTER applying the poly, and it says – don’t use over red mahogany stain! It didn’t hurt anything, it just turned our red mahogany into more of a walnut stain. Wish I’d paid more attention in shop class!
Yes, that is a map light. It still has its original bulb, and the turn signal lights are still original. I read somewhere that turn signals (the flasher) don’t play nice with LED’s unless there is some kind of load resistor or something added. I switched out the dash lights because a couple of the old ones broke when I was trying to remove them. Decided to go with the LED’s for something different. I got them from ebay, and they are already rated for 12 volts. (There is a very tiny resistor in the base). I soldered them in, and used a dab of hot glue to hold them in place. I ended up going with LED’s with 3 emitters, as the light seems to spread out better in the gauges. Here is the type we used; http://www.ebay.com/itm/130922237805?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649 Hopefully Monday we will begin installing the dash and hooking up the wiring harnesses. More learning ahead.Like this one. While here, see all the other LEDs…
http://www.superbrightleds.com/search/led-vehicle-replacement-bulbs/flasher/
PMOSSBERG2013-07-21 20:33:42
I put LED turn & park lamps on my Dutchess. You do need to use blinker compatible with LED.
No trees were injured in the making of this message, but some electrons were inconvenienced.
Hadn’t thought about using LED’s for any external lights… Might have to look into that. At present, I don’t even know how many external lights work/don’t work. Wiring starts today!
I got ready to install the gas tank the other day, and found it had rust inside. A search of the internet turned up several methods, but I opted for the scientific approach. Arm and Hammer Washing Soda, a battery charger, and a piece of steel. Not having anything else on hand, I used a coat hanger for the steel. The water started to bubble almost immediately, and the photo showing the rust was after one hour in the solution. I replaced the hanger after a couple of hours, and have cleaned the second hanger a few times. It seems to be working well.
Pretty cool. Looking forward to the final results!
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)
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