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I have been reading here for a while and on 4-25-10 I got my first kit car. Its 1949 MG TD made by Design Classics. On a 1966 VW. The car drives but was never finished. No doors , top, engine cover, bumpers and some of the stuff that was put on dosent work. Im supposed to have all of the parts so it shoud work out, I hope. I dont know when the Kit was made or the car started. I got it at a auction and I havent tracked the owner down yet. Any way I just wanted to say Hi. And Im sure I will be back looking for help.
Charlie, It’s good to have you on the forum. Ask all the questions you need answered and ask as often as you need too. Lots of experience and information here but we all are still learning so there are no dumb questions though I do sometimes give answers that are not always right. Either way ,we all learn from each other and have lots of fun in the process. Post some pictures when you can ,we really enjoy seeing them.
Welcome aboard Charlie.
Ask away! You will find plenty of help here.
I’ve been around this hobby a long time. But I’ve never hard of “Design Classics”. So I’d like to see some pics too!
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 for the welcome. Im going to try and get the car home on Monday. Then I will take some pictures and post them. The assembly manual that came with the car says that Design Classics Inc was in Litchfield Minnsota. But I cant find any listing for them now. I did get a phone No. for the man who owned the car so Im going to give him a call and see what I can find out.
Well I got the car home last week and went to get the new Title and tags. They would not sell them to me becouse nothing on the title showed the body change. They told me I had to get the state to inspect it. I called and a tropper came to do the inspection and I was told that the man that put the car togather would have to get the title change made. To do so he would have to have a bill of sale for the body. I contaced him and he didnt have a bill of sale and when he taged the car he just got a tag for a 66 VW. Its a mess right now. I hope to get it worked out so I dont have to return the car.
Charlie, You are not getting off to a good start. It’s a shame that someone’s quick fix has left you with a mess. I’ve heard of just using the donor car title by others ,but it seems to cause a problem sooner or later.I hope the seller will do right and that you can work something out to get your car on the road in a legally.
If all else fails and you get stuck with it,I guess you could buy a cheap VW that is titled in your state , just to get the title and go the same route as the previous owner. I would only do this as a last resort if all else fails.
However, if the seller cannot provide you with a clear title,you should be able to get your money back,hopefully without a lot of hassle. I wish you good luck, keep us informed as how this is resolved could help someone in the future. Larry
In Vermont they used my insurance company designation as the proper model and car. You might use that. Also has anyone thought of regirstering these in easier states and then transfering them.
Above is my car. It had its last inspection last night and passed. I got tags and title today. I think every thing was done right this time so the next buyer wont have the problems that I had. Any way now its time to start having fun working on getting it finished up and driving it.
Its a good day.Yep, But the doors are the first thing that are going on. I sure dont want to take the gran kids for a ride with out them.
Conratulations Charlie;
I have a couple questions on your inspection.Do you have reverse lights?and emergency flashers?
I know every state is different as well as what the inspectors mood is on the day of inspection.Just trying to get a feel if mine is going to pass.I plan on having the reverse lights,just no provision for flashers.
Buzz they really didnt check any of that stuff. The inspection was really just to get the title corrected becouse the man that put the car togather had done it wrong. I do have flashers but I dont have back up lights.
Im in need of some advise for installing the engin cover. My book says that the engine cover should sit 1 1/2 inches lower than the top of the main body. My engine wont let me do that. It looks to me as though the boby sits to low in the back. Would putting on new shocks fix this? Or do I need to do more or have a diffrent problem? Im going to try and attach some photos so you can see what Im talking about.
It;s hard to tell from pictures, but in your side view, the rear of teh body does seem to be sittinga bit low.
This is going to sound like an odd question…but do the doors fit the opening correctly?
Here’s why I’m asking.
From the door openings forward, there is really no way the body can be assembled incorrectly. It all rests on the VW pan.
But the rear body alignment relies on how the rear-most bodywork is supported. If the rear of the body is not supported at the proper height, it will pull the door openings (essentially the rear door jamb gets tilted backward), so the door will not fit the opening correctly.
Try the doors and see.
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 Paul. Keeping in mind that I am very new at this so somthing that looks right to me may well not be right, the doors to me look right. I need to get the car up in the air so I can see just what is going on under it.
Charlie,
I’ve checked with some other sources and cannot find much about Design Classics. Here’s what I’ve got:
Deign Classics built replicas of the MG-TD and the 1957 Thunderbird in their Minnetonka, Minnesota factory in the early 1980s. Their MG replica was called the eMGe and fit on a VW chassis. The Teebird also bolted to a VW pan and left plenty of luggage room up front where the engine should have been.
The company is long gone
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)
Charlie,You are making good progress, this is just a small bump in the road.
Your car looks very much like the Fiber-Fab/ CMC kits though I’m glad that Paul did the research on Design Classics ,that was a company that I had not known about. I looked in the members photo gallery at several Fiber-Fab cars and it seems that the alignment of the engine cover varies from car to car. I agree with Paul that the rear of your body appears a little low ,but untill you get the bumper and splash pan brackets in place, it will be difficult to know just how the engine cover will fit. Also depending on whether you are going to use the spare tire to cover the hole in the engine cover will need to be decided as well. You may be able to enlarge the opening where it contacts the air cleaner or go to a different type . The clearence between the gen/alternator is close at best on these cars.Don’t drill holes till you get the exact position determined.
Larry thanks for the info. It sounds like I better change the order in which I was going to do stuff. I had planned on starting the doors this week. Next would be the engin cover and last was to be the bumpers and splash pan. Part of the reason for waiting on the bumpers and pan is becouse I have no idea how to put them on. Sounds like I better start trying to figure it out. I have figured out that i do need new shocks on the back. What would you suggest and were would you suggest to get them.
Charlie, I think the doors would be the place to start, If they fit the openings when you hold them in the proper position against the rear door jams, then the body is most likely mounted in the proper position on the VW pan.. If the doors fit ,then mount the bumper brackets and see if the splash pan clears the muffler with enough space to prevent the fiber glass from getting too hot. It may be necessary to do some adjusting to get everything to line up properly.
About the rear shocks,I would wait till you get these other issues worked out,as the shocks have no effect on the fit of these parts.
If the doors do not fit ,I am going to let Paul advise you on how to correct that problem.He and Mark [Pink MG] are much more qualified than I to answer the really techinical stuff.
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