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Thought about adding weight to the front of the TD. Just wondering if a 13 gallon water tank from a humidified filled with sand and clamped into the grill shell would add enough weight. What are your thoughts?
newkitman 40845.8069097222 Allen Caron
VW based 53MGTD - "MoneyPenny"
"If one thing matters, everything matters" - from the book The ShackAllen, compare the dimensions of that water tank to this….
Classic Roadsters Ltd. provided a fiberglass box that sits up front, behind the grill.
It holds 150 pounds of sand. I know. I filled it and had to manually lift it across those broad fenders over the side panels and gently lower it into the trunk.
The dimensions:
11 inches front to back
16 5/8″ wide at the front
22 5/8″ wide at the back
12″ (approx) deepThe template for the wood top is on page 5 of this PDF in our Download Manuals section. It gives you some idea of the shape.
Classic Roadsters also recommended bags with sand, putting them into burlap to protect them and stuffing them under the front trunk floor. You get another 80 pounds of ballast that way.
This was their short cut to the softening of the front suspension. But when I asked, the boys in the shop also said it was an attempt to return a little more weight distribution to the front of the car.
Anyway, I did the fiberglass box, but not the extra 80 pounds under teh floor. The ride of my Duchess is firm, but bearable.
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)
Phil,
This is part of what I was getting at when I posted about weight redistribution. In particular, moving the battery all the way forward. But there is something that makes me uncomfortable about having the battery in the same compartment as the fuel tank.
Are you still running with all 10 torsion leaves in each torsion tube?
There is a quite large void under the gas tank on my Daytona MIGI that I discovered when I had to access the bolts that allowed removal of the master cylinder. Seems like I could just “fill er up” (???) with sand. I have fallen behind on my work since I caught cold and we are getting company. Hopefully in a week or two, I’ll get back to the torsion leaf project.
Roy
Roy
If you used lead pigs ? from a metal scrap yard smaller with more weight for the size and may be easier to adjust in a position you need just a thought ,,, Dan
The humidifier tank is the same stuff milk jugs are made of. UV and ozone breaks it down over time. You might want to make the box out of stouter stuff.
A friend of mine bolted two 1-inch thick, rectangular steel plates to the bottom of the forward trunk area where the stock body bolted to the front beam. That may also add the weight and still leave room for actual storage.
Paul, I’ll take a look at the Duchess box you mentioned. No way you could have added the sand AFTER you installed the box? Lot of heavy lifting…you da man!
Roy, I plan on installing my battery underneath the passenger seat like on the original Bug. Real short lead to the starter.
Allen Caron
VW based 53MGTD - "MoneyPenny"
"If one thing matters, everything matters" - from the book The ShackRoyal, yes, I have all ten leaves in the front suspension. I figure you deserve an answer even tho you like calling me Phil!
Allen, Correction… I WAS the man. I was 24 when I built my Duchess.
And odd as it sounds, no. After the sand goes in, you cut a plywood top. That drops into the box and you attached it by screwing through the sides of the box into the wood, then seal the wood to fiberglass joint with silicone.
You can’t get to the sides of the box after you drop it in. And there is not enough room to rotate the box within the side panels. So you have to fill and seal it before you drop it in. It was quite the moment when I lifted it over the fenders. I knew, just KNEW I was going to drop it. Thankfully I was wrong about that.
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, Sorry to hear about Phil. He was a great guy.
Thanks for the info on your “box”. I am really glad to hear you guys talking about ballasting your TD’s. It seemed to me that it would be a great idea to try and achieve a better weight balance. (Albeit at the expense of acceleration due to additional weight.) Somehow I got the impression that adding weight to the bow, was something that simply wasn’t done. Don’t know why I got the idea that you had removed leaves.
Roy Hendrix (NOT Hendrick)
If it helps.I scaled my MG awhile back,an old balance the pointer truck scale.
I came up with somthing like a total weight of 1650,660 front,and 900 on the rear.It was also a windy day and I think I wasn’t heavy enough to plant the scale.
Yes I know it doesn’t add up correctly.However,if my notes are correct stock Vdubs come in at-1764-1960,with a front weight of 600,and 1120 on the rear.
I have a box filled with lead welded to the front bottom of the pan head,not sure of exact weight guessing 75 pounds.I also have my gas tank (home built) 10 1/2 gallon apox.mounted up front behind the grill shell,but only had a couple gallons in it that day.
hope this helps
Tks oldbuzz. I really do not want my TD to ride like a 60’s Cadillac. I am very familiar with light cars, and like to feel the road. My very first car, in 1956, was a 1948 Crosley station wagon (a real chick magnet – NOT). The Crosley was so light/thin that you had to wear hearing protection when it sprinkled. Like sitting inside a drum. Then after a 55 Oldsmobile, back to little cars, a 1959 Bugeye Sprite. I’m going to play with the weight distribution and suspension a bit and am listening to what you all say here on the forum. I will try and keep you guys informed.
Roy
Just my 2 cents.
My car, a BCW, doesn’t have any ballast in the front. The original VW tank sits just ahead of the “firewall” and the battery is in a recessed box just forward of that, with the removable plywood “trunk” floor sitting atop it. I did make a custom tool box and fitted it into the space ahead of the battery and below the trunk floor. It weighs maybe 25 lbs all topped up.
According to the BCW brochure, claimed total curb weight is 1575 lbs, though I have not weighed her.
OK. So as to handling: when I bought her she had 10+ -year-old rubber all around, and all 10 leaves in each torsion tube, with the bottom tube cut and turned 30 degrees or so (as per the kit’s instructions) to lower the nose. She road like a brick, squealed on every turn I took faster than 5 mph, and steered about as well as a Flexible Flyer on a frozen lake. The brakes weren’t reliable either, but that is another story.
After I removed all six small torsion leaves from each front tube, and set the adjusters very near the bottom of their travel (i.e. to lift the nose), the car sat very nearly at the same stance she had originally. But the difference in ride quality and handling was remarkable. Even before replacing the tires, the understeer was nearly all gone. She no longer hammered over every bump. The turning squeals were much reduced. With new tires (and a brake job), Bridget was able to keep up with the Porsche guys in the twisties. Her weight distribution is almost certainly about 62 percent rear, 38 percent front, but she no longer feels radically unbalanced.
Assuming she weighs close to what’s advertised–and I do assume that, as she doesn’t feel embarrassingly slow despite her very modest, stock single-port, one carb engine–I conclude that weighing down the front end of these cars is unnecessary, and perhaps counter-productive in terms of performance. Installing an adjustable beam and setting the spring rate to match the (lighter) weight you have seems more logical, given the amount of power–both for going and for stopping–we’ve got available to us.
edsnova40846.4013425926
I agree w/ Ed – if you are going to add weight why not just add parts/tools
to a box in the front so you can repair on the road if needed. I removed my
small leaves and added tools/parts to the front and it drives and rides great.
Question for those with the battery in the trunk. How long are your bettery cables (both pos. and neg.) and where did you get them? If I follow the CMC assembly manual and put the battery box in front of the gas tank, I’d need what … a 30 foot positive and negative battery cable?
Allen Caron
VW based 53MGTD - "MoneyPenny"
"If one thing matters, everything matters" - from the book The Shack
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