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Hey, all –
Mickey Richaud here. Fairly recent owner of a Victor TF replica that is still unassembled. Originally bought in ’83, passed along to the guy’s brother, and I bought it from him earlier this year. The only thing done was to dry fit the body to the frame, run some of the brake lines, install the front and rear suspension, and prepare the wiring for installation. I have an MGB engine, which I will be rebuilding, and an overdrive transmission, which has been refreshed and is ready to go. Lots of extra parts came with the deal, and I’ve been sorting through those. Will no doubt have some questions for the group, and willing to share experiences as they arise.
Welcome aboard
1981 Fiberfab Factory built. 1974 VW donor 1600 cc motor, cream body with brown fenders, beige top.
Gold carpets, golden interior.Well news to me. First I didn’t know anything about the MG TD, much less replica, and now this. Been learning more and more since getting my MGTDr.
I see that dash board on the work bench. Any chance of those being octagonal, like originals?
Wheels seem to be original type. But I can only go by pictures I’ve seen.
Hope you get it on the road next year and not wait until the next. Should be plenty of fun driving.
Bob
Hi, Bob. Good eye on the dash. No, the gauges are from Speedhut. I’ve thought about trying to source some octagonal bezels to go around them, but not sure of the size, and the ones I’ve seen are prohibitive, cost-wise anyway.
The wheels that are on the car now are from an MGB – 14″ wires, and are in pretty sorry shape. The TF came with 48 spoke 15-inchers, and I’ll be putting a set of 60 spoke 15’s on it when I get to that point.
The body will be going to the painter after the first of the year, and I’ll be building the engine then. Will also get the frame finished and ready to put it all together. I don’t have a deadline, but hope to have it done sometime before next fall.
For those who aren’t familiar with the Victor, here’s a reprint of an article about it that Classic Motorsports did a while back: https://classicmotorsports.com/articles/first-class-fiberglass/
Great car and a great story.
I think that the story points up that each of us is somewhere on a line between the deep-pockets craftsman intent on having a museum-quality restoration and the low-budget Romeo who drives a rare old-time beater because it helps him pick up girls.
As one of our members says: “If you aren’t having fun, it’s your own fault.”
Welcome aboard Mickey!
The Victor TF replica is a beautiful car. Looking forward to seeing your progress!
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)
Welcome to the Family, Mickey! Real nice looking project, I can’t wait to see her completed!
Many thanks for the welcomes!
Way back in the ’70’s and ’80’s I had a hankering for a TD replica. Drove my wife crazy with all the talk about it, but we really didn’t have the necessary funds, so it didn’t happen. I was a VW nut back then, having a ’63 VW sunroof Beetle, then a ’64 Ghia convertible, both of which I built up with “massaged” powerplants. But I was always enamored with the MG mystique, especially the T series, all the way back to my youth in the ’50’s and ’60’s. Blame that book, The Red Car, which, I’m sure, many of you cut your teeth on, as I did way back in 1960.
Fast forward to a couple of decades ago when I acquired first a ’57 Triumph TR3, then a ’73 MGB roadster which I restored, then a ’69 MGB GT that I converted to a GM 3.4 V6 and 5 speed. Lots more to the story, of course, but won’t bore you with all that. Suffice to say I’ve restored several cars over the years, but have kept the two MG’s.
After retirement, I began thinking about one more project and lo and behold this one presented itself. I’m really excited about building this thing and doing it right. Thought about another 3.4 V6 for it, but that’s truly overkill. This will be all MG and at under 1700 pounds, with 100 +/- hp and overdrive, should be a blast to drive.
Welcome!
Great, another front engine replica. Looking forward to watching your build.
Bill Ascheman
Fiberfab Ford
Modified 5.0, 5sp., 4:11
Autocross & Hillclimb
"Drive Happy"Good on ya, Mickey! I’m sure you already know how rare and sought-after the Victor TF kit is. There’s a guy round my neck of the woods with one. From the MG Experience board I know there’s a guy in Colorado with one he just finished a few years back. With the exception of the afore-mentioned octagonal gauges (unobtanium) and the way the bonnet opens, the Victor is the spitting image. But with better drivability.
We’ll definitely cheer you on.
Just looked to see where Townsend is. Man, you have some wonderful roads in that area. You’re positioned just north of the Dragon. Almost jealous. Finish the car!!!
Bill Ascheman
Fiberfab Ford
Modified 5.0, 5sp., 4:11
Autocross & Hillclimb
"Drive Happy"Welcome aboard, Mickey! That’s a great find. I’ve been wanting to add one of those to my collection but they are as rare as hen’s teeth. There’s a guy around my area (it maybe the same guy that Ed’s talking about since Ed and I are close) that has one. He’s a little sketchy about the provenance when you talk to him about it but it’s a Victor, not an original TF. I’ve attached a couple of pics I took of his car at a local show. Bill and I saw him last summer at the PA British car show also but I didn’t take any pics then.
Vicenç - (bee sense)
Pembroke Pines, FL
1986 Aston - BCW Model 52 - "Montse II"(1983 FiberFab MiGi II - "Montse")
Many thanks for the welcome messages! I’m very anxious to get this thing on the road; the Tail of the Dragon is indeed nearby and beckons!
As luck would have it, there is another Victor within an hour’s drive from here. The guy bought it from Bruce Clifford in Colorado, mentioned above. Bruce had a couple of them; sold one of his a while back. I’ve been over to visit the guy and his Victor is nice. Pretty surprising to have one so close, as there were so few made. And Bruce is actually the one who “found” the one I bought; posted it on a British car forum and I snatched it up before someone else got it.
Anyway, I’ll be posting progress and may have some questions. I’m currently redesigning the dash layout, as the one that came with it isn’t exactly to my liking, even though the finish on it is really quite good. Bought a piece of curatinga rosewood to make a new one that more closely matches the steering wheel, and will have an extra mahogany dash if anyone’s interested. Otherwise, I might stick some old MGB gauges I have in it and make a wall hanging; the wife will love that!
I will add my welcome to all the previous. This is a great place to find the answered to your questions, or just visit to see what’s going ob out there.
It looks like you’ve got quite a project, but sounds like you have a plan. Keep us posted.
Again, WELCOME!
Amor Conquista Todo
Just looked to see where Townsend is. Man, you have some wonderful roads in that area. You’re positioned just north of the Dragon. Almost jealous. Finish the car!!!
Ditto that — I’m in Sevierville, but my project TDr is VW-based and progress is stalled due to other time demands lately. There’s at least a couple front engine TDrs in the Sevier county area, one Ford-based and one Chevette-based.
Early FF TDr on 69 VW pan
Slowly coming back from the ashes...Finally got to the dash redo. I found a piece of Curatinga rosewood (never heard of that) at a great resource for different and exotic wood, just south of Knoxville. A woodworker friend planed it down and cut the holes for the gauges, switches and indicator lights, and I sealed and finished it.
Here’s the earlier one:
And here’s the new one:
The two push-button switches above the ignition switch are momentary contact for the turn signals which feed a control box that is pre-programmed for how long the lights flash, depending on how long the switch is depressed – pretty neat design. And the indicator lights in the upper center are off-the-shelf items from Dorman. I pulled the metal arrows from indicators from a ’69 MGB and JB-Welded them over the green lenses – they fit perfectly!
Thinking about mounting the MG logo from a radio blanking plate over on the passenger side for balance, and there will be a grab handle there as well.
The engine is disassembled and waiting to go to the machine shop when they have room for it on their schedule. Found this when I pulled the head:
Yep, that’s corn in number 3 cylinder. No idea how the little bugger got it in there, as both manifolds were on the engine, and the head was bolted down. Tiny valve opening; guess he fed it through somehow… Apart from the future popcorn in number 3, insides of the engine look great; should be a nice candidate for a refresh and maybe a slight boost.
Paint’s gonna have to wait ’til I build the budget up a bit. But it’s gettin’ there!
Looking good!
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)
Well, it’s been a while since I’ve posted any progress. That’s because until the last few weeks there’s been little to none! The engine was at the machine shop for eight months! But I finally got it back and put together and painted. At the same time, I’d been waiting for an opening at the painter’s. Got the body tub back a couple days ago, so we were able to set it on the frame after installing the engine and transmission. The color is a factory Morgan color, Connaught Green. Really dark; looks black until it’s out in the sun.
I followed the instructions in the how-to post on posting pictures, but the picture’s pretty small. But maybe you can make out some detail…
When you end up with the little photo, go to your gallery of uploaded photos. Once there click “edit” on the thumbnail photo. This then goes to a full screen photo with an edit box. Right click and a message box should pop up. From there click on “ save photo image”. Go back to your post and right click and “paste”. I have to do that about half the time I post photos.
Bill Ascheman
Fiberfab Ford
Modified 5.0, 5sp., 4:11
Autocross & Hillclimb
"Drive Happy"We hit a snag. (Imagine that!) When I tried to install the driveshaft, it was too long by about an inch. Did lots of head-scratching, as the Victor was designed to accept all MGB drivetrain as plug-n-play. Checked all measurements, and everything seemed proper – except it wasn’t… Also heard from another Victor owner who’d had two of them; neither one had the issue. Fixed mounting points are the rear axle, cradled in the leaf springs, and the front motor mounting “towers”.
So, it was either shorten the driveshaft, or move the engine/transmission forward. As there was very little clearance between the firewall and the engine backplate, and I wasn’t happy with that, we decided to move the engine and transmission forward. The rear engine/transmission mount bolts onto a crossmember that is in turn bolted onto the frame rails. Front motor mounts are stock MGB, bolted onto brackets that are welded to the frame rails. We welded an inch of matching 1/8″ metal plate to the front of the motor mount brackets that the bonded rubber mounts attach to, and relocated the transmission crossmember one inch forward. Now the driveshaft fits well, with the yoke extended between 1/2 and 3/4 inch, which should give it plenty of fore and aft play. Body, suspension, and drivetrain are all buttoned up, and I’m now waiting for the painter to finish the hood, fenders, side panels and running boards. While that’s going on, I’ll be rebuilding the carburetors and beginning the wiring. Brake and fuel lines are all in place, so may actually fire this thing up in a week or so.
Can’t wait!
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