Newby with questions

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  • #233644
    Edward Turner
    Participant

    @oldroadie

    Hello all, this Thursday I should be joining the ranks of those owning a

    Chevy based MGTD replicar from British Coach Works. It’s a Schweppes

    Special Edition and I plan to drive it home to North Alabama from Georgia

    Thursday afternoon.

    The brakes felt pretty spongy on the test drive today, anyone got a good

    quick fix that will give me confidence coming over the mountains back home

    or do I rely on downshifting until I get back to my place?

    Any other known quirks that you give me a quick heads up on? I really didn’t

    think the fellow would accept my offer so I haven’t done my due

    diligence…I’ll be playing catch up on this forum for a while.

    #246101
    newkitman
    Participant

    @newkitman

    Welcome Roadie.
    If your brakes seem/are spongy, I’d do a brake bleed to be on the safe side. Where in GA did you get her and where in AL will you be taking her? Also when you get her home don’t forget to visit the TD Registry and give us the particulars. I think you’re the 1st from Alabama.  newkitman40784.8355902778

    Allen Caron
    VW based 53MGTD - "MoneyPenny"
    "If one thing matters, everything matters" - from the book The Shack

    #246102
    Edward Turner
    Participant

    @oldroadie

    She’ll be coming to Fort Payne, AL in the north east mountains of Alabama

    from Cumming, GA. I think she also needs that drive shaft carrier that

    centers the shaft replaced, looked pretty worn out to me when I was crawling

    around. Not to many miles on the odometer, seems like under 18K or so if I

    remember, but light use implies a lot of dry rot…shocks were sketchy, too,

    but after 26 years the gas could just be exhausted. Could be an exciting 125

    miles 🙂

    #246103
    newkitman
    Participant

    @newkitman

    Enkoy the ride and the whole adventure. I’m still building mine. Hope to have her on the road in time for Carlisle, PA next year.

    Allen Caron
    VW based 53MGTD - "MoneyPenny"
    "If one thing matters, everything matters" - from the book The Shack

    #246104
    edward ericson
    Participant

    @edsnova

    Be careful, Roadie. And good luck.

    #246105
    Paul Mossberg
    Keymaster

    @pmossberg

    Welcome Ed.

    Those Schweppes cars are nice. All professionally built. You found a good one!

    Hope the first drive, and all the future drives, are safe ones!

    Paul Mossberg
    Former Owner of a 1981 Classic Roadsters Ltd. Duchess (VW)
    2005 Intermeccanica Roadster

    If 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)

    #246106
    Larry Murphy
    Participant

    @larry-murphy

     Hi and welcome to the forum!! Sounds like you’ve found a real prize. The BCW is a quality repilca and being one of the Schweppes cars  is something special. The advice on bleeding the brakes is something I would do for sure.You don’t want to lose this one on the way home.

     Have a safe trip and be sure to post pictures when you can.

    #246107
    newkitman
    Participant

    @newkitman

    Roadie,
    The only other advice I’d give is if you think it’s really unsafe to drive, there’s alway a UHaul Trailer rental for your prized possession.

    Allen Caron
    VW based 53MGTD - "MoneyPenny"
    "If one thing matters, everything matters" - from the book The Shack

    #246108
    Bill Gould
    Participant

    @texag71

    I’m happy with my Lafer and not really in the market for another project, but could someone tell me what a “Schweppes car” is?

    1981 Lafer TI
    1600 cc Type 1 engine

    #246109
    Paul Mossberg
    Keymaster

    @pmossberg

    The soda/mixer company Schweppes comissioned BCW to build a bunch of TD teplicas for a contest promotion in 1985.

    Some info: http://chicagolandreplicar.tripod.com/steve&.htm

    Here is another forum member’s car: https://tdreplica.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=1351& get=last

     

    PMOSSBERG40785.5697106481

    Paul Mossberg
    Former Owner of a 1981 Classic Roadsters Ltd. Duchess (VW)
    2005 Intermeccanica Roadster

    If 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)

    #246110
    Bill Gould
    Participant

    @texag71

    Hey, those both look very nice! Were all 50 of them the same color?

    1981 Lafer TI
    1600 cc Type 1 engine

    #246111
    Larry Murphy
    Participant

    @larry-murphy

     Bill, I can’t say for sure,but all the ones that I have seen with the Schweppes badges were yellow with tan tops. Come to think of it ,every BCW that I can remember had a tan top and interior.

    #246112
    Bill Gould
    Participant

    @texag71

    I like tan. When the time came to redo my Lafer’s interior, my wife picked out a butterscotch leatherlike vinyl that really sets off the black exterior. Couldn’t be happier. Went with a black top, though.

    1981 Lafer TI
    1600 cc Type 1 engine

    #246113
    Paul Mossberg
    Keymaster

    @pmossberg

    I believe all the Schweppes cars were the same color combo.

    Larry…I went through the registry. And it looked like you were right! All our BCWs have tan tops and interiors…except one. Neil Flaherty’s (Profile57) BCW has a black top.

    PMOSSBERG40785.9418981482

    Paul Mossberg
    Former Owner of a 1981 Classic Roadsters Ltd. Duchess (VW)
    2005 Intermeccanica Roadster

    If 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)

    #246114
    Larry Murphy
    Participant

    @larry-murphy

     Thanks Paul, You always come thru for us!!

    #246115
    Montie Henderson
    Participant

    @montie

    When I drove mine home the first time I had to pump the brakes too.  I made sure the emergency brake worked though.  Just in case the others failed.. 

    Was a fun ride, had to feather the gas and hold the brake at stops to keep it running (old gas).  I didn’t have but about 30 miles to go, wife was following and taking pictures.    

    #246116
    Edward Turner
    Participant

    @oldroadie

    I’m taking the easy way out with a friend, his truck and a Uhaul car hauler.

    Just don’t want to tempt brake failure on those 6~8% grades on the first date

    #246117
    newkitman
    Participant

    @newkitman

    When you pick her up, remember to talk to her nice and remind her that you’re going to make her well again. She’ll take care of you then. You can tell that to your wife to if ya want! 

    newkitman40786.9647222222

    Allen Caron
    VW based 53MGTD - "MoneyPenny"
    "If one thing matters, everything matters" - from the book The Shack

    #246118
    Larry Murphy
    Participant

    @larry-murphy

     A friend is a good thing to have!! A friend with a truck who is willing to help you is a great thing to have!!. You are doing good . Better to haul it home and then fix what you find needs attention than to lose your investment ,a rare car and possibly your life by taking chances when you know that there are problems before you begin the trip.

     Looking forward to seeing pictures when you get it home,Better yet, make pictures as you bring it along. Afterall,you’re making history.

    #246119
    Paul Mossberg
    Keymaster

    @pmossberg

    That my new friend, sounds like an excellent decision. Definitely not worth the risk, the stress, the possible BAD outcome of driving a hand built car with bad brakes!

    I’m a firm believer that the vast majority of us don’t need to own a truck…but we all need a friend that does!

    Paul Mossberg
    Former Owner of a 1981 Classic Roadsters Ltd. Duchess (VW)
    2005 Intermeccanica Roadster

    If 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)

    #246120
    Edward Turner
    Participant

    @oldroadie

    Of course in this summer of drought with no rain forecast it rained a

    deluge on the way over and more rain on the way back. Serves me right

    for thinking I could buy a rag top 🙂 I learned the top and side curtain

    PDQ when it came time to roll off the carrier (best $60 investment ever).

    Rained all the way home, everything is drying in my woodshop now.

    British Coach Works car #222. Registered as an 1985 but surely with that

    number it is an earlier build. Zero build/life documentation from the PO

    so it’ll be all fluids replaced immediately and sometime on a lift to inspect

    the undercarriage although I believe (or would like to) that an 18,000 mile

    chassis won’t need much other than routine maintenance.

    Brakes better than my original impression, rear springs/shocks are

    terrible, I bottomed out all the way home. If the carrier bearing is the

    rubber isolated fastener at the end of the tranny I need one, this one is

    shot and bolt head is over an inch proud of the frame. Probably what all

    that clunking is when downshifting.

    I’ll be searching the forum for tips and threads about things I don’t know

    so any advice is welcome 🙂

    Pictures when it stops raining!

    #246121
    Dan Rosa
    Participant

    @dan-r

     Enjoy            Dan

    #246122
    Larry Murphy
    Participant

    @larry-murphy

      Ed, Glad you got it home safely. Now the fun begins for real.!!

     Check in the photo gallery at the top right. Look in Pink MG’s gallery for pics of a BCW trans mount with the engine and trans out of the car.

     Look at Chevette trans under Chevy/Ford kits section for a detailed explanation of how to remove the trans and rework the mount.

    #246123
    Peter C. King
    Participant

    @bdriver

    Ed,

    Is the carrier bearing you are referring to a rubber block with a bolt through it under the rear end of the transmission? That’s a transmission mount. They wear out over time. Available at Pep Boys. Could that noise be the bottoming out you referred to?   

    Don’t confuse springs with shocks. Springs hold the car up. Shocks dampen rebound. Without them a car would dribble down the road like a basketball.

    Peter

     

     

    #246124
    Edward Turner
    Participant

    @oldroadie

    Larry Murphy wrote:

    ? Ed, Glad you got it home safely. Now the fun

    begins for real.!!

    ?Check in the photo gallery at the top right. Look in Pink MG’s gallery for

    pics of a BCW trans mount with the engine and trans out of the car.

    ?Look at Chevette trans under Chevy/Ford kits section for a detailed

    explanation of how to remove the trans and rework the mount.

    Couldn’t find either one of those and I really wanted to look, too. Maybe I

    don’t know how to search this forum correctly.

Viewing 25 posts - 1 through 25 (of 28 total)
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