- This topic has 26 replies, 11 voices, and was last updated 13 years, 3 months ago by
.
-
Posts
-
So after procrastinating for nearly a year now, I’ve finally gotten around to
taking the “almost finished” FF MiGi that I purchased out of my good
friend’s estate to the body shop. I got the estimate back today, almost
4K. I’ve taken it to Precision Restorations here in STL, certainly not
because I think they’re the cheapest shop in town, as they aren’t, but
hopefully because they’ll finish the car w/the care and detail that I
want/expect. Their estimate includes mounting the hood, re-carpeting
the interior, installing engine cover and fiberglass piece it rests against,
satellite radio w/speakers installed, one seat mount fabricated and all
seats installed, seat belt mounts fabricated and seat belts installed, some
minor wiring and a 12V adaptor, AND front and rear bumpers re-chromed
and mounted. The cost for re-chroming the bumpers is $355/each. I
notice on MG Magic you can supposedly purchase brand new chrome
bumpers for $159/each. My question is, is there any reason not to
purchase the new bumpers from MG Magic and save the $$$? Does
anyone have experience with re-chroming? Will the quality or longevity of
the end product differ between the two?
Even though I don’t feel comfortable/capable of finishing this project
myself, I want to thank everyone on the Forum for all the info and
guidance I’ve picked up over the last few months. I’ve also enjoyed
looking at all the pics of your finished MG’s….thanks for the inspiration!
Bumper facebars from Moss Motors are $175. And Moss is NOT cheap.
MG Magic’s price seems right on target.
My bet is the bumpers from MG Magic will be the equivalent to what you are about to rechrome.
My recommendation…buy from MG Magic.
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)
Agree! Although you don’t think you can do a lot of this stuff.you can! The expertise is here, the help is here. Vast, and halfvast knowledge is available free. Most of us have learned, somewhat painfully in a lot of situations, how to do a few things and are willing to share. Ask for help, I’ll guarantee you will get it!
I definitely know the expertise, knowledge, and help is here. The
members on this forum are incredibly helpful, and most of you seem to
be very “hands-on” type folks.
This 4K estimate may push me toward being more hands-on. The more I
think about, read, and re-read this estimate, for seemingly pretty minor
stuff, I may be inspired to try and do some of this myself.
This shop that gave me the estimate has a labor rate of $92/hour.
They’re charging $211 for 2 lap belts, which I can get on MG Magic for
$28.95/each. Approximately $500 for satellite radio & speaker, and
another 3 hours labor charge to install it.
I know this shop is reputable and does very high quality restoration work.
However, I guess I’m having second thoughts about putting 4K into a car
that seem to be selling on Ebay for 6K at best. Hence, perhaps I should
crack out the instruction manual, socket set, and a beer and try this
myself…..tis the direction I’m leaning.
On car stuff I find that I work at about one third the speed of a pro, and have to re-do it about half the time. I happen to be more profligate with my time than with my money, of which I don’t have much. I also like the “learning experience.” The second time I do the job it goes much faster.
For $211 I would expect 5 point racing harnesses not lap belts. Radios you buy from Crutchfield. You are capable of doing everything you described. You aren’t restoring a car. You are finishing a car. There are threads on this forum for carpet, seats . . . if what you want to do isn’t here, ask. Someone will tell you how they did it on their car.
Part of the fun of a TD replica is the satisfaction of building/finishing it yourself. It’s a journey, not a destination. Enjoy the ride.
I’m on board with you doing the bulk of the work your self Shane.
I built my Duchess in 1982. I was 24. I had some hand tools and could “spin a wrench” and do a tune up & oil change. But that was about it.
The majority of my car building knowledge was based firmly in plastic, 1/24th and 1/25th scale!
Long story short, I disassembled the Beetle, refiurbished the pan, and built the car. Along the way, I picked up a lot of new tools and a lot of new knowledge. And it only took nine months.
Even my older sister said she was proud of me when I drove the car out of the garage.
Break it down into a bunch of smaller projects. And if you are unsure about something, ask lots of questions before you begin each project.
So I say go for it.
We’re here to help.
And I think you’ll be really happy with yourself and the car when you are done.
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)
I wouldn’t spend a fortune for a radio, you can hardly hear it anyway unless you’re blasting up the volume. And it’s not very secure against some idiot stealing it out of the dash. My car came with the usual sized rectangular hole in the dash and I got a digital radio with 18 FM and 12 AM radio presets and CD player and USB charging port for $49 and it works and looks just fine.
mrlmd40779.4210416667Re: The stereo, for a little more, you can go with a classic look, that will fit in well with your “52 styling. Like this one:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem& ;item=360388868407
Once I get my car back, I’m putting one of these in the dash. She already has am/fm/cassette, top-of-the line in 1982! LOL.
I have two six inch round three-way speakers in the rear panel. I can hear fine on the road.
And as far as theft…I used to worry about it when the car was first on the road. But over the years, she has sat in motel/hotel parking lots, restaurant lots, work parking garages and has never been touched. I stopped worrying about it a long time ago.
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)
Man I love that radio. Spending too much money on other projects to buy it now, but someday soon. Im saving the link to my favorites. I think I have the twin to Pauls 1982 classic in my car.
That’s a cool radio Paul. I’m gonna hold off on having a stereo installed.
The plan was to put the speakers in the seat risers facing the front of the car.
You mentioned yours are in the “rear panel”, I’m guessing this is behind the
seat? There aren’t too many options re: speaker placement is there?
I don’t have “risers” under my seat, just steel supports on the outboard edges.
Yes, by rear panel, I mean behind the seat, the rear most flat panel in the car.
You may be able to put shallow mount tweeters in the front kick panels too. Four inch, surface mounts, with only an inch or an inch and a half of back clearance will fit.
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)
Shane, the cost estimate for the bumpers is probably on target since like most things on car refurbishing, the preperation is the most expensive part. To re-do the bumper they have to grind down, repair, smooth and straighten the bumper. It is labor intensive and therefore expensive. The chroming process itself is still pretty expensive, but if you do most of the prep work, you’ll save a lot of money.
This goes for almost every thing on the car, the more you do, the more you save. Honestly, I think anyone can do at least some of the work. Bag and tag everything you take off. Take lots of photos, and don’t worry if you think you might screw up….it’s just metal and fiberglass and any mistakes can be fixed.
I almost find it Zen like to re-do old stuff.
Go for it!
I replaced my lap belts with a pair from O’Reilly’s. Made by Superior, very rugged. Cost $36 for the pair. My trim shop installed them when they redid my interior.
As for the radio, I just listen to the song of the open road. If I ever do decide to wire it up, though, it’ll probably be from these guys:
http://www.retrosoundusa.com/
TexAg7140780.5739004631981 Lafer TI
1600 cc Type 1 engineRetrosound is a very good source too!
Very well recommended!
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)
I mentioned the lap belt charge to my “salesperson” today when I told him I
thought 4K might be a bit much to spend on this car. When I pointed out
the fact that they quoted me $211 for lap belts (just the parts, installation
not included) he said that these lap belts were most likely chosen because
they were a more authentic match to the original MG. C’mon, really?!! A lap
belt is a lap belt is it not?! I wonder if the actual 1952 MG was even
equipped with safety restraints?
Just took a quick look through a couple “original” TD forums.
Seat belts were not standard equipment.
If a TD has them, they were likely installed by an owner at some point in the car’s life.
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)
Even better,
From: http://www.mgcars.org.uk/mgtd/mgtd_faq.htm
(the source of most of the History of the TD pages here)- What type of seat belts were offered with the MGTD?
- None. Seat belts were not an option offered by the factory. This
would have been a period accessory.
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)
Back in the day it was considered safer for the driver to be ejected from the vehicle in the event of a crash. There is some logic to that when you consider lower speeds, a solid steering wheel shaft aimed at one’s chest, lack of crumple zones, no side protection, soldered gas tanks and no roll bars. In that context seat belts might have caused more harm than good.
So, what would have been an authentic belt in keeping with the period of the car? Look at the rest of the estimate in that light.
Save the money and spin wrenches yourself. You will wind up with a better car and a sense of satisfaction that you built/finished it yourself.
I agree with everyone who is advising you to to the work yourself! The radio and seat belt prices are clear indicators that you are getting overcharged both for parts and labor. If you shop around,you’ll be amazed at how much you can save ,not to mention the satisfaction gained by being able to say that you did it yourself.
The ”professional garage” may be OK for the ”well to do”car owner,but these cars are ”hands on” vehicles. That’s the only way to enjoy them to the fullest.
As has already been stated, just ask questions here on the forum. You will find that someone here has had the same problem that you may be facing and will be more than glad to share what they did to solve it.
There will be some major items that may require more knowledge or equipment than is practical for your abilities but most of what you referred to can be handled with little or no problem.
It sounds as if you have two lists to work on. One, is the set of tasks you need to complete to put the car on the road. Being able to drive is a big motivator. The second is the group of projects to make it pretty.
Road list: Mount hood, engine cover and seats, buy/install seat belts. install the bumpers as is. There’s not a lot of cashflow in this list. It’s mostly measuring twice and drilling once.
Pretty list: Buy new/chrome original bumpers, buy radio, buy carpet. This is where the money is. You could live with the bumpers for a while. You could live with a $17 radio from HHGregg. VW floormats from Walmart would tide you over until you find better ones. This is the list you complete as you find the products to install at the price you want to pay.
You could finish the road list in a weekend. That might be pushing it but you get the idea. It’s an exercise in bolting things together.
The pretty list is an exercise in buying things.
Bolt first.
Buy later.
Isn’t this great Shane?
You asked about rechroming vs. buying new bumper faces…and we now have you doing ALL the work yourself!
Seriously, having built my own car with essentially NO experience and minimal tools (at least at the start), I believe you can do this work yourself.
I like BD’s quote, “Bolt first. But later.”
And I’ll add, “Ask first. Work later.”
We’ll be with you every step of the way.
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 all the encouragement and advice guys! I suppose I kinda
knew when I typed in my initial post that the estimate was 4K that I was
gonna take some heat. I suspected it was a bit steep, but knew that once
I threw out the number I’d get confirmation.
Another thing the salesperson guy mentioned the other day was that I
shouldn’t attempt to install things like lap belts on my own as there would
be a potential liability issue if I were to do it incorrectly…..since they are
to be attached to fiberglass it would need to be done properly by a shop.
Don’t get me wrong, I haven’t a clue as to how I would go about installing
lap belts. However, I’m pretty confident that they’ll be attached to the
actual metal/steel portion of the chassis….not into fiberglass.
Unfortunately I didn’t think of this stuff quick enough to make a good
rebuttal. Between this and the $211 seat belt authenticity remark, I
should’ve realized I was knee deep in his s**t!
I think BDriver’s to-do list is right on target! Functionality before
prettiness! Thanks again to all.
“I’m pretty confident that they’ll be attached to the
actual metal/steel portion of the chassis….not into fiberglass”
Yes. That seems reasonable.
edsnova40781.3465393518
Mine are attached to the glass with fender washers but in my case they are in like new condition (never been used). The car is in NH which is the “live free or die” state. I’m not saying you shouldn’t use yours in the MG, it’s just that I don’t. In my other cars I always use them, the MG is the exception to the rule 🙂
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.