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Congrats Rocky.
I’m jealous. You finished before me. But enjoy driving her as much as possible and remember to keep an eye out for other “curious” drivers. I’m told they sometimes get to close for comfort when driving near our TDs.Allen Caron
VW based 53MGTD - "MoneyPenny"
"If one thing matters, everything matters" - from the book The ShackRocky, I’ve learned a ton watching you progress. What am I going to do now? Congrats, you earned a big round of applause from the rest of the gang. Justly proud.
Rocky…Bring her to Carlisle and I’ll buy you a beer or two!
Roy, I guess now that Rocky has completed his TD you’ll have to settle for learning from my mistakes!!newkitman2013-03-21 15:27:10
Allen Caron
VW based 53MGTD - "MoneyPenny"
"If one thing matters, everything matters" - from the book The ShackAAAAAAnnnndd…there it is.
Legal and road ready.
Now some prove-in time, some more buffing, a little more bling (fix the carpet) and road trip here I come.
Congratulations!
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)
Rockyx, congatulations…great job! I enjoyed reading thru your thread. It looks like you covered your dash with the same matl. used for the upholsery. Is that correct? Also, it looks like you made the dash from a piece of 1/2″ plywood..is this also correct? I haven’t started on my car yet, but I’ll redo the dash at some point, so am trying to get ideas. My dash appears to be fiberglas, but I’m not sure as I haven’t had time to get into it and look. Still working with the DMV to try and get the car registered correctly. I also notice you are in Fl. I get to Tampa several times a year. Are you close to Tampa?
Again, great job.SamSam, in order to stage the instrument panel and rewire everything (at that phase of the build) I built a temporary dash out of MDF board. When I couldn’t decide exactly what I wanted for the finished dash I simply did some detailed sanding and cutting on the template and made it my temporary solution until I could pick a direction and build what I really wanted.
The MDF was good to work with but if you go that direction be sure and put a sealer on both sides and along all edges to water proof it as much as you can.
It is actually covered with a cheap vinyl from JoAnn’s Fabrics that I simply glued with upholstery glue. So far it’s been pretty durable but we’ll see.
And yes I live outside Tampa in Dunedin over in Pinellas county. Let me know next time you’re in town and if my schedule allows we’ll hook up.
Thanks
It must feel great to take that first legal drive. Congrats. It seems so far in the future for me.
Beautiful build! You should be very proud. Now your list of to-do’s should include showing your TDr at a few shows. Any chance of a work schedule change that would allow you to make it to Carlisle this year? We would love to see you and your new car.
Don Loveless
Ford Pinto Fiberfab
Rochester, MIYou’ve got the same wheel covers/hubcaps I have – none. What are you going to put on there?
I took off my fake wire wheel covers, plus I only had 4 when I got the car, and I like the look better with the bare wheels. You also can just get center hub covers and leave the bolts exposed, but I’ll probably find some baby moons somewhere.
What did you paint your wheels with? They look great.mrlmd2013-03-25 09:51:24
Cip1 has the baby moons and the dog dish style. Don’t think they have the no-logo dog dish, but the moons are no logo and could be drilled for the MG cap centers.
I ordered a set of these Empi style that I’m going to attempt glueing the MG metal cap logos to…
Should arrive in a day or so — I have the metal wheel cap centers already. We’ll see how it goes, but the Empi stamped world logo appears to be low enough that it will just provide a good reservoir for plenty of adhesive…They have a fair assortment of hubcaps. but the shipping wasn’t the fastest I’ve encountered…
KentT2013-03-25 13:44:51Early FF TDr on 69 VW pan
Slowly coming back from the ashes...Kent, the MG centers have a single central stud that can be held on with a cotter pin. If it does not fully cover the embossed EMPI on the cap you can cover that with a bit of thin sheet stainless or aluminum. Or even some plastic, if it’s thin enough. I think one of our members did his with some little red discs of some sort & the contrast looked good. Drill through both and secure with a spring clip or a cotter pin.
To glue them–not that it wouldn’t work–but to glue them without drilling you’d probably have to grind off the stud first.
edsnova2013-03-25 15:28:42
Ed,
I don’t have the complete MG center caps, just the metal MG logo that goes inside that center cap… They’re 1-7/8″ in diameter, and are thin, slightly concave aluminum. I’m hoping they’ll fit within the raised circle in the center of the VW hubcap, covering that stamped Empi logo…
KentT2013-03-25 18:42:58Early FF TDr on 69 VW pan
Slowly coming back from the ashes...Kent, the circles in your hubcaps are about 3 inches in diameter. Those are cool but won’t fill it without help.
The repro TD center medallions ($11 each at Moss, cheaper elsewhere) are 2 1/4 inches and come close to covering.
mrlmd, my plan was to use baby moons.
I painted them with a basic silver/chrome wheel paint that I bought at Walmart. My long term plan is to buy nice new steel rims but I kinda over shot my budget on the build process so some of my bling will have to wait.
So for now, painted rims will just have to do.
Kent…will those medallions fit a VW smoothie hubcap? Does anyone have the 1-7/8 inch MG hub cap logos from MG Magic? If so, how do they look and like I asked Kent, will they fit a VW smoothie hubcap?
Allen Caron
VW based 53MGTD - "MoneyPenny"
"If one thing matters, everything matters" - from the book The ShackI don’t know Allen. I paid $11.00 for these on eBay, including shipping. At that price I thought it was worth a try for a fit on these hubcaps.
Early FF TDr on 69 VW pan
Slowly coming back from the ashes...So I’m in the “ready for road trip” tuning phase and am having some trouble.
I confess I have not yet progressively moved through all the steps but I thought before I start wrenching stuff and adjusting screws I would get some input from those more experienced with the VW engine.
It starts great, idles great (a little lean), and kicks off in first gear just fine (remember I have an automatic). However, when it kicks into 2nd gear there is no more power to punch it. It will eventually pick up speed but not what you would typically expect from an automatic.
Tonight I will look at timing, points, and carb but it seems like it’s something else.
I used the GT muffle that came with the car but I’m wondering if it is anywhere near as bad a shape inside as the car was when I got it if that’s not my real problem.
Thoughts?
Not sure of the carb/distributor setup with auto transaxle but there IS a mismatch problem with standard transaxles. It seems that the 34PICT3 carb does not like working well with anything other than a vacuum advanced distributor. A lot of folks are running the 34PICT3s with the mechanical 009 distributor. This produces a pretty big flat spot when leaving from a stop light. It also has trouble idling. You might check your setup and see if that’s the setup with your engine. There are ways to combat the 009 and 34PICT setup but best is to stay with the SVDA distributor with the 34PICT carb. I use a Single Vacuum Dual Advance (SVDA) distributor because it gives me great advance range of a mechanical distributor combined with the smooth response of the vacuum advance. And all without the flat spot. Plus I don’t have smog issues to deal with. Some states do and you need to run a dual vacuum adance system.
Allen Caron
VW based 53MGTD - "MoneyPenny"
"If one thing matters, everything matters" - from the book The ShackAllen, great input. I’m running a 32/36 weber with a centrifugal distributor.
Any experience or suggestions with that set up?
Unfortunately no. I’m going to have to learn more about the progressives and the wener line of carbs. Dual Dellortos and stock VW carbs are what I’m most used to.
Allen Caron
VW based 53MGTD - "MoneyPenny"
"If one thing matters, everything matters" - from the book The ShackIMO, it is likely a combination of the 009 distributor and the progressive carb. The 009 is a bit notorious for a flat spot at low RPMs, plus the progressive carbs are often jetted all wrong when you take them out of the box. Combine that with some aftermarket exhausts that do not provide carb preheat (center-mounted carbs MUST have preheat) and it can cause some real issues.
Suggest you start by reading this topic on Samba:If/when you can get that progressive carb dialed in, I think you will be very pleased with it. They’ll give you the economy of a stock, single carb (or perhaps a bit better), and a real “kick” for use as a passing gear or accelerating onto a freeway…I’ve used them on several bugs and busses. They are more difficult to get set up initially, but once that is done, they require a lot less fiddling and tuning on an ongoing basis that dual carbs, IMO. Dual carbs will ALWAYS require routine balancing/synchronizing due to mechanical wear and tear on the linkage parts. Single carbs do not. For all-out performance, the duals win out, but for overall drivability and ease of maintenance, progressives are a good option.My 2 cents, your mileage may vary…
KentT2013-03-26 08:31:07Early FF TDr on 69 VW pan
Slowly coming back from the ashes...
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