Street Price for MGTD Replica? VW Frame.

[Guests]

I’m looking at a 1951 MGTD Replica built on a VW frame with a VW engine.

I don’t know what year the frame and motor are.

The car looks quite good. Not a show car but still looks nice and like lots of fun.

1 – What is the stree price on these cars?

2 – What are some common problems?

3 – I was considering it as a daily driver for local commute to work… is this a bad idea?

4 – 2nd Owner said it was a Moss kit… I think. Are they still in business?

5 – Where can I find parts, manuals, other online forums and vendors?

6 – Can one of these be Air Conditioned? (Owner suggesed an electric AC for cars… is there such?)

I’m in SE USA. Thanks for any help.

 

[Keith True]

I don”t think there is any figure as to what these bring.I see prices all over the place.I bought a driver that needed a repaint and a top for $2500.I have seen asking prices of $7-$9000.  I have no idea if any of them sold.I bought a runner for $700,put another $1500.in it,but I will never get the money back for the time I put in it.You can drive them just like any other old Volkswagen.Dependable,easy to fix,and fun.They are comfortable at 50-55 MPH.You can hop them up and change the handling to suit you.I don”t believe any of the makers of these cars are in business any more.I never heard of a Moss,but that means nothing.I know the FiberFabs pretty good,(I have 3)and I have seen CMC,Classic Motor Carriage,London Roadster,and Lafer.There may be more and some of these may be the same.Open the hood and look at the firewall on the passenger side.If it is a FiberFab there will be an FF embossed into the gelcoat.I don”t know of any problems in particular with these cars.You just have to remember they are 35-40 year old Volkswagens under that glass body.You will HAVE to work on it and maintain it,it will not be your forget about it until the next time you want to use it car.Point settings and valve adjustments will be part of regular services.There are compact air conditioners made now that can be used in your car,but you have to be a little bit of a fabricator to make them fit.They will also cost as much as the car.

[Paul Mossberg]

Moss Motors is a supplier of restoration parts for classic MGs and many other vintage British sports cars.

http://www.mossmotors.com/

They have never produced an MG kit car.

As Keith wrote, street prices are all over the palce for kit cars. Even more so than originals, a kit’s value depends very much on the qlauity of the assembly and condition. Watch ebay or craig’s list sales to get a rough idea.

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)

[Mark Hendrickson]

The year of the VW frame can be adequately determined by looking at the # of lug nuts on the wheels WITHOUT WHEEL ADAPTERS). If it has a “wide 5” bolt pattern (5 lugs) it’s 1967 or older. If it’s a “normal” looking 4 lug, it’s a 1968 or up.

The earlier cars (wide 5) had swing axle rear suspension and king-pin front ends. Only the 1967 was 12 volts too. I would not advise one of these cars.

The later, ’68-up (4 lug) had Independent Rear Suspension (IRS) and ball joint front ends. They were all 12 volt cars.

As far as AC goes…the VW engine has enough trouble driving the car! Why in the world would you want AC in a car with virtually no insulation, snap in plastic side curtains and a soft top.

As far as a daily driver, if you are a semi-knowlegable wrench, then it would be feasable. These are kit cars…replicas made to look like something they are not. They are not well engineered, mass produced daily drivers. If that is what you want, buy a Miata, BMW Z3, Saturn Skye, Pontaic Solstice, etc. These are daily drivers with all the ammentites of todays cars.

This is the best MGTD replica forum.

I know of no new parts suppliers as these kits are no longer in production. MG Magic has stock piled NOS and used parts from mostly CMC kits. Their contact info is on this site.

There is a MG-TF variant available from New Zealand that is Miata based. They are well built, but you must provide the Miata donor and finish the car. They are also over $20,000 to get delivered in the US, not counting you still have to find a donor, strip it and install the stuff in the car. They’re delivered as a “pallet car”.

As far as prices go, it’s as previously mentioned and YOU HAVE TO KNOW WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING AT!!! Bring an air-cooled VW expert to look at the mechanicals. Find a local kit car expert to look at the coach, bright and body work.

There were many MG-TD kit makes until the mid-late 80’s. Most were VW based (rear engine). Some were Ford (Pinto/Mustang II/Bobcat) based and some were GM based (Chevette/Pontiac T-1000) and were front engine/rear wheel drive.

My opinion as far as the best made kits to look for:

1) British Coach Works (VW and GM), by far the best quality hand laid fiberglass and most accurate body parts. The molds were made from real MG-TD panels. They also use real MG-TD hardware (Moss Motors and other aftermarket repro suppliers).

2) Classic Roadsters Ltd (VW based). Very good quality kit. Paul Mossberg is the expert on these. I had one of their Ford based (Pinto/Mustang II) Baron kits and it was well made and high quality.

3) Classic Motor Carriages or CMC (VW, Ford). CMC used to be FiberFab. Probably the most prolific kit, but not the highest quality in my opinion.

4) There are others, like the London Roadster, Daytona MIGI, all similar to the CMC kits in construction and quality. 

Some kits were hand laid, thick fiberglass and some were “chopper-gun” thin fiberglass.

Pink MG39457.5942824074

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