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On my MGTF I once had a suicide door fly open and catch the wind in a hard right turn. These old MG bodies had some flex to them and this was a danger. Don’t forget your seat belt.
It seems that the VW based kits are a lot more rigid but still, it can happen. So, to give myself some peace of mind, I installed some high quality screen door latches or “hook and eye” latches. I am posting this in hopes of preventing some very expensive damage to “our” TD’s. I got my latches at West Marine but most any would work. They are almost invisible where I mounted mine and I wouldn’t be without them. Hope that this helps someone.
I don’t know why, but am having trouble posting pictures. Nice, Roy. Some of us talked about this potential issue a year or two back. There was an aftermarket safety latch some guy made that was supposed to catch the door handle on the inside.
I like your solution better.
On a possibly related note, I found that, on my car, the door latches were installed wrong: the “catch” was only on the secondary latch, not the primary socket. I took them apart and readjusted. My car uses the original style MG door latch and I believe several other BCW owners chimed in saying they had the same condition. The instruction book was very unclear at best, and seemed to indicate the assembly be shimmed the way I found it–which no doubt made assembly easier but was ultimately wrong and unsafe.
Can’t find the old thread by searching here. Google tells me the old thread was here:
http://www.tdreplica.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=914&PN=3
but that URL no longer works.Not sure what to do about that.
edsnova2012-04-01 12:10:12That’s a great idea and good insurance. I’ve often wondered about hitting a bump and having my door fly wide open.
Where did you attach each end, the hook and the eye?That old thread is:
https://tdreplica.com/forums/topic/door-latches-2/
If you find any old threads via google the way Ed did, just a “2” after the first “/forum…”
The lock mechanism in this thread will prevent someone from accidentally hitting the latch. But if your MG style latch does not click into the hole, it will not help.
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)
mrimd, I read the thread that Paul pointed us to. An interesting idea, but I like mine much better. With the linked idea, the mechanism still relies on the “factory” latch. With my very simple hook and eye, it is totally independent and impossible to inadvertantly or accidently open the door since it requires 2 separate actions on 2 independent mechanisms. The door simply will not open unless you unlatch it as well as use the door “knob”. My side panels had a screw holding them on immediately above the kit’s door latch. I used this (with a slightly longer screw) for the lower hole on the “eye” drilled a pilot and screwed in the upper hole on the eye. Then positioned the “hook” on the frame quite high under and forward of the dash. It is invisible unless you really crank your head around trying to find out why the door won’t open – it’s because it’s still latched. Very secure. Very comfortable. What would you do if you lost both a door and a rear fender? I would cry for sure. I highly recommend this simple fix. It’ll take you about 1/2 hour tops to install on both sides. The West Marine hook & eyes are highly chromed and a little pricey but do look like they belong (almost) – rather than something you stole from the screen door. No matter whether anyone else likes this fix. You can’t hurt my feelings on this one, – I’ve been there within a whisker of a several thousand dollar door, fender and consequent paint job, and I’m sold on this fix and would proudly display on my otherwise concours 1937 Bugatti Type 57SC (if only I owned one).
PS: Many moons ago, I was a member, with my TF, of a MGT club. Many members in the club ended putting “Roy’s Door Locks” on their autos.
Roy,
That was my point exactly! The “linked idea” is definitely NTO fail-safe!Your approach is a truly redundant system! The best kind of “back-up”!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)
Roy et all,
I think I’m missing something here.(Perhaps its the Geezer in me) Anyway, are you talking about adding the hook and eye to the front of the door?Allen Caron
VW based 53MGTD - "MoneyPenny"
"If one thing matters, everything matters" - from the book The ShackYep! On the inside of the frame just above the door lock. You won’t even know it’s there. Trust me. Look carefully at my pictures….or I could take some more if you are interested.
Take some more, both attachments.
That also is like having a locked door if you set it when you leave the car, makes it a little harder for someone to get in unauthorized. (Like that really matters a lot, but an added bonus maybe).Yes it is somewhat of a small deterrent. Nobody has figured out how to open the door and get into my car yet (without me showing them.
The drivers side, of course.
Thanks for the idea Roy.
Thirty years after I built my Duchess, I installed safety latches (like yours) this afternoon.
Then went for a sixty mile drive in 60 degree air.
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)
Just curious. Is this a problem particular to only thr Duchesses ans Migis or all TD replicas?
Allen Caron
VW based 53MGTD - "MoneyPenny"
"If one thing matters, everything matters" - from the book The ShackAllen, like most any insurance policy it seems like a waste of time and money until you really need it, which hopefully is, never. I once had a door fly open on a hard turn to the right in my MGTF. Scared the hell out of me. Morris’s T type roadsters had a bit of body flex, certainly much more than our VW based replicas. So, NO, – I would not say that there is any “particular problem” to any of the TDr’s. When I got MiGi, the inside door handles were installed incorrectly (with the handle pointing down) so that when I released the clutch, my knee hit the handle and opened the door. (The inside handles on MiGi look very much like those on the outside. Very un-TD like.) So, I rotated the handle up and installed these latches.
I think the auxiliary hooks are a nice idea, belt and suspenders-wise. Bridget’s latches came half-baked, a condition I saw on some other cars as well. Apparently the kit MFG’s directions were bad.
I corrected mine with a couple afternoon’s work. A semi-skilled tinkerer could do it faster and better. The saga (driver’s side) is told here.
If you have those original type latches, make sure they’re closing all the way. Chances are, they aren’t.
That said, the PO told me the doors never opened except when he wanted them to. They never opened on me yet either.
Mine never opened either.
But I still fell better having them in place now!
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 am going to install the Auxiliary hooks.. . I always worry when the girls move around in the front seat they may bump the door and jar it open while underway ..Thxz guys for reposting thisjebarry2012-09-30 13:27:20
I believe the door catches on my Fiberfab are different as I don’t reacall anything other than the striker plate. I’ll have to check. I’ll report back after I check. However, I do intend to add the catches like Roay and others have added. Nothing like a little added safety.
Allen Caron
VW based 53MGTD - "MoneyPenny"
"If one thing matters, everything matters" - from the book The ShackOkay…I did recall correctly. The FiberFab kit uses a different door setup. It uses a lock and striker plate setup. It is shown on page 67 in part two of the FiberFab assembly manual in the download manuals tab on the left.
Allen Caron
VW based 53MGTD - "MoneyPenny"
"If one thing matters, everything matters" - from the book The ShackThe doors fly open on the Fiberfab.
Ed took a video of the autocross at Carlisle when mine opened.Bill Ascheman
Fiberfab Ford
Modified 5.0, 5sp., 4:11
Autocross & Hillclimb
"Drive Happy"
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