There’s a lot going on inside a brake drum that we don’t have to worry about with disk brakes.
Have you used the car since you redid the brakes last year? The shoes could have absobed moisture, causing them to stick. Driving could have dried out the shoes causing the problem to subside.
I’ve seen shoes hang up on the inside of the backing plate…[Read more]

 
This screen makes a lot of sense, especially for $13.95. I don’t know how many times a stuck my hands around the fan shroud to clean leaves and debris out of the oil filter and air passages.

That sounds like tired springs and grippy shoes. Your old shoes were glazed and didn’t overpower the springs.

Wouldn’t it have been more useful to bend the stock sending unit float rod down so that the gauge reported the bottom half of the tank instead of the top?  
That was a great answer on electronic sensors.

John Muir had his own technique for checking Beetle engine temps. Alas, it’s not in the current editions of “The Volkswagen For The Compleat Idiot”.
It’s a Goldilocks technique.
Drive the car until the engine is up to operating temp.
Put your hand on the dipstick.
If it is comfortable the engine is running cold.
If you can’t touch it, the…[Read more]

Paul,
Is there a thread developing here? Add the paint page to these, included the comments on VW wheels and repurposed hubcaps (genius) and we’re on our way to a central repository of sources for parts and features that would make TD replicas look more authentic.
Peter
  

Paul,
The color and finishes web site is a stunning addition to the forum. It will enable any of us who are striving for an authentic appearance to be more accurate. The grill and engine colors are a rare find. I can see a front engine replica with the correct engine and filter colors confusing people who don’t know what an original engine looks…[Read more]

Red with a white MG logo in the middle.

Your London Roadster is show quality.
Cars in the Survivor class are prized as rolling examples of how a marque was originally assembled. Yours is even unrestored. What a find!   
Besides, who expects what looks like a 60 year old car to be pristine.
You win just by being at a show. There will be more people looking at your TD replica than a…[Read more]

The article and video in Florida and recent local shows are examples of free PR that exposes the car culture to an affordable collector car. Each of us should try to show our cars when we can. It’s not about the trophies, although a judge in a regular driver class just might be weary of 60s Chevys and give a TD replica exclusivity points. We will…[Read more]

This is what a racing TD would have looked like had MG continued to build them, right?
Where’s the TD.com grill badge?

Amazon carries a 1:18 scale 1947 MG TC model by Yat Ming for $29.95.
Mine is BRG. Google “yat ming mg” and you will find in in other colors from different vendors.  
 

At the risk of being overly cautious, I would check the torque on the heads and the valve lash after the 50 mile run. Torque is a funny thing. A bolt that was set precisely could be over or under because it was drier or oiler than the rest. Running an engine for a short time evens out those issues. You may find that torque settings have cha…[Read more]

 
Pretty snazzy.
 
 

Do any of the kit manufacturers include a wiring diagram in the kit documentation? If we had a collection of those then someone could repair theirs or build a new one without trying to find an entire NOS harness.

Bob,
VWs are simple cars, but they have a high tinker factor. There is always something that needs tweaking. It will be expensive to pay a mechanic every time the noises change.
It is cheaper and more fulfilling to maintain it yourself. Find a VW owner’s club and buy a copy of “Volkswagen for the Compleat Idiot” by John Muir from Amazon.
Besides,…[Read more]

Wow. Very pretty. I like the wheels too.
Are those VW hubcaps?
Where did you find the MG logos?
How did you attach them?
Who’s to say that original TD wheels don’t really have oval vents? They appear oval when you look at them from any angle but straight on to one hole at a time.  
What do the front engine cars do for replica stock steel wheels?
 

Here’s a thought.
1. A flat chrome hubcap that would fit a VW wheel.
2. An MG logo that could be applied to the hubcap.
Faux original steel MG wheels for a fraction of the cost of wires.
We are talking about replicas of original cars.
Why not replicas of original wheels?  
 

Keep in mind that the original TD used disk wheels with oval vents around the rim. Wire wheels were an option. There’s nothing wrong with ‘original’ wheels.

Great PR for the TD replica. Did they come to you or did you track them down?
I like the exhaust note. What muffler is on the car? Is it stock Pinto or something else?
Is your engine the 1.6 or the 2.3?