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…[Read more]

This combination is close to the look of the original MG wheels. It will be interesting to see what the flat style looks like. It’s a nice alternative to wire wheel hubcaps and costs less than real wire wheels. Easier to keep balanced too.
 
 

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 ca…[Read more]

I take it that Edsnova’s quest for authenticity stops short of the hat?

Paul,
That sounds like an excuse for a coming out party.
Peter
 

London,
At the risk of being even more negative than the above comments, there are projects that almost have to be free to be worth taking on. This is one of them. Sadly, you can buy complete TDs for $3k – $5k. This one has problems with the engine, brakes, body, dashboard, bumpers, accessories, top . . . have you priced a complete top? It so…[Read more]

Bridget looks good in the videos.

Wanted.
Girl with TD.
Send pictures of TD.
 

The next generation is the problem.
They want to plug in their Ipod, SatNav and hands free phone.
Then reality sets in.  
What? There’s no AC? It leaks in the rain? Adjust the valves? Where’s the control for the top? Why is it so windy when I drive? It looks like a chopped and channeled Model A. Where’s the dealer? I have to buy a book titled “…[Read more]

 
EXACTLY!
So what’s wrong with being a blond?
The joke tellers are just jealous. 
Enjoy the heating grate and take the kit car comments as a compliment. 
  
 

Calling a TD replica a kit car is like kids calling each other names on the playground. They can’t beat the other kid at kick ball and so they call him a doofus. That’s like telling blond jokes about Marilyn Monroe.
Think about the original TD in the context of today’s traffic for a minute: Slow, fragile mechanicals, mediocre brakes. pricey…[Read more]

 
Episode 6: Supercar Showdown, is the current episode of “The Car Show”. It will replay 5 times this week. The TD replica is onscreen at minute 38 in the segment on the Pebble Beach Concourse. Can anyone identify the manufacturer?
Don’t tell the network that they included a $5,000 “kit car” in their lineup of mega buck super cars. The owner of…[Read more]

“Car Show” on Speed TV tonight (8/17) ran a segment on this year’s Pebble Beach. The camera showed classic cars parked on the street in the intro. Ferrari, GT40, Maserati, MG TD. Tan with brown fenders and a faun interior. But wait a minute. The wipers were on the cowl. The hood was hinged on the left side at the top. It was a TD replica in a line…[Read more]

Nice find.
Studebaker used the same company that molded the early Corvette bodies and had the same problems. The body parts warped because they were pulled from the molds before they were completely cured. It cost them the first year’s production. Once they figured out how long it took there were few fit problems. The TD kit manufacturers may…[Read more]

Shipping may make the Brazil hubcaps seem pricey until you look at the cost of wire wheels, or even wire hubcaps. Add an MG logo in the hubcap center and the VW wheels that came with the donor car become faux MG steel wheels. Retro Cool. Yup. The cooling holes really are oval. That they appear round from the right angle on the originals is an opti…[Read more]

Why is the front end so wide? Is it caused by the offset in the wheels? The rears are tight under the fenders too.

 
Ed,
Your problem could be as simple as damp linings or rear brakes that were overdue for adjustment. Rear shoes last a loooonnng time. They only contribute 20% of the braking effort. Adjust the brakes and see if the grabbing changes before you start taking things apart. 
Peter
  

Ed,
Check the adjustment on the rears before you start spinning wrenches. I once saw a Squareback that wouldn’t go forward until you reversed to release the leading shoe on one side. That’s tough to do at a light. People told the owner it was a transmission problem. I adjusted the brakes and the problem was solved.
Rear brakes can stick when t…[Read more]

Ed,
You felt the front end dive. That’s a characteristic of the rear brakes. The front brakes cause the rear end to rise.  
Your problem might not be in the front brakes.
Was Bridget stored with the parking brake on? That would have left the retraction spring extended for a long period of time. Have you adjusted your rear brakes lately? Is the e…[Read more]

Ed,
You made a comment that triggered an ancestral memory. You blasted the brakes to seat them. Brake shoes are not completely cured when they come out of the box. The heat of the braking process is used to cure the ablative material that is the lining of a brake shoe. You may have overheated the surface when you blasted the brakes to set the…[Read more]