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Wow I can hardly believe it’s been so long since I’ve been on the forums. As we all know life has a way of pushing our toys to the bottom of the to-do list.
I’m pleased to report that after some TLC the Duchess quickly became my daily driver. In temps below 40, or if it’s raining I resort to my old van. I never tire of the attention the car gets where ever it goes.
The color is the original gel coat. I give it a coat of Lemon Pledge every couple of weeks. A trick I learned from a fellow I met at a classic car show many years ago. Easiest thing in the world and no rubbing!
I’ve done nearly nothing to the interior yet. The carpet is really old and faded. The pan is rusted very bad but is still strong. From the signs I’d guess it had a couple inches of water in it for at least a couple of years. I plan on applying some of that rust stopper stuff that turns the surface black and prevents further rusting before installing new carpet. The dash is toast as the car was left open to the elements for many years. I’m very lucky the body has survived so many years without a scratch. Other than the high gloss is gone, the gel coat is in fine shape and not faded anywhere that I can tell.
I was pulling my hair out trying to figure out the shaking at 50 to 70 mph. After about $1200.00 I finally figured it out. BTW I have about 12 VW wheels I bought on Craig’s List and none of them are good. A set of quality mag wheels and new quality tires fixed the problem.
The synchronizers in first and second are giving me a tad of trouble but I just can’t stop driving it long enough to replace them.
I fabricated and installed a trailer hitch so I can pull my 3/4 scale Fokker Eindecker E-III Fighter Replica to fly-ins and car shows. The Dutchess is built on a 69 VW chassis and I’m guessing it’s either a 1600 or 1700cc. The plane and trailer together weigh approx 700 pounds and I have to check my mirror to make sure it’s still back there. The little car doesn’t seem to know it’s towing anything!
I’m sure glad I checked back in with the forum! Kall and Paul thanks for noticing my extended front bumper! I didn’t have a clue. I actually had to straighten the spring on one side early on as the bumper was sticking further out on one side. It should not be an issue flattening them out enough to bring it back closer to the correct position.
Yes Secretagentcat I have named her “Sharon” after my wonderful wife who passed just a few years ago. I know I’m old and nutz but I believe the little car is rewarding me for that honor.
I hope every MG TD replica owner/builder is having as much fun with their car as I am. The only down side for me is my youngest is unable to drive it. He’s 6′ 4″ and 265 lb and his head forms a huge bump in the convertible top.Tire problem fixed!
The new Nexen SB802 165/80R 15’s came in to my Walmart store today. I took all four wheels with Classic tires to the store and had them swap the tires. $32.00 to mount and balance them. The rims already had new stems.
At home I decided to wax every contact point on the rims so I rubbed an old candle on the backs of the rims where they contact the hubs, also the tapers on the rims where the lugs touch, and also the tapers on the lugs. I’ve always tightened lug nuts/bolts like you would head bolts… criss-cross pattern in steps to final tight.
I headed for the freeway with high hopes. WhooHoo! Smooth as a baby’s butt at any speed up to 65! I would have tried faster but traffic held me back.
The Classic tires are for sure out of round and have flat spots. What a battle it’s been. At last I’ll be able to work on other things that need fixing like installing the new oil pressure gauge, and fuel level sensor in the tank. Refinish the dash and new bushings on the shift rod. and on and on and on.
Thanks to all for the ideas and support. I love this forum!
George I did notice once , while grasping at straws, that when I would rotate a rim one lug at a time on the hub that the tire would be more/less out of round in certain positions. This surprised me, and I decided it was because I wasn’t getting the rim exactly centered each time. After that I was more careful, and also checked to be sure the tapor fits on the rims and lugs were clean.
Twice now I have mounted an old tire and one of the new tires on a set of rims and the new tire would be out of round but the old one was not. I had them switched and the new tire would be out of round on either rim. I’m sure now the new Classic tires are faulty. Guess I’ll find out when I get the new set on.
I take the rims and tires only to the tire places to be mounted and balanced, then bring them home and put them on the car myself. Most places tighten the lugs WAY too tight to suit me. I wasn’t aware Walmart had a policy not mounting on certain rims. If that’s the case I have another place that will.
Right now I’m limping along on three of the new ones and one old one. Smooth up to 55 then a slight shaking.
I’m amazed every day at the attention this little car garners. I guess they must be pretty rare here in the Midwest.
I’ve never had tires “shaved” but it sure sounds expensive.
With a coarse wheel on a hand grinder it goes pretty fast. To do several I’d think a fixture would be needed. Something as simple as setting on a 1 x 6 on a plastic milk carton to rest the grinder on as you work.
I ordered 4 new 165/80R 15’s from Walmart yesterday. They should be in one day next week and I’m expecting a miraculous change in the ride of my little Roadster.
Thanks for all the ideas! I found 165/80R 15’s at Walmart for $59 and free delivery to the store. I swear I checked there a week ago and none that size were available but my memory is going fast.
I’m toying with the idea of grinding these Classics. I’ve done that with one tire before but never 4. I used a 9″ disk grinder with a very coarse wheel. Had the tire and wheel on a front drum and angled the grinder so it kept the tire turning slowly. A simple fixture to hold the grinder would probably make the job easier.
I certainly have enough wheels now… maybe I’ll get the Walmart ones now and grind the Classics later.
I’ll post any success. I certainly hope no one else has this problem. Thanks again!
You’ll love driving your car. I’ve just had mine for a month and it’s already become my daily driver when it’s nice weather and I’ve not got it apart working on it.
Love your garage… Glad to see I’m not the only person that has to stand nose to nose with a project to work on it. Where do we get all this crap?!
This strap was on my car when I bought it. It’s worked very well so far. It could blow closed in a good wind and thump your noggin.
It’s an old seat belt with one end cut and screwed to the metal stiffener on the hood, and the other end riveted to the firewall.
When I get time I think I’ll change it to a smaller 1″ strap. The seat belt is kind of over kill.
This probably would not work with a front engine car. The strap could get against something hot and melt unless located in just the right spot.
Thanks to all for the welcome and the tips. All of the cars I’ve seen here give me an unreachable goal. Gorgeous one and all! Right now I’m working toward the “looks OK from across the street at midnight in a heavy fog” finish.
I will do the registry thing. Is there a way to tell if the car is factory built or customer built? The close fit of the body parts on this one makes me believe it was either factory built or assembled by a very picky customer.
Wow 80 pounds of air would be like riding on solid rubber fork lift tires.
The new tires don’t have a mfg name that I can find. The sidewalls say CLASSIC RADIAL LL800 165/80R15 M&S ALL SEASON. Pressure is 32 all around.
The standard VW wheels are attached with 3000 foot pounds of torque, give or take 500 pounds. Standard tire store torque specs. (A little tongue-in-cheek there.) My shop compressor is set on 120 PSI and the impact tool can’t remove the lug bolts. Using a standard cross-wrench with the outer end supported, and my 200+ jumping down hard I can loosen them.
The tires all run out of round from 1/16 to 1/8. The rims are about the same maybe a tad less. Neither is excessive IMO. One tire has a low spot of 1/8 vs being out of round like the other three. I’ll do some more rotating today but I’m beginning to see another new set of tires in my future.
I’ll try the marine polish. The gel could for sure have a higher gloss.
Anyone know of any particular areas to check for rattles and clunks? I’m searching for loose bolts or anything that might make a noise on a bump. The battery is mounted solid and I’m making a bolt-down bracket for the jack and tools.
I’m thinking new shocks too but from posts here it may be that removing some of the spring plates may be the only answer to a softer ride.
Clear skies,
Dick
