MG-Cars.info

Welcome to our Site for MG, Triumph and Austin-Healey Car Information.

Parts

MG parts spares and accessories are available for MG T Series (TA, MG TB, MG TC, MG TD, MG TF), Magnette, MGA, Twin cam, MGB, MGBGT, MGC, MGC GT, MG Midget, Sprite and other MG models from British car spares company LBCarCo.

MG TD TF 1500 - Screen frame

I am test assembling a TD windscreen frame that has been away for re-chroming. The top corners (hood peg bracket) do not fit correctly, as I tighten the c/s screws the joints misalign, the side piece is pulled down and under the top mitre
Does this mean the chrome is too thick and the hood peg hole needs to be eased.
All of the parts are original and belong together.
Not my car so I need to get it right.
Ray TF 2884
Ray Lee

I believe you can buy non-drilled corner pieces and drill and tap them your self for a good fit. I think Moss has them.

Tim
Timothy Burchfield

The non drilled bits are available and aren't chromed, don't buy the new ones that are drilled because they don't fit properly, also the angle was off on the ones I bought and broke when I tried to re-position them. Anyway possible keep the old ones, even if they need repairing. JMHO. PJ
PJ Jennings

I don't understand why bits that used to fit now wont fit.
They are not damaged or bent, the screw holes line up with the frame holes, the angles are correct but they pull out of alignment laterally not through an angle. It can be corrected with brass shim but I would like to know why????
I did my own many years ago and this did not happen then.
Ray TF 2884
Ray Lee

Ray,

Are you testing with or without the glass. If without perhaps the glass will make things line up. It's been a long time since I did mine so I don't remember if this was an issue or not.

Jim
James Neel

All sorted, brass shims, a bit of judicious filing and it now lines up 99.9%.Good enough for me.
The top corner pieces were slightly wrong, and as I said probably from the massive shunt years ago. It was enough to bend the left track control arm, one of the bulkhead to chassis tie-bars and possibly the left front brake drum which had been replaced with a one piece one . I would not like to have been in that as it still had the wiper motor on the drivers side.
Ray TF 2884
Ray Lee

The issue is a poorly made part. I had both the Moss drilled, the Moss undrilled and the broken original. The problem becomes clear when they are compared side by side. My solution was to throw the Moss parts in the bin as the supplier here in Sydney wouldn't take them back, and to restore the broken originals using some brazing rod. I then had them rechromed. They can be bodgied up to almost fit using some internal packing but as Ray says, they are never 100%. This is one of the 76 items that our club members are advised to avoid from that supplier. Cars that have frames assembled using the Moss top corner brackets are really fugly, their out of alignment mitres look like poor workmanship in assembly rather than caused by a shoddy part. I made the Moss CEO Glen Adams personally aware of this at least 6 years ago now and to my knowledge they still sell this awful component. Caveat emptor. Cheers
Peter TD 501
P Hehir

I am sure it was damage from many years ago. I can't blame modern replacement parts as this frame and all parts are original. Or at least they were on the car in the early sixties when she got the car. It was laid up over 40 years ago and we are slowly waking it up.
Ray TF 2884
Ray Lee

I wish I'd taken a few pics at the last Sydney Concours I was at a few years back, though I guess the owners could have worked out what I was taking a close up of, and may not have appreciated it. There must have been about 4 or 5 cars of the 12 or so there all with the same issue on both corner brackets, a misalignment of about 6 mm. I do regret also not taking a pic of the 3 brackets side by side. The problem is the position of the post in relation to the corner. I don't doubt damage compounded your issue Ray. No telling how long these dud parts have been on the Moss inventory though. Cheers
Peter TD 5801
P Hehir

I am happy with this it wont come closer, the gash screws are just to stop me marking up the nice new chrome c/s 2BA screws
Ray

Ray Lee

Ray: From your picture I don't think you could get better. It also looks like the width of the two pieces is not the same so you are going to have to live with that anyway.

Remember these were far from perfectly built cars.
Christopher Couper

They are the same width,it's just lens distortion. Before I made the adjustments th the joint was way off.
Ray
Ray Lee

This thread was discussed between 08/02/2020 and 09/02/2020

MG TD TF 1500 index

This thread is from the archives. Join the live MG TD TF 1500 BBS now