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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 - Steering Clamp Spacers

I'm almost ready to install the steering column and I find I'm missing the two spacers that are used with the clamp that holds the steering column to the tower. I can fabricate them out of steel tubing, but it would help if I had the right lengths.

Attached is a picture brazenly stolen from Dave Braun's website showing the clamp and the spacers-- one long and one short.

Thanks for any help!

David Littlefield

Dave: Cars all tucked in for the winter so no measurements from me. These look to be done with something much heavier than tubing though. They have about 1/8" thick walls.
Christopher Couper

1" on the long one, 5/8 on the short one.
I believe I made the short one. 1/2" od tubing.

Jim B.

JA Benjamin

Thanks, Jim!

Interesting, the proportions seem markedly different from Dave Braun's car, but I guess if it works!
David Littlefield

David: I would wait until you get a few more measurements from the team. The figure from Dave Brauns site is certainly original and matches mine.

But you could get real close by measuring the space between the clamp when the arms were parallel. And also the longer distance piece where the steering column needs to be to keep it aligned correctly.

Those are the two reasons the spacers exist.
Christopher Couper

The dimensions on my car are 1-1/2" and about 1/4". They are partially visible in this picture I took as I was tearing the car down.
Joe

Joe Olson

Mine measure 1 7/16 and 5/16. From TD 16175. I have no reason to think they are not original

B Mooney

Thanks, Mr. Mooney! Hard to get more definitive than that.
David Littlefield

My TF does not have this column to tower clamp. Is it important?
I thought I had read in the past that TD's had it, but TF's did not.
Is that true?

Tom
'54 TF
T Norby

Instead of the tower to column clamp you should have a bracket welded to the tube that runs from one side of the chassis to the other under the scuttle.
Dave H
Dave Hill

Dave, does this mean that the only TD's and TF's that had the tower to column clamp are the very early TD's that did not have the frame scuttle stiffener?

Tom
T Norby

As far as I know, yes. Certainly my TF only has the bracket that I mentioned. I converted from LHD to RHD and had to make and weld that bracket.
Dave H
Dave Hill

No, Tom. From NEMGTR Restoration Handbook, page 44, "...TD 0351 (Dec. 12, 1949): The original chassis ... was revised to incorporate a tubular brace ... to stiffen the load." I believe that all TDs should have the clamp. Bud
Bud Krueger

This thread was discussed between 14/12/2015 and 20/12/2015

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