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MG TD TF 1500 - TD,TFand TC Fuel Tank Sides.

Hi All,

We know that originally the body paint on the TD and TF Fuel Tank Sides extended to the UPPER rim area. A video of a new TD being loaded onto a truck at Abingdon in 1950 clearly depicts this paint mode.(Provided on the Internet via Pathe Films).

I can see no reason why TCs originally were not also painted this way in this part of the car.

Does anyone have a Factory photo of a TC showing this point of detail?

The majority of restored TDs,TFs and TCs don't seem to have the paint correctly applied on the Fuel Tank Sides.

Thanks and cheers.
Rob Grantham
TF3719"Aramis"),TF9177("Athos").
Rob Grantham

All of us earlier restorers seemed to miss this rather important feature and did what we thought was natural, trim it off with tape. That of course leaves an ugly deep trim line which we tried all sorts of ways to eliminate such as pulling the tape off immediately after spraying so the paint could settle into the bend smoother. :-(

Sorry to go off topic here but ...

On another front I am trying to figure out how to do the same for the center facia on TDs and TC's (TF's have that rolled edge and separate chrome ring so no issue).

For the gas tank panels if you shoot the paint from bottom and back side you will get paint on the rim but it does not show when assembled. And that "rain shadows" the top and front side to leave that part of the rim unpainted. A little thinner on a rag or rubbing compound can get rid of the tiny amount of overspray.

But I have not figured out a technique to do the same for the instrument facia as all sides are visible and the entire edge is also not painted. But you cannot see a tape line on original facias as the paint fades into the ring slightly.

If anyone has a technique for this I would love to know what it is.
Christopher Couper

Here is how I did the fuel tank panels.

I put the panel on a piece of plywood and then taped a piece of thin cardboard (like shoe box thickness) to the plywood so it touched the front, and the top and bottom curves. The back chrome edge was painted.

I sprayed at a 70 to 80 degree angle from the back towards the front and the mask. Keep the spray to a low pressure and don't built it up too heavily.

As Chris stated. I have not figured out how they did this on the dash plate. On the dash plate the paint ends before the start of the rolled edge, so a mask like I used on the tank ends will not work.





Bruce Cunha

Still have not received any word or photo to confirm
whether TCs had the same paint application on the Fuel Tank Side Trim Panels as for TDs and TFs. Any ideas?

Cheers
Rob Grantham
Rob Grantham

Rob: I looked through the dozen or so books I have that show factory photos and/or brochures. From what I could tell TBs and TCs for the most part seem to have full chrome detail around the edge as you would if you taped it off, and not like the TD and TF. Most of the pictures are either at the wrong angle or too far away to really tell though. The one close up case is the picture of the fuel cap filler. Take a look at that picture and see if you agree.

Now I did see a picture of a 1949 TC that appeared not have the full chrome bezel but again not 100% certain. So maybe for very late cars they cheapened out and started spraying them like they did for the TDs and TFs.
Christopher Couper

Chris,

Thankyou for time taken to try and establish the TC Fuel Tank side panel paint method.

Is there a picture to view from your response?

My belief at this stage is that the Factory would not have wasted precious production time masking off the chromeplated tank sides for TCs.


Cheers
Rob G.
Rob Grantham

Well take this with a block of salt:

One picture (earlier?) clearly shows chrome on the inner edges like it was taped off. The darker car (black) of a later brochure looks like the edge has been painted. If you have a manual look at the fuel cap filler picture. This shows chrome edges.

But keep in mind picture in manuals and brochures are often of non production (prototypes or first of a kind cars) and can also get some "enhancements" during picture editing, that are not what you would see in production cars.





Christopher Couper

Chris.,

Thankyou once again on the efforts with the TC Fuel Tank side panel painting mode research.

Your prompt responses and commentary are always appreciated.

Great depictions of the TC side panels with the possible scenarios noted.

Cheers
Rob Grantham
Rob Grantham

This thread was discussed between 24/02/2022 and 01/03/2022

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