MG TD15470 Restoration/Tub and Wings

email Dave Braun at dave@dbraun99.com (click here)

The first order I placed for parts when I started this project was a complete wood kit from Craig Seabrook. It took a year for the wood to all show up. That should have been my first clue that this part was going to take a while.

Tub Disassembly
I decided I lacked the skills necessary to restore my tub. Brian Almsted now has my tub and doors, along with my wings and other metal parts.
(36 Images)

Creating Captive Nuts
Captive nuts are the glue that holds the wings and other parts to the tub. Dave Von Wald offered his services and his machine shop to help make them as a Sunday project. Captive nuts are basically a metal cage that holds a square nut. The nuts may be 5/16 BSF or 1/4 BSF thread.
(16 Images)

Tub Restoration
The wood is from Craig Seabrook. It appears to be thicker than the Moss wood others have purchased, and it is giving Brian some grief. The work is progressing slowly.
(98 Images)

Firewall and Toe Board
The firewall and toe board presented their own problems. The firewall had holes from the Arnolt heater which I was not installing, and the toe board had an expedient snip to facilitate removing the gearbox. These and other flaws needed correcting, and the firewall and timbers fitted to the front of the tub.
(47 Images)

Doors
The door wood looked good from the interior, but I insisted the timbers be removed and checked. Good thing as the wood was soft next to the metal, and was quite perforated from several interior changes. I just couldn't see trying to hang 'used' doors in a new tub.
(102 Images)

Wings and Bonnet
The wings had a few cracks, and some repairs which revealed wrinkles when examined. Brian welded and reinforced the cracks and fixed previous repairs which weren't quite up to snuff. The really, really hard part was removing the undercoating from the undersides of the wings. Also included here are the bonnet and the front and rear valances or splash aprons.
(118 Images)

Floors
The wooden floors, the prop shaft tunnel and the gearbox tunnel. Also, the side curtain box and the rear flooring.
(62 Images)

Fuel Tank and Spare Tire Rack
The fuel tank was in pretty good shape, and just needs smoothing and body color. The tank straps and the spare tire carrier were chromed. I had them stripped and will finish them body color.
(48 Images)

Bumpers
Buy new or rechrome? One thing is for certain, the bumper brackets have to be stripped and painted, and the front bumper bolts need to somehow be removed.
(17 Images)

Tub Installation
The tub and firewall were a long time coming from the body guy, Brian. But now I have them and I can assemble these components on the chassis.
(46 Images)