The restoration process followed the accepted sequence for these cars:-
- chassis completed to rolling chassis stage, but not in final paint finish and with un-restored wheels and old tyres;
- bodywork completed to final fit of all panels on the rolling chassis;
- bodywork strip-down for painting;
- completion of rolling chassis to pristine condition, with engine and gearbox fitted;
- assembly of painted body and panels to completed rolling chassis;
- and finally wiring, dashboard, instruments, electrical components and lights, internal trim, carpets, seats, and windscreen;
- fitting good wheels with new tyres, toe-in setting, and engine tune-up, number plates, etc.
Small front axle components and other small items on the "clean" bench. Small drawers hold the supply of new BSF and metric screws, nuts, washers, etc, essential for all TC owners.
Rocker shaft was replaced but existing rocker bushes were in good condition.
[MG J2 chassis and radiator in the background - retirement project.]
After completing and using the car, i bought bonded, softer linings for the front brake shoes, to reduce pedal effort. In late 2001, i converted the braking system to silicon brake fluid, changing all rubber seals and boots at the same time.
Engine was stripped and rebuilt. Bores 0.040" oversize. Head was converted to run on un-leaded petrol, larger [TF-sized] valves fitted, and mild gas-flowing done. New clutch and release bearing were fitted.
Later I converted the rear half-shafts and hubs to the tapered connection type, manufactured by Roger Furneaux, together with his "oil-seal hub nuts". This combination obviates the spline wear of the original design and keeps the rear brakes dry. The conversion is not visible from the outside.
[No highly-polished dashpots for this car.]
Overflow pipes run down front of engine mounting plate and are secured by a single clip
TC guru Steve Baker, at left, did the panel fitting for me, and cheerfully provided vital advice.
A new ash-framed body was fitted with the original scuttle and bulkhead.
Rear number-plate carrier is non-original - to carry the twin rear lights now compulsory in UK for TCs.
Using high temperature wax, I injected all the rolled edges inside the wings and running boards, and did the same to wing-to-body joints, to exclude moisture.
Late summer 1999; in the workshop finishing the plywood floor-boards for TC/8233 with about 8 coats of matt varnish, on top of black wood-stain.
These thin boards carry the seat runners and seats. They are covered on top by black carpet, but must be well sealed as they are exposed to the elements on the underside.
Side screen box door still to be covered in Rexine in this shot. [Red TCs should have either beige or red interior seats and trim.]
Red plywood sloping panel not yet painted matt black. Heads of fuel tank strap bolts top right were later painted to match the trim colour.
Although the car had a "special" dashboard when I bought it, with various strange instruments and switches, after numerous days spent at autojumbles, I was able to obtain the correct instruments and switches. Chris Clark rebuilt the ignition switch for me and supplied the small gauges and petrol warning light.
Fitting dashboard, and piping between dashboard and scuttle, required great patience and numerous trial fittings before getting the result shown. [Took nearly two days.]
Horn/dip switch not shown as it must be connected to the wiring loom before it can be assembled and fitted to centre dash panel.
Windscreen was rebuilt using new safety glass in re-chromed frame. [Not fitted in this view.]
M-140 headlights were disassembled for restoration. The bowls and rims were re-chromed, and the black-painted parts were stripped, zinc-plated and then enameled, before the whole assembly was riveted back together. Photo shows some of the correct headlamp components after repairs and preparation, prior to assembly by nickel-plated brass rivets. Swinging a hammer onto a rivet punch in those shiny refurbished headlight bowls took some courage, but all turned out well. Replacement rubber seals were too big and had to be reduced to correct size. The Lucas medallions must be removed before the headlight bowls are re-chromed, but replacement medallions are available. Steve Baker sourced the correct original headlight glass for me. [Thanks Steve.]
The Lucas SFT462 fog-light for the late-model TC [see front view of completed car below] is difficult to find, but an original was eventually located in the North of England.
The front side-lights [Lucas 1130 type] were re-chromed, fitted with new "red-dots", and converted to twin filament lamp-holders for side and turn signal lights.
The adjuster knob assemblies were removed before the zinc plating, as these had to be chrome plated.
The new wiring loom came with the correct flexible armour tubes for the engine compartment, but without those for the headlight cables - I had to get those made up separately.
In this photo the ignition coil is incorrect. Correct Q12 coil has now been fitted. Period-style HT cables complete the picture.
Auto-sparks supplied the two wiring looms, and added the extra cores for the turn signal indicators.
White object at top right is a Bob Gruneau spin-on oil filter conversion, replacing the original unit which is difficult to buy today, and expensive if you can find one. Exhaust system is stainless steel.
All chassis components are black. Sump is painted engine red [a different colour from body MG red] - some say sump should be un-painted - I like it red.
I made sure that all the new BZP fasteners on chassis and axles etc were painted black, as they should be.
