Dave,
For a good description of the peculiar engine bolts, get a copy of the
T-Series Manual from the NE MG T Register. Chip Olds has an invaluable
explanation of this peculiar thread & head combination. Essentially,
they are a metric thread used during WW1, with bolt heads sized to fit
Brit Standard or Whitworth wrenches. Other threads were those used in
British industry at the time.
You might try Moss or Abingdon Spares, or some of the advertisers in
TSO for these bolts. In the article is mentioned Metric & Multistandards
Components Corp, Elmsford, NY. My copy of the T-Series Manual is
copywrite 1986-that information may no longer be current. However, even
if you have the correct bolts, they won't be of much use to you if the
threads in the original holes are stripped unless you can fill the holes
and re-tap. It will be necessary to determine the time&cost/value
relationship to many of these individual bolts.
I don't think that you are likely to unduly wrack the frame in any
manner short of a collision. The frames were considered stiff in their
day, though we think of them as being pretty noodley today. How well
did your doors fit when four tires were on the ground? How well do the
doors fit when the car is up on jackstands? So you won't damage the
frame by lifting it, but you might not want to remove and replace body
pieces when it is up on jackstands. The cars were on their wheels at the
factory when the bodies were installed.
Your idea of supporting at the back with two supports and then using
one under the front cross member sounds OK to me. I have done it that
way, and felt that there was less twisting of the chassis because of an
uneven floor situation than with four supports. What sort of wood
supports are you engineering? Will you be able to achieve the rigidity
of the jackstands without taking up more working space under the car? I
started with a pair of 2,000 lb jackstands. These were fine for the
weight, of course, but were not large enough to give adequate working
room underneath. Next set was 4,000 lb units. With four of them under the
TD I certainly had an adequate (infinite?) reserve of strength, and
finally had the space to move the creeper, my elbows, and to focus my
bifocals.
You can bolt through the existing holes in the crossmember. One
supposes that they are there to lighten the weight of the car, as in
high-performance vehicles like the TDs and TFs "every ounce counts". I've
never seen them discussed.
Bob
On Fri, 19 Mar 1999 18:15:56 EST DGeis@aol.com writes:
>This list has been pretty quiet lately. Maybe the following will
>generate
>some response.
>
>I am in the process of rebuilding my 53 TD. The car has been woefully
>mistreated by DPO's. For example, there are three different kinds of
>bolts
>holding the fan blades and the two that match are the wrong kind.
>Many bolts
>are missing, studs have been replaced by bolts, etc. I seem to find
>lots of
>discussion of, and adequate sources for BSF fasteners for the body,
>but I
>haven't found any sources for, or much written about the peculiar
>metric bolts
>for the engine. I have two rebuild manuals (Schach and Green) and I
>don't see
>any mention of this subject. Does this mean that it is not a problem,
>or does
>it mean that it is an insurmountable problem? Do restorers substitute
>something else, do they have a source of the so-called Nuffield
>metrics or
>what? Can "Metric fine" bolts (i.e. 8mm X1mm metric fine) be
>substituted?
>Are some bolts in the engine compartment BSF? (For example those that
>attach
>the horns, fuel pump, coil, etc.
>
>Subject two: Currently the car is on jack stands located at the front
>and
>rear of the level part of the frame. I would like to raise the car a
>bit more
>to make the underside more accessible and jack stands make me a bit
>nervous
>anyway. I have been thinking of building some timber supports. The
>rear one
>would be where the rear jack stands are with enough base to make it
>stable.
>The front one is the question. I thought it could be a single support
>about
>15" side to side and 6" front to back. It would be bolted to the
>front cross
>member utilizing the existing holes. (What are these holes for
>anyway?) The
>question is whether supporting the front in this manner will unduly
>wrack the
>frame.
>
>Any thoughts, particularly on the bolts, will be appreciated. --Dave
>G.
>
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