Dave Plumley's 1953 TD with Corvette Engine and Rear Suspension
Owner: Dave Plumley
BritishV8 UserID: deltadave
City: Unionville, Tennessee
Model: 1953 MG TD
Engine: Chevrolet 350 V8
Built by: owner.
Features and Specifications
| Engine: | 1974 Corvette 350, with only minor modifications.
Hollet carburetor.
Delco-Remy HEI dustributor. |
| Cooling: | custom large core aluminum radiator by Brice Thomas Radiator.
Electric fan.
Engine oil cooler. |
| Exhaust: | homemade headers into 2 1/2" pipes with round turbo mufflers. |
| Transmission: | Borg Warner T5 five speed (from a 1985 Camaro.)
Chevy Astro van 11" clutch.
Jeep clutch pedal and master cylinder.
Nissan slave cylinder. |
| Rear End: | 1964 Corvette. |
| Front Susp.: | 1965 Corvair suspension, narrowed.
MG rack & pinion, steering column and steering wheel. |
| Rear Susp.: | 1964 Corvette suspension, narrowed.
Composite monoleaf spring. |
| Brakes: | (master) Jeep Cherokee cylinder and pedal assembly. Stock MG pedal pads. (front) Corvair, with Scarebird conversion to Chevy S10 disc brakes. (rear) stock 1964 Corvette drum brakes. |
| Wheels/Tires: | Chevy 15x7 Rally wheels, with three winged spinners added for looks.
195/60 front & 225/60 rear tires.
|
| Instruments: | TPI gauges
speedometer (0-140mph),
tachometer (0-8000rpm),
oil pressure (0-100psi),
coolant temperature (F),
voltmeter (10-16V),
and fuel level guages. |
| Electrical: | EZ Wire harness.
7"x 6 3/4"x 3 3/4" gel cell battery (mounted in the original tool box.) |
| Interior: | stock seats and trim panels recovered by Capabilities Inc. of Elmira NY.
Fatmat sound deadener.
Lowes carpet.
Steering wheel redone by owner.
Original interior recovered,
MG pads on brake and clutch pedals.
Vintage aircraft seat-belts. |
| Exterior: | final cosmetic body work and custom blue PPG paint by Fenders & Flames of Corning NY.
New bumpers.
New headlights, with integral turn signals.
Brooklands racing wind-screens.
(Original windshield, top, and side curtains came with the car, but need new covers.) |
| Completed: | May 2011. The rebuild has about 500 miles on it, as of the end of June. |
Engine Installation
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How It Was Done
After over thirty years in a garage in Buffalo New York the little TD was rescued in 2006 by Rich Almeter. This is how it was found. The engine was toast and the passenger door and seat bottom were missing. There were a lot of parts in boxes, but most were junk.
I purchased the car in July of 2009 and sold the Willys. Rich bolted most of it together so it could be moved. My brother and I trailered it to my home in south central New York near Watkins Glen
I started taking her apart and test fit a 74 Corvette 350 to the frame many times before it and the T5 trans were bolted down.
Way back in 1968 Thom Gingher of Buffalo transplanted the Corvette rear and Corvair front suspensions in the MG frame. The story goes that Thom drove the car around the Buffalo area and raced it in some modified SCCA class at Watkins Glen from 68 to to 71 when the engine blew up. I lived a few miles from Watkins Glen before moving to TN, but never got to the museum to conferm the story. Some of the work left a bit to be desired, so I refined and upgraded some parts of the conversion. The rear upper shock mounts were relocated and the forward rubber mount was replace by a solid one. The fromt brakes converted to disc and new shocks and steering shaft with rubber isolation joint installed.
Interior
POR 15
The spring in the Corvette rear was a mess, so I found a composit one on EBAY and cut if off to fit the narrowed rear unit, works great.
Purchased a product called Hyper Fiber. It's fiberglass cloth with wire imbedded in it, so it will hold a shape. The best thing about the stuff is curing is done with UV rays. I used it to make the transmission cover. Covered the trans with bubble wrap to give 3/4" of clearence and formed the Hyper Fiber over the trans and onto the floors. Pushed the frame out in the sun and ten minutes later the cover was done. The stuff is a little pricey but, I usualy waste half the cloth and resin I buy anyway.
My steering wheel was a mess with very little plastic left after fifty seven years. I couldn'd afford $500 for a Brooklands wheel, so I decided to atempt a restore with PC7 epoxy. Removed all the broken plastic and built up many layers of epoxy. It's a slow process because each layer has to cure before the next goes on. I made several sanding tools and found my wifes foam nail boards work great. After the wheel was done, I did a wood grain airbrush paint and clear coated it. I have less than $15 in the restore with a nice wood grain look.
The MG frame is so narrow I had to shorten the clutch throw-out lever.
I decided to use a Nissan truck slave cylinder because they are small, have two mounting bosses perpendicular to the bore for easy mounting, and they sell for $15 on EBAY. As small as the slave is, I still needed to remove a small piece of the frame for clearance around the bleeder. I made a bracket from heavy angle iron that used two of the bell housing mounting bolts for installation. The assembly went together as planned and works great.
Fatmat sound deadener.
Called TPI and ordered a 5" electric speedo, tach, sending units and the four small standard gauges. Got to work on the dash after a cleaning and a little armorall.
Interior
Exterior
