TC talking to me.

[johnsrode@aol.com]

Delight! Even after removing the caster wedges and without VW damper or ball joints. John S. Rode -----Original Message----- From: Joe Gates janus@iafrica.com> To: MG-TABC Group mg-tabc@yahoogroups.com> Sent: Tue, 2 Aug 2005 22:29:46 +0200 Subject: Re: [mg-tabc] TC talking to me. Having swopped the faithful BC for a Datsun Box a whuile back, and later replaced the linkages with ball joints, and finally fitted a VW steering damper (I hear the slightest of screams from some quarters - but cannot decide if they are in delight or disgust!), I reversed the castor shims to give me as much forward castor/resistence as possible. As a result it is as light as any power-steered vehicle I have driven without loosing that sense of control, but I put this down to the 4.5 inch tread on the tyres!. BTW, I now feel safe approaching 75mph whenever the inclination gets to me. Joe Yahoo! Groups Links [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Rick Waters]

When I rebuilt the front suspension, steering, wheels, and wheel bearings, I removed the shims so as to have more caster, and hence more stability at speed. With new bearings in the BC box, my old TC goes in a straight line, corners beautifully, and has no slop at the steering wheel. It is a heavy steering system, but it must be judged in the context of the era in which it was designed, and the overall price of the car at the time. I believe that if you do everything correctly in the front end, and do the entire job as per the articles in the TSO, or the Buell article, you will be well-pleased with the way the TC drives. It is my opinion that those who complain, and then fit Datsun or VW steering boxes, did not spend the necessary mental effort to understand the TC steering system, or who refused to spend the money to do the job properly. Come to Vancouver, and I'll show you 85 mph in a TC that does not wander, and is, with the exception of the Tompkins kit, stock in the front end and steering departments. -Rick TC 7881 Rick Hall hallrick@hotmail.com> wrote: Having been responsible for TC7091 since 1966 I can say with some certainty that the castor shims were a mid-run factory change as an economical means to take out some of the castor angle built into the front axle casting/forging to reduce the sterering effort without seriously reducing directional stability. My car came to me without the shims and I later upgraded to them ((thin end forward) and found that the steering was indeed lighter and there was little or no loss of stability (given what there was to begin with). Rick Hall NY/USA

>From: "Larry & Marilyn" 48mgtc@shasta.com> >To: , >Subject: Re: [mg-tabc] TC talking to me. >Date: Mon, 1 Aug 2005 15:38:40 -0700 > >Hi Again Doug > >I went and looked at my shims. They are installed thin end forward, which >I >think reduces castor and consequently reduces the centering force. I think >I have read that this was a factory production change to reduce the force >(torque) required to steer. > >My TC does not wander. The steering was pretty well screwed up, but it >would drive straight down the road if you did not mind three inches of slop >at the steering wheel. > >Maybe you need to check the caster, camber and toe in. And I know you have >done a lot of work on your TC so I suppose you have good king pins and >bearings. > >Good Luck >Larry >TC4703 > > > > > >Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > > >

Yahoo! Groups Links -Rick Waters __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Clive Sherriff]

>>>I have driven without loosing that sense > of control, but I put this down to the 4.5 inch tread on the tyres!.

Joe, Thats one deep tread - must be some grip!!!!!! Clive ==========================================

----- Original Message ----- From: "Joe Gates" janus@iafrica.com> To: "MG-TABC Group" mg-tabc@yahoogroups.com> Sent: Tuesday, August 02, 2005 9:29 PM Subject: Re: [mg-tabc] TC talking to me. > Having swopped the faithful BC for a Datsun Box a whuile back, and later > replaced the linkages with ball joints, and finally fitted a VW steering > damper (I hear the slightest of screams from some quarters - but cannot > decide if they are in delight or disgust!), I reversed the castor shims to > give me as much forward castor/resistence as possible. As a result it is as > light as any power-steered vehicle I have driven without loosing that sense > of control, but I put this down to the 4.5 inch tread on the tyres!. BTW, I > now feel safe approaching 75mph whenever the inclination gets to me. > > Joe

[Terry Horlick]

This going to work so you can only work on the MG on weekends is the pits! I have the engine out and the gear box open. I stripped second gear and it's mating cluster gear. Now I am looking at a largish bill for parts, a larger bill for a rebuild, or a slightly larger bill for a replacement 5 speed transmission. Decisions, decisions, decisions! Terry TC2285 --- In mg-tabc@yahoogroups.com, "Terry Horlick" wrote:

> I was reading TC's Forever by Michael Sherrell yesterday and came > upon the passage where he says the TC will tell you when something > is about to go wrong if you will just listen. He mentioned how > failures like broken sectors and broken Pitman arms can be

preceded

> with a subtle warning. > > Last weekend my TC got stuck in 3rd gear. Durring the week I went > through the shifting linkage and changed out the tranny oil. Went > for a test drive today and all was well. On the way home BANG!!! > The tranny made a loud noise and jammed up. It won't turn in any > gear. Ominous klunk and jams while trying to turn. I had to load > onto a trailer to make it the 1 block home. > > The problem is likely the tranny, but I can't rule out the clutch > yet. I guess I will have to tear down and pull out the engine to > figure this one out. > > If the tranny is toast I am thinking about installing a 5 speed- > overdrive unit. Does anyone know what tranny fits in there and

who

> makes the conversion kit? I hope to keep my original, but want to > know my options. > > Everytime I think I have all the bugs worked out something new and > drastic always seems to pop up! Does anyone out there have a > reliable car? > > Terry TC2285

[Jim and Shirley Mink]

I have had the opportunity to drive two MGs (a TC and a YA) equiped with Steve Neal's five speed conversion. There is no doubt in my mind that if I ever tear up the trany in TC 8970 this is theway I will go. The last time I checked, Steve's conversion costs about the same as rebuilding the TC box IF you can find the parts especially the cluster gear. Steve does business as "Sky Hook Engineering" in Brunswick Maine. He uses a transmission from a Japanese car, not sure which one but it becomes a "do it yourself" bolt in operation which can be reversed at any time. The phone number I have for him is 207-721-0166. Jim