TD sacrificed in Special build

[Ray White]

Has anyone seen the Ant Anstead build of an Alfa Special/replica.? The TV programme dubbed "master mechanic" is on the QUEST Chanel and set mainly in the USA. Rather than construct a new chassis, an original MG TD was sacrificed. I often hear it said "your car... do what you want" but surely this practice is unsustainable.?

[i.thomson]

Of course we can do what we like with our own possessions but within limits. Laws put those limits on what we can and can't do and all of us agree with at least some of them. So far there is no law about destroying old cars though there are a few about how, or whether, we can use any final creation. But what we are considering here is not whether something can be done but whether it should be done. Those of us who have some appreciation of old cars like them for themselves as much as what they can do for us - and the older they get the more their intrinsic worth increases over their use worth. We even come to consider ourselves as custodians rather than owners. Historians and archeologists understand this well but commerce, especially when expressed as entertainment, struggles with such concepts which can not be expressed through economics. To put it another way: we are surrounded by heathens who know the price of everything but the value of nothing.
Ian

[Ray White]

Well said, Ian. Your observations are spot on in my opinion. I have no doubt that Ant Anstead is a highly competent mechanic and car builder but what puzzles me is that he is also steeped in motoring history; especially racing history - yet seems to have had little regard for the MG chassis that he chopped up. Perhaps he thinks the TD is not that rare a car so would make a suitable donor car.?

It wouldn't take many other people to think like that and the supply of MG T series "donor' cars would run out.

I suppose they would then just move onto something else?

[Steve Simmons]

I saw the show a couple years ago. As I recall, the TD was a bit too nice to consider unrestorable. There are a ton of rotted cars and bare frames out there, and considering how plentiful TDs are it wouldn't be too much a shame to use one for such a project. But the car he used should have remained a TD. I remember being impressed with the project at first, but as it progressed he made more and more questionable decisions using modern and completely inappropriate parts. The fake headers really bothered me, as did the disc brakes and the spider engine. I can forgive the fiberglass body, considering the cost and effort to make one of aluminum. And when it comes down to it, the TD wasn't the best choice anyway since a solid axle front end would have been a much better choice. But had he done that, then a much more rare and special car may have been sacrificed, like a TC perhaps. And that would have been a real tragedy.

As to the "why", I suspect he needed a vintage frame for registration purposes. Here in California, even after he hacked up the frame and threw away everything that went on it, the car can still be registered as a 1950's MG TD. No safety testing, no smog requirements, etc. Had he built a custom frame, he would have to apply for a home built kit car title that would come with all kinds of hassles.

[Duncan M]

2nd episode he goes on about how clever he is because he picked the MG with rack and pinion steering, and an MG just a few years older would have "sloppy" steering. What a tool.

[Ray White]

Steve. So, you have seen the episode that I saw last night when he stuck on the fake headers to pretend it was an 8C under the hood. I thought at the time "this is a joke". Building a 'special' is one thing; building an accurate replica is quite another and a very difficult thing to achieve. I had the same misgivings when I looked into buying a "Suffolk" Jaguar SS100 kit . Using XJ6 underpinnings made for a good sports car but fitting fake 'Hartford' friction dampers simply for effect left me cold.

[Steve Simmons]

Well, considering what he was building, I'm not sure the TC steering box would have been appropriate anyway. But a VW conversion would have been strong enough and given easier steering on the big tires. In the end I'm glad he decided an earlier model wasn't what he wanted. Honestly if I had to do what he did, I would have chosen a pre-war frame from a common vehicle, even a big American car, since he was going to modify it anyway. Could easily have lightened and shortened an old Buick or similar from a junk yard and not taken a restorable car off the road.

Steve. So, you have seen the episode that I saw last night when he stuck on the fake headers to pretend it was an 8C under the hood. I thought at the time "this is a joke". Building a 'special' is one thing; building an accurate replica is quite another and a very difficult thing to achieve. I had the same misgivings when I looked into buying a "Suffolk" Jaguar SS100 kit . Using XJ6 underpinnings made for a good sports car but fitting fake 'Hartford' friction dampers simply for effect left me cold.

Yes, it's been a couple years since I saw it but as noted above that exhaust pipe bothered me a lot. Not as much as the disc brakes, but it was pretty bad. Reminded me of the guy nearby who has a Bugatti Type 35 "replica" build on a VW bug chassis. Still has the bug engine in back. How hard would it have been to use a more appropriate chassis? The look is surprisingly good, but when he fires it up it sounds ridiculous.

For the "Alfa" exhaust pipe, I would have just left it with four pipes if I was too lazy to find a more appropriate 6-cylinder engine. And it really should have had big drum brakes. The discs completely ruined the entire look.

[Duncan M]

Steve, how is it going with TC9849? Weren't you going for original BC box steering on it? Be sure and let us know how "sloppy" the steering turns out. Ha ha. TC9866 has the original BC box and worm with a fresh top plate, and I would describe it as the exact opposite of sloppy.

[Steve Simmons]

It's going slowly. I'm having to split my time between 7018 and 9849, and I don't have a lot of play time these days. The steering on 9849 is likely going to end up as a Datsun unit, but 7018 will probably be a BC box. Neither is certain just yet. One will be driven by my wife and the other by my father. So they have final say.

I think properly set up, either is great, each with pros and cons. But the number of BC boxes out there that are properly set up is likely quite small! They are often misunderstood.

[Duncan M]

Any number of reasons someone might want to use a different steering box in a TABC. No problem with that. Problem is with claims that the original box is junk, and something else is better.

Ant seems to not know much about the History of these cars, or how the properly set up steering on the TC originally caused people to fall madly in love with the steering characteristics of the car, or how in the 50's a (rack and pinion) TD could barely keep up with a TC on a twisty track or a windy road.

[Mark McCombs]

It was a weird choice to use as the basis of an Alfa replica and seemed more a Franken car than Alfa.

The series was shown in its entirety on the Motor trend channel (the old speedvision).

That being said, there are always some interesting aspects, I recall the grill design and assembly was pretty neat.

[Ray White]

It was a weird choice to use as the basis of an Alfa replica and seemed more a Franken car than Alfa.

The series was shown in its entirety on the Motor trend channel (the old speedvision).

That being said, there are always some interesting aspects, I recall the grill design and assembly was pretty neat.

The exhaust on the original car exits the off side (unlike the nearside as in Ant's car) and in fact there was absolutely no need to show 8 pipes... as originally only two were shown!.