Moss Motors, Ltd

Brand new owner of an MGTC EX-U here.  Be grateful for your advice regarding the following:

1.  Tires:  This bloody thing sways when I stop.  I'd suspect the brakes, except it weaves from side to side like the town drunk.  It's got Firestone cross plys, probably 10 years old.  What's the best handling MGTC tire available?  

2.  Why doesn't Moss sell a supercharger for TC's anymore?

Appreciate your help.

Contact Ben Cordsen at sculptart@aol.com.  He's got a 99 point '47 TC that drives like a dream.  If Ben doesn't have the answer, he will know where to get the information.

If you don't have a copy already, I highly recommend the New England MGT Register's bible on all things TC, TD, and TF, "The "T"-Series MG Handbook".  It features a complete history, production information, modifications, and an extensive and detailed "How To" maintain your TC.  Worth every penny!

I believe the supplier of the Moss supercharger discontinued the unit.  Kelvin at Moss will have any updates on possible new production.  As a side note, be careful what you wish for.  Making the TC go really fast brings up the issue of getting it to stop in the same zip code that you applied the brakes ...

Enjoy the car!

It's not the tires that cause your TC to attract the DUI enforcement guys, it's the steering. If there is ANY appreciable wear in the suspension components that will only compound the problem.

Experienced TC drivers will tell you that you don't really steer a TC. You suggest where you'd like to go, and the car interprets that in a rather free form manner. It's rather more like sailing and less like driving.

There are several upgrades which improve the system dramatically, but which the Originality Police won't like. One replaces the steering box with a Volkswagen one. Another uses a Datsun box. The most "acceptable" improvement is the Tompkins Steering Kit. It replaces a couple of the components of the original steering box, but the results are not as dramatic.

Let me stress again that if you want this car to go down the road straight (straight is a relative term here) EVERYTHING in the front end, from the spring bushings to the wheel bearing adjustment, must be optimized. If the kingpins are at all loose you'll have a handful. If the tie rod ends are at all sloppy it'll steer like a dump truck. If everything is PERFECT, a stock TC with the Tompkins kit will drive pretty OK.

Do take Dick's advice and talk to Ben Cordsen. He's a great guy and he'll have a pile of tips and information for you, including info on joining a group online just for TA-TB-TC cars.

 

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Motorbill
From Lola to Land Rover, If it's British and has wheels, it's likely I've bloodied me knuckles thereupon

Thanks.  My car was restored a decade ago and the front suspension is tight.   My other car is a Morgan Plus 4, so I am accustomed to sloppy steering.  This is different; the MG sways only when I brake.  It has a Tompkins steering kit installed, and the steering part of it is rather precise.  I thought it might be a sticking wheel cylinder, but no such luck. 

Check the toe-in/alignment.

LCJUTILA 

Re the town drunk!, does this happen whenever you are driving slowly or only when you are braking??  If the former then I would suspect [badly]  buckled wheel and if the latter I would be looking at how true the drums are.

Would a glass or two of the amber nector correct your perception  of the problem anyway?? Hope this helps,

Cheers   steve

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To a man equipped with only a hammer, most problems look like nails

Maybe I don't understand what you mean by the term "sway" Do you mean that it pulls to one side under braking? Does it "sway" at all under other conditions?

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Motorbill
From Lola to Land Rover, If it's British and has wheels, it's likely I've bloodied me knuckles thereupon

Not to discourage use of this forum, (which I've just discovered) but you would get the help of almost TA/TB and TC owners on the T-ABC email list.

go to yahoogroups.com and search for T-ABC

Terry in Oakland Cal.

Hi TATerry,

I monitor the T-A-B-C list, as you can imagine. They are not all that together on what causes this kind of problem. I've witnessed almost bitter arguments about suspension and steering on TCs for instance. Sure, it's a site any old MGer ought to watch, but I was just trying to distill what I had learned there and in my own experience in order not to confuse too much. Pretty confusing, eh??

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Motorbill
From Lola to Land Rover, If it's British and has wheels, it's likely I've bloodied me knuckles thereupon