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MG TD TF 1500 - luggage racks again

Would like to get some advise on the following,
as I have learned via the Grapevine there are a few suppliers for those Racks and it seems that from one supplier the chrome tends to disappear if you drive faster then 45 miles . From another supplier they say
sturdy made but the fit is poor and approx 1" of and some other comments.
Like to hear from you gentleman who makes the best for the buck.
Thanks for your time.
Gerard
Gerard Hengeveld

Gerald,
Don't have a rack...but you might get better answer here if you let them know...TD or TF?
David Sheward

GERARD,
You also have to realize that if you get a "high" rack, you will not be able to see past the luggage on it using the rear view mirror!! i would suggest Bob Wrenn's rack,,, stainless and low,,, when it is time to replace my rack that's the one I will get,,,,

SPW
STEVE WINCZE

Oops, some confusion here ?? Yes I have a td , want to have a low rack, don't mind to pay around 500,-- BUT IT SHOULD FIT properly without wrestling extra bending Are there more then two rack makers in the US ?

Thanks gentleman,
Gerard Hengeveld

I think Bob Wrenn in Jacksonville made some a while back? Did you search the archives? George
George Butz

Yes George I know Bob Wrenn ,

Thanks Gerard
Gerard Hengeveld

Gerard ...oops ...sorry I got your name wrong.
David Sheward

A little clairfication about my racks. My racks are made of a thick wall, polished stainless steel & welded w/ S/S rods. Never any rust Racks are a copy of the old "AMCO" rack, only far stronger.I have them for TD & TF. Two styles are available. Guaranteed to be 10 times stronger than the Moss rack. I can ship world wide.

Bob Wrenn

Bob, does your TF rack fold down and lay flat? I'm not privy to the T series racks. Price? PJ
P. Jennings

Gerard,

If I can read between the lines someone made a comment regarding poor fit of a certain vendors' luggage rack. You must understand that, as pointed out in other threads, our cars were hand made and each one is not exactly the same as the original and therefore things that fit on one will not necessarily fit on another without some adjusting and/or shimming. While one inch may be a little excessive it is not out of the realm of possibility. I know that when I installed Bob W's rack I had to do a bit of adjusting here and there but the final result is exactly what I wanted.

Regards,
Jim
James Neel TD28423

If you have wire wheels and a hub that protrudes you may have to drill one extra hole on each side to allow clearance.

Mort 1950 TD1851 Möbius

I have the Moss rack on the back of my TD. I along with others have had some problems with thething breaking down. I have fixed mine with a couple of washers where needed and cotter pins and have drilled and tapped other places. It now works well with these mods. Overall, I am happy with the MOss Rack but it did need some tweaking to get it right. Much cheaper than an original AMCO but not quite as nice.
Tom Maine (TD8105)

My wife gave me the Moss rack for our TF for christmas. Good discount during the winter sale. I've always preferred the looks of the high rack and I doubt I will carry much of a load on it.
I installed it last weekend and it went on nicely. I had to drill off one of my top fueltank strap bolts, but got a replacement.
To my eye, the quality is very good. It feels sturdy and went on with no tweaking.

Tom
'54 TF
Tom Norby

Thank you all for your comments gentleman . I have at least 6 pictures from people who replied to me via private email. They show clearly the mishaps on the racks they have bought ( no names here will be provided by me ) their comments vary from studs to long have to put various washers here and there,want to put them on and have to bend one of the rear legs about back approx 1 1/2 " and still the rack looks crooked ,
Another chap mailed me also with pic's his rack he put them on with huge force and is also 1. 1/2 but now out of the middle. The owners of the cars involved are all very knowledgeable and have HIGH priced Restoration's behind them In other words money was not the biggest issue for them .
Gerard Hengeveld

When these racks are manufactured, I'm sure every manufacturer uses a jig setup of one type or another so that all their racks of an individual type are all exactly the same. That being said, then when one is being installed on a car and it fits fine, why doesn't the next one fit properly on the next car? Only conclusion is, most of these, (hand made), cars vary in dimensions. So it's not the rack in most cases, it's the car. I do know some racks off a steel wheel car won't fit/work properly on a wire wheel car, that to me would be rack design. I guess we have to except the fact that some tweaking will more than likely have to be done during installation. JMHO.PJ
P. Jennings

Not only were the cars originally hand made, most have had some restoration work. So between the original variations when built and then handy hands at home variations. I'm surprised when anything just bolts right up.
G D

Here is a photo of my rack, this also shows the extensions tha tI have because of the wire wheels and the fact they stick out of the mount further than the steel wheels. note the washer and the cotter pin on the bottom. to hold the thing together.

Tom Maine (TD8105)

Here is a shot of my recently installed TF rack from moss. Similar angle to Tom M's shot. These two racks look completely different in design and manufacture. I think I see what you guys are talking about. The low mount style adds some complexity to the thing. Mine is simpler. Fewer parts and joints.
Time will tell how happy I am with it.

Tom
'54 TF


Tom Norby

Tom, I bought a high mount from MOss when I first got the car but hated it as you cant see when luggage is piled on. Sent it back and got the low mount. Funny thing, at GOF Central a few years back we were on the Road America track and a guy had the top rack on a TD and it was piled to the top with luggage and he was racing around the track full tilt. It was pretty funny.
Tom Maine (TD8105)

TOM N,
As Tom M states, your vision to the rear is really hampered , even with only one piece of luggage on the high rack, your vision is quite limited,,, and if the weather dictates that the hood must be up, that makes it even worst trying to look out of the small rear window.

SPW
STEVE WINCZE

As some of you already know I bought the Moss (UK) rack back in 2009. The fitting is 100% but chroming is very thin. As a result chrome comes off when using leather belts. That's not my idea of quality! So in December I bought the stainless rack of Bob Wrenn. I've attached the Moss rack to the wall of my garage as a reminder to only buy quality stuff in the future...

Due to this thread Bob contacted me last weekend and asked if I had encountered any problems in installing the rack. In fact I had: the total assembly was approx. 1" out of the middle and by no means I was able to get it right. But the looks are good and I decided to accept the situation.

But Bob wanted to know exactly what the problem was to decide if any part should be adjusted or had to be replaced. He asked me to send some detailed pics and the measurements of some distances and lengths. In doing so I detached some parts of the rack. During re-installing it suddenly appeared to me that the total assembly had moved far enough to get the correct position.

Apparently I've done something wrong when I first installed the rack, but I don't know what...

I would like to thank Bob for his initiative to contact me. Perfect after sales services! Much appreciated!

Thought to share...

Jasper

Jasper L Nederhoed

Yes indeed That's real good after sales service. I am a firm believer that communication between buyer and seller is so essential to solve a problem . It has nothing to do who is right or wrong . The problem is solved . I have ordered a rack from him as I write this.

Gerard
Gerard Hengeveld

This thread was discussed between 13/01/2012 and 17/01/2012

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