Generally speaking, one weaker gear in an assembly is there to protect all the others in the case something jams. In your case the plastic gear may have just been old. They weren't meant to last 80 years! I would try West Valley Instruments in Reseda, California for parts. Also Nisonger in New York....

My Shorrock is in shambles so I don't have any personal experience running one on my own car. The car pictured is just one I inspected recently. I believe it does have a spacer but it's hard to see for sure int he photos. There's something silver behind the fan so probably an aluminum spacer.

I don't like the idea of bolting a disc brake caliper to the backing plate. I suppose it works but it certainly isn't ideal. The conversion also looks terrible. If I were going to do something like that (which I wouldn't) then I would at least try to hide it behind a fake drum or something. The cali...

As I recall, handles were mostly dealer-installed. I can't remember for sure on the MMM cars though.

I just use a bit of lubricant and slide them over. It's a pain but they do go on.

A photo is worth 1000 words. The pulley does get close to the radiator and bonnet, but I haven't seen a need to cut them yet. Maybe John's engine was a bit high, or radiator a bit low?

Looks like it may have been a hardware store find! A nice heavy drawer pull or similar. They don't make things so heavy duty anymore, that's for sure. Even the newer MG crested handles are hollowed out on the back to save material, at the expense of strength and comfort.

I checked with a friend who restored his TA from the ground up and he doesn't recognize the part. That combined with having only one side and not finding it in any catalog, I'd say it's likely aftermarket / home brew.

What about the little bracket that was attached to it?

I don't recognize it, but I'm not a TA expert. Could it be from under the dash area perhaps? Or someone's idea of an inner door stiffener? Do the holes line up with the door hinges at all? The curve also looks a bit like the rear arch curve, so maybe a brace from the arch and the small piece is supp...

That symptom is most likely a weak coil.

Great info! It will be interesting to hear Rob's impressions on the American Classics as a comparison.

Any photos you can post from a couple angles of the Bridgestones? No one has posted an image of the rears at all so far.

I'm not an expert, and I change my method every couple years as I find better ways, but currently what I do is set the jet 60 thou below the bridge and then adjust the float height until the level is where I want it, ignoring the measurement of the fork. If the fuel level is too low, I'd raise the f...

A year later, how about an update, Rob? Did the radials work out and how are they?

So long as they are equal to each other, I don't think it makes a lot of difference. Moving them can change the level a tiny bit though, so if you move them then you might want to just check the level. Some people run them as far away from the exhaust manifold as possible just to get them away from ...

UPDATE: SOLD TC engine available. Complete but needs rebuild. The crankshaft broke a few years ago. I have good used crankshafts available for sale if you don't have one already. Includes correct early brass piston carburetors, manifolds (exhaust needs one repair), original date matched distributor...

I've had bad luck with those reproduction Q12 coils. One went bad after 200 miles or so and the replacement lasted 50 miels before it quit. I put the old used coil back in the car and never had another problem.

If the choke doesn't make any difference, good or bad, then I would suspect the coil. They are most efficient when cold, so the hotter they get the more they suffer. When you test a coil, it should be done cold first, and then repeated when hot. Often coils that test and perform perfectly at room te...

Ethanol definitely contributes to vapor lock. Different parts of the world, even from one state to another in the USA, have different blends with different levels of ethanol in the mix. Here in California we're lucky that nothing over 10% is currently allowed to be sold for use in normal gasoline ca...

Another way to determine if the rings or valves are leaking is with a leak down test. This will pinpoint where the leak is, and how bad it is. As a "poor man's" leak down test, you can simply fill a cylinder with air pressure and listen for where the air comes out. If you hear it in the crankcase br...

I'm pretty sure I've done that before but it was ages ago.