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MG TD TF 1500 - Re-writing the TD/D manuals

I am under the impression that by the time Geoff Baker completes the work on his car the listers, who respond to all his questions, will have completed the most comprehensive collection of practical helpful suggestions, valuable hands on instructions, leads to suppliers, mistakes to be avoided etc., etc..

I wonder if it will be possible to collect all that information under one heading in the archives or, maybe even to have it printed? Anyone who needs answers to all these TD/F problems which plague us, would be able to browse through it on wintry nights, dreaming of happy MotorinG in the spring or to re-energize us to do do those jobs we are unsure of.

It will certainly be an instructional manual of great value to future enthusiasts.

Well done Mr. Baker and also the contributors. Please keep the questions and answers flowing.

G.E. Love

As Dave was a former printer I'm suprised he hasn't published a book on his restoration. I bought all the books I could find and really found that none on their own got the job done. Several all together pretty much covered it. I think Dave has the photos and the explanation to cover just about all. Of course that means that you would all have to pay for what you have been getting for free.
LED DOWNEY

I have found that the TD/TF Archives on this site to have the answers to most questions. Of course, it takes time and research and many tries sometimes as the info isn't always listed in the thread title the way one might think obvious. However, an extremely valuable resource.

I'll have to say, without asking direct questions to the forum and receiving clear answers, along with Dave Braun's fantastic documentation and photos, the WSM, and Schach's TD Resto Book, I'd be up the creek without a paddle :-)

Cheers

Larry
L Karpman


G.E. go to this link for an indexed list of frequently questions and answers prepared from the lists a couple of years ago.

http://www.mgtd.ca/TD-FAQ.html

There are links that you can download a .pdf copy.
As noted on the list of frequently asked questions, the answers are " NOTE: These data is "collective net" wisdom and should be handled with care".

Dallas
D C Congleton

I've thought of this many, many times. Frankly, it would be a monumental job.

However I would never do it in .pdf format. Unless you have a copy of Acrobat, opening and editing a .pdf file is difficult (but not impossible).

More importantly however, I believe it should be in an open format so it can be easily edited, like WordPerferct or (ugh!) MS WORD.

As it is, I have been collecting TD/TF parts lists with the intention of doing it with the parts lists and having a dataBase with OEM/Moss/Abingdon reference numbers. This would have to be in a cellular (sortable) format only, but like the Master Manual project, a Master Parts dataBase would also be a big job, as it would require scanning every page of every parts manual, then doing an OCR and finally an index to make it work. I expect it would also require a LOT of manual editing.

Then's there's always the ugly head of copyright ...

Gord Clark
Rockburn, Qué.
Gordon A Clark

Thanks, Dallas for that link. That is really worthwhile and makes fascinating browsing with many questions answered and it's presented in a logical and easily accessible manner.
G.E. Love

How about a Wikapedia type format. With links but also able to be modified by users. I know that would take way to much for someone to monitor and keep up.
Bruce-C

Just use Wikopedia itself... you can add, edit, whatever....
gblawson(gordon)

I take full credit for all of this. I'm just dumb enough to ask all the REALLY stupid questions which get hundreds of kind people to patiently and slowly explain, in short words and simple phrases, how to do this stuff!

:)

Yes, I think Dave Braun has a book he could write with plenty of great pictures from his site...

And it would be awesome if we could put it all together!

Geoff Baker

I should also add guys; I'm a web designer specializing in database driven dynamic sites. I own my own server, so I would be willing to host such a site, and I think it is a GREAT idea. On the other hand, it's also a monumental task. I would think that the best way to do it would be as G. Clark suggests, put it all together into a searchable database; that would then build pages based on search questions. It could be VERY valuable to the newbie.

But a LOT of work. If enough others REALLY wanted to do this, and were willing to do a lot of grunt work (entering data, mostly) I could design and build the database that would support it.

And the final format... html. Beats pdf/Word/excel, anything... so long as there's a database behind it supplying the material...

Theoretically, I could take all the FAQ stuff and dump it into a database, add all Dave Brauns photos (obviously only with his support and permission) and if people were willing to categorize and add keywords to the data (both photos and articles etc) it could be a very easily searchable system. There's a vast amount of data that could be then added to the system from many sources, over time.

Geoff Baker
Geoff Baker

Geoff - "I take full credit for all of this. I'm just dumb enough to ask all the REALLY stupid questions which get hundreds of kind people to patiently and slowly explain, in short words and simple phrases, how to do this stuff!"

Not dumb enough to ask, rather brave enough. There are a whole lot of people with T series cars, who have dealt with almost ever conceivable problem that can occur in them, but never think to write down cure. This particular site has the largest population of truly knowledgeable T series owners of any place I have ever visited (so often at other sites one gets answers that are prefaced with 'I think', 'Maybe it could be' 'I've heard', etc.). It takes someone willing to ask, what seem to be an overly basic question to bring out the answers and once the answers have been posted, they are in the archives for all to find. For over thirty years, m wife was the editor of the Bonnet, the newsletter of the Northwest MG 'T' Register and we traded newsletters with other clubs in the US and Canada. I would go through each newsletter and extract the technical information and I have a file cabinet of articles by the likes of (whom I consider the truly great technical experts) Bob Grunau, Jerry Austin, Don Harmer and others that I can't call to mind right now. periodically, someone will ask a question about a subject that I have stashed away and I dig it out and post it. When I do, the information becomes part of the archives on this site and can be dug out by the person with the patience to do the search. A dedicated data base on line with an easier way to navigate than the existing archives would be a great boon to T series owners, but it would take a horrendous amount of work to compile, time that most of us don't really have. Bud Kruger's Ttalk and Dave Braun's picture gallery go a long way to being the resource that is needed. Chris Cooper started a project like this with his Original MGTD midget site, but that obviously god bogged down as Chris go busier with life as we all do.

The bottom line, Geoff, is that we all (and especially new owners coming up behind you) owe you a big thank you for taking the time to ask the questions that get us all thinking and posting the collected knowledge where others can make use of the information. Cheers - Dave
David DuBois

Geoff, and others, My wife and I are away traveling in S E Asia from tomorrow until around the beginning of March so will not be checking the forum on a regular basis. Upon our return I would be more than happy to donate 5 or 10 hours per week of work to this project. If this project is started, please keep me in mind, I think it is a great idea. As an aside, I also have hundreds of magazines/books (mostly British) starting from the early '50's most of which have the relevant 'TD pages (sorry no 'TF!)scanned. They are mostly of a historical interest as opposed to a technical one but I would be willing to make these available if they were wanted/needed. .... Chris
Chris Malcolm

Before you lay out a new website/page... I think Wikopedia might be a good start...
If we did an entry called MG T-series and left it set up in such a way that anyone can add information, then all we would have to do is lay out the 'headings' and then add stuff from wherever...that would free any one person from having to do all the entries??
Rather then 'linking' to existing sites, we could transfer the info 'into' Wikipedia... (then it will always be there, even when we are (gulp), gone...!!!)
gblawson(gordon)

In fact, there is already a starting point for: MG T-type on: http://wikipedia.org
gblawson(gordon)

Also might need a separate list of definitions of words like "whatchamacallit" "whosiwhatsit" etc,,,,

SPW
Steve Wincze

David, et al...

"There are a whole lot of people with T series cars, who have dealt with almost ever conceivable problem that can occur in them, but never think to write down cure. This particular site has the largest population of truly knowledgeable T series owners of any place I have ever visited"...

No doubt about that. In addition to all that most valuable bank of knowledge, I would also like to suggest to any of the Brits over the pond, that consideration be given to delving into the archives of the Octagon Car Club.

This club has, for many years, been producing a magazine called The Bulletin, in which there is a section devoted to the most esoteric questions concerning T-Series cars together with the answers provided by many owners who have had years of practical experience. Obviously their permission would have to be obtained, provided they were agreeable, to making all that wealth of knowledge available in an electronic format.

There is also the question of copyright and liability to be considered. CYA looms large and ugly these days.
G.E. Love

I understand that there are both copyright issues and the scope of the task. But I think you should not undervalue the database approach. wikipedia is a great resource but is very limited both by the human labor required and by the fact that it isn't a database driven system.

A true database system can search much more efficiently and with correct keywords can make images just as accessible as text information.

An example might be that a Moss part number entered into a well designed database would give you every car that it would fit; purpose of the part; every related article that calls for the part; pictures of the part etc etc. It just offers a richness of 'drill-down' that you can't get any other way.

If others are seriously willing to do the data entry, I'm prepared to start building a system. But we would need to talk to the sources out there on the web right now about copyrights etc. wikipedia data is open source, but a lot else is not. It's quite possible, though, that Moss might be more than happy to make its data accessible (because it could link directly back via part number to an order page) and others might well too.

It's an interesting project which I guarantee would end up being a fabulous resource - if we can get enough people willing to do the grunt work!

I suggest that seriously interested parties should email me directly. I'll talk to Moss and Abingdon spares and see what interest they have.

Geoff Baker

I am 18 months into the restoration of Feb 1950 TD. A first time restorer who has enjoyed reading these threads.

My references have been Dave Braun's photos and the Schach's book.

Daves site has been invaluable. There has been many times over the last 18 months that a flick through Daves photos has given me the inspration to keep going.

I have also been supported by Bob McCluskey a Sydney TD restorer. Bob has developed a fantastic site that all TD restorers should read.

http://members.optusnet.com.au/bobmccluskey/

regards
Kim Canberra Australia
KR Gillis

This thread was discussed between 25/11/2009 and 12/12/2009

MG TD TF 1500 index

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