John,
The original condenser plate arrangment for the TD had the condenser
soldered to the plate. Check in the owner handbook for an illustration.
Book also suggests somewhere that the condenser should be changed as
needed, though usual USA practice is to install new condenser with new
points.
The condenser plate that is tapped for a condensor is either an
aftermarket item or something that a previous owner developed to allow
easy installation of replacement condensers.
So the answer to the question depends on the particular arrangement in
your distributor. I see no reason that the longer screw would not work
fine as long as it does not protrude through the bottom of the plate and
drag or catch on the weights below. You would need to identify the
existing threads, assuming that the short machine screws actually had the
same thread as the hole. You could also enlarge the existing holes, tap
to a larger size and use a larger machine screw. The sheet metal screw
would probably work just fine, though it's not the elegant approach that
we would like to think is always used for these cars.
By the way, the threads in the holes for the machine screws that attach
the plate to the distributor are tapped into soft metal, so be careful
turning them out and in.
Bob
> A restorer suggested that the holes the screws go into are longer
> than the screws themselves. Thgus, there are good treads at the
> bottom and if you could get a longer screw of exactly the same tread
> pattern the holes would be "good for another 50 years." Another
> MG'er suggested just a drop of Loc-Tite on each screw. Another
> suggested self-tapping screws of "about" the same size (which
> sounded hit-or-miss to me).
>
> Has anyone dealt with this problem and come up with a fix?
>
> John Gunnell
> Old Cars Weekly
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