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MG TD TF 1500 - 1952 MG TD

Hello, everyone.

This post is about a 1952 TD that has gone up for sale near Port Jervis, NY (just under 2 hours outside NYC).

I looked around to see if there are any rules against this type of post, but couldn't find anything. If this is the wrong forum, I sincerely apologize and welcome the removal of the post.

Basically, I'm helping my mother in law sell her 1952 mg td. The car is in very good condition and is all original. 26,724 miles. Asking price is US$25,000.

Backstory, details, and photos are available here:
http://www.beefstew.net/photos/v/CandJ/forsale/1952MGTD/

Take care,
Chris Horn

C Horn

Pretty car, but I very much doubt it is all original. The wiring has been replaced, the ID plates have been removed and re-attached with non-original fasteners, and I suspect the car has been re-painted. The ID plate stamping is suspicious and the plate seems to be a replacement. There's no logical reason for all that to have been done unless the car was stripped apart and re-painted. That would also explain why the piping looks too large - it's probably been replaced.

Nice $13-15,000 car - there are a ton of TD's for sale right now, and only $12-15,000 cars are selling.

Tom Lange
MGT Repair
t lange

Tom,

Thanks for the information. I see what you mean (original rivets on internal plates, versus screws on body plate). The yellow wiring is obviously new, as well.

What's the piping you're referring to?

Thanks,
Chris
C Horn

Chris - the ID and other plates should all be held on with small, slotted, brass round-head screws with hex nuts on the inside; these platesb are not usually removed and replaced unless the car is being painted. The quality and depth of the ID plate stamping feels wrong to me, as well, and you ought perhaps to look at the frame serial number to be sure the numbers match. The number is stamped on the vertical face of the left dumb-iron (bumper support frame extension); turn the wheels to the left and you should see it by the front of the left tire.

Also, I can't be sure but the radiator looks as though it is painted with gloss paint, which is certainly not original (if it were original paint the maker's tag would be painted over - they weren't dainty in Abingdon!). The glossy paint may actually make it run hotter. The piping I can see is on the front splash apron; I can't be sure but it looks too big, as most replacement piping is.

More photos of the engine - both sides - would be interesting to interested parties, I'm sure.

Tom Lange

t lange

and I am pretty sure the chrome radiator grill was only on the late Mark II cars, but Tom can confirm or correct!
Ian Bowers

Interesting car,,, made July 16 1952,, the day befor mine,,,30 cars down the assembly line..

I'd really like to find one closer!!!

SPW
STEVE WINCZE

ID plate definitely repro, and has been removed. Pretty sloppy stamping job. I agree with Tom and Ian all the way. A lot of it does look original however. Same with the estimated price. A while back I posted some shots for a friend- very similar situation. The car sold for $14,500, which is exactly what the guys thought it could go for. George
George Butz

...hmmm...an MG2D....pretty rare?
gblawson(gordon- TD27667)

Bud quite rightly points out that I am incorrect when I say that the ID plate should have nex nuts; they are square. Thanks, Bud.

Lest there be any misunderstanding, I am not knocking the car at all - it looks like a nice car and a fine driver. I am a rare book librarian by training, and very much want descriptions - whether of incunabula or TD's - to be accurate. The owner is clear that he knows little about these cars, and I wanted him to understand that some of the details he was saying about the car are probably incorrect. Of course, it's always easy to nit-pick, and difficult to honestly and accurately do so without seeing the car. It does look like a nice car, and the seller has been very cordial in his writing back and forth. At last, an honest seller!

Tom Lange
t lange

The guys on this forum are pretty tough on resales.....
Personally, I would rather drink castor oil, than post a for-sale photo of my car here.
In the short time that I've been here, I've found that only near perfect cars seem to get "wows" , everything else is disected....
The good news, is you get the real truth about your car...The bad news is that this isn't the best place to sell it...
In my personal opinion, the best place to sell a car like this , is at car shows, and cruise-ins, where your car will be one of the few of its type, and thus will attract attention....I've sold two MG's this way, neither of which was actually for sale.
Before everyone gets mad at me, I do love this forum for the information it provides, and many of the folks here have been extremely helpful to me....So I am not knocking the forum...
I belong to other niche-car forums, and all of them are pretty much the same, when it comes to resales.
That being said, car values have really dropped, overall.
All you have to do is watch Barrett-Jackson, to see that it's a really difficult time for all but the top-of-the-line cars.
Edward
E.B. Wesson

....the nit picking has been around for quite awhile on the forum... think it starts when someone advertises an 'unrestored, original' car and we jump in and dissect the ad with great enthusiasm.... its almost a competition... actually, great fun

And your right, the last place i would post my car is here.... oh, how the thread would expand....

However....for the owner, rebuilder, this is still the greatest forum on the web...
So many subscribers i've chatted with and even met....and still the best bunch of guys around.....
gblawson(gordon- TD27667)

Hey Gordon, I wasn't nit picking. If I was, I would have pointed out the funky tach needle! Unlike the car I mentioned above, the chassis/engine numbers on the restamped plate are at least correct. Still looks like a great driver as it is. George
George Butz

Gord says it very well - I commented on the car only because it was described as unrestored. I have a wonderful friend )whom I met on this forum) who is improving her Mark II to be a very nice show car that she also drives, and she is always lamenting about points lost. I suggested she brave the storm and post pictures here, so that others could help her improve the authenticity and correctness of the car. I think she is frightened of the comments, and feels she might be hurt by them. I'm still encouraging her, because it is a lovely car and she still wants to drive it! And also I think that the folks on this forum are gentlemen and ladies, and would respect her sensitivities.

Tom Lange
t lange

Easy there. There is a Huge difference between nit picking and calling people out on less than accurate advertising. Placing a car for sale and advertising it with descriptors as "the finest you will ever see" "all original" or "ideal show car condition" (all terms I've seen here on this forum) and then presenting a car that falls short of these descriptions is an open invitation for honest people who know better to chime in and point these things out.
I have never seen anybody fault a listing that is worded honestly to reflect the actual condition of the car.
Nit-picking? No. Aiding an unsuspecting buyer with honest information? You bet'cha!
-David
D. Sander

Thanks, all, for your feedback. I guess I have pretty thick skin -- just appreciate hearing everyone's honest observations. I would've chimed in sooner, but had thought that all comments would be emailed to me because I subscribed to the thread.

Anyhow, I updated the description to read "mostly original" -- since that seems more accurate and have dropped the asking price considerably. The car really is a beauty, so I'm still aiming a little bit high (relative to all of your estimates).

I'll try to get some more pictures of the engine's sides for y'all to tear into, but for now this set is all that I have.

Take care,
Chris
C Horn

@Gordon I fixed the "2D" in my transcription of the digits. That's a pretty amateur/funny mistake now that I see it. I'm obviously not an "MG person" -- but that T does look a bit like a 2 if you don't know any better.
C Horn

Chris,
Refreshingly honest listing ...I wish you the best of luck with the sale!
David Sheward

This thread was discussed between 12/09/2012 and 14/09/2012

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