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MG parts spares and accessories are available for MG T Series (TA, MG TB, MG TC, MG TD, MG TF), Magnette, MGA, Twin cam, MGB, MGBGT, MGC, MGC GT, MG Midget, Sprite and other MG models from British car spares company LBCarCo.

MG TD TF 1500 - George's MGTF

I met George for the first time today at the first outing of the Central Oregon Coast British Car Club in 2014. It was an absolutely beautiful day on the coast and most members of the club made the run south from Florence to Reedsport Oregon. My friend Pete and I traveled north from Coos Bay to Reedsport which was about the same distance. Most of the older vehicles in the club haven't come out of winter storage yet with the exception of beautiful Austin Healy 3000 and George's mgtf.

I had a chance to get to know George a little bit over lunch. He bought the TF new in Santa Monica. He said he tore it down and restored it some thirty years ago with the help of Al Moss. I'm not sure if that meant that he got his parts from Moss or if Al Moss actually helped twist wrenches on the car. He did say that Moss gave him the paint codes so he could return it to its original grey color. This is the first T Series car that I've seen in anything like the original grey, so I was quite pleased. George is 88 years young and was the only participant to arrive at lunch with the top down. Fascinating fellow. I wish I lived closer than an hour away so I could quiz him in detail. Below is a pic of his well used car.

Kirk


Kirk Trigg

Pic 2


Kirk Trigg

Pic 3


Kirk Trigg

I thought I'd add a pic of my friend Pete's '48 TC. Pete is the individual responsible for getting me started in this MG folly almost three years ago now. We'd have taken his TC today, but he is a little nervous about his oil pressure. He engine is freshly rebuilt but he hasn't looked into the oil pump yet and the pressure has been inconsistent.


Kirk Trigg

Georges car looks great, like a mirror image of mine.
Not may Birch Grey ones still around in their original colour scheme. And not many one-owner TF's either.

Matthew.


M Magilton

Great story Kirk thanks for sharing, my TF was originally Grey but colour was changed by the dealer before delivery because the buyer did not like the colour so the story goes.
G Mills

Loved all the pics! Since I cannot recognize who George is, would it be talking out of school to divulge his last name? My '54 TF and '51 TD seem to be ready for a few short cruises (hopefully, not putting the curse upon them).

Jerry
Jerry Chandler 1951 TD

Very cool...we have matching hair cuts.
MG LaVerne

Jerry I hesitated to post his last name since I just met him. Send me your email address and I'll send it to you offline.

Kirk
Kirk Trigg

Great pictures!

Back then it wasn't a popular color for some people, the Factory didn't produce that many, and it wasn't even listed in the TF dealer brochures but today -- grey is the hot new “in” color.

Grey is the "new black"!

I will be getting shorting a picture my uncle found in the attic of my family's grey TF. My grandfather had a friend who was a professional photographer and took pictures of the TF and the other cars in his collection. I will post to share to everyone.


Frank





Frank Cronin

Matthew I love the picture of your car being put through its paces. Outstanding!
Kirk Trigg

I just received this bulk email from last years' club president about George's TF. "George is the original (and only) owner of this 1250 cc XPAG-powered version of the last of the “T” series MG roadsters. As a young man in his 20’s, George traded in his Pontiac convertible for a pretty light grey roadster with red interior at the Van Nuys, CA MG dealership. Joining the Santa Barbara Sports Car Club, George was good friends with and an early customer of Al Moss, who was just starting up a small business selling spare parts and hand-made wiring harnesses for these funny little British roadsters. George says he did a restoration and re-paint (original colour) of the car about 30 years ago and that it is un-modified in any way."

This last photo was taken by last years club president (owner of a '52 TD). The caption said "George working the curves in the TF on the return trip to Florence. "


Kirk Trigg

My car too was originally grey with red interior. Someone resprayed it though in the late 60s in the pistachio color it is today (which it will remain as that was the color it was when my grandfather bought it). The red interior panels were sprayed with black vinyl spray and the red pokes out here and there as the color wears off or a bit of trim slides away revealing the unpainted product. There is one other grey TF in the Pacific Northwest (Seattle metro area) that I'm aware of. Must be this grey climate that people just "can't" get enough of.

Alex
Alex Waugh

This thread was discussed between 13/04/2014 and 15/04/2014

MG TD TF 1500 index

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