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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 - Is this a TD?

I was asked by a fellow collector if I would be interested in a 1953? MG Marquete? I was told it is a four seat TD and in very good condition. Does anyone have any information about this car and if prices run in line with the regular TD's.

Thanks for your help.
Tom Linder

Tom,
I've never heard of an MG "Marquete", but Inskip Motors in NY produced a handfull of "stretched" TDs which were 4-seaters. They were lengthened by a foot or two,(including the doors), and fittted with rear seats and longer top, side-curtains, etc.. Inskip was supposedly not happy with the looks of the Y Tourer, which was MG's official 4-seater convertible, and based on the Y 1 1/4 litre Saloon. The Ys shared a number of components with the TDs (engine, tranny, steering, front suspension) but had different chassis and body.
I would think that a "genuine" Inskip 4-seater TD might be a real collector's item because of its rarity, if nothing else. I've only seen few photos of the Inskip 4-seater, never an actual car. To my eye, it is more attractive than the Y Tourer, but not by much. The Y Tourer was a sales flop in the US.
Hope this helps.
Carl
Carl Fritz

There was the MG Magnette, which, in it's 50's iteration, was based on MGA running gear. It could be one of those, but they didn't come along until 1956 or so. Y tourer seems more likely. Can you find out the Chassis Number? That would really tell a lot.
Craig Cody

Hi Tom;

I can confirm that there were at least a few four seat MGTD's built for police duty in a small town in England. I can not confirm that they were named Marquete or that any other four seat cars were produced by the factory. I have seen one of the police cars displayed at least once or twice at NEMGT Southern GOF gatherings in the last half dozen years. The car belongs to a gentleman named Dr. Jerry Keuper from Melbourne Beach, Fl. Somewhere I have read an article on the car but of course now I can't find it. Included in the article was a PR photo of the cars and this particular car has been confirmed to be one of those original police cars. It is still configured as originally built with all of the associated police options installed. I do not have any further information on Dr. Keuper but you might try contacting Hank Ruppert from the NEMGT Register at fairwind@carolina.rr.com and he might be able to help you with contacting Dr. Keuper.

Good luck with your search.

Dick
Dick McCutcheon

Jerry Keuper's Police car is not a 4-seat TD, but is a prewar MMM car. I don't remember now if it's a J-2 or an NA, or an F. In any case it is not a TD.

Coul it be that we are talking about a Magnette not a Marquete? Some of the prewar 6-cylinder cars were called Magnettes also.
(some 4-cyl; i.e. M, J, P, T were midgets)

We need more information!
Don Harmer

Hi all,
It is probably an MG Magnette as Craig suggested. The model ZA came out in 1953 in this country. ZB later in 1956 or thereabouts. I owned a ZA for years and am very familiar with them. Body shared with Wolseley 444 but not mechanicals. 1500 BMC B series engine. Send me a digital photo if you want to take it any further.
Hope this helps,
Paul.
Paul van Gool

So THAT'S why the 4/44 looks so familiar- it looks just like a ZA!

Paul, you have no idea how long that's been bugging me. Thank you!
Growler

I think that the Wolseley used an XPAG-type engine in it's earliest configuration, didn't it?
Craig Cody

That's right Craig, the XPAW (for Wolseley) was a single carb version that developed 44 hp, hence the 4/44. The only major difference is that the dipstick is on the opposite side. They were quite common in this country and we found them a great source of spare parts. There are quite a few XPAW block TD's over here.

There were about 100.000 4/44's produced world wide so there are heaps of spare blocks etc out there somewhere as well as starter motors and distributors which were fairly similar.

They must have been as slow as a wet weekend however as 44 hp to pull a heavy car like this around would only be built by the Poms.

Cheers,

Paul.
Paul van Gool

I thought I had heard something about the Wolseley engine being mechanically almost identical to the TD, and you have confirmed it.

Speaking of slow, I had a Riley RMF. Lovely (loverly?)
car, but slow as a snail (by today's standards) to 60. Once it got there, however, it was a delightful car to drive on an expressway. It had a really nice twin cam (dual UNDERhead cams) engine of 2.5 litre displacement that had just bags of torque. I truly miss that car. They are so rare here in the states (and mine was a left hooker, to boot!) that I even got some envious glances from Bentley and Rolls owners.
Craig Cody

Craig, as far as I know they (Rileys) were also built at the Abingdon factory alongside our MG's. Should have put that engine in the TD.

Just a bit of trivia.

Paul.
Paul van Gool

During the RM series final years, they were built at Abingdon. One of the books I have on T-Series even shows a picture of the RM's and TD's side by side on the line. Based on production figures for my very late TD and very late RMF, I figured that they may have been made the same week at Abingdon. Production records weren't really accurate back then, so I'm not sure. The engine was used in either the Healey Atlantic or Silverstone, I don't remember which one. Then there was the Riley Pathfinder was the last one to use the twin cam engine (I think 1955 only). After that they were badge engineered BMC products, one was based on the MG "Z" Magnettes, the other on the Mini.
Damn, now I miss that Riley again.
Craig Cody

I found the photo I spoke of above. It is in "Road & Track on MG Sportscars" and accompanies a reprint of an article about a visit to the factory by John P. Flagg.
Craig Cody

This thread was discussed between 13/06/2001 and 27/06/2001

MG TD TF 1500 index

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