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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 - MG TD Fog Lights

I have been reading the postings with respect to the fog light wiring and this has prompted me to question the "correct" lucas lights for the TD. In the Original MG T, It states that the SLR/SFT 576 lamps were only correct for the TF onwards. I have seen many pictures of TD's with these lights and was wondering if anyone can tell me when this series of lights became available (year).

Thanks for the input

Brian
Brian Smith

Brian,

As I understand it, there was no "correct" Lucas fog lamp, since these were aftermarket items. Even though these may have been a dealer add-on, even the dealers probably carried different ones. And, many were installed by the owners. Therefore, as long as you have something that is appropriate for the period, it should be authentic. I don't know the model number of the Lucas lamps I have, but they are mounted on MGA fog-lamp brackets. Someone surely had such an installation in the 50s, so as far as I'm concerned, it is authentic.

Regards,

Steve

50 MGTD
Steve Markman

Steve

Thanks for the comments, I was aware that there really is no one correct fog/driving lamp for our cars. I guess what I was wondering is what year did Lucas begin making the SLR/SFT 576 lamps. In British Columbia we can get collector plates for our cars but they must be either factory stock or have accessories that were available when the cars was new. As my car is a 1950, I can only dress it up with items that were available in 1950. I have a set of fog and driving lights I would like to install but year of original manufacture now becomes important.

With the depth of knowledge available from the various people who use this site, I was hoping that someone could answer the date of manufacture.

Thanks
Brian
Brian Smith

Brian
Following that brand of logic, the one fog lamp you could be assured of finding in 1950 would be the Lucas SFT462, which was used on the later TC's. You could not get more period specific than that.

Mike
MIKE FRANCKS

Brian,

Interesting law that you have in BC regarding authenticity. Does this apply to reproduction parts, or did the part have to have been manufactured during the same model year? I don't know if the law in Ohio is that specific, and don't think I'll ask.

Steve
Steve Markman

Steve

The way I have been advised is that the accessory parts must have been available on the market at the time the car was built. I also have the finned aluminum rocker cover and tappet cover and have been told that it will not pass on these because they were not available in 1950 when my car was built, although later cars could get away with them. The car can be licensed this way but not with collector status, and there are great benefits to getting collector plates.

It really comes down to a decision on my part whether I want to make it "stock" or personalize it the way I want.

Thanks
Brian
Brian Smith

Brian,

Just out of curiosity, do you know what BC's position is on adding seat belts? If you really want them, would that disqualify you for collector plates since they would not be representative of the original configuration?

While Ohio requires seat belts, any car that was manufactured without them does not need to have them installed. I installed them in my 50 TD, and am prepared to take a hit at any competition that would mark me down because they are not an original item.

Does anyone know if any state or province requires seatbelts, even at the price of keeping a car from being 100% stock?


Steve
Steve Markman

Steve,

Do the "authenticity police" come round to your place and make spot checks?

Seems to me a little anarchy (no, lets call it civil disobediance - - more politically correct) is called for here. I suggest you put on whatever makes the officious bureaucrats happy for inspection purposes and then switch to whatever accessories you prefer.

Cheers,
Reed
Reed Yates

Brian,

Given the difficulty in finding the answer here, I doubt the BC govt will know the difference. Unless they have some magic source of information? Maybe we should start asking them for help! ;^)

Good luck,
Evan
Evan Ford - TD 27621

I think I may have opened up Pandoras box here. Steve, we can install seatbelts as this is a safety item and that is OK, just like radial tires. Reed, we have to send in a set of pictures of our car and they use the pictures to evaluate the car ( also use resource material such as "Original MG T Series"). Yes it is possible to change back after the collector status is OK'd but two things can create problems; the first is if you happen to show your car and it has collector plates but does not have stock items on it then there is a good possibility that someone will report it (yes it does happen), and secondly, should you have an accident and they find anything different from what you submitted your insurance is cancelled and you are on the hook for all of the costs. This has happened recently and all of the local clubs have been notified, the most recent was a fellow who came out to one of our events and he had his insurance voided because the paint had some rust coming through.

Anyway, this is why I was wondering about the production dates of the Lucas lamps as I think they look great on the TD.

Brian
Brian Smith

Brian: When I was a teenager in the late forties and early fifties I had a subscription to the Autocar magazine. For years I kept them all but unfortunately I couldn't keep moving them and had to dispose of them. If you could get access to the 1950 volume that should answer your question. I think that the Royal Scotish Automobile Club in Glasgow has a complete bound set from the begining to the end. Perhaps a Scots MG enthusiast could check for you. I also think that the interpretation of the requirement for collectors plates is too literal. As I understand it the accessories must be of the period or can be for added for saftey e.g. seat belts. Certainly SFT 576 are of the period and that is all that should matter.They also contribute to saftey. I have a number of period accessories on my car and it has been checked twice by the collector plate inspectors with no questions ever asked as to whether they were available when the car was sold new. Terry
Terry O'Brien

This thread was discussed between 28/11/2003 and 11/12/2003

MG TD TF 1500 index

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