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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 - MGB OD tranny

There's a '78 MGB OD tranny on Craigslist in Michigan for $750, with driveshaft & wiring harness.

http://annarbor.craigslist.org/pts/2193295308.html

Having installed a 3.92 rear in our one TD, it isn't all that attractive to me at the moment, but we do have another retired TD that could benefit. How much aggravation to that conversion? I ran through the archives and dig up any real details.

Jim Northrup

Why stop there. Put the 1800 engine with it for More Go. I thought that is what MG stood for.
r starnes

They don't show the engine. I got rid of both an A and a B engine/tranny over the years.

Rather go with the original mill, punched out to 1500 and supercharged, with the B rear end, wire wheel adapters and discs!

If I was gonna go with something else, you know the old saying... "I could'a had a V8."
Jim Northrup

Jim, I think you have to modify the tunnel and floor board side frames to get that OD unit to fit. I'm not sure, but I think it's a lot of work to make it look and work right. I don't think the bell housing will fit the early engines either. I could be wrong, but if it was me, I'd go for a 5 speed conversion and eliminate a lot of problems. JMHO. PJ
P Jennings

I agree with PJ. A MGB OD transmission, particularly the later ones 70 and up) are very bulky items, very long and heavy and the bell housing is nowhere near the same as that on a TD/TF transmission and since the bell housing is part of the overall casting, it would be very difficult to adapt to an XPAG engine (other than that, it would be a great addition). R Starns is correct, if you are going to go with the MGB transmission, go for the full monte and swap in a 1800 B series engine. Cheers - Dave
David DuBois

At one point I bought a TD that had a B motor and an early OD transmission installed. It was an abandoned project and I bought it for the TD parts. I still have the chassis that had the B motor mounts welded on and the TD pedal box and cross brace for the transmission cut out to fit the OD tranny.

The B motor resides in my MGA and the OD tranny resides on my garage floor. The chassis is stored near Houston. The tranny and chassis are for sale, but given the tranny size, etc., I don't think even the early one would make sense behind an XPAG size motor.
David Littlefield

A plate must be fabricated to bolt to the block in front of the flywheel and then to the late model transmission. It wouldn't take any more power to turn the transmission than the stock one, as long as it's in the direct gear position, but in overdrive, that's another story, especally if the finals were up graded, but should work fine on a stock rear. The problem I would have with this setup is, too many modifications would have to be made to the car in general, as the late model transmissions are larger in physical size. I have two setting on the floor, a 72 and a 79 and they look just too big for a T. JMHO. PJ
P Jennings

I, years ago, had the power unit out of my 74 mgb, and seperated the tranny when it was out of the car. It is huge compared to the TD unit. I can't imagine that it would be a very easy swap! If the stock tranny is servicable or repairable, I would invest the time and energy in a ring and pinion swap.
Steven Tobias

This thread was discussed between 06/02/2011 and 07/02/2011

MG TD TF 1500 index

This thread is from the archive. The Live MG TD TF 1500 BBS is active now.