MG-Cars.net

Welcome to our resource for MG Car Information.

Recommendations

Parts

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 - New Owner

New owner of register# 9817. '54TD. Picked it up today with all the baskets of parts!! The fun begins.
Tom

Hi Tom

Welcome to the wonderful world of MG's

If you have not already, sign up as a member.

We love new owners. Keeping the MG's going is what a lot of us are all about.

A couple of things in your posting would lead me to believe you are not familiar with the MGTD.

The TD's production was from 1949 to 1953. mgtf's went from 1953 to 1955. Sometimes a car was listed by the year it was first sold, so a title may say 1954.

If the number you listed is the number on the metal plate from the firewall. It would indicate the car is a 1951.
Bruce Cunha

You can check or enter numbers at:
http://www.niagarabritishcarclub.org/mgtnumbers/numbers.html
gordon lawson

Tom - Bruce is correct in stating that your car is NOT a 54 TD. the last TD was produced mid Aug. 1953. That said, Bruce is also correct in saying that the cars exported to the US were often given the date based on the year sold. We have a member in our local register that has a TD that is registered as a 1954 vehicle. He got such a kick out of that, he went out and got a vanity plate that says 1954 MGTD. Everybody in the register gets a laugh out of that.

Getting a car in a multitude of boxes does increase the challenge, I know because I got a TD that way myself. Fortunately, since it was long before computers, the internet or the BBS, I had a working TD to serve as a pattern. You have found the forum here that will be of great help to you in reassembling your car - don't be afraid to ask, no matter how basic the question seems. We've all been there and know the frustration of trying to determine where things go.

If you don't already have a vintage British car, you are in for an education in regards to fasteners. The TD has Whitworth (only one, although wrenches used are marked Whitworth), British Standard Fine, British Standard Pipe, and everybody’s favorite, Nuffield Mad Metric (used exclusively on the engine), an unholy combination of an obsolete French Standard Metric thread, with Whitworth heads. I have several charts that list all of the engine fasteners, a standard threads chart and a chart giving the 'across the flats' measurements of American, Metric and Whitworth wrenches, handy if you don't yet have Whitworth wrenches. Send me an e-mail and I'll send you the charts. Good luck - Dave
David DuBois

More will be known today as I uncover the frame/body from the piles of parts I brought home. Trying to be organized will be a challenge.
The car is TITLED a 1954. I've already assumed a late 53. I can't get to the ID plate quite yet, so I took the # from a notation in the reference book I got with the car. The title only shows what I'm finding out is the engine # as XPAG-TD2-30018
A set of Whitworth wrenches (?how many) and a few sockets came with it, but for everything else I guess I'll just pull my hair out from the roots as I need to, but thanks. I printed this string info for furthur reference.

Tom
tom

Your chassis/car number should be around 29680 - 29750 or there abouts.... as there were 29664 cars made (starting at 251), it will be one close to the last. That would put it in July/August '53
gordon lawson - TD 27667

My first restoration was while I was in college in 1965. It was a '54 TF 1250 that my fiancé, now wife of 40 years, paid for ($350) as she was working and I subsequently restored. I came home with a restored radiator and grille. That was as far as the seller had gotten and everything else, and I mean everything, was in boxes and fully apart. We were young and naive. But lucky because when I got done I had every part I needed and nothing left over. Unbelievable. I did spend a bit with Moss even back then. We took our honeymoon in that car and I finished at the University of Washington commuting year round with it. It was kept for two or three years and used as a daily driver in the Pacific Northwest until the family started and we moved on to many Jaguars and active in the club there for many years. I sold it for $1250. I could have gotten hundreds more back then if it was a TD because the TF was still not considered an "improvement" over the TD! Now since I got back to the TF a couple of years ago I'm really loving it. Every time I get in it it brings back great memories.

Best of luck Tom.
D Clark

I believe I have 3 box end and 4 or 5 open end whitworth wrenches. Probably 7 sockets. You will probably also run into a few non-whitworth as it was not unusual for prior owners (PO) to replace with non-whitworth nuts and bolts.

If I could offer a recommendation. If you have a digital camera, Take pictures of EVERYTHING.

What I do is save them to my computer or to CD (if your computer has a cd burner). I also use one of the free on-line photo storage areas. Webshots.com offers this, but there are others out there. This way, if there is something I need the group to look at, I can post the picture location here.

The #9817 you listed as a "Register" number. I am wondering if the car was once regestered with one of the national clubs? Some of the others on this site should have more information on that. If it was, you may be able to get more information on the background of the car.

We have folks on this site that are from all parts of the world and most of the states in the US. Let us know where you are at and perhaps we can find you someone who can give you some face-to-face (and more-than-likely, seat of your pants) information on the TD.

Bruce Cunha

Tom

Look at the left front extension of the frame (the extension that mounts the front bumper) for the stamped number. This will be the chassis/car number. It may be hard to read as it may be coated with paint and dirt etc.

Jan
Janson Hurd

The tag: TD/29665

Bruce: I took pictures already. But they're pictures of boxes....... The tub is still on the frame and it won't be unloaded until tomorrow. I need a carriage for it. That's today's project (along with thrust washers in the differential of the 'B'.

I'm in east central Illinois. Don't see many T's around here unless they're passing through. Understand there's an MG club somewhere. Left my name and email at a Champaign outing 2 yrs in a row and never heard anything. Must not be too actice.
tom

Tom,

Welcome to the T-series BBS. Congratulations on the car. According the factory production dates your car was built on (or about) July 23, 1953. The last TD (29915) was built on August 17th.

Keep us posted on your progress.

Good luck,
Evan

Evan Ford - TD 27621

Tom - To find a club or register near you, go to the MG Cars Enthusiasts Club home page at: http://www.mgcars.org.uk/index.html, click on Full Club Listing ont he right had side fo the page, then USA and finally on [I]. This will get you into the states starting with I and there are 8 or 10 clubs listed for Illinois. Cheers - Dave
David DuBois

Tom,
Welcome aboard. My 1953 TD is propelled by engine 30033, a close relative of yours. I have only followed the ownership back to North Carolina from the PO here in NW Florida. Where are you located? Since our cars should be nearly identical any questions regarding assembly or pictures if you need them can be had for the asking. Good luck with the new baby.

Jim Haskins
1953 MG TD
J. M. Haskins

Picturs of boxes. That is a good start. A B and a TD being worked on. That sounds familiar. I spent this summer finishing out my 67 B GT. That meant the new engine for the TD had to hold until this winter. Really missed driving the TD this summer.
Bruce Cunha

Check out the New England MG T Register. It is the National register for T series cars. Each car registered has a register number and the number 9817 cold have been the number assigned to that car and one of its previous owners. MY register number is 185 with my TD so as you can see, I'm older than dirt and have been around the register almost forever.
Check out their web site www.nemgt.org and maybe you can find out the history of the ownership of that car. That will also give you the address of the local chapters affiliated with that organization and you might find someone close to you there.

Send me your e mail address and I'll send you shots of my TD and TF.

Good luck and happy restoring.

George Herschell
George R Herschell

Tom, my NEMGTR # is 9826. I joined up in Sept, '88. It would appear that your car's PO probably joined up around the same time. I did a search for 9817 on the TSO CDROM, but nothing showed up. Try contacting Tony Thomas, the Register's Registrar and see if you can get him to give some information about member #9817. If I even knew what part of the country you're in, I could look through the 1992 index and see if the number shows up.
Bud Krueger

Forgot something. Tony is a/k/a athomas990@aol.com
Bud Krueger

If some one had the Sacred Octagons from '88, it would be listed in there in the New Member list ,,, I'll check my copies,,

SPW
Steve Wincze

OOPS,,,, my mistake,,,, new members were not listed back than !!!

SPW
Steve Wincze

Tom

Congrats, we were there 2 years ago... http://community.webshots.com/user/apbudd if you want to see that it is possible to raise the dead from boxes..

Good Luck. Look forward to seeing it up and running.

Richard
R & A Budd

Hello R & A Budd What a fine set of pictures! Take a good look at "Engine needs work", it is reversed left to right. But it sure makes the point, work it needs!

Congratulations, a fine job and another one "Back on the road"
Cheers,

Bob
R. K. (Bob) Jeffers

This thread was discussed between 15/10/2005 and 19/10/2005

MG TD TF 1500 index

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