• The Roadster Factory Recovery Fund - Friends, as you may have heard, The Roadster Factory, a respected British Car Parts business in PA, suffered a total loss in a fire on Christmas Day. Read about it, discuss or ask questions >> HERE. The Triumph Register of America is sponsoring a fund raiser to help TRF get back on their feet. If you can help, vist >> their GoFundMe page.
  • Hey there Guest!
    If you enjoy BCF and find our forum a useful resource, if you appreciate not having ads pop up all over the place and you want to ensure we can stay online - Please consider supporting with an "optional" low-cost annual subscription.
    **Upgrade Now**
    (PS: Subscribers don't see this UGLY banner)
Tips
Tips

T-Series New home for an old TD

NutmegCT

Great Pumpkin
Gold
Online
If you have a brand new empty garage:

View attachment 49268

You need to put something in it.

View attachment 49270

Arrived at 2:30pm EST, from Keswick Ontario, a one-owner (!) 1953 MG TD. Original black lacquer, original upholstery, original Dunlop 5.60x15 tires (!), original canvas weather gear, even the original tool kit. And now sporting the 1830s hat I wear while working at Old Sturbridge Village.

View attachment 49269

I'm amazed at the condition this car is in - inside, outside, underneath. Owned by the same gentleman since he bought it new in 1953. I don't want to touch a thing (but I couldn't keep from polishing the chrome about an hour ago, while listening to the engine idling smoothly).

More details:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B5xnnKbPEWx5Q3Y2cVpUOEdVX0U

With a gazillion thanks to the BCF and BSCCoC members who helped me along the way.

Tom M.
PS - when you lift one side of the bonnet, do you just lay it on the top of the other side? I don't want to scratch the paint!
 

Boink

Yoda
Bronze
Country flag
Offline
Wow! That's fantastic. Nice garage too. :smile:
 

Gliderman8

Great Pumpkin
Country flag
Offline
Nice Tom. Enjoy!
 

Gliderman8

Great Pumpkin
Country flag
Offline
Time for "Mac & Phyllis" to take another trip?
 

Jim B.

Member
Country flag
Offline
Nice Find.
Mine was originally black also, but with a Beige interior.
When/if I lay the hood/bonnet on top of the other side I always put some old undershirts between the two.
You should consider make a Bonnet catch. There are many designs and ways.
Here is my approach. There are many others.

Jim B.
 

Attachments

  • Hood-retainer-wood.jpg
    Hood-retainer-wood.jpg
    86.2 KB · Views: 92
  • Bonnet-retainer.jpg
    Bonnet-retainer.jpg
    40.7 KB · Views: 88

AngliaGT

Great Pumpkin
Country flag
Offline
Tom,

Nice buy! When we move to Roanoke,you
can make a road trip down there,& finally meet up.
 

Mickey Richaud

Moderator
Staff member
Gold
Country flag
Offline
Glad it's found its new home!

Regarding the hood prop, Jim has a good idea. I'll get a picture of another one for you tomorrow. Pretty clever, and very neat.
 

JPSmit

Moderator
Staff member
Silver
Country flag
Offline
Lovely! Congrats
 

drooartz

Moderator
Staff member
Gold
Country flag
Offline
Well done indeed. I've been wondering when it would arrive. Looks lovely, glad it arrived safely in one piece.

:cheers:
 

DrEntropy

Great Pumpkin
Platinum
Country flag
Offline
Well bowl'd, Tom! Congrats.
 

Bayless

Yoda
Silver
Country flag
Offline
SWEET! Hard to imagine all that still original! WOW! Nice garage too.
 

Rut

Obi Wan
Country flag
Offline
Wow! Just wow!
Rut
 

pdplot

Yoda
Country flag
Offline
Now that you're a TD owner (and a fellow CT'er), time I sent you my chapter on the TD from my unpublished book. I've owned 3 of them and restored one from the frame up. If you send me a PM with your address, I'll send it to you. (Or perhaps cut it out of the book if I can and email it to you.) It will tell you all you need to know about the TD. About the hood - beware the latches. They snap open, giving you a long-lasting bruise on your palm. You can lay the side panels across the top or stand them up, but again beware - they can drop suddenly. Other quirks - doors that refuse to stay shut, wiper motors that quit when water runs down the shaft, non-locking glove box (don't keep any valuables in there), rust and corrosion on the cross-shaft that the floor-mounted clutch and brake pedals are attached to, non-pressurized cooling system (check it carefully on a hot day and don't screw that beautiful brass cap on too tightly or you'll never get it off,) inconsistent idle speed from the 1 1/4" SU's, at least the 1953 has a temperature gauge (my 51 and 52 did not), but no gas gauge and the blinking red light has a sneaky habit of burning out (I ran out of gas on the Bear Mountain bridge), chronic low oil pressure (check the ball and spring in the pump), tendency to burn out rod bearings before their time, battery acid eating out the firewall like lava from Vesuvius, tachometer drive reduction gear that screws into the back of the generator won't last more than a few months (your toolbox on the firewall probably contains at least 3 or 4 of of them, all N/G, plus a few odd tools and Whitworth wrenches left over from the Industrial Revolution and a greasy rag or two), probably no heater (I suggest a lap robe for those CT winters, especially when the cold wind blows in through those rear-opening suicide doors) and maybe a few more little things I may have forgotten since it's been 63 years since my first TD. Good points - great gearbox (click,click from gear to gear), not a bad ride considering, pretty good brakes, dead-accurate and featherlight steering, albeit with some kickback, better top with 3-bows not 2, better, smoother- acting tach and speedometer compared to the 51/52's, and very easy to work on. Oh yes - you'd better memorize how to put the side curtains back in their little pouch behind the seat - they won't fit any other way. Good luck and if you need any help or advice, I'm about 80 miles away.
 
Similar threads
Thread starter Title Forum Replies Date
drooartz MGB An old friend comes home - I have an MGB again MG 27
NutmegCT Old car - new home Other Cars 17
Hamish Racing TR2/3/3A Aintree sprint (uk) home to the British GP Iain 1950’s Triumph 0
R TR6 I just brought this to its new home. It has been stored for 15 years, has only 21000 miles , and only 1000 sincw Triumph 12
AngliaGT Saw This When We Got Home Today Spotted 3
JPSmit Ms Triss is home again. Spridgets 12
drooartz Carried home on my shield... again Spridgets 17
7 General TR Its home! Triumph 7
R The long road home Spridgets 1
Basil TR2/3/3A On my way home from town - spotted this Triumph 9
T 1972 MGB GT for sale in San Francisco, looking for a good home MG Classifieds 1
JPSmit Ms. Triss is home! Spridgets 12
Lin A little "Stay-at-Home" Healey Nostalgia Austin Healey 10
AngliaGT Miata - ALMOST Made it Home Other Cars 7
JimLaney For Sale 2 MK IIIs :Free to good Home Spridgets Classified 1
S TR2/3/3A TR3 clutch release bearing... from Home Depot? Triumph 12
Joe Schlosser Wire wheel Parts Free to good home Spridgets 0
Jim_Gruber Drove Bugsy home this AM Spridgets 15
waltesefalcon It's home! Other Cars 9
drooartz MGB Engine on the hoof - parts car comes home MG 8
JPSmit Home from Boarding School! Spridgets 11
RAC68 Home Made Healey Exhaust Headers from a BOX Austin Healey 15
D TR2/3/3A Home Again! Triumph 12
steveg HD8s easily rebuilt at home Austin Healey 4
drooartz Penny the Bugeye in her new home Spridgets 39
wangdango Home-made ducting for BJ8 radiator? Austin Healey 11
R Prepping to bring my 100 home Austin Healey 5
Jim_Gruber Bugsy II - Left for a new home this morning Spridgets 4
Marla TR4/4A Take the long way home Triumph 11
Keith_M Look what came home Spridgets 14
steveg Odd problem but it got me home! Austin Healey 9
RickB MGB Bought 1980 MGB and got it home - head gasket? MG 15
JPSmit Ms Triss is coming home today Spridgets 7
Bob McElwee Miss BT has a new home [probably a new name too!] Austin Healey 1
Mickey Richaud T-Series Home, James MG 4
Tinkerman TR2/3/3A Original wind screen 1960 TR3 A [free to a good home] Triumph 2
catfood Saw five iteresting vehicles on the way home last night.. Spotted 3
M Spridget Parts - Free to a Good Home Spridgets 0
JPSmit Ms Triss comes home tonight Spridgets 13
Dave Richards Greetings from a new home in Utah Austin Healey 5
N BEST Home Brew Penetrating Oil Jaguar 5
N BEST Home Brew Penetrating Oil Austin Healey 27
N General Tech BEST Home Brew Penetrating Oil Triumph 14
N BEST Home Brew Penetrating Oil Restoration & Tools 7
TRMark TR4/4A H6 Find a new home or toss Triumph 4
Sarastro T-Series Coming down the home stretch... MG 19
jhorton3 Finding Midgie A New Home Spridgets 0
drooartz The teardown begins, follow along at home! Spridgets 51
J Went To Auburn Cruise Night and met an Aussie who just bought a 54 to take back home. Austin Healey 1
S Home Again! Spridgets 4

Similar threads

Top